And God bless us, every one. . .

As the ec team heads out to all the corners of the world (OK, the mid-South, Midwest, and South) for the Christmas holidays, we wanted to wish you all a merry Christmas. Think of this as our Christmas card to you.

More than that, we wanted to encourage you to spend some time thinking about the reason behind this season. Sure, Christmas is about family, fun, good food, and time off from school, but really, it's all about Christ. It's our prayer that this year, you truly experience the Savior. He was born in a manger, walked among us, and died so that we might live. Celebrate His presence this year. Ponder these words this year as you open the gifts and celebrate Christmas: "Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David" (Luke 2:11).

(Find more goofy pictures of the ec team by clicking this link.)

What's in a (Nick)name?

While engaging in an always-important hallway "meeting" this morning, the ec team got involved in a discussion about nicknames. Well, Jen actually started it by randomly sharing that her parents used to refer to her as "Buffykins." (Something about her curly hair and a ratty Mickey Mouse T-shirt she wore incessantly led them to dub her as such.) Never having heard of such a nickname, I replied that my Dad called me "Em" or "Sweetheart," while my mother called me "Darlin." Jen asked if I had Southern parents. Well, obviously. Mandy volunteered that her brother calls her "Manny" or "Dink"/"Dinkers." So that led us to wonder about the nicknames of our loyal blog readers. How 'bout it? Do you have a nickname? If you do, leave us a comment. We'd love to hear it!

Emily

P.S. Mandy made some really great cookies and banana bread for her beloved coworkers as Christmas gifts. Wish we could share with you all, but the Internet's not quite there yet. Check back tomorrow. But rest assured that they're DELICIOUS! :)

Hows about a poll?

I'm checking out some online sites that make polls...so please humor me and leave a response!

Welcome to ec!

Welcome to ec’s new home on the Web! The ec team is so excited about having a blog that we can barely contain ourselves. We want to make a magazine that has something to say about the world you’re living in, and your comments and thoughts on this site will definitely help us do that.

Ec is short for essential connection. That’s really the idea behind our magazine and this Web site: to help you encounter God and know He is essential in your life. We know that you’re not living in the same world we grew up in, and we don’t claim to have all the answers. While we here at ec may not understand exactly what you’re going through, we know God is real in it. And we want to walk through it with you, encouraging you, supporting you, and helping you to encounter God and live out your real live faith. That’s what you’ll find in our articles, features, devos, columns, and departments.

That’s what ec is about—real live faith: God. Life. Fun.
And real live faith is never boring!