A Dark Christmas

I almost count it a blessing when the power fails - no TV blaring, no computer battles, children not glued to their gaming machines, yes power outages are mankind's friend.  I even remember a time when they knew how to read!

Christmas Day was an unfortunate time to have a power outage, but then again.....  So I thought you might like to see what happened on the other side of the lake from me:

Luckily, I make pasta salad for every Christmas Day.  The sour and lightness of the salad is a refreshing break from too much sugar and heavy meals.  So, we ate heartily and put on sweaters.

As for the mess?  Well, it is lucky that it is a 25mph speed zone or several cars could have been squished!  The trees were all cut up on the 26th and they reset the power poles on the 27th, so now it is line restringing for power, cable and telephone.  Naturally, with the northern lake road blocked, all traffic is being routed around to the south - where I live, but everywhere I have to go is to the north!  Yeah, freeways, church, stores, etc are all to the north.  Just a pain to put up with.....

Christmas n Gifts n Such

So how did your gift giving go this year?  Usually, I have presents for all in the family, pastors and close friends - as an average I spend about $3,000 and make quite a few as well.  But, not this year!  As my unemployed state continues to eat away at my resources that number has been greatly trimmed, by about 90%.  If the gift had to be mailed - you got a card.  If the gift was for non-family - you got jam, sweets or a painting by me.  For family it had to be small items I was able to pick up during the year.  So, in all, about $300 total.

Of course, everyone understood, except for son whom threw a tempter tantrum and sat in his room in the dark for about 9 hours.  Nothing like an "adult" throwing a temper tantrum to really make your day.  Nothing like Gaelic Girl making excuses for him to really piss me off big time.  She will make every excuse in the book for him to account for his poor behavior - but God help any of my daughters if they run afoul the GG!

My best gift had to be a copy of the Syriac Pishetta, which has been carefully restored from what we now have of the ancient texts, Latin additions removed, etc.  Very interesting work and also from the standpoint that what I have been writing on for next year's blogs and covered in detail - so I was not only to find that I was 99% in my understanding on the subject but also a few more chewy pieces I had not thought on before.  God's timing I guess.  You can expect the first week of the New Year blogs to really be offensive to almost everyone now!
:^)

This work, Aramaic English New Testament is not released yet, but will shortly be available:
Netzari Press
ISBN 978-1-934916-70-4 (1-934916-70-6)

I have never seen an ISBN with additional numbers in parenthesis before, so not real sure what it means.

I would give this work an A+ for being interesting and making you think in order to figure out the differences between the Aramaic and the Greek texts we are so familiar with.  About half of the work is explanations of differences between the Greek and Aramaic.  Some of the comparisons are humorous and others thoughtful, as you realize the struggle the Greek translators went through to take a pictorial language and make it fit a Greek logic sequence.

Will your faith be affected by reading this work and incorporating it into you faith?  Not really, if it does then you are either turning into a legalistic defeated believer or someone like Peter - torn between Judaism and Christianity (I believe Paul called him a hypocrite.....).  It might however help you walk that fine line between living your faith and being compromised out of it by this western culture which has watered down our belief set.

So, I need to get a move on.  Cousin destroyed his computer over the holiday and get to try and figure out what it was he did.....

Movies At Christmas

At the theater, the Christmas Holiday viewing season is second only to the summer - in its ability to suck (mostly youthful) viewers in for massive spending on movies and condiments.  (and I only figured this out - that I am not longer part of their demographic!)  But, that is only part of it.  How about all of those movie rental opportunities, TV and cable showings as well?

So, it is now Christmas Eve, the kids are snuggled in their beds and it is present wrapping time.  What is more normal than watching a good Christmas flick while you are busy cutting parts of you pants off which the wrapping paper was laying across, cursing at the tape dispenser and of course - cutting the paper too small (even when measured!) to go all of the way around a present?  No, I am not talking Miracle on 34th Street (though very cute) or Its A Wonderful Life (where you have to not be a literalist in order to appreciate this movie!).

Gaelic Girl, now she likes to watch the Die Hard series while wrapping presents.  Here in small town USA, when I brought up this question, several of the church women's first choice was Jurasic Park!  OMG!  Somehow the female savage package wrapping is soothed through watching dinosaurs munch their way through a movie?!?!?!?!?  (Maybe they are more interesting than I thought!)

For me, it has to be Donovan's Reef.  John Wayne, Lee Marvin in his prime, and what was Caesar Romero doing in there?  But, it is comedy and a romantic one at that!  It soothes my inner romantic.  Then I can watch Jurassic Park!  LOL!!!

So, as usual, it was Donovan's Reef.  But, I still had more presents to do, so I clicked on the boob-tube and my favorite film of all time was just starting - and I have not seen it in over 40 years!

"For Heaven's Sake", is the story of two angels whom are trying to get a couple to have a baby because the soul of their waiting child is growing older and there is concern in heaven.  Robert Cummings is one of my favorite actors, but Clifton Webb stole the movie - he was magnificent.  Joan Blondell, a family friend I only knew in her later years, was just a blonde bombshell - fulfilling the requirement for a 1950/60's movie to have one.  Not her best work.

Heartwarming story, simple plot, just a feel good movie.  So, why do I care one way or the other about this movie?  Clifton Webb.  Apparently, he could play the harp - for real - and he did so several times.  Outside of this movie I have never seen a harp used to play some boogie-woogie - I was impressed.  And 40 years later as I watched this film again, I was amazed to find I still found the story good, the acting good, the harp awesome, the humor still brought a snicker.  And, it was good to see 'Aunt' Joan, a compatriot of my great-aunt again.  She has been gone now 32 years and with her went one of the funnier people I have known.

It was just a plain great night.....

:^)

Blessed

One of my few joys, from my old life (aka before the 1996 crushing of my car)) is to host a Christmas Eve dinner.  I love cooking, I love making candies and the kids have all dug in and helped every year make it special.  Sometimes, I wear out and one of the daughters will take over in order to make it all happen.  The kids all do the decorating and over due it every year!  (note no mention of my son and being helpful in the same sentence!)

This year my plan was simple: family only.  But, it would seem God had other plans.  First exception was New Daughter, whom I now needed to include - no biggie.  But, then the guy (whose daughter her age recently died and she has continued staying with after her mother had to go to the other daughter) wanted to come.  Okay.  But, then one of the families I have grown close to - just had twins, just moved, he was laid off on Monday!, then his mother died Tuesday - so that was the end of Christmas for them.  Of course, I invited them!  Then new mother's, mother came up to care for the kids while the parents were off at the funeral Friday in eastern Washington and now she is coming too.  I am counting on my fingers and going, "Oh my!"  Then add a even younger family, whom are struggling mightily in their marriage, new from Mexico, no friends locally, etc. and of course they need to be included as well.  Throw in the Swede, just out of the hospital on Thursday, but he is extended family anyway.

From five of us to now fourteen adults, six kids and two babies!

Yes-sir-ee, a challenge!

So how does all of this equal "Blessed"?  Because, God engineered an evening I would not have attempted - but thoroughly enjoyed.  It was sort of like old times.  But, the greatest blessing I will post about tomorrow.....

Musical Saturday Morning

I was surprised to see I had not re-posted this from the old blog.  Of course, I have a funny thought to go with this.

One of the girls at church asked, "Whom did Last Christmas?"

I instantly replied, "George Michaels and WHAM!"

Another teen interjected, while giving me that famous stupid look of disgust, "Taylor Swift was the one whom wrote it."

The natural reply, "Taylor Swift was not even born when George Michael recorded that song...."

Of course, more evil eyes coming my way.....

 

Merry Christmas dear reader and fellow bloggers.  May you remember the reason for the season.....

Taking a STAND

In spite of our 'liberal' and 'diversity' loving culture, when you see Jesus' Critics Converging - you need to take a STAND.

Back to John 9:8-34.  Was the blind man's cure worse than his disease?  His troubles began with his healing!  Seems even when the miraculous occurs we still do not get to live happily ever after!  Consider this:

See trouble coming.  When you dedicate yourself to Christ, expect problems with the world.
Matthew 16:24 - take up your cross
Luke 22:36 - buy a sword

Take a history lesson.  When you are criticized, realize that it is not about you, it is about whom God is!  Jesus was hounded over healing on the Sabbath, "who's your daddy", etc.  The blind man was "arrested" and forced to account for his own healing!

Anticipate push back.  The blind man was "brought" in for interrogation - there was no joy over his healing.  Critics want to discredit Jesus - and use you to do it!  The now healed man learns that the Pharisees are not his friends.....

Note, even those closest to you will step farther away from you!  "Fear of the Jews, lest he be thrown out of the synagog" !  Even the blind man's own parents did not stand up for him when questioned!  Jesus was a threat to the Pharisees, so anyone supporting him was thrown out!  Kris' Weakest Link Theory in action and in the Bible!

Dare to tell your own story.  You must be able to witness your own story, not someone else's!  Be prepared to tell your truth of Jesus in your life.  You are not expected to know everything, just what you do know.  All the blind man knew: "I was blind and now I see....".

"And they threw him out of the synagog...."  Which meant he was stripped of his Jewishness and declared a Gentile - to be considered dead by both family and friends.  But, then again, he did find the Messiah.

Christmas is for Real People

Christmas is for real people, just like each of us!  Have you ever considered just how much like each of us Jesus really was?  Well, break out your Bible and let us read Matthew 1:1-17.

There are broken people on Jesus' family tree!  As you read through this list of 42 generational names, perhaps more than a few rung a bell with you.  Some of those in Jesus ancestry NEVER sought God at all!  All of them were sinners.  Some did a few things right, some of the time.  An awful lot like people I know!

Shocking Grandmothers point to God's grace!  When checking out that list of names did you notice that there are only four women mentioned in Jesus' genealogy?  Jerry Springer has not much on these women:
Tamar: Genesis 38, a Canaanite whom seduced her father-in-law to get pregnant
Rahab: Joshua 2 and 6, was a Canaanite prostitute.
Ruth: was a Moabite, descended from Lot's indiscretion.
Bathsheba: David's adulteress, whose husband he killed.

But, before condemning any of them, let us remember that according to I Corinthians 6:9-11, we are all adulterers - that God reaches out to.

The Church is full of sinners, some saved by grace, some still needing to find that grace.  We are all broken, to be transformed by Jesus into something useful to God.

Rejoice!