   Two old girl-friends from high school ran into each other as they were going into a high priced restaurant.  They introduced their husbands, chatted a bit about school days, and then each said they had to leave. They were meeting some others inside for dinner.  “We are here for our wedding anniversary,” said one, […]
1716) Christmas Traditions (part one of three) Read More »
    (…continued) It is interesting that Jesus, born to show all the world the way home, was not even born at home. He was not born in a house at all, but in a stable, in a strange town, a long way from Joseph’s current home. Then, because of the threat of Herod, God told
1714) Home for Christmas (part two of two) Read More »
Above:Â Magazine advertisement from 1945, the year World War II ended. ——————————– Â Â Â Â Christmas is the time of year to go home. Â Or, it is the time for families to get together. Â Or, you might say, those two are much the same thing. Â When you are with the people you love, the people you’ve known
1713) Home for Christmas (part one of two) Read More »
From “Don’t Let Christmas Destroy You” by Joshua Rogers, posted December 6, 2017 at: http://www.joshuarogers.com ———————-    A few years ago, on Christmas Day, a friend was celebrating with her family when they heard a single, loud pop outside. They didn’t think anything of it, but soon the sound of sirens filled the neighborhood.
1705) Hopes and Fears Read More »
Luke 2:13-14  —  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” ******* CHRISTMAS MORNING by Larry Kiewel I awoke. Always a surprise, actually. I lay quietly As first light began its progress.
1354) Christmas Peace Read More »
By Joseph Degi, Copperas Cove, Texas, in Guideposts magazine, December 1988. Â Â Â None of us sailors in the 119th Construction Battalion were in the mood for Christmas. Â No wonder! Â Two hundred of us had been stuck for months right in the steamy middle of the tropical jungle, installing fuel tanks that were supposed to
1339) Jungle Christmas Carolers Read More »
Above: Ebenezer Scrooge and his nephew Fred  (1938 movie A Christmas Carol) ——————————– From “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens  (1812-1870):    “A merry Christmas, uncle!  God save you!” cried a cheerful voice.  It was the voice of Scrooge’s nephew, who came upon him so quickly that this was the first intimation he had
1331) “Bah! Humbug!” Read More »
   (…continued)  It is no wonder that down through the ages one of the main items on the agenda for philosophy and religion has been this whole area of the relationship between the spirit and the flesh.  Plato gave birth to the whole study of philosophy with the thought that you could think your
980) Bodies and Spirits (2/2) Read More »
San Bernardino, California; December 2, 2015; fourteen killed in yet another mass shooting, this one at a Christmas party ————————–    As in the picture above, the Christmas carol I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day expresses the sad message that “there is no peace on earth.”  The song was originally written as a poem, Christmas Bells, by Henry
970) Peace on Earth? Read More »
Above:Â ‘Marley’s Ghost visits Ebeneezer Scrooge;’ from A Christmas Carol, 1843, by Charles Dickens. ——————————– By Al Rogness, The Word for Every Day, Augsburg, 1981, page 359. Â Â Â No Christmas seems complete for me without hearing again the great message of the Lord’s redemption in Handel’s Messiah and in reading the story of a
967) The Messiah and Scrooge Read More »
