Merry Christmas................

I want to wish everyone a Happy Christmas. I also want to wish people Happy Holidays. I would not have said that before. I was one of those Christians who thought that people were trying to do away with Christmas.

Well I sort of had a revelation. Not sure why or how but I did. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of our Saviour, of the Christ child. It's not really His birthday but is sort of like the Queen, she has an official birthday. We don't know the date of His birth and maybe that's because He would not want a "birthday" party. I don't know. What I do know, is that this is supposed to be a season of Love and Goodwill towards men.

We use the symbols of Christmas to remember the day of His birth. The Star that guided the wise men to His humble place of birth. The Nativity set to show how He was accepted by the poor and the animals first. His angel spoke to the shepherds bringing "Tidings of Great Joy to ALL men" We give gifts to each other in rememberance of the Magi's gifts to the baby Jesus. Things used at His death and buriel.

However a lot of what we do is also very pagan. The Holly, Misletoe, the tree among other things. So really can we say that we have not taken Christ out of Christmas already? It's a Hallmark holiday. It's commercial. It starts at Thanksgiving and the January sales begin right away. Boxing Day is not celebrated here in America. Twelth Night is gone. It's back to work day after and on with the every day hussle and bustle and returning of unwanted gifts. Instead we should be treasuring them because someone though about you and chose that item for you. I never ever return or exchange a gift. Years ago it was a "Christmas season" people gloried in it, family and friends were the focus. The bible stories were read to the children.

I used to be very irritated when I was working. We ended up not being able to have a Nativity because it may offend someone. We could not have a tree because someone was a Jehovah Witness. That made me angry. I used to decorate our department but when I had to stop using the things that made it Christmas I refused to do it anymore. To me its NOT about Santa.
I tollerated a holiday I really despise without spoiling the fun for those who love Halloween. I could have. So why oh why can we not be left to do our own thing, within reason.

So where am I going with this you may ask.............My own revelation was this. It is not JUST Christmas. It really isn't. It is a season for many religions to celebrate. Kwanzaa is a week long celebration. Hanuuka is the Jewish festival. Yes, on the calender it is marked as Christmas, because its always been that way. This country and many others now are made up of many many non Christians. If we as Christians are to be loving and kind and worship our Lord, then don't we need to accept it with grace and pleasure that someone wishes us a Happy Holiday, because they do not know what our religion is. Not just because its a date on the calender that says Christmas. We need to greet people with Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays because it really is BOTH. How can we be seen as loving human beings who worship our Lord and then turning away a blessing by saying ITS CHRISTMAS, DONT TAKE CHRIST out of Christmas.........This is just my recent thoughts. I do understand now why a business must "not offend" its customers who may be of a different religion. Ironically, in places like some of the Arab countries they allow people to celebrate Christmas openly and by decorating Malls etc for their guests who are Christian. Can we not be as kind.?..........We can NOT take Christ out of Christmas unless we do it ourselves by our commercialism. By loosing the meaning of Christmas, by calling it Xmas.

Christmas is not about shopping, in what we get for Christmas, it's about Love, Peace, Joy, reflection, family, friends and above all it's about God, who came down to dwell amongst us, to die for us, to save our souls. Don't lets forget that by being petulant when someone says Happy Holidays, because it IS a holiday after all. Or being rude and saying "Its Christmas" because for them it may not be, but they are still wishing you joy......say peace be unto you, let the love of Christ shine through you. Jesus told us to let our light shine before men............. Merry Christmas and Happy joyful Holidays.

Lottery Fever................

It occurred to me that we have been blessed because we did NOT win the lottery. I think that our thoughts should be on other things. While it would be nice to have enough money to pay off everything God blesses us with enough to pay our bills. Would life be the same if we did not have to rely on God quite so much.? Why then do I want more? I really only want it to give it away and to do good things with. However God knows best, He knows what would really happen if such wealth were to come to us. I really do not want that.........to be outside of God's will for me. I was watching a movie about St Francis of Assisi this evening. I was only watching it because Mickey Rourke was in it to be honest. It was very tedious to begin with and dragged out I was getting bored. We didn't switch it off though and I was on here working on a blog. Then the scene came where he was quoting from the beatitudes. I was enthralled. Mickey Rourke for all of his mistakes in his own life is one heck of an actor and was why I was watching to begin with. Well............it really brought it home to me how lucky we are not to be among the rich. As Jesus says "they have their own reward" that is not what I want. Jesus tells us to give and then give more. I really thought about that when St Francis was telling the people the words of Jesus..........and sometimes we need to be reminded. We need to listen to what Jesus said. Sometimes even church leaders need to be reminded and certainly politicians do, at least those who profess to be Christians. I am not judging. Just saying that often I do not hear much love coming from those who try to lead us and most of them are wealthy. They have no idea what a regular persons life is like and they certainly have no empathy.





"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Gospel of St. Matthew 5:3-10





St Francis preached to man and beast the universal ability and duty of all creatures to praise God (a common theme in the Psalms) and the duty of men to protect and enjoy nature as both the stewards of God's creation and as creatures ourselves.Legend has it that on his deathbed, St. Francis thanked his donkey for carrying and helping him throughout his life, and his donkey wept. He preached to the birds and they listened. He blessed a wolf. I love that about him.
I am not a Catholic but I can relate to St Francis and how he wanted to live his life. It had to have been so difficult back in his day. So..........no I do not want to win the lottery. It would separate me from God and I would not have to be dependent upon His will for my life. So I have to say thank you Lord...........and if I do buy the occasional lottery ticket now and then, its tongue in cheek because I know I will never win, but would hate to miss out on a small gift (smile)

Just a thought...................

Why do people hold on to a grudge?. I could never see the point. My mum was kind of that way, she would be mad at you and not be speaking to you. I would forget. I would be yacking away and being ignored, it would take awhile for me to remember. Oh yes.....the silent treatment. Maybe I just could not be quiet that long, or maybe I was more like my dad. Dad had been a prisoner of war in Japan. He did not hate the Japanese. My mum did. She never forgot what "they" did. My Dad would just say they were soldiers doing what they were told to do. He was too, and had his own demons. Mum seemed to think that they single handedly made her life difficult. My dad apparently was not the same man when he came back, as the person he was when he left England to go to war. She never forgave them for that. She took things personally you see.
I am glad I am more like my dad. I see no purpose in being angry all the time. What good does it do? Who does it hurt but yourself and the ones close to you.......I say forgive and forget if you can, but at least forgive and work on the rest. People who hold on to slights real or per-sieved are unhappy people and life is too short to carry such a burden.
I have been called a Pollyanna but I don't care about that I at least am at peace within myself.