A Christmas Message

Christ: The Real Gift of Christmas

By focusing on your loved ones, enjoying or building holiday traditions, and following the Savior’s example of service, you can give yourself and your family true, lasting Christmas gifts.

For more beautiful Christmas messages, go here.

If You Were…

If you were busy being kind,
Before you knew it you would find
You’d soon forget to think `twas true
That someone was unkind to you.

If you were busy being glad
And cheering people who seem sad,
Although your heart might ache a bit,
You’d soon forget to notice it.

If you were busy being good,
And doing just the best you could,
You’d not have time to blame some man
Who’s doing just the best he can.

If you were busy being true
To what you know you ought to do,
You’d be so busy you’d forget
The blunders of the folks you’ve met.

If you were busy being right,
You’d find yourself too busy quite
To criticize your brother long,
Because he’s busy being wrong.

Age is a Funny Thing

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we’re kids? If you’re less than 10 years old, you’re so excited about aging that you think in fractions. How old are you?…. “I’m four and a half” …. You’re never 36 and a half …. you’re four and a half going on five!

That’s the key. You get into your teens, now they can’t hold you back. You jump to the next number. How old are you? “I’m gonna be 16.” You could be 12, but you’re gonna be 16.

And then the greatest day of your life happens …. you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony …. you BECOME 21 … YES!!!

But then you turn 30 …. ooohhh what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk …. He TURNED, we had to throw him out. There’s no fun now.

What’s wrong?? What changed?? You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you’re PUSHING 40 ….. stay over there, it’s all slipping away ……..

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, you’re PUSHING 40, you REACH 50 ….. and your dreams are gone.

Then you MAKE IT to 60 ….. you didn’t think you’d make it!!!!

So you BECOME 21, you TURN 30, you’re PUSHING 40, you REACH 50, you MAKE IT to 60 …… then you build up so much speed you HIT 70!

After that, it’s a day by day thing. After that, you HIT Wednesday …. You get into your 80′s, you HIT lunch. My grandmother won’t even buy green bananas …. it’s an investment you know, and maybe a bad one.

And it doesn’t end there …. into the 90′s you start going backwards …. I was JUST 92 …

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again …. “I’m 100 and a half!”

School Answering Machine

Hello! You have reached the automated answering service of your child’s school. In order to assist you in connecting to the right staff member, please listen to all options before making a selection:

To lie about why your child is absent, Press 1.

To make excuses for why your child did not do his/her work, Press 2.

To complain about what we do, Press 3.

To verbally abuse our staff members, Press 4.

To ask why you did not get needed information that was already enclosed in your newsletter and several bulletins mailed to you, Press 5.

If you want us to raise your child, Press 6.

If you want to reach out and touch, slap or hit someone, Press 7.

To request another teacher for the third time this year, Press 8.

To complain about bus transportation, Press 9.

To complain about school lunches, Press 0.

If you realize that this is the real world and your child must be accountable/responsible for his/her own behavior, class work, homework, and that it is not the teacher’s fault for your child’s lack of effort, please hang up and have a nice day!!

Scented Candles for Men

It seems in this day and time you can’t go into an area dominated by a woman without detecting the ‘aroma’ (odorous terribilis) of some kind of bizarre scented candle. Everything from ‘Boysenberry Vanilla Potpourri’ to ‘Spice Orange Jasmine Chocolate’. Sometimes it gives me a headache!

Well, it’s about time men had their own scented candles. Below you will find a few scents men would appreciate.

’62 Chevy truck – Interior and Exhaust
Gunpowder
Wet Dog (only if it’s your own dog)
Frying Bacon (actually, a lot of different fried foods)
Wood Smoke
Chainsaw Exhaust
Freshly Caught Bass
Ozone (arc welder, of course)
Acetylene
Freshly Moved Dirt
Silage
Sawdust
New Tires
Hot Metal
3 Year Old Cap
Ammonia Fertilizer (light, of course)
Burning Grass or Leaves
Alfalfa
Firecrackers
Latex Paint

Might As Well Dance!

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just
because they haven’t thought about it, don’t have it on
their schedule, didn’t know it was coming, or are too rigid to depart
from their routine.

I was thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic
who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort
to cut back. From then on, I’ve tried to be a little more
flexible. How many people will eat at home because
someone didn’t suggest going out to dinner until after something had
been thawed? Does the word “refrigeration” mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence
while you watched television? I cannot count the times I called
my friends and said, “How about going to lunch in a half
hour?” only to hear an excuse like ‘I can’t, I have work to do; I
brought my lunch, I wish I had known yesterday; I had a late
breakfast; It looks like rain.’ Some of them may die tonight,
so you may never have lunch together.

Because we cramso much into our lives, we tend to schedule
our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to
ourselves when all the conditions are perfect! We’ll go back
and visit the grandparents when we get the baby toilet-trained.
We’ll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We’ll
go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get
shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer.
One morning, we’ll awaken, and all we have to show for our lives
is a litany of “I’m going to,” “I plan on,” and “Someday, when
things are settled down a bit.”

When anyone calls my ‘seize the moment’ friend, she is open to
adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new
ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her
for five minutes, and you’re ready to trade your bad feet for a
pair of rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips didn’t touch sausage for years. Being from the Midwest,
I love grilled sausages. It’s just that I might as well apply
it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the
digestive process.
The other day, I picked up a grilled footlong at a restaurant.
If my car had flipped on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now, go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to, not
something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon
and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call
and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry-go-round or listened
to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly’s
erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you
run through each day on the fly? When you ask “How are you?” did
you listen to their reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred
chores running through your head? Ever told your child, “We’ll do
it tomorrow”? And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch?
Let a good friendship die? Just call to say “Hi”?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift.
Thrown away.
Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the quiet voice before the song
is over.

“Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we
might as well dance!”
by David Sieker

A Parable Of Attitudes From God’s Word

In the story which we refer to as “the Good Samaritan,” we see several
different attitudes of the people and the right attitude of which Jesus
approved. Luke tells us that a certain Lawyer stood up and tested Jesus, by
asking him questions. He referred to Jesus as “Master” or Teacher, and asked
him, “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus answered the man’s question with other questions, “what is written in the
law?”  and “How readest thou?” The man then answered the Lord and quoted the
Scripture from the law of Moses, or what was revealed through Moses which said,
“one must love the Lord God with all of their heart, soul, strength, and mind,
and their neighbor as themselves.” Jesus told him he had given the right answer,
and if he did this, he would live.  We must still obey the law of love as love
is the greatest of all and because of God’s love, we have been given eternal
life.

The man, willing to justify himself, or his love for different people, said
unto  Jesus,  “And, who is my neighbor?” Jesus then gave him a parable or
illustration of a certain man who went from Jerusalem to Jericho and along the
way was robbed, beaten, wounded, stripped of his raiment and left half dead on
the side of the road by  thieves. **( The road from Jericho to Jerusalem was
referred to as “the red and bloody road” by Jerome in the fifth century, because
so many people were wounded and robbed on this road.)  It is said that this
traveler took a risk and should have been traveling in a caravan. Several people
came by where the man lay in his wounded condition and each one had their own
attitude toward his situation.

The first man who came by the scene was a Jewish Priest who saw him, then passed
on by to the other side.  His attitude was that the man was a problem to be
avoided, and he did not feel he was worth helping or caring for, so he avoided
him as he went on his way. One of his reasons could have been that he was a
Priest.  The man appeared to be dead, or near death, and if he had touched him
or the man had died, he could have been considered unclean for seven days.
(Numbers 19: 11)  He put the temple and it’s liturgy above the needs of this
man.  If  anyone should have cared, you would have thought it would have been
this religious man.

The next person who came by was a Levite, or Jewish temple assistant, and
likewise, when he was at the place where the man lay, out of curiosity he came
and looked on him but he also passed by on the other side. The people knew
thieves and robbers used decoys at times, and the Levite may have had fear of
going near the man.  Here we see two religious men, but yet they did not have
the heart or attitude of the Lord. They did not see the man as worthy of being
helped, but put self first, and went on their own way.  These did not display an
attitude of love or compassion. Although the Priest and the Levite were
interpreters of the law, they both missed the very essence of the law….which
is love.
Then, a Samaritan, on his journey, came by the man who was in need of help and
when he saw him, he had compassion on him.  He did not pass him on by but
instead went to him and bound up his wounds, using oil and wine as medicine to
help heal, and set him upon his own donkey; then took him to an inn and cared
for him.  The next morning when he departed, he paid the innkeeper and told him
to care for him. He promised if the bill was more that he had already paid him,
that he would reimburse him when he came through again.  After Jesus shared this
parable, He asked the Lawyer which one of the men did he think was a neighbor
unto him that fell among the thieves. The man answered and said, “he that showed
mercy on him.” Jesus said unto him, “go, and do likewise.”

In this parable we see several attitudes. The Lawyer or expert in Moses’ law in
the story only wanted to discuss the wounded man and was trying to test the Lord
by his questioning. The thieves in the story only wanted to use and exploit the
wounded man ,as we see from their attack on him.  The Priest and the Levite were
unconcerned about the welfare of the wounded man and passed him on by without
showing any compassion. The innkeeper was interested in the money which he would
be paid for the care of the man and his fee for care and room in the inn. The
Samaritan was the only one who had a true heart of compassion and care.

Although the Lawyer probably felt the Samaritan would have been the one least
likely to be a “good neighbor” to another, because of their differences between
the Jews and Samaritans, the Lord showed he was the only one who had compassion
on his neighbor.  Not only did he have sympathy, but he cared enough to help.
The Good Samaritan felt the wounded man was a human being worth caring for and
loving with the “agape” kind of love of the Lord. To Jesus, all of them and all
of us were worth dying for and giving his life on Calvary that we might have
salvation and healing.

**We see that the needs of others will bring out the various attitudes in us.
Jesus used this story of the good Samaritan to make clear which attitude was
acceptable with Him. There are many who find themselves in the place of the
lawyer, and need to learn again who their neighbor is.  From the parable we
learn four principles about love for our neighbor.

(1) Lack of love is often easy to justify by people,
(2) our neighbor is anyone of any race, creed or social background who  may be in need,
(3) love means acting to meet the need instead of passing it by as these in  the story,
(4) We must help one even if they have brought the problem on themselves.

Where ever we may live, there are always needy people nearby. There is never any
excuse or rational for refusing to help when we are able and know of a real
need.

Jesus had compassion on us when he found us on the by ways of this world.  He
came to give his life to pay the price that we might receive salvation and be
made whole.  He still binds up the broken-hearted and sets the captives and
oppressed free.  His love is to be shared with all people and God is no
respecter of persons. We all have been given the same commandments to love one
another and “be ye kind one to another.”

In bearing one another’s burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ.  May we always
be thankful for the Lord’s salvation which he has shown unto us and for taking
time to rescue us instead of passing us by. We serve a Great God who is a God of
compassion and extends his love unto all men. May we seek to keep an “attitude
of gratitude” with a desire to share God’s love.  We can always go to the Lord
and also help those in need of a Savior to find hope in Jesus. He is a merciful
God who is love.

Jo Ann Kelly ©  2009, 2002
J. P.’s Inspirations
http://www.my.homewithgod.com/jpinspirations/
This writing may be used in its entirety, with credits intact,
for non-profit ministering purposes.

The 5 Phases of Grief

These phases are often experienced in the sequence described below, but
individuals can cycle through these feelings in a different order, and can
return to previous phases as grief is processed. It is also entirely possible to
feel more than one emotion simultaneously, perhaps to a greater or lesser
degree.

Phase 1
Denial
Upon hearing bad news, the most common reaction is a feeling of numbness or
shock. We may experience disbelief: “That is not possible… there must be some
mistake… you must have the wrong person, the wrong medical records… that
can’t be true or happen to me!” The mind-body has incredible defense mechanisms.
If we pretend that something isn’t true, then somehow the blow is softened. At
any moment, our loved one could reappear, or so we imagine. Time seems to
briefly suspend itself, at least until the cruel reality of the truth sets in.

Phase 2
Anger

We may get angry at the messenger who delivers the news, the doctor, the person
who caused us this pain (even if that person is now deceased), at anyone we can
hold responsible for our grief, even at God. This reaction is perfectly
understandable. There is a need to know why this happened and whether the loss
could have been prevented. “Who is at fault?” we question. Somehow pointing the
finger allows us to divert the pain from the core of our being where it rises up
and threatens to overwhelm us. Others may turn their anger inwards and blame
themselves for what happened.

Phase 3
Bargaining
We may try to negotiate the situation, either with another person involved, or
with God: “Please give me one more chance and I promise things will be better…
I will change… If you will reverse this, then I will ___ in return.” This is
kind of magical thinking where we believe our actions will meet with the desired
outcome. Some people attempt to strike a deal with their Higher Power: to stop
smoking, to find more time to spend with family, to offer an apology that’s long
overdue. At some point, though, we face our limitations in holding up our end of
the deal. No matter what we say or do, the bitter truth is that things will not
go back to the way they were before. And that’s when the next phase hits.

Phase 4
Depression
When we realize the loss is real and unchanging, we may sink into a deep sorrow.
Though Dr. Kübler-Ross dubbed this phase `depression,’ it is more accurate to
describe it as more a combination of loss and loneliness and perhaps
hopelessness. We may feel remorse or regret, rehearsing over and over what we
could have done differently. Or perhaps we feel guilty that we are still able to
enjoy life while our loved one no longer can. This intense experience of sadness
leaves us with sparse energy for housework or outside activities. It is common
to find ourselves sobbing over the smallest little thing or crying for days on
end. Whether or not we have a terminal illness, we may feel our life is over.
Some may consider or attempt ending their lives.

Phase 5
Acceptance
Time, in and of itself, will not heal our wounds. We may miss being able to
share our life with that person, no matter how long it’s been since they passed
away. We don’t have to forget how much our loved one means to us in order to
move on. If we can come to terms with the reality of the situation, recognize it
as a fact of our lives, and gradually let go of the struggle against the tide of
emotions that we experience, we can move beyond our suffering. Even with our new
circumstances, we can find peace within ourselves.

Other losses
Some writers have expanded this list of stages, adding Shock, Pain, and Hope in
describing our reactions to loss. These stages have been applied to
circumstances that can include: the loss of a loved one; grieving after a
suicide; the loss of a pet; the loss of a job; the loss of a love relationship.

Get Up and Go

How do I know that my youth has been spent?
Well, my get up and go has got up and went.
But in spite of it all I am able to grin
When I recall where my get up has been.

Old age is golden, so I’ve heard it said,
But sometimes I wonder when I get into bed,
With my ears in a drawer and my teeth in a cup
My eyes on the table until I wake up.

When I was young, my slippers were red,
I could kick up my heels right over my head:
When I grew older, my slippers were blue,
But still I could dance the whole night through.

But now I am old; my slippers are black
I walk to the store, and I puff my way back…
Since I have retired from life’s competition,
I busy myself with complete repetition.
I get up each morning, dust off my wits
Pick up my paper and read the “obits”.
If my name is missing, I know I’m not dead,
So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed.

The Weaver

The patter of rain on the roof,
The glint of the sun on the rose;
Of life, these the warp and the woof,
The weaving that everyone knows.
Now grief with its consequent tear,
Now joy with its luminous smile;
The days are the threads of the year–
Is what I am weaving worth while?

What pattern have I on my loom?
Shall my bit of tapestry please?
Am I working with gray threads of gloom?
Is there faith in the figures I seize?
When my fingers are lifeless and cold,
And the threads I no longer can weave
Shall there be there for men to behold
One sign of the things I believe?

God sends me the gray days and rare,
The threads from his bountiful skein,
And many, as sunshine, are fair.
And some are as dark as the rain.
And I think as I toil to express
My life through the days slipping by,
Shall my tapestry prove a success?
What sort of a weaver am I?

Am I making the most of the red
And the bright strands of luminous gold?
Or blotting them out with the thread
By which all men’s failure is told?
Am I picturing life as despair,
As a thing men shall shudder to see,
Or weaving a bit that is fair
That shall stand as the record of me?