Sunday, January 2, 2010: Jeremiah 31:7-14; Psalm 147:12-20; Ephesians 1:3-14; John 1:(1-9), 10-18

On the first morning of every new year, I take a three-foot-long saw with three-inch teeth, walk out onto Lake Michigan at 20 below in my sandals and swimsuit, hack a hole in the two-foot-thick ice and jump in.

This is called a "baptismal pre-dunk."

I then shut myself up in a small room at 220 degrees until my skin is singed red. I run out and jump in the hole again. I repeat the process one more time. A trinity.