t's the season

Saturday question—What are your feelings about Christmas?  We all have feelings about Christmas and they can change as fast as the wind does!  Feelings are fickle to say the least! MissPerfect says—Feelings are not the Truth usually! They are fake and can’t be relied on!  RickyRick says—"There is a strong belief in our culture that influences every one of us, whether we want it to or not: If it feels good, do it. But this kind of thinking allows us to be manipulated by our moods—making us to live according to our feelings.” WorldClassLarry says—Not good!

The MI-Wizard Christmas joke—Did you hear about the man who stole an Advent calendar?------------------------He got 25 days!

Joy says—"The season of Advent  is a time of waiting that Christians first recognized as early as the fourth century. Advent is about intentional waiting; a special time of concentrated anticipation for the celebration of Jesus’s birth. In this season, we are encouraged to slow down, allow the Holy Spirit to move us toward repentance and renewal, and patiently wait for the advent (the coming) of Jesus that we celebrate each Christmas.” I like the description of “intentional waiting.”  There seems to be some magic in it, my opinion, and not just at Christmas time but always in my life.

 This is a quote of one of my heroes, Abraham Lincoln—[From Second Inaugural Address, Washington, March 4, 1852]  “With Malice Toward None. The Almighty has his own purposes…Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this might scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God will that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop  of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said: ‘the judgements of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.”’

Will Rogers said—"Good judgement come from experiences and a lot of that come from bad judgment.” Oh, how we learn now don’t we. I just learned something very important from hearing how a person hurt another person by not being a true friend. Ouchy ouchy!  She stung supposedly a friend big time. Truly a great gift is to love a person and that is being true and having a strong relationship (e.g. being loyal). But there are many ways we can love, but one of those ways is to use our resources---whether that’s money, time, or effort—to express love to each other. AverageJoe says—ANYWAY, just do it sincerely with a good heart (i.e. be true and real). SusieQ says--And for heaven’s sake, don’t give a friend some cheesy cheap trinket gift for Christmas (i.e. a throwaway gift); instead give them a true hug and tell them how you feel about them (e.g. how you appreciate them). That is a huge massive gift! LuckieEddie says—It’s never good to stomp on anyone thinking we are some hotshots!

My farmer friends in IA always try to maximize their corn and soybean yields (i.e. to make more money); it’s natural. They start with the best seed that fits their ground. As the saying goes—Good seed does not cost, it pays! We were in WinCo getting grocers and discussing what water we should buy as we don’t care for the water here in Mesa. Jeanne started a conversation with another shopper who was may 35 years old. She gave her a lot of good advice. We thanked her and she said—”I try every day to help some person; it makes me feel soooo much better; it’s like giving them a gift!

We were talking to folks down the street. They told us that they have 9 kids and a huge massive number of grandchildren and a huge massive number of great grandchildren. I said to them—If you give each of them a thousand dollars for Christmas that’s a lot of money!  He said she gives a lot more money to family than I do; I think she gives toooo much but it’s her choice. They didn’t tell us what they give soooooo we don’t know the amounts (i.e. what is a lot to one isn’t a lot to another). I guess giving is a personal choice and not just at Christmas but any time maybe. Saturday questions—Are we more a giver or a taker? Do we think more about ourselves or others? BigShotBetty says—I really like myself a lot let me tell ya!

WorldClassLarry says—"How could anyone have expected Isaiah’s words to come to pass in that particularly miraculous and utterly unprecedented way? Most everyone was caught off guard, a total surprise. How has God surprised you lately? Do you think God might surprise us in our life? How are you longing for God to draw near? How have you seen evidence that Jesus is present, even now, within you? This Advent season, watch for God to show up to you in unexpected ways. Now that is pretty exciting to me, yes it is.  Personally, I expect it! What I’m saying is this: If God tells us to go after Moby Dick in a rowboat, take the tartar sauce with us. We’re going to have a fish fry tonight! 

There are 60 major prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the first coming of Jesus Christ. In their book Science Speaks, Peter Stoner and Robert Newman calculated the odds of any one man in all of human history fulfilling only 8 of those prophecies to be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. Jesus fulfilled all 60! The odds of that happening are astronomical. I always say that I like the odds in my favor; I like those odds.

It appears that folks really want to know about their future. They do medical tests, have their palms read, read fortune cookies etc. But do we really want to know our future? Many folks are scared to death about their future. If we are believers, we have HOPE in Jesus and that is we will have eternal life through Him as our Savior. Jesus is not a Santa Claus (i.e. a fake). Jesus is not fickle! Jesus is the TRUTH! That is what I believe. You might have other thoughts. I pray that you might at least consider Jesus. We were in CO at our daughter, son-in-law and grandkids last weekend. They took us out for dinner and to the performance by the Denver Orchestra and Chorale. They played and sang two of my most favorite Christmas songs: The Hallelujah chorus and Oh Holy Night. I like the part that says—Fall on your knees oh hear the Angles sing!  I pray that we all can all hear the angels sing this Christmas. Saturday question--What did the angels tell Mary, Joseph, and the Shepherds?  Fear not, I am the Lord and I will take care of you! 

I researched reindeer with the Alaska Wildlife Department and found out that both male and female reindeer have antlers. The males lose their antler after breeding season by about December1 while the female reindeer keep their antlers until about March 1. Soooo Dasher, Dancer Prancer, Vixen, Comet and Cupid, Doner, Blitzen and Rudolf had to be girls. Soooo it makes sense as only girls would be nice enough to pull a fat old man around in a red suit all over the world in one night. And it also makes sense that they would not mind making many stops as they don’t mind stopping and asking for directions (i.e. as most girls struggle knowing which direction they are going). Besides, they don’t mind stopping often as they all have to go to the bathroom together anyway! 

And Mary, treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  I like that word “ponder.” I like to ponder. Do you? I have talked to a number of folks who are readers. They seem to like to read science fiction much more than anything about reality. I don’t think they enjoy pondering reality. Maybe they are really tired of reality. Maybe they are tired of being in a fight all the time. I don’t know. What do you think? That is what I thought. Make believe can get us out of reality alright! Saturday question—Do you ever get tired of trying to improve all the time and just want to take a break and forget about reality and read a science fiction book or just deal with Santa Claus or just sit in the quit and ponder? Such is life!

VelvetElvis says—I am also like you because I have a choice. To become bitter, cynical, jaded and hard. Anybody can do that. A lot have. Hatred is a powerful, unifying force. And there is a lot to be repulsed by. Or, like you, I can choose to reclaim my innocence. We can insist that hope is real and that a group of people who love God and others really can change the world. We can commit all the more to being the kinds of people who are learning how to do what Jesus teaches us.

Merry Christmas to all of you from Jeanne and I.

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyDeceasedFriendJean said—Joy is not in things it is in us.