TIS THE SEASON, YOU KNOW...

'Tis the season to be... jolly? Maybe "joyful" would be a better fit. Maybe "happy" would work. ANY of them would actually work just fine... if it weren't for people who are dedicated to the proposition of making sure everyone they come in contact with is as miserable as they are!
And while I'm thinking about it, I want to just go ahead and get this off my chest right off the bat. It's MERRY CHRISTMAS... NOT happy holiday... happy Quansa or whatever they call it... it's NOT happy winter festival... it's MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! CHRIST-mas!!! It's the day we have chosen to celebrate the birth of the Savior of all mankind... nothing less... nothing more. It has to do with CHRIST... nothing less... nothing more... NO ONE else but JESUS... PERIOD. If people don't believe in Christ... then don't celebrate the holiday. They should just go about their business and leave everyone else alone so they can enjoy it.
That's why when people say happy holidays or anything except what it actually is, I smile and as politely as possible, say; "Merry Christmas!"
I am absolutely amazed at how many people take on the personality of Ebeneezer Scrooge during this wonderful time of year. It seems to me that the one single character trait that goes missing in far too many people this time of year is JOY... or joyfulness... or happiness... or being jolly. 'Tis the season to be... you know.
It somehow has been appointed by our culture and our society to begin an earnest effort to radically reduce or even eliminate real joy... ESPECIALLY this time of year. And for whatever reason, our culture has decided that the day after Thanksgiving shall be the day that their efforts shift into high gear. We all sit around our dinner tables and express our thankfulness with family or friends, and less than 24 hours later, it evolves into an "every man for himself" mindset that feeds a "don't mess with me" attitude.
I do have to confess that I find the "black Friday" tag they've hung on this particular day to be one of the most accurately tagged days of the year. I also have to confess that I tend to regard ANYONE who would get up and 3:00 am to stand outside in the elements in a long line to save $3.42 as somewhat short on their ability to reason or think clearly.
Personally, I wouldn't get up at that hour, go stand outside in line for 3 or 4 hours so I could proudly tell my friends that I got there first, if they were GIVING the stuff away. That's not being Scrooge-ish, that's just being hip to the scam. Listen, when the store marks the price up by 80% on Wednesday night and then on Black Friday, sells it to you for 70% off... YOU do the math. I don't mean to burst your bubble, but you really aren't saving all the money you think you are.
I've also noticed that "black Friday" is the day when most Christmas shoppers are at the peak of their Christmas spirit. It seems to go downhill from there with each passing day.
The closer you get to Christmas, the less joy you see on the faces of the shoppers. Each day seems to bring out something a little worse in people than the day before. By the time you finally get to the week of Christmas, itself, you'd BETTER not venture out of the house with any expectation of seeing people in the market place having fun... 'cause it ain't gonna happen. In fact, the shopkeepers and poor souls who work in the retail industry are so tired of dealing with grouches and idiots, that by the time Christmas finally gets here, they're exhausted. And those sweet little old grannies will run you over with their shopping cart, frown, growl, and if provoked, call you all manner of unclean names should you cross them... intentionally or not.
Don't get me wrong... I love Christmas. And I love to give and receive gifts at Christmas. But as for me, personally, I'd much rather receive a gift someone made.
I may seem a little old fashioned, but I'd much rather make someone a gift than buy them one. The reason being, that all the while I'm making it, I'm thinking of them... I'm praying for them... and I want them to know that I think they're special enough in my eyes for me to go to all the extra trouble.
Giving gifts at Christmas is without question, an appropriate expression of celebrating this one day a year. After all... this is the day we celebrate the most amazing gift ever given. This amazing gift, given to all men, was given by none other than Almighty God, the Omnipotent Creator of everything. That in itself is mind boggling to me.
The gift tells me that I can know without a doubt that God thought I was special enough to go to all the trouble. And THAT concept is BEYOND mind boggling!!! The Psalmist, a man after God's own heart wrote: "What is man that You are mindful of him?" I suppose the psalmist must have perceived God and all He has done for us to be a "wonderment"... I know I sure have. God, one day, decided to give man a gift... WOW! And no gift... NO gift ever fashioned by the hand of man, regardless of it's craftsmanship, elegance or beauty can even come close to comparing to the gift God gave us.
The gift... a Savior for sinful man. The gift... The one and only means of mankind's reconciliation with a Holy God. The gift... the person of Jesus Christ, of Nazareth, born to a virgin in a rented stall of a barn in Bethlehem, and laid in a manger. The gift... without question, the most amazing gift EVER given.
How can we think of such an awe-inspiring moment in time and NOT be happy? How can we consider that Almighty God had us on His mind and decided that we were worth all the trouble, and NOT be filled with joy?
Maybe we all ought to just lighten up a bit... this is supposed to be fun time. 'Tis the season, you know... but then Hey... It's Just A Thought.

TO MY FAITHFUL READERS... BOTH OF THEM

Well... a few weeks ago I decided I'd take a short break from writing this little blog. I didn't really realize that such an outcry would arise over my decision. I actually had no idea so many people were actually reading this.
Actually, in real-world terms, I don't suppose the outcry was all that remarkable, but I did have 2 different people ask me about it. I keep hoping for some comments, suggestions, questions, or some other feedback from the readers, but I reckon the 2 folks who DO read it just get busy and forget about it.
Today, I just decided that I'd sit back down here and peck out a thought or two and see if I can't recapture my 2 avid readers' attention before they find someplace else to waste 5 or 10 minutes of their valuable time.
I had a few thoughts to pass along concerning the mid-term elections we all just survived. I intend for this site to remain family friendly and "G" rated, so SOME of my thoughts can't be shared.
I suppose my primary thought about it is: THANK GOD THAT'S OVER! At least we'll all get a nice break from the never ending stream of political ads "approved" by whichever candidate happened to sign the check to pay for it. That is one good thing about an election. The ads, billboards, yard signs and TV commercials finally stop... for about 3 weeks.
We've still a few more days to go before we start seeing the first signs of life of the coming 2012 Presidential election. Not many days, mind you, but a few, and we should all just be grateful for the brief reprieve we DO have.
Now I understand that a candidate has to market his platform... he has to rely on the media to get his message out and define what it is that he stands for. He has to have a way to inform the people of what his intentions are.
On the one hand, there are some who couldn't possibly tell you what their intentions are with any degree of honesty or they'd be laughed out of the contest or thrown in jail. On the other hand, the others can't tell you what their intentions are because they're too busy calling their opponent a no-good, sorry, low-down, lying, under the table dealing, double talking, thief who hates puppies.
And the shame of it all, is that by the time the election finally comes, you're so sick of hearing all the junk you could pull your hair out.
I noticed something this time around, though... and I paid pretty close attention to it. I heard very few openly express their love for this country. I didn't notice many mentions of the greatness of the American people, the strength and courage of the American spirit, or that it is the citizenry of this nation that makes it great, NOT the elected officials.
I didn't hear too many mentions addressing a candidate's respect for and commitment to uphold the Constitution of this country. In fact, what I heard was a lot of ideas and agendas that either undermine the authority of the Constitution or totally disregard it's authority all together.
So I paid pretty close attention to what I was hearing and then I voted for the ones who esteemed that sacred document and honored the intentions of the great men who framed it.
I had another thought... not too many, but another one I can mention. As I sat there and painfully endured the endless string of political ads that popped up with every time out of ever ball game being played on TV, I began to wonder. Why in the world would anybody WANT to run for public office?
I mean stop and think about it. They go back through your whole life and dig up every thing you ever did... and if they can't find anything really bad... they'll spin it in such a way as to make it look bad. And if they STILL can't find anything, they'll just make something up. Listen, if I want anybody to know that it was me that threw that cherry bomb in the toilet during 5th grade recess at Central Ward Elementary school, I'LL TELL THEM. And no... it was NOT an act of domestic terrorism, it was pretty exciting, though, to hear the boom and watch all the teachers and kids run into the boys restroom and see water dripping from virtually every surface... and then watch the teachers as they began to scan the faces of everyone present to see if they could detect a guilty look... which, by the way, they couldn't.
I'm afraid I'd get somewhat agitated if someone was digging up what they could from my past in an attempt to demonstrate my inability to faithfully carry out the duties of the office I was running for. If I wanted anyone to know that I had any part in putting an old 51 Ford sedan on TOP of the Principal's Office building at Stephenville High School on the last day of school in 1967... I'd tell them. But it's not anybody's business, so I'm not telling anybody!!!
Besides, the word of God says that our past is not what's important. If we ask God to forgive us, the Bible says that He us Faithful and Just to forgive us of ALL our sins. So that pretty much takes care of what's behind.
If we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, Redeemer, and Friend, the Bible says that our future is forever decided and established in heaven. It says that our security as His child is not our responsibility, but His... and it also says that He is WELL ABLE to take very good care of it.
So with our past forgiven and our future established and secure, then what really becomes important is NOW. What we do and how we respond right this minute to what is going on in our lives is what's really important... it really is all that counts. And yes... it really is THAT simple.
Say... I was wondering... does anybody know if there is a statute of limitations on that cherry bomb in the toilet thing? But then HEY... IT'S JUST A THOUGHT.

WORDS LIKE: "I WISH I HADN'T DONE THAT"

There are very few shows on TV, outside of those whose figures are wearing a number, worth watching. Sports on the tube remains almost singularly as a production which clearly has a villain and a hero. It's very simple, actually. You root for "your" team and root "against" their opponent.
That is probably why I enjoy watching sports on TV. I don't have to try and decide whether I'm pulling for the cop or the robber. Things aren't like they were back when John Wayne made movies. You KNEW who you were pulling for... without exception. TV was the same way; Marshall Matt Dillon was the good guy and those despicable villains were the guys you rooted "against".
Today, there are roughly 942 cop shows on TV. And the producers and networks have clearly demonstrated that they've completely run out of ideas. I mean seriously... how many "CSI's" can you have? CSI... CSI New York... CSI Miami. Within another year or two, CSI Hillsboro will be a prime time option. The trouble with "most" of the "police" dramas, is that the supposedly "good" guys are just about as bad as the "bad" guys.
There are a couple of "police" shows that are fun to watch, though. Shows like "Cops" and "World's Dumbest Criminals" are a hoot. The most gifted writer in Hollywood couldn't come up with some of this stuff. Actors, regardless of their abilities, can't accurately portray how dumb some of these real life criminals actually are.
According to the "Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel", on June 4, 1993, Nathan Radlich's house was broken into. The burglars left his TV, his VCR, his watch and a whole cache of other valuables. The only thing they took was a "generic white cardboard box" containing a couple of pounds of a grayish white fine powder. A police spokesman stated that the powder looked very similar to raw, uncut cocaine and that the intruders undoubtedly thought they had scored big. Trouble was; what they made of with was the cremated remains of Mr. Radlich's late wife.
Now try to picture in your mind how excited these burglars must have been when they thought they'd scored "the big one". Got that? OK... NOW try to picture in your mind what their reactions were when they snorted a nice big line of MRS. RADLICH'S remains.
According to the "San Francisco Chronicle", Albert Goldsband nervously walked into a San Bernadino, California bank and handed a teller a hand written note demanding money. The teller, however, couldn't read Mr. Goldsband's handwriting. She studied the note for a few moments and Mr. Goldsband, paying more attention to his surroundings than what the teller was doing, pulled a plastic toy gun from his pocket. Trouble was, the teller, not being able to decipher his handwriting had left to see if her supervisor could read it. Mr. Goldsband panicked and ran from the bank. He ran down the street and ducked into a nearby restaurant. More trouble... the restaurant he picked was one frequented by officers of the San Bernadino Police Department. More trouble... he was still holding his toy gun in his hand. Mr. Goldsband was arrested immediately and subsequently charged with the attempted bank robbery.
I guess, all things considered, that's just a lot to try and remember. I mean, running down the street with a toy gun in your hand is pretty common... isn't it?
From the "Oakland Tribune", Lee Womble, 28, was arrested and charged with robbing the Lafayette Bank in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Authorities reported that Mr. Womble was their primary suspect... in fact, he was their only suspect. Mr. Womble walked into the bank and handed the teller a handwritten note demanding the money, and SIGNED HIS NAME at the bottom of the note!
I reckon he figured if he signed it, that would make it more official... you think?
The "Chicago Tribune" reported that an "alleged" drunk driver was NOT taken to jail after his arrest. According to Police Captain Mike Lanam, the "alleged" drunk driver fled when officers attempted to pull him over. A brief, but rather wild high speed chase ensued shortly after midnight, in which several police cruisers were involved in the pursuit. After losing control of his vehicle, the driver crashed his car INTO THE JAIL!!! The driver was removed from his car and immediately booked into custody.
Does the saying; "sometimes you just can't win" mean anything to you?
I wonder how many of these people, after a little time to think about it, uttered the words, "I can't believe I did that". Come to think of it, I wonder how many times we've ALL muttered the words, "I can't believe I did that... or... I can't believe I said that". It's NOT that we've all said or done things we wished we hadn't, what's remarkable is HOW MANY TIMES we've all said or done things we wished we hadn't... usually being the same things over and over again.
When the Apostle Paul sat down and wrote a letter to the church at Philippi, he gave them AND us some good advice. Philippians 2: 3-5 says: "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let THIS mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus".
I'm pretty sure that if I could just get a little better hold of that scripture, I wouldn't be as prone to uttering those words like, "I wish I hadn't___". 'Cause I've read almost everything Jesus said and read about almost everything the Bible says He did, and I can't for the life of me find anything where Jesus uttered those words. Now I also know that we don't have a record of every word Jesus said, but I reckon He never had cause to say that He wished He hadn't done or said something. AND, I reckon Jesus never did let His mouth run away with itself... Gee, I wish I could say that... but then again, I wish EVERYBODY could say that... Oh, don't get mad, Hey... It's Just A Thought!