December 20

The pages of Scripture bring us face to face with ourselves and with God's grand design for our lives. --David McCasland

A coworker asked her grandson what his favorite Christmas song is. After much grumbling about Christmas he finally admitted that "Please, Naughty Dog" was his favorite. (Feliz Navidad!)

“Slowing down doesn’t mean accomplishing less; it means cutting out counterproductive distractions and the perception of being rushed.” —Tim Ferriss

“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” —Friedrich Nietzsche

“The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.” —Joe Paterno

Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the right to do the same. Voltaire

If the data devoured in the United States last year were converted to text there would be enough books to bury the country under a pile seven feet deep, according to a study released Wednesday.

US residents consumed about 1.3 trillion hours worth of information from radios, televisions, computers, newspapers, mobile telephones, and other sources,

"This is Christmas: not the tinsel, not the giving and receiving, not even the carols, but the humble heart that receives anew the wondrous gift, the Christ." Frank McKibben

"Dependent people need others to get what they want. Independent people can get what they want through their own efforts. Interdependent people combine their own efforts with the efforts of others to achieve their greatest success." -Stephen Covey

"You cannot succeed by yourself. It's hard to find a rich hermit." -Jim Rohn

The U.S. Debt Limit has been raised about a hundred times since 1940, when it was $49 billion - about five days worth of federal spending now.

CHRISTMAS has really become a hopeless muddle of confusion. The humility and the poverty of the stable are somehow confused with the wealth and indulgence and selfishness of gift giving. The quietness of Bethlehem is mingled with the din of shopping malls and freeway traffic. The soberness of the Incarnation is somehow mixed with the drunkenness of this season. Blinking colored lights somehow have some connection to the star of Bethlehem. John F. MacArthur Jr., "The Incarnation of the Triune God"

A little boy asked his mother why the minister got a month's vacation while his dad only got two weeks. The mother answered, "Well, son, if he's a good minister, he needs it. If he isn't, the congregation needs it." - Garrison Keillor?

The whole concept of God taking human shape had never made much sense to me. That was because, I realized one wonderful day, it was so simple. For people with bodies, important things like love have to be embodied. That's all. God had to be embodied, or else people with bodies would never in a trillion years understand about love.
"He came down from heaven" can almost be transposed into "Heaven drew earth up into it," and locality, limitation, sleep, sweat, footsore weariness, frustration, pain, doubt, and death are, from before all worlds, known by God from within. The pure light walks the earth; the darkness, received into the heart of Deity, is there swallowed up. Where, except in uncreated light, can the darkness be drowned?


"Light is the task where many share the toil." -Homer

The virgin birth has never been a major stumbling block in my struggle with Christianity; it's far less mind-boggling than the Power of all Creation stooping so low as to become one of us.

We must never allow anything to blind us to the true significance of what happened at Bethlehem so long ago. Nothing can alter the fact that we live on a visited planet.

It is no use saying that we are born 2,000 years too late to give room to Christ . …Christ is always with us, always asking for room in our hearts . …And giving shelter or food to anyone who asks for it, or needs it, is giving it to Christ.

Human nature is like a stable inhabited by the ox of passion and the ass of prejudice — animals which take up a lot of room and which I suppose most of us are feeding on the quiet. And it is there between them, pushing them out, that Christ must be born, and in their very manger he must be laid—and they will be the first to fall on their knees before him. Sometimes Christians seem far nearer to those animals than to Christ in his simple poverty, self-abandoned to God.

Probably few of us have the faith or the nerve to tamper with hallowed Christmas traditions on a large scale, or with our other holiday celebrations. But a small experiment might prove interesting. What if, instead of doing something, we were to be something special? Be a womb. Be a dwelling for God. Be surprised.

We are better givers than getters, not because we are generous people but because we are proud, arrogant people. The Christmas ...

HOW FAR CAN WE GO? In New York's Hayden Planetarium a special Christmas holiday show was enhanced by an added feature. A giant lollipop tree was projected onto the planetarium dome, surrounded by a horizon filled with brilliantly colored toys which came to life and cavorted to the tune of "Jingle Bells." At the climax a huge figure of Santa Claus faded out in a snow storm, and the star of Bethlehem broke through into a sky that produced exactly the Palestine sky on the night of the nativity. The designer of this show may not realize that he dramatically staged the supreme Christmas message our world needs to understand: The recovery of the lost meaning of Christmas. This is not said in any criticism of Santa Claus; the effect must have delighted the hearts of all the children who saw it, without doing violence to their love of Bethlehem. But for adults it is a tragic loss to substitute "Jingle Bells" for "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," and a lollipop tree for the manger of Bethlehem. Without the birth of Christ, can it really be Christmas? How far can we go and how much can we accept?


"Christmas Gifts for Men"
Christmas is just around the corner so here are some gift ideas for those special men in your life! Buying gifts for men is not nearly as complicated as it is for women. Follow these rules and you should have no problems.
Rule #1: When in doubt - buy him a cordless drill. It does not matter if he already has one. I have a friend who owns 17 and he has yet to complain. As a man, you can never have too many cordless drills. No one knows why.
Rule #2: If you cannot afford a cordless drill, buy him anything with the word ratchet or socket in it. Men love saying those two words. "Hey George, can I borrow your ratchet?" "OK. Bye-the-way, are you through with my 3/8-inch socket yet?" Again, no one knows why.
Rule#3: If you are really, really broke, buy him anything for his car. A 99-cent ice scraper, a small bottle of deicer or something to hang from his rear view mirror. Men love gifts for their cars. No one knows why.
Rule #4: Do not buy men socks. Do not buy men ties. And never buy men bathrobes. I was told that if God had wanted men to wear bathrobes, he wouldn't have invented Jockey shorts.
Rule #5: You can buy men new remote controls to replace the ones they have worn out. If you have a lot of money buy your man a big-screen TV with the little picture in the corner. Watch him go wild as he flips, and flips, and flips.
Rule #6: Buy men label makers. Almost as good as cordless drills. Within a couple of weeks there will be labels absolutely everywhere. "Socks. Shorts. Cups. Saucers. Door. Lock. Sink." You get the idea. No one knows why.
Rule#7: Never buy a man anything that says "some assembly required" on the box. It will ruin his Special Day and he will always have parts left over.
Rule#8: Good places to shop for men include Northwest Iron Works, Parr Lumber, Home Depot, John Deere, Valley RV Center, and Les Schwab Tire. (NAPA Auto Parts and Sear's Clearance Centers are also excellent men's stores. It doesn't matter if he doesn't know what it is. "From NAPA Auto, eh? Must be something I need. Hey! Isn't this a starter for a '68
Ford Fairlane? Wow! Thanks.")
Rule #9: Men enjoy danger. That's why they never cook - but they will barbecue. Get him a monster barbecue with a 100-pound propane tank. Tell him the gas line leaks. "Oh the thrill! The challenge! Who wants a hamburger?"
Rule #10: Tickets to a football game are a smart gift. However, he will not appreciate tickets to "A Retrospective of 19th Century Quilts." everyone knows why.
Rule #11: Men love chainsaws. Never, ever, buy a man you love a chainsaw. If you don't know why - please refer to Rule #6 and what happens when he gets a label maker.
Rule #12: It's hard to beat a really good wheelbarrow or an aluminum extension ladder. Never buy a real man a step ladder. It must be an extension ladder. No one knows why.
Rule #13: Rope. Men love rope. It takes us back to our cowboy origins, or at least The Boy Scouts. Nothing says love like a hundred feet of 3/8" manilla rope. No one knows why.

Sir Winston Churchill, "An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity."

I'm not into working out. My philosophy: No pain. No pain.



"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." ~ Mark Twain

"Top 10 Ways To Confuse Santa Claus on Christmas"
10. Instead of milk and cookies leave Santa a Weight Watchers bar and a note explaining that you think he could stand to lose a few pounds!
9. While Santa’s in the house... go find his sleigh and write him a speeding ticket!
8. While Santa’s in the house... replace all his reindeer with exact replicas. Then wait and see what happens when he tries to fly!
7. Keep a bull in your living room. If you think a bull goes crazy when he sees a little red cape, wait until he sees that big fat Santa suit!!
6. Leave a note by the telephone telling Santa that Mrs. Claus called and wants to remind him to pick up a loaf of bread on his way home.
5. Take everything out of your house as if it has just been robbed. When Santa arrives, show up dressed like a policeman and say, "Well, well, well… They always return to the scene of the crime"
4. Leave out a copy of your Christmas list with last-minute corrections.
3. Leave out a Santa suit with a dry-cleaning bill.
2. Instead of Christmas ornaments decorate your tree with pumpkins!
1. Dress up like the Easter Bunny. Wait for Santa Claus to come and then say, "This neighborhood ain't big enough for the both of us buddy!!"

"Separate Christmas Day from Good Friday, and Christmas is doomed --doomed to decay into a merely sentimental or superstitious or sensuous "eat-drink-and-be-merry" festivity of December. Bethlehem and Golgotha, the Manger and the Cross, the birth and the death, must always be seen together, if the real Christmas is to survive with all its profound inspirations; for 'the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister; and to give His life a ransom for many.'" - J. Sidlow Baxter

December 13

The Bible is the only book where the Author is always present.


According to the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, both male female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year. Males drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, while females keep theirs until the spring. Therefore, according to everything we've seen, every one of those reindeer on Santa's team is FEMALE. "We should have known this when they were able to find their way."

In the good times and in the bad times _ Jesus is Lord.
Perhaps the merriest season's greeting of all time was given by the angels when they announced Christ's birth: "Unto you is born this day a Savior..."
• "Unto you".......That is personal!
• "Is born this day".......That is present!
• "A Savior"........That is precious!

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." -- Mother Teresa
In one hand I have a dream, and in the other I have an obstacle. Tell me, which one grabs your attention? Henry Parks

Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish. Jean de la Fontaine (1621-1695) Poet

"Jews and Christians are different in a lot of ways. Some Christian people will actually have religious bumper stickers on their cars. Like 'Jesus is King', 'The Lord Saves'. Jews don't do that. You'll never see, 'Honk If You Love Moses.'" - Gregg Rogell
Flee temptation and don't leave a forwarding address.
Oh, what fun it is to ride with one horse, soap and hay
O come, froggy faithful
You'll tell Carol, "Be a skunk, I require"
Good tidings we bring to you and your kid
Gloria. . . . in a raunchy stable.
"While shepherds washed their socks at night"

Gracie Allen's Classic Recipe for Roast Beef
1 large Roast of beef
1 small Roast of beef
Take the two roasts and put them in the oven. When the little one burns, the big one is done

I watched a movie about a baby hen, it was a real chick flick.

"I do the best I know how, the very best I can, and I mean to keep doing so until the end." -- Abraham Lincoln

"Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul." -- Samuel Ullman


Finding Approval from God Alone
There is a story told of one of Verdi's operas. The composer was young and this particular work had been produced in a hurry. Verdi knew that it was not his best. It was produced for the first time in Florence and at the end the enthusiastic yet undiscriminating audience went into quite unwarranted raptures and cheered the composer. The cheers echoed down the halls of the theatre. But Verdi paid little heed.
He had eyes for only one man. He looked to the box where this one man sat. All the plaudits of the crowd would not compensate for the lack of this man's approval. The man was Rossini and he was not smiling.
Much is wrong with our society. We can all make a list; broken homes, the increase in violence and dishonesty, the lack of integrity in public life, the slow slide of the church into adopting the ways of the world, the decay of sexual morality. Who is willing to be the watchman who sounds the alarm? Who will call us back to God in repentance? It will not be a popular task.
This Advent we salute the forerunner who prepared the way by challenging the people's sins. He was not after the popular vote. He had eyes only for God. Are we ready to share his work and mission?

Christmas Means Hope
Senator John McCain spent 5 and a half years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam in the 1960s. During that time, he was frequently tortured or held in solitary confinement. He reports that his lowest point came on Christmas Eve 1969. McCain was giving up hope of ever getting out of Vietnam alive. To compound his homesickness, the captors played the song "I'll Be Home for Christmas" over the PA system.
Just then, McCain heard tapping on his cell wall. This was the communication code the POWs used to communicate with one another. On the other side of the wall was Ernie Bruce, a Marine who had been imprisoned for four years already. In spite of his dire situation, Bruce was tapping out, "We'll all be home for Christmas. God bless America." These simple words of comfort restored John McCain's hope. The message of Christmas is always one of hope. This world needs saving, but God began that process of salvation two thousand years ago with the birth of a babe in Bethlehem. There's something about Christmas that elevates us. Christmas is about hope of a better world to come.


Top Ten Things Wives Don't Want to Hear Their Husbands Say on Christmas Day
10. "You like it, hon? Almost look like real diamonds, don't they?"
9. "That cheese ball was for later?"
8. "I never imagined a deep-fried turkey would flame up like that."
7. "Timmy, why is Mommy's present hissing?"
6. "It's the thought that counts, right?"
5. "Hey, the game's about to start!"
4. "That's right, hon. Your own subscription to "Guns & Ammo."
3. "Wow, thanks, Uncle Ted. Bagpipes!"
2. "It's two sizes smaller, darling- - you know, for motivation."
1. "Well, if it isn't Roy and Angela and their seven kids - - with suitcases! What a pleasant surprise!"

"The glory that goes with wealth is fleeting and fragile; virtue is a possession glorious and eternal." -- Sallust

"Example moves the world more than doctrine." -- Henry Miller

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas." -- Calvin Coolidge

"This is Christmas: not the tinsel, not the giving and receiving, not even the carols, but the humble heart that receives anew the wondrous gift, the Christ." ~~-- Frank McKibben

"The message of Christmas is not about the proclamation of a holiday or the declaration of a season. It is about the proclamation of a Person and the declaration of Salvation. The birth of the child in the manger was an event that prophets had written about, the people of Israel had spoken about, the patriarchs of old had wondered about, and the angels of God shouted about on that glorious night when Christ was born." -- Roy Lessin,

December 6

Don´t tell God how Big your storm is. Tell the storm how Big your God is!

The U.S. deficit set a record this year: $1.4 trillion. We’re teenagers when it comes to money. We want China to drop us off at the mall with a credit card and come back at 8 o’clock.
The dollar continues to fall. A lot of countries aren't even accepting dollars anymore. I don’t want to say that Geithner is not doing a good job, but today God asked for his name to be taken off the dollar.
Billy Graham, who has often played the 20th century role of John the Baptizer, had these comments about the disease running rampant in our world: "We're suffering from only one disease in the world. Our basic problem is not a race problem. Our basic problem is not a poverty problem. Our basic problem is not a war problem. Our basic problem is a heart problem. We need to get the heart changed, the heart transformed."
"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance." - Cicero - 55 BC

Competitive Britons send nativity costs soaring: LONDON (Reuters) – Gone are the days of shepherds in tea towels and tinsel-clad angels. Britain's competitive parents are forking out on luxury pashmina shawls and velour dressing gowns to make their child the star of the annual nativity play.
The rise in so-called "manger chic" has seen parents spend up to 150 pounds ($250) on arctic fur throws for children cast as sheep and ivory bridesmaid dresses for angels, according to department stores group Debenhams.
"The amount of money that some parents want to spend on their child's nativity play appearance would enable Baby Jesus to leave the stable and check into a five star hotel," said spokesman Ed Watson.
"Plastic" Red Kettles
This year, the Salvation Army will again be testing kettles that take debit and credit cards. The growth of so-called "plastic kettles" comes as fewer shoppers are carrying cash. Last year, Dallas and Colorado Springs tested the credit machines, and this year they will be tested in 30 cities. In Colorado Springs, fundraising last year went up $64,000 from the year before — an 11 percent increase. About $5,000 of the increase was from credit or debit cards at the kettles.

AVOID parking tickets by leaving your windshield wipers turned to 'fast wipe' whenever you leave your car parked illegally.


Live simply that others may simply live.

MAN MADE GLOBAL WARMING "The mass of the earths atmosphere is 5 quadrillion metric tons. Let`s put that into perspective: That`s5,000,000,000,000,000,00 0 TONS of water vapor and gas. That might as well be infinity as far as man is concerned. Of that amount only 0.038% is CO2 which you can call ZERO POINT ZERO. Getting the picture here? Why this man made global warming hoax EVER got legs is something I`ll never understand in a? billion years, or make that 5 quadrillion years."

A hat was passed around a church congregation to take up an offering for the visiting preacher. Presently it was returned to him: embarrassingly empty.
Slowly the parson inverted the hat and shook it meaningfully. Then raising his eyes heavenward, he exclaimed, "I thank you, Lord, that I got my hat back from this congregation."
"The world takes its notions of God from the people who say that they belong to God's family. They read us a great deal more than they read the Bible. They see us; they only hear about Jesus Christ." - Alexander Maclaren

George Frideric Handel literally locked himself in a room in his London home for 24 straight days while writing his incomparable oratorio, Messiah. That was his all-consuming objective. When the great musician emerged after more than three weeks of scarcely eating or sleeping, the entire work was done.
I love that story . . . and not just because the inspiring arias and choruses of Messiah are among my favorite pieces of Christmas music. I’m in awe of Handel’s dedication to finishing the task at hand. It became his magnificent obsession.
"My children will not remember the words of wisdom I've passed along over the years, nor will yours remember the good advice you've given. However, etched in their minds and planted in their hearts is a permanent picture of who you are and how you've lived before them." - Dorothy Kelley
A new survey by Rasmussen Reports shows that 69 percent of Americans prefer "Merry Christmas" to "Happy Holidays." -

It seems fitting that our Savior was born in a messy place, a barn, with stinky animals all around. At the very beginning of the story, we understand how much he humbled himself. God became man. He became man and hung out with sinners. He ate with them and the “church leaders” scoffed. “What’s he doing?” they asked. Then they killed him so his blood could save the “dirty” and “damned.” It’s not the healthy who need a doctor. It’s the sick. Be like Jesus. Spend time with sinners. Bring them the good news.

Junk emails are still clogging up Inboxes, with spam accounting for 89.73 per cent of all email traffic, new figures claim.
JOY 11
TOY DISCLAIMERS
Warning: This fad will disappear in 6 weeks.
Caution: Care Bears do not actually care very much.
Warning: This toy produces substantially less childish glee in real life than it does in the TV commercial.
No beanies or babies harmed in the manufacture of this product.
Some dismemberment may occur.
In case of breakage, scream until Dad buys a replacement.
Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously.
Use as an actual terrorist device not recommended.
Do not attempt to combine your Ultra Mega Warrior with your cat to make Ultra Mega Cat Warrior.
Some assimilation required. Resistance is futile.

Personal wealth is distributed so unevenly across the world that the richest two per cent of adults own more than 50 per cent of the world’s assets while the poorest half hold only 1 per cent of wealth.
A survey released on Tuesday shows that middle-income countries with high growth rates still have a long way to go before they have a hope of catching up with the levels of prosperity of the richest.
Adults with more than $2,200 of assets were in the top half of the global wealth league table, while those with more than $61,000 were in the top 10 per cent, according to the data from the World Institute fpr Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UNU-Wider).
To belong to the top 1 per cent of the world’s wealthiest adults you would need more than $500,000, something that 37m adults have achieved.
So much of the world’s wealth is concentrated in few hands that if all the world’s wealth was distributed evenly, each person would have $20,500 of assets to use.
Almost 90 per cent of the world’s wealth is held in North America, Europe and high-income Asian and Pacific countries, such as Japan and Australia.
While North America has 6 per cent of the world’s adult population, it accounts for 34 per cent of household wealth.
The concentration of wealth in different countries varies considerably, with the top 10 per cent in the US holding 70 per cent of the country’s wealth, compared with 61 per cent in France, 56 per cent in the UK, 44 per cent in Germany and 39 per cent in Japan.

One Sunday evening, I overheard my five-year-old daughter, Julie, practicing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," a song she'd been rehearsing that morning in church for next week's Christmas program. It was all I could do to suppress my laughter when, in place of "with angelic host proclaim," Julie sang, "with the jelly toast proclaim."

"Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments." -- Rose Kennedy

"My life as a writer consists of 1/8 talent and 7/8 discipline." -- John Irving


The vigor or your spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Savior:
Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master.
Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher.
Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer.
Had no army, yet kings feared Him.
He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.
He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.
He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.
Feel honored to serve such a Leader who loves us.

In a survey, 71 percent of Christians admitted that their "understanding of faith was fundamentally shaped by childhood religious experiences." Yet, only 48 percent see it as their responsibility as Christians to share their faith with children. At the same time, 71 percent said they like seeing a child understand how the Bible relates to daily life and 69 percent said they want to be part of a child's spiritual development.

"Young people view more than 20,000 ads per year on television alone and increasingly are being exposed to advertising on the Internet, in magazines and in schools. "These ads influence kids to demand poor food choices, and to think drinking is cool, sex is a recreational activity and anorexia is fashionable."

Americans in Deep Debt For the first time in history, most Americans owe more than they make in a year, according to research conducted by the Center for American Progress. The increase has occurred steadily over the last ten years, and now most families owe 129 percent of their after-tax income. It has also been found that 97.5 percent of Americans are no longer able to retire at a normal age due to lack of means.


"Just as iron rusts from disuse, even so does inaction spoil the intellect." -- Leonardo da Vinci

November 29

The feast of Christmas touches our hearts and makes us dreams because first of all, it's a celebration of God's homecoming. This is the wild wonderful message for Christmas: God abandons heaven and comes to us to be at home with us where life is never perfect where people are often hurting and fearful, where even the most cherished rituals become empty at times. God comes to us in the most unexpected ways, in the most unexpected people, in the most unexpected places… Robert Rimbo

God Is like DIAL SOAP Aren't you glad you have Him? Don't you wish everybody did?

"Red meat is NOT bad for you. Now blue-green meat... THAT'S bad for you!" - Tommy Smothers

"Pain is often the pathway to maturity. Unfortunately we want the product without the process." - Rick Warren


If we had to tolerate in others all that we permit in ourselves, life would become completely unbearable. Georges Courteline

There should be a solemn pause before we rush to judgment. Thomas Erskine

Luther on Signs of Christ's Coming
I do not wish to force any one to believe as I do; neither will I permit anyone to deny me the right to believe that the last day is near at hand. These words and signs of Christ compel me to believe that such is the case. For the history of the centuries that have passed since the birth of Christ nowhere reveals conditions like those of the present. There has never been such building and planting in the world. There has never been such gluttonous and varied eating and drinking as now. Wearing apparel has reached its limit in costliness. Who has ever heard of such commerce as now encircles the earth? There have arisen all kinds of art and sculpture, embroidery and engraving, the like of which has not been seen during the whole Christian era.
In addition men are so delving into the mysteries of things that today a boy of twenty knows more than twenty doctors formerly knew. There is such a knowledge of languages and all manner of wisdom that it must be confessed, the world has reached such great heights in the things that pertain to the body, or as Christ calls them, "cares of life", eating, drinking, building, planting, buying, selling, marrying and giving in marriage, that every one must see and say either ruin or a change must come. It is hard to see how a change can come. Day after day dawns and the same conditions remain. There was never such keenness, understanding and judgment among Christians in bodily and temporal things as now - I forbear to speak of the new inventions, printing, fire-arms, and other implements of war...This compels me to believe that Christ will soon come to judgment...it must soon break in upon them. Martin Luther, Sermon on Luke 21:25-36: The Signs of the Day of Judgment

• Worst and Best States for Unemployment
Thirteen states and Washington, D.C., now have unemployment rates higher than the national rate of 10.2 percent. The 10 states with the highest unemployment rates, by percentage, are: Michigan (15.1), Nevada (13.0), Rhode Island (12.9), California (12.5), South Carolina (12.1), South Carolina (12.1), Oregon (11.3), Florida (11.2), Illinois (11.0) and North Carolina (11.0). The 10 states with the lowest unemployment rate, by percentage, are: North Dakota (4.2), Nebraska (4.9), South Dakota (5.0), Montana (6.4), Vermont (6.5), Utah (6.5), Virginia (6.6), Iowa (6.7), New Hampshire (6.8) and Kansas (6.8). [ABCNews.go.com]

The average American eats 17.6 pounds of turkey per year, more than double the figure for 1970, according to the National Turkey Federation. To feed the growing appetite, some 273 million turkeys will be raised in the United States in 2009, and a good number of them will be consumed on Thanksgiving

“The pastor’s calling is not to entertain the goats but to feed the sheep.” (Raymond Barber)

He who works the oars seldom rocks the boat.

No one ever graduates from Bible Study until he meets the Author face to face. (Everett T Harris)


I exercise seven times a week. I tie my shoes every day.

My wife is broad-minded. She thinks there are two sides to every story -- her’s and her mother’s.

Here is a version of the 23rd Psalm that ought to be mandatory reading each day of Advent, and a unison reading each Advent Sunday.
The lord is my pace setter . . . I shall not rush
He makes me stop for quiet intervals
He provides me with images of stillness which restore my serenity
He leads me in the way of efficiency through calmness of mind and his guidance is peace
Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day, I will not fret, for his presence is here
His timelessness, his all importance will keep me in balance
He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity by anointing my mind with his oils of tranquility
My cup of joyous energy overflows
Truly harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits of my hours for I shall walk in the Pace of my Lord and dwell in his house for ever. --A version of Psalm 23 from Japan, as reprinted in Mother Teresa,

Fellow Passengers to the Grave
"I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come around, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys..." Charles Dickens

In the Peanuts comic strip, Linus and Lucy are standing at the window looking out at the rain falling. Lucy says to Linus, "Boy, look at it rain...What if it floods the earth?" Linus, the resident biblical scholar for the Peanuts, answers, "It will never do that...in the ninth chapter of Genesis, God promised Noah that would never happen again, and the sign of the promise is the rainbow." With a smile on her face, Lucy replies, "Linus, you've taken a great load off my mind." To which Linus responds, "Sound theology has a way of doing that." Charles Schultz

Pastor James F. Kay puts it this way, "If the Gospel is good news, it is not because it predicts a bright, shiny future based on our morality or piety. The Gospel is neither a cocoon that insulates us from the sufferings of this present age nor a pair of ear plugs that shuts out the groaning of creation....The Gospel is Good News, not because it predicts a future based on our good behavior or other present trends; the Gospel is Good News because it promises a future based on God's faithfulness to Jesus Christ."

"No one gets an exemption from hardship on planet earth. How we receive it hinges on whether we believe in an alternate reality that transcends the one we know so well. The Bible never minimizes hardship or unfairness - witness books like Job, Psalms, and Lamentations. It simply asks us to withhold final judgment until all the evidence is in." - Phillip Yancey, Rumors of Another World (Zondervan, 2003)



Americans spend six hours a week doing various types of shopping, and they go to shopping centers on average once a week - more often than they go to church or synagogue. Some 93 percent of American teenage girls surveyed in 1987 deemed shopping their favorite pastime. The 32,563 shopping centers in the country surpassed high schools in number in 1987. Just from 1986 to 1989, total retail space in these centers grew by 65 million square meters, or 20 percent. Shopping centers now garner 55 percent of retail sales in the United States, compared with 16 percent in France and 4 percent in Spain.

When Everything Becomes "Merely"
Virginia Owens in her book, And The Trees Clap Their Hands, suggests that we lose the wonder of it all, because along the way everything becomes "merely." Things are "merely" stars, sunset, rain, flowers, and mountains. Their connection with God's creation is lost. During this Advent season many things are just "merely." It becomes "merely" Bethlehem, a stable, a birth -- we have no feeling of wonder or mystery. That is what familiarity can do to us over the years.
Owens goes on to say that it is this "merely" quality of things that leads to crime. It is "merely" a thing -- I'll take it. It is "merely" an object -- I'll destroy it. It is this "merely" quality of things and life that leads to war. We shall lose "merely" a few thousand men, but it will be worth it. Within the Advent narrative nothing is "merely." Things are not "merely" things, but are part of God's grand design. Common things, such as motherhood, a birth, a child, now have new meaning. This is not "merely" the world, but a world that is charged with the beauty and grandeur of God's design. It is a world so loved by God that God gave his only Son. What is so great about the Advent season is that everything appears charged with the beauty and grandeur of God. God's Downward Mobility, John A. Stroman

Exchanging Our Eschatological Heritage
Neill Hamilton, who taught at Drew University for many years, once observed how people in our time lose hope for the future. It happens whenever we let our culture call the shots on how the world is going to end. At this stage of technological advancement, the only way the culture can make sense of the future is through the picture of everything blowing up in a nuclear holocaust. The world cannot know what we know, that everything has changed in the death and resurrection of Jesus, that the same Christ is coming to judge the world and give birth to a new creation. And so, people lose hope. As Hamilton puts it: This substitution of an image of nuclear holocaust for the coming of Christ is a parable of what happens to Christians when they cease to believe in their own eschatological heritage. The culture supplies its own images for the end when we default by ceasing to believe in biblical images of God's triumph at the end.
The good news of the gospel is this: when all is said and done, God is going to win.

Second Coming and Faithfulness
During his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy often closed his speeches with the story of Colonel Davenport, the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives: On May 19th, 1780 the sky of Hartford darkened ominously, and some of the representatives, glancing out the windows, feared the end was at hand. Quelling a clamor for immediate adjournment, Davenport rose and said, "The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish that candles be brought." Rather than fearing what is to come, we are to be faithful till Christ returns. Instead of fearing the dark, we're to be lights as we watch and wait. Harry Heintz.


Princeton preacher James F. Kay puts it this way, “If the Gospel is good news, it is not because it predicts a bright, shiny future based on our morality or piety. The Gospel is neither a cocoon that insulates us from the sufferings of this present age nor a pair of ear plugs that shuts out the groaning of creation....The Gospel is Good News, not because it predicts a future based on our good behavior or other present trends; the Gospel is Good News because it promises a future based on God’s faithfulness to Jesus Christ.” (The Seasons of Grace, Eerdmann, 1995, p. 7). James F. Kay, quoted by William Willimon, “Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending”

Women will spend more than eight years of their lives shopping, says a study.
While keeping their families fed and clothed -and indulging in a little retail therapy - the average woman will shop for an astonishing 25,184 hours and 53 minutes over a period of 63 years.
If the average expedition lasted the length of a full working day - from 9am to 5pm - that would be 3,148 days trudging around the shops, or just over eight-and-a-half years.
The poll of 3,000 women, conducted by GE Money, revealed they make an average of 301 shopping trips per year, lasting a total of 399 hours and 46 minutes.
Food shopping can take more than an hour to complete each time. With an average of 84 trips to stock the pantry over a year, that is 94 hours and 55 minutes in the supermarket.
Women also dedicate 90 trips a year to keeping up their appearances - shopping for clothes 30 times, shoes 15 times, accessories 18 times and toiletries 27 times.
A total of 100 hours and 48 minutes is spent hunting for the latest clothing bargains and fashion statements. A further 40 hours and 30 minutes is spent shopping for footwear, and 29 hours and 31 minutes looking for accessories such as handbags, jewellery and scarves. Even shopping for more mundane items such as deodorant, shower gel and razors takes women around 17 hours and 33 minutes over one year. A further 19 trips, or 36 hours and 17 minutes, are used to buy gifts for friends and family.
The poll also showed women will go window shopping 51 times a year, spending 48 hours and 51 minutes just looking for their next purchase.

November 22

F + 0 = E. L.
Faith plus nothing equals Eternal Life - Jere Briggs


God does not always change circumstances, but he may often change us.
Question: So How Do I Live As A Child of the King.. it’s a complex question? Perhaps this quote by Mother Teresa says it best:
“By blood and origin, I am all Albanian. My citizenship is Indian. I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the whole world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to Jesus.”

If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain

"When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced courses of action you should take -- choose the bolder." -- William Joseph Slim

"Someone once asked me what I want on my epitaph when I pass away. Just the words - 'I tried.' That's what this game of life is all about. Trying. There's the tryers, the criers, and the liars." -- Mickey Rooney

"Always be yourself because the people that matter don't mind, and the ones who mind, don't matter."

"The future belongs to the risk-takers, not the comfort-seekers." -- Brian Tracy

"My wife suggested a book for me to read to enhance our relationship. It's titled: 'Women are from Venus, Men are Wrong.'"

The strong forgive, the weak remember. -- Ecuadorian Proverb

Holiday Giving - According to new study results soon to be released from Harris Interactive®, more than three out of four U.S. adults would prefer to receive a meaningful gift this holiday season that would help someone else instead of a traditional gift like clothing or electronics. The study was commissioned by World Vision® among 1,001 adults from October 29 to November 1.
The new survey on charitable giving also concluded that nearly half of U.S. adults (49%) would be more likely to give a "charitable gift" as a holiday present this year. "That finding reveals our charitable culture at work," said Justin Greeves, senior vice president of public affairs and policy research at Harris Interactive.
Additionally, the study showed that, this year, around six out of ten adults (57%) said they will spend less money on holiday presents and almost three out of four (74%) plan to increase their charitable giving once the economy improves. [ChristianPost.com]


"Fear imprisons, Faith liberates;
Fear paralyzes, Faith empowers;
Fear disheartens, Faith encourages;
Fear sickens, Faith heals;
Fear makes useless, Faith makes serviceable;
And most of all, Fear puts hopelessness at the heart of life, while Faith rejoices in it's God." - Henry Emerson Fosdick

The awareness of being part of the communion of saints makes our hearts as wide as the world. The love with which we love is not just our love; it is the love of Jesus and his saints living in us. When the Spirit of Jesus lives in our hearts, all who have lived their lives in that Spirit live there too. Our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents; our teachers and their teachers; our pastors and their pastors; our spiritual guides and theirs - all the holy men and women who form that long line of love through history - are part of our hearts, where the Spirit of Jesus chooses to dwell.
The communion of saints is not just a network of connections between people. It is first and foremost the community of our hearts.

Judge Judy has a yearly salary of $7.8 million. The Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court has a yearly salary of $181, 400. - Forbes Mag

My busy mother sometimes accidentally left pots and pans on the stove with the burners on, so she resorted to posting this reminder on the kitchen door: "STOVE?"
My sister, back from college, noticed Mother's sign. Beneath it she taped her reply: "No -- DOOR! Trust me. I went to college."

"Man, despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and many accomplishments, owes the fact of his existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains."

"He who has begun has half done. Dare to be wise--begin!" - Horace

"I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent; curiosity, obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me to my ideas." - Albert Einstein

"The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs ... one step at a time."

"If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm." - Vince Lombard

How to tell if you're celebrating a Redneck Thanksgiving If...
- You've ever had Thanksgiving dinner on a Ping-Pong table.
- Thanksgiving dinner is squirrel and dumplings.
- You've ever re-used a paper plate.
- You have a complete set of salad bowls and they all say 'Cool Whip' on the side.
- You've ever used your ironing board as a buffet table.
- Your turkey platter is an old hub cap.
- Your only condiment on the dining room table is ketchup.
- Side dishes include beef jerky and Moon Pies.
- You consider pork and beans to be a gourmet food.
- You have an Elvis Jell-o mold.
- You serve Vienna Sausage as an appetizer.

Billy Graham and Oprah
A couple of years I watched Billy Graham being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey on television. Oprah told him that in her childhood home, she used to watch him preach on a little black and white TV while sitting on a linoleum floor.
She went on to the tell viewers that in his lifetime Billy has preached to twenty-million people around the world, not to mention the countless numbers who have heard him whenever his crusades are broadcast. When she asked if he got nervous before facing a crowd, Billy replied humbly, "No, I don't get nervous before crowds, but I did today before I was going to meet with you."
Oprah's show is broadcast to twenty-million people every day. She is comfortable with famous stars and celebrities but seemed in awe of Dr. Billy Graham.
When the interview ended, she told the audience, "You don't often see this on my show, but we're going to pray." Then she asked Billy to close in prayer. The camera panned the studio audience as they bowed their heads and closed their eyes just like in one of his crusades.
Oprah sang the first line from the song that is his hallmark "Just as I am, without a plea," misreading the line and singing off key, but her voice was full of emotion and almost cracked.
When Billy stood up after the show, instead of hugging her guest, Oprah's usual custom, she went over and just nestled against him. Billy wrapped his arm around her and pulled her under his shoulder. She stood in his fatherly embrace with a look of sheer contentment.
I once read the book "Nestle, Don't Wrestle" by Corrie Ten Boom. The power of nestling was evident on the TV screen that day. Billy Graham was not the least bit condemning, distant, nor hesitant to embrace a public personality who may not fit the evangelistic mold. His grace and courage are sometimes stunning.
In an interview with Hugh Downs, on the 20/20 program, the subject turned to homosexuality. Hugh looked directly at Billy and said, "If you had a homosexual child, would you love him?" Billy didn't miss a beat. He replied with sincerity and gentleness, "Why, I would love that one even more."
The title of Billy's autobiography, "Just As I Am," says it all. His life goes before him speaking as eloquently as that charming southern drawl for which he is known.
If, when I am eighty years old, my autobiography were to be titled "Just As I Am," I wonder how I would live now? Do I have the courage to be me? I'll never be a Billy Graham, the elegant man who draws people to the Lord through a simple one-point message, but I hope to be a person who is real and compassionate and who might draw people to nestle within God's embrace.
Do you make it a point to speak to a visitor or person who shows up alone at church, buy a hamburger for a homeless man, call your mother on Sunday afternoons, pick daisies with a little girl, or take a fatherless boy to a baseball game?
Did anyone ever tell you how beautiful you look when you're looking for what's beautiful in someone else?
Billy complimented Oprah when asked what he was most thankful for; he said, "Salvation given to us in Jesus Christ" then added, "and the way you have made people all over this country aware of the power of being grateful."
When asked his secret of love, being married fifty-four years to the same person, he said, "Ruth and I are happily incompatible."
How unexpected. We would all live more comfortably with everybody around us if we would find the strength in being grateful and happily incompatible.
Let's take the things that set us apart, that make us different, that cause us to disagree, and make them an occasion to compliment each other and be thankful for each other. Let us be big enough to be smaller than our neighbor, spouse, friends, and strangers.
Every day, may we Nestle, not Wrestle!