Some Christmas Reading

One of the ways to "Keep Christ In Christmas", as I blogged about, is to read some good Christmas books. Although I have many Christmas books, there are some I read more often than others. Here are some of my favorites. Some are classified as "children's books", but that doesn't stop me from enjoying them. :-)

1) Merry Christmas, With Love: Sandi Patty. I think this book has been out of print for a while, but is a great story, and has the most beautiful illustrations. It is at the top of my list. It is based on the song by the same name, recorded by Sandi Patty. A family brings Christmas to an embittered widow. Anyone who can get a hold of a copy, should. Though I found some of my Christmas books, this is one that is buried in my storage unit. It can still be purchased, used, on Amazon.

2) The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Tommey: "The serious woodcarver, Jonathan Toomey, is the best woodworker in the valley. He is always alone and never smiles. He keeps mementos of his lost wife and child in an unopened drawer. Then, early one winter's day, a widow and her young son approach him with a gentle request, which leads to a joyful miracle." For movie viewers, there is also a DVD available of the story.

3) King Of The Stable: Melody Carlson. Yet another "kids' book". This tells the story of Jesus' birth from the viewpoint of a stable boy.

4) Skipping Christmas: John Grisham. This isn't a religious Christmas book, but is a great story, and if you need a laugh, it will do it. A couple decides to "skip" Christmas since their daughter won't be home, and go on a cruise. They make everyone they know angry and "ruin" people's plans that intertwine with theirs, and then the daughter calls and is bringing home her boyfriend to see how they celebrate Christmas.

5) The Christmas Child: Max Lucado. "A lonely Chicago journalist returns to his small-town Texas birthplace on Christmas Eve. There his life is changed forever when he encounters an unusual manger scene . . . and a mysterious old man. Lucado's storytelling mastery weaves a touching holiday tale of love, faith, and forgiveness. Formerly titled The Christmas Cross" This is one of his "adult" books, and was recently made into a movie.

6) The Crippled Lamb: Max Lucado. "Joshua the Lamb is crippled, so the other animals leave him behind in the stable. His tears of loneliness turn to joy, however, when he realizes that because of his difference, he gets to be right there when Jesus is born! From the classic art to the surprise ending, this tender story will help all children see that God has a very special plan for their lives."

7) The Christmas Shoes: Donna Vanliere. Based on the tear-jerker of a song by the same title, this is a great Christmas story, though a sad one. There are 3 books following, but this is the best.

8) Christmas By The Hearth: A great Christmas collection. Contains stories by Bodie Thoene, O Henry, Gilbert Morris, and many more. I think it is out of print, but can be found on Amazon.

9) Treasury of Christmas Miracles: Karen Kingsbury. "A pilot whose plane is guided by a mysterious radio voice; a boy led out of the Oregon wilderness by two unusual strangers---miracles do happen, especially during the holidays when God's hand lovingly touches the world. Savor these and other real-life stories and let Kingsbury help you rediscover the spirit of the season!"

10) Christmas Stories For The Heart: Apparently out of print, but for sale on Amazon as cheap as one cent. Another great collection of Christmas stories, and perhaps my most-read Christmas book.

13 Ways To Ruin Your Life

I mentioned this book, 13 Ways To Ruin Your Life, a couple of blogs ago, and decided to blog about it this evening. I was on a Christian news site a few weeks ago, and they had a blurb about the book and author, Jarrod Jones. The book sounded worth checking out, and I found there is a free download of the book here. I downloaded it, and thought it was well worth the read - even if I had had to pay for it. By the way, the only catch to get the free download is you have to give email addresses and names of 2 friends, and they are sent an offer to download the book also.

The book is on sexual purity, and is geared more for men than women, though a woman could benefit from reading it also. The book isn't just a boring manual on what not to do, it is often humorous and has some really good advice. The whole book is based on the 7th chapter of Proverbs. The author covers sexual temptation & lust, pornography, and other areas. I won't go into a lot of detail, but will briefly mention each point, and comment on some of them. You can read the book if you want to know more. :-)

I personally think some of these could apply to any temptation or struggle we face, so even if you don't read the book, take the 13 ways with you. Each one is a chapter in the book.

1) Be unresolved - doesn't really need an explanation, but resolve or determination is more than half the battle

2) Flirt with temptation - too many of us do this. It can even go into non-sinful areas - if you don't have money to buy that car, don't go into the car sales lot. :-)

3) Feel you're in control - yet another point to be made about any sin. All too often, we think we can stop, that we are in control, but the opposite is true. We are controlled by our sin.

4) Believe no one will know - be sure your sin will find you out. Need I say more?

5) Take just one more look - actually could be one more anything - one more cigarette, one more lie.........

6) Act without thinking

7) Think you're the exception - think that though it has taken down others, that you can handle it, and it will be different

8) Learn by experience - I think all too many kids raised in the church go for this one. They think they have to experience sin, and will come back to the church after they sow their wild oats, but it doesn't usually go that way

9) Live in denial - problem? Me? You gotta be kidding!

10) Deny the obvious

11) Be Gullible

12) Make excuses

13) Get hardened to God's truth

Sexual temptation is every where. The internet, walking down the street. You can't get away from it. I think even people who think they have no problem, should read a book like this once in a while. I know the author hit me on a few points. He made an interesting point I will pass on - don't want to quote too much of the book and be guilty of plagiarizing. :-) He talked about a couple of godly men he personally knew who fell morally. In looking back, he remembered that these men had been a little too casual in talking about sexual matters, joking about it, etc, and wonders if that was a sign that he could have picked up on and warned them.

I think we all need to be more careful of how we talk, what we let our eyes and minds dwell on. Anyway, read the book. It will do you good.

A Frowning Ipod Is Not A Good Thing

My life as I have known it may never be the same. My Ipod seems to have bit the dust. It froze up this morning, so I tried to reset it, and believe it or not, up popped a small picture of an Ipod with a frown on its face - and I didn't even know my Ipod had a face or emotions!

I have gone through all of the things they tell me to do to fix it, and nothing is working. And if nothing works, the word on the street - or in this case, on the 'net - it is fried. Dead. History. Sigh. It was such a good Ipod. It was more than an Ipod, it was my friend. I probably took advantage of it, not knowing that it had emotions and feelings. How I wish I could turn that little frown into a smile! It never smiled at me. The first emotion my Ipod shows, and it is a frown. What does that say about our relationship?! Is there any hope that I can bring it back? Get rid of that frown?

There is a bright side. It is possible that it can be fixed, though that could cost more than a new one would. The other is, I have some kind of warranty - either on the whole Ipod, or on the battery - I don't remember, and the warranty is in the black hole that is my storage unit. If worst comes to worst, and the warranty covers it - I'd better whisper this: I might be able to just get a new Ipod!

OK, if you know me very well, you hopefully know I have been joking. Yes, my Ipod is most likely gone, and yes, it has a small Ipod with a frown, like pictured above. I am bummed out and unhappy about it, but it hasn't ruined my life. Yet. :-)

Well, I'd better run. My computer is giving me a dirty look. I think it needs some one on one time with me, and here I am blogging and ignoring it..............

Soda Pop Santa & The Bride's Tree

Among my favorite reading material are books called Uncle John's Bathroom Readers. I think the title is self-explanatory. :-) The books are quite entertaining, and I have collected quite a few of them. They even have a Christmas Collection Bathroom Reader, which I have been reading lately. Here are some trivia you may or may not know:

One of the more interesting things I ran into, is why Santa Claus wears red. It wasn't always the case. As the United States picked up on the tradition of Santa Claus, he was always pictured wearing black & white, not red & white. That changed in 1931. Coca Cola wanted to run an ad featuring a Coca Cola drinking Santa, so they had the artist draw him in their colors: red & white. That stuck, and ever since, Santa has worn red and white, all because of the Coca Cola company. :-)

There are also some jokes in this book:

What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus? Claustrophobic

Why is getting Christmas presents for your kids like a day at the office? You do all the work, and the fat guy in the suit gets all the credit

What happens if you eat the Christmas decorations? You get tinselitis

What happens to you at Christmas? Yule be happy!

OK, those were pretty bad. :-)

If you received all of the gifts mentioned in the 12 Days of Christmas, you would have 364 gifts.

An estimated 25-30 million live Christmas trees are sold every Christmas in the US.

Franklin Pierce was the first president to have a decorated Christmas tree in the White House. (and George W Bush will probably be the last...................)

Amusing quote: Santa has the right idea. Visit people once a year. (Victor Borge)

According to statistics, one in five people leave their Christmas shopping until the last week.

A disc jockey was fired for playing a Christmas song too many times in a row. The song was "Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer - 27 times. It wasn't his fault - each repeat was a request.

And lastly, the "Bride's Tree", a Bulgarian custom. According to the custom, there are 12 special molded ornaments that newlyweds need to hang on their tree. Each ornament reminds them of what is necessary for a successful relationship. They are:

1) Angel (God's guidance)
2) Bird (Joy)
3) Fish (Christ's Blessing)
4) Flower Basket: Good Wishes)
5) Fruit Basket (Generosity)
6) Heart (True Love)
7) House (Protection)
8) Pine Cone (Fruitfulness)
9) Rabbit (Hope)
10) Rose (Affection)
11) Santa (Good Will)
12) Teapot (Hospitality)

What Is The Deciding Factor?

I had some thoughts running through my head today and will try to put them into intelligent form on here. What got me started, was a kid at work. He is around 21-23, and is in charge of setting up our machines. He is somewhat in charge, but doesn't have much authority. He is one of those tattooed & pierced guys. Lately, he has added something else to the mix: mascara. The first day we wore it, I thought surely I was wrong, but indeed, it is mascara, being worn by a heterosexual male in his early 20's.

I don't understand why women wear make-up, much less men! - If some women's husbands and kids met them as God made them - natural hair color, no make-up, they probably wouldn't recognize them! Anyway, this wearing of mascara by a guy got me to pondering: what constitutes something becoming normal that wasn't before? You gotta admit, this ain't normal! Yet, turn back the page several years. Back when men started wearing earrings. Did that seem normal then? Did not men who wore them appear to be sissies or gay? What has changed? If they appeared to be gay or sissies back then, why not now?

Just because a lot of people do something, does it make it normal, or right? If I started playing with baby dolls, wouldn't people think I had a problem? What if 1 in 4 men suddenly started playing with baby dolls? Normal then? No, but it seems if enough people start doing something long enough, it gets accepted as normal, and no one is shocked anymore.

It used to be a woman who got pregnant out of wedlock was looked down on and considered immoral - and it was, though men were left off the hook for some reason. Now, you are considered a freak if you don't engage in premarital sex and live with your boyfriend or girlfriend.

It used to be hidden when people of the same sex wanted to have sexual relations. It was wrong, sinful, and immoral. Now, it is paraded across the TV screen. Rare is the show that does not have a gay or lesbian character. They have marches down the streets of our biggest cities. Anyone who doesn't embrace them and their lifestyle is intolerant and hateful.

Someone said the following, and I don't know who: "All it takes for evil to prosper, is for good men to do nothing". Or something like that. There are degrees of these things. I think any man who wears an earring is a sissy. I don't care if he is 6'8", has more muscles than 10 people should have, plays all the sports, and hunting, etc. He is a sissy. Had people stood up to the men's earring craze and called it that from the beginning, I don't think it would be the craze it is now, but in the grand scheme of things, the men and earring aren't all that important.

If Christians had stood up in bigger matters. Abortion, sex, homosexuality. Stood loud and firm in the fact that they were wrong, sinful, immoral - I don't think those things would be so prevalent today, and at least abortion, wouldn't even be legal. It takes more than a lot of people doing something for it to be considered normal by the general public. It takes people just sitting idly by and letting it happen.

Our compass needs to be God and His Word. Everything should be measured by His standards, not by what the majority feels about the subject. Had we done this all along, the world would be a better place. Without men wearing make-up. :-)

Smart As Bait

Ran across these, and thought some of them were pretty funny. "Politically correct" ways to say someone is not too smart.........

Not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
A few clowns short of a circus.
A few fries short of a Happy Meal.
An experiment in Artificial Stupidity.
A few beers short of a six-pack.
Dumber than a box of hair.
A few peas short of a casserole.
Doesn't have all his cornflakes in one box.
The wheel's spinning, but the hamster's dead.
One Fruit Loop shy of a full bowl.
One taco short of a combination plate.
A few feathers short of a whole duck.
The cheese slid off his cracker.
Body by Fisher, brains by Mattel.
Has an IQ of 2, but it takes 3 to grunt.
Warning: Objects in mirror are dumber than they appear.
Couldn't pour water out of a boot with instructions on the heel.
He fell out of the Stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down.
An intellect rivaled only by garden tools.
As smart as bait.
Chimney's clogged.
Doesn't have all his dogs on one leash.
Elevator doesn't go all the way to the top floor.
Forgot to pay his brain bill.
Her sewing machine's out of thread.
His antenna doesn't pick up all the channels.
His belt doesn't go through all the loops.
If he had another brain, it would be lonely.
Missing a few buttons on his remote control.
No grain in the silo.
Proof that evolution CAN go in reverse.
Receiver is off the hook.
Several nuts short of a full pouch.
Skylight leaks a little.
Slinky's kinked.
Surfing in Nebraska.
Too much yardage between the goal posts.
In the pinball game of life, his flippers were a little further apart than most.

Living Life Backwards

I have many faults, and one of them is the fact that I rarely read any books that are not fiction. I love a good fiction book, and as I have said before, have even gotten some help & encouragement, and even convicting on occasion from a Christian fiction book.

A few weeks ago, I ran into an article about a new book on sexual purity that sounded interesting. I checked the book out and found a free download of the book, "13 Ways To Ruin Your Life", so I downloaded it, and thought the author, Jarrod Jones, had a lot of good things to say, and has a great writing style. I may blog about that book some time also. He has another book that he wrote 2 years ago, "The Backward Life", and I found it for one cent on Amazon (why people sell books so cheap is beyond me, but I won't complain!). I got the book in the mail today, and since I didn't have much else to do, read it this afternoon and evening.

I have to say, it is the best non-fiction book I have read for a long time. He goes with the idea that God's way of doing things is backwards from what the world does, and goes on from there to show how we need to live a backwards life. One issue he spent quite a bit of time on, was self. How so often, we even form friendships and other relationships on the basis of what that person can do for us.

I found myself saying "ouch" a few times throughout the book, especially when he talked about self and how we are so concerned about making ourselves happy in all the wrong ways. He also addresses the issues of God loving us, and us loving Him, which is a topic I need a lot of help in. In one chapter, the author takes each phrase in John 3:16 and breaks it down to talk about each part. I have felt for sometime, that one of my many problems, is holding onto guilt. Man, I still feel guilty for things I did as a kid, and all the more for things I have done as an adult. That was addressed in the book also.

There is supposed to be a work book to go along with the book, but I cannot find it anywhere, so I emailed the author. Hopefully, I can get hold of a copy, as I feel it would be helpful to go through the book again using a workbook. In the meantime, Mr. Jarrod Jones has given me a lot to think about and work on.

I apologize to anyone who reads this for the spacing. I try to space between paragraphs, but no matter how many times I try, it won't do it tonight.