Category Archives: Spiritual

Xmas = Christmas

When I was growing up, I heard many people saying that shortening “Christmas” to “Xmas” was wrong because it took the Christ out of Christmas. Of course, I never ever referred to it as “Xmas” after that.

Now that I am older and and have taken Koine Greek for two years, I am able to say with satisfaction that Xmas does not take the Christ out of Christmas

In Greek the symbal for the “ch”  sound is “chi,” which happens to look like an “x.” The Greek word for Christ is “Xristos,” which sounds like “Christos.” So technically the shortened “Xmas” does not take the Christ out of Christmas.

What to Give for Christmas in 2008

I realized several years ago that I don’t like going Christmas shopping and maybe not even birthday shopping. I would rather go out and buy something for someone just because I thought of them on a regular day. It makes them feel how special they truly are to you when you present them with a gift for no particular reason.

Forget gifts on their birthday and holidays. They get gifts from plenty of people on those days, and if you are consistently making sure they know how special they are to you, they are probably not going to be upset if you don’t get them something on “that special day.” (Seth Godin’s mom would agree on this point). However, I am sure at least some of them would appreciate a card (especially if you make it yourself) and/or a phone call on that day. Then you can give the money you saved by shopping out of season and spending it on the best gift ever.

According to The Advent Conspiracy, it would take $10 billion to supply the whole world with safe drinking water. Sound like a lot? It actually sounds like a very small amount when compared with the $450 billion Americans spend each year on Christmas purchases!

I did the math. $10 billion is only 2.2% of $450 billion. Do you think you could spend 2.2% less on Christmas purchases this year and give it to a worthy cause? That means buying $9.78 gifts instead of $10 ones; $19.56 gifts instead of $20 ones; $48.90 instead of $50 ones. It means giving less than a quarter for every $10 you spend on Christmas!

It would be easy to make this a family or group project. You can make up a chart for your family and/or church designating $.25 for every $2 spent for Christmas presents. It would be so easy to get children motivated to help out children in other countries. Just take the first step. Reach out to those who so desperately need it.

Thousands of people die yearly because of unsafe drinking water. Let’s give hope to those who could die next year and the year after that! Let’s give a quarter for every $10 spent this Christmas. Go to adventconspiracy.com for more details. If you would like to skip a few steps, click directly on this link to donate.

Stranded on an Uninhabited Island

I have discovered that every Christian has moments when they fail to note that God is in total control. A situation arises that is sometimes sudden and totally unexpected. It is during those times that it is tempting to complain and not allow God to shine. Fortunately on many of those occasions someone comes along who remembers that God is in control and reminds those who have seemingly forgotten.

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to be that person who remembered while Christian acquaintances were struggling. Unfortunately I passed up that opportunity.

It was 15 children ranging in age from 7 months to 12 years plus about 1-10 adults. This may sound like a fairy tale, but we had been dropped off by boat on a secluded beach. It is a great place to take your family or friends swimming because there is no one else around.

After we had been there about an hour, we started feeling rain drops. Shortly after that, we started hearing thunder, and eventually the lightning began. So, we pulled all the kids out of the water and wrapped them up to keep them warm. (In RI, when it gets cloudy on the beach, it also gets cold). We tried to call our boat man to have him pick us up, but we could not get him on the phone.

So, we sat crowded on a single blanket on the ground with everyone huddled together complaining about our situation. I would like to say that I spoke up to encourage everyone, and that we had a wonderful worshipful experience, despite the fact that we were wet and sitting on the beach vulnerable to the storm around us. Unfortunately, I cannot say that.

I thought about the fact that God would protect us from the storm. While God does not want us to do something dumb like sitting around on a wet beach in a thunderstorm expecting Him to deliver us from our own stupidity, He will protect us when we are stuck out in a situation that is beyond our control. He will not let anything happen to us until He is ready for it to happen.

If I had said all these things, the situation could have been totally different. We could have prayed for protection together as a group and then sang worshipful songs to God while stranded on a secluded beach in a thunderstorm!

I am very ashamed of myself for not speaking up. In fact, I am so ashamed that I don’t know how to put it into words.

The only way I know to get something positive from my fear of speaking up is to (hopefully) keep my readers from making the same mistake I did. When God lays something on your heart, listen and obey. It may make you feel dumb, it may sound stupid to your ears, and yes, your bold declaration could be rejected, but there is also a good chance that you can be an inspiration or a witness to others. It is worth the rejection of 10 people just to get one acceptance. Besides, who would you rather please: people or God?

It’s Time to Take a Stand!

I am sure many of you know about Motrin’s ad targeting baby wearing moms and portraying them in a negative way. If you haven’t heard anything of it, Susan at Marketing Roadmaps and Susie at babywearing.com give pretty good summaries.

This new ad really upset a lot of moms who wear their babies. I believe those moms had reason to be upset, and I am glad they spoke out and eventually convinced McNeal Consumer healthcare to take down the advertisement for Motrin (their product).

My goal today is not to bash Motrin any more. Instead, it is about the amazing influence of twitter and personal blogs.

I came across a twitter search today named #motrinmoms. Motrinmoms was a response from twittering and blogging moms across America, who are against the ad by Motrin. There were thousands of responses from Moms!

I was amazed at the response. Something happened that many Americans did not agree with, and through twitter and blogs, those Americans had the power to convince Motrin not only to remove the ad from their site, but to also remove it from all printed sources! What an impact!! Do you get the full meaning of that?

As an American and as a child of God, I am not happy about some of the things going on in America. I am sure Christians across America are not happy about some things in our country, whether it be the content on television and internet or laws that are passed.

Correct me if I am wrong, but it appears that if Christians and moral people across America stood up and spoke out for or against those things they want to change, there is a possibility that they would be heard and that there there could be a lasting impression.

Of course the trick is to be prepared to spread what is going on. If someone twitters for a change you agree with or blogs against something that you also are against, twitter about it too! Blog about it. Don’t think you are being redundant by twittering or blogging about something that has already been addressed. You have a different audience! Get the word out to them that you are ready to stand up for what you believe in!! Maybe they’ll do the same!

I have mentioned it before, but I will say it again just in case some of you don’t know. I am a Christian. I do not agree with several things that are going on in our beloved nation (because they are not scriptural), and I am ready to speak out about it. What good does it do to sit back and complain about it to my friends and then go on with life like I don’t care? I have recently learned that it does no good whatsoever!

I am ready to speak up to both those who agree with me and those who don’t and lovingly say, “I don’t like it!” I don’t hate those who push the things I disagree with. I just want to lift up my voice to declare my thoughts, jus like they did, while I still have the right to speak up.

Parents Versus Big Brother

Today I received an email from the parentalrights.org blog about an issue that I had just barely been introduced to in the past. I was introduced to a threat to all parents across America that got my full attention and caused me to be afraid in a way that I have never feared in my life. This fear is caused by the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child. Please read the article. Please. Here is an excerpt.

Since its adoption by the United Nations in 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has become the most widely accepted international agreement in history, ratified by every nation of the world except for the United States and Somalia. All signatories pledge to protect children’s rights, foster their development, and uphold their best interests by re-writing their national laws to conform to the standards set forth in the treaty.

While all this may sound harmless and even commendable, the reality is that the Convention allows and even demands that national governments interfere in the decisions of individual families and parents. By invoking the “best interests of the child ,” policymakers and government agents have the authority to substitute their own decisions for those of the child or parent. In short, parents lose their rights to be parents, and become merely caregivers. The result, as parents across the globe are now discovering, is that the family is being steadily undermined, often with tragic and devastating results for the very children who are supposed to be protected.

Without research and/or understanding of what “The Rights of the Child” refers to, the idea sounds like a great one. Everyone wants their children to have rights. Unfortunately the idea that the United Nations is pushing allows parents to take care of the physical needs of their children but takes away any other influence that the parents may have on their children. The children are expected to learn what the UN approves of and nothing else (including morals)!

Parentalrights.org is taking it upon themselves to keep track of countries who have already accepted this proposal of the United Nations and post about it every 2 weeks. Please go to their site regularly or put their posts in your RSS feed. Also, go to the site of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights site and read the declaration for the Convention for the Rights of the Child. The second statement in Article 2 was most disturbing to me. It states that

States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child’s parents, legal guardians, or family members.

Read that again and think about it. Think hard about it. It says that parents have no influence on the thoughts, activities, opinions or beliefs of their children. Is that what you want for your children? It most definitely is not what I want for mine. According to “Imagine If…” by parental rights.org, the Unites States is only one of two countries that have not accepted this. If you disagree with the things written in “the Rights of the children” please do yourself and everyone around you a favor and do everything you can to discourage America’s agreement to it. You might want to start by signing a petition showing that you are against the interference of government on your right to parent your children. Then you might want to consider getting down on your knees and having a long talk with the Person most able to prevent this intrusion on our parental rights.

Update (1/3/09): I now know that this convention was signed by president Clinton but was stopped by congress. Now president Obama is planning to get it passed.  This is very urgent! Go here to do all you can to help.

Note: Although it was not my original intent when writing this post and it is a bit late, this post has a lot to do with the government. If Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings is willing, please consider this my submission for this month’s “What I Learned From” project.

Goal: To Be Hated

Today I learned who Gianna Jesson is, and I will never forget her. She is a young lady who has made it her goal to be hated (and for good reason). I would like to say more about her, but I think she does the job better herself.

Take the next 20 minutes to watch 2 videos that you will never forget. If you are tempted to skip out on the videos, please just watch a few minutes, and if you are not interested in continuing, you can turn it off. Please watch the videos.

After you watch the videos, if you want to know more, consider reading the book Gianna by Jessica Shaver. It might be a book worth investing in and sharing or putting in your local library. Also, here are a few links that have more information on Gianna.

Miscellaneous Monday 2008-10-27

I had a lot of short but interesting bits of news that I wanted to share. Because not everyone who reads my blog also follows me on twitter, I decided to put them all in one “miscellaneous” blog post. Maybe I can make this a Monday tradition. 🙂

Shopping

When I lived in Nashville, I shopped at Aldi’s, but when I moved to Rhode Island, I could not find one. Fortunately there was a similar store called Price Rite. Wal-Mart is usually my second choice for groceries. I have always wanted to do a price comparison between the two, but now I don’t have to. Someone else has done it for me. This comparison is between Aldi’s and Wal-Mart, but I am fairly certain that you would find almost identical results between Price Rite and Wal-Mart.

Quotable Quotes

Bethany: (after getting on a bus) “We sit in Fire Twuck.”

Peter: “You dripped a little terihocky sauce.”

Tabetha: “She’s got her curls toed.”

Candice: “Canna.” (Her name)

The Good News

Today Phillip understood the good news of Christ. Luke talked and prayed with him, and he asked Jesus into his heart! I am so glad!! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!! I get to see my little boy in Heaven!

Willfully Chosen

I just noticed tonight that my parents have been divorced for half my life! Weird! It seems like yesterday. I remember being so sure that they would get back together and be “the way they were.” I hung onto that hope until they both remarried. Now they have been apart for almost as long as they were together!

When Luke and I got married we discussed the issue of divorce and decided that we were together for life no matter what – no exception! And I believe it with all my heart. I am so glad we made that decision! Our kids will never have to go through the disappointment and heartbreak of discovering that their parents no longer want to be together.

Of course, the kids are not the only ones I am concerned about! It’s a great feeling for me too. I have no desire to have anything else whatsoever to do with divorce. And there is no feeling in the world like knowing that someone has willfully chosen to be committed to you no matter what. Maybe, just maybe, that is why God gave us a choice of whether or not to choose Him. There’s just nothing like being willfully chosen.

Let the Whole World Know!

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about Peter’s dislike of getting his ear’s wet and the fact that he had never voluntarily put his head under water. Well, on Sunday, August 10, he and Anna voluntarily put their heads under water for Jesus to let the whole world know what took place in each of their hearts when they were 5 years old! They got baptized! PRAISE THE LORD!

If it Makes Jesus Happy

Our church is going to have a baptism service soon. Since Peter became a Christian last year, he and I got into a conversation about whether he wants to be baptized at the service.

Peter has not liked having water in his eyes and/or ears since he was a baby. When he goes swimming, he comes out with a dry head because he would never choose to put his head under water. So, with that in mind, here is how our most recent baptism conversation went.

Peter: Mom, isn’t it almost the day for the baptism?

Me: Yes. Do you want to get baptized Sunday?

Peter: Yes! But Mom, do I really have to put my head under water?

Me (with demonstration): Yes. The pastor takes you under and then brings you right back up.

Peter: Was Jesus baptized?

Me: Yes

Peter: Does he want me to be baptized?

Me: I think that would make him very happy.

Peter: Well, if it will make Jesus happy, then I will do it.

The baptism was scheduled to be tomorrow, but since there are so many children in the church interested in being baptized, the pastor decided to do a class on Wednesday explaining what baptism is and why people get baptized. So, the baptism will be in 2 weeks. We are not sure if Peter will go through with it this time. We are not pushing him to do it before he is ready, but we do hope he will be baptized (and understand the meaning behind it) in the near future. 🙂