7 albums (CD's) that need to be heard start to finish

7. Fiestas & Fiascos - Lifter Puller  

 6. Let's Cut The Crap and Hook Up Later Tonight - Marah  

 5. The Wall - Pink Floyd

4. Alien Lanes - Guided By Voices  

 3. Bee Thousand - Guided By Voices  

 2. Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen  

1. Abbey Road - The Beatles

Christmas is about...

You know who...

The True Meaning of Christmas

Let us all remember at this time the true meaning of Christmas. It isn't about getting a bunch of gifts and goodies, or going into debt, or running around all over creation searching for the right thing to buy. We should PRIMARILY celebrate the entrance into this world of our Lord and Savior, and Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Over 2000 years ago our Lord humbled himself, stepped out of glory and took on the low form of a helpless infant. It is this event, more than anything else, that forms the heart and soul of our Holy Day (Holiday) known as Christmas. By the way, no one should try to tell our Jewish brothers that Hanukkah means something else. No one should try to redefine Ramadan to the Muslim adherent. So, as a Christian, I resist the re-naming and redefining, indeed the de-emphasizing of Christmas into a "Winter Holiday" or simply "Xmas" or anything else. This day is, and shall ever be, a time to reflect upon how amazing it was that God himself put on the form of a human being, in order to grow to manhood and then willingly give his precious life for our sins, paving the way, once and for all, for us to be able to one day join him in Heaven. Thank you Dear Lord for what you did (and continue to do)! And to every one... have a very blessed Christmas!

The Christmas Guest

The Story of the Christmas Guest by Helen Steiner Rice 

It happened one day at December's end, 

Some neighbors called on an old-time friend. 

 And they found his shop so meager and mean, 

Made happy with a thousand boughs of green. 

 And old Conrad was sitting with face a-shine. 

When he suddenly stopped as he stitched the twine. 

 And he said "My friends at dawn today, 

When the rooster was crowing the night away, 

 The Lord appeared in a dream to me. 

And He said, 'I'm coming, your guest to be" 

 So I've been busy with feet astir, 

Strewing my shop with branches of fir. 

 The table is spread and the kettle is shined, 

And over the rafters the holly is twined. 

 And now I'll wait for my Lord to appear; 

And listen closely so I will hear, 

 His steps as he nears my humble place. 

And I'll open the door and I'll look on his face." 

 Then his friends went home and left him alone, 

For this was the happiest day he had known. 

 For long since his family had passed away. 

And Conrad had spent many a sad Christmas Day. 

 But he knew with the Lord as his Christmas guest, 

This Christmas would be the dearest and best. 

 So he listened with only joy in his heart, 

And with every sound he would rise with a start, 

 And looked for the Lord to be at his door. 

Like the vision that he'd had a few hours before. 

 So he ran to the window after hearing a sound, 

But all he could see on the snow covered ground 

 Was a shabby beggar whose shoes were torn. 

And all his clothes were ragged and worn. 

 But old Conrad was touched and he went to the door, 

And he said, "Your feet must be cold and sore. 

 I have some shoes in my shop for you. 

And I have a coat to keep you warmer, too." 

 So with grateful heart the man went away. 

But Conrad noticed the time of day 

 And he wondered what made the dear Lord so late, 

And how much longer he'd have to wait. 

 Then he heard another knock, and he ran to the door, 

But it was only a stranger once more. 

 A bent old lady with a shawl of black, 

And a bundle of kindling piled on her back. 

 But she asked only for a place to rest, 

a place that was reserved, for Conrad's great guest. 

 But her voice seemed to plead, "Don't send me away, 

Let me rest for awhile this Christmas Day." 

 So Conrad brewed her a steaming cup, 

And told her to sit at the table and sup. 

 After she had left, he was filled with dismay, 

For he saw that the hours were slipping away 

 The Lord had not come as He said He would, 

And Conrad felt sure he had misunderstood. 

 When out of the stillness he heard a cry. 

"Please help, me and tell me - Where am I?" 

 So again he opened his friendly door. 

And stood disappointed as twice before. 

 It was a child who had wandered away, 

And was lost from his family on Christmas Day. 

 Again Conrad's heart was heavy and sad, 

But he knew he could make this little boy glad. 

 So he called him in and he wiped his tears, 

And he quieted all his childish fears. 

 Then he led him back to his home once more. 

Then as he entered his own darkened door, 

 He knew that the Lord was not coming today, 

For the hours of Christmas, had all passed away. 

 So he went to his room, and he knelt down to pray. 

He said, "Lord, why did you delay? 

 What kept You from coming to call on me? 

I wanted so much Your face to see." 

 Then softly, in the silence, a voice he heard. 

"Lift up your head - I have kept My word. 

 Three times my shadow crossed your floor. 

Three times I came to your lowly door. 

 I was the beggar with bruised cold feet; 

I was the woman you gave something to eat; 

I was the child on the homeless street. 

 Three times I knocked, three times I came in, 

And each time I found the warmth of a friend. 

 Of all the gifts, love is the best. 

I was honored to be your Christmas guest.

My Christian Beliefs

I believe that:

(1) The Holy Scriptures, comprised of Old and New Testaments, are fully and verbally inspired by God and are therefore infallible in the original writings and completely trustworthy in all areas in which they speak. Their central salvation message and essential teachings are clear and accessible to all who follow the standard and self-evident rules of literary interpretation. They are therefore the supreme, unmediated, and final authority of faith and practice for every believer.

(2) There is only one eternal, almighty and perfect God. Within the Being of this one true God exist three eternally distinct and coequal Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (The Trinity). These three Persons are the one true God.

(3) Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, who took upon Himself human flesh through the miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He who is true God became true man, uniting two natures in one person forever. Christ lived a perfect, sinless life, died on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, rose bodily from the dead, and ascended into Heaven where He now serves as our High Priest, our only Mediator. He will return bodily and visibly to the earth as King of kings and will judge every human being who has ever lived.

(4) The Holy Spirit is the eternal Third Person of the Triune God, through whom the redeemed are regenerated, and sanctified. He is the giver of "spiritual fruits" and gifts, and the abiding Advocate who empowers believers for godly living and service.

(5) In Adam human beings were created in the image of God (i.e., they share in a finite way the communicable attributes of God, including personality, spirituality, rationality, and morality). Through the fall of Adam that image of God in humanity has been defiled, although not eradicated. Every human being is radically corrupt and estranged from God. Human beings are condemned by God because of their descent into sin, both through their relationship to Adam and through individual choice. The desperate need of humanity is forgiveness of sins and consequent restoration of fellowship with God; yet humans remain totally unable to atone for and restore themselves.

(6) Jesus' death on the cross provided an "atonement" for the sins of humanity. In salvation we are rescued from God's wrath by His unmerited grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone. Jesus paid our "sin debt".

(7) Those who have received the free gift of salvation will be raised from the dead or raptured (snatched up from their earthly lives) to meet Christ at His Second Coming, and their bodies will be transformed into a likeness of His glorious, immortal body. Regenerated Christians will live forever in the fellowship and Kingdom of God in a new heaven and a new earth. On the other hand, eternal conscious punishment and separation from God (Hell) is the ultimate destiny of Satan, his entire group of fallen angels (demons), as well as all those humans who die unsaved.

(8) The true Christian church, which is the body and bride of Christ, is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Corporately and individually, its members strive to worship, serve, and glorify God through prayer and praise, diligent study and application of the Scriptures, evangelism, sanctified living, good works, and observance of the rites of baptism and the Lord's Supper. The ultimate mission of the church is the discipleship of all nations - not only the saving of souls (which is primary) but also the bringing of the gospel to bear on every aspect of life and thought - until the Lord returns.

Amen

Pareidolia

Pareidolia is a phenomena that explains a lot of the paranormal. The rest can be explained as error, hoaxes, or in rare cases, demonic activity. 

So what is pareidolia? Glad you asked... 

Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant. 

Common examples include seeing images of animals or faces in clouds, or the man in the moon, and hearing hidden messages on records played in reverse. Pareidolia is a type of apophenia. 

 What is apophenia? Glad you asked... 

Apophenia is the experience of seeing meaningful patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. The term was coined in 1958 by some dude named Klaus Conrad who defined it as the "unmotivated seeing of connections" accompanied by a "specific experience of an abnormal meaningfulness". So when you see photos of ghosts, aliens (and flying saucers), a bigfoot, or images of Jesus in a grilled cheese sandwich, just remember... pareidolia happens. 

All I'm saying is, don't take all this stuff hook line and sinker. Be a little skeptical. It's good to be skeptical when it comes to outlandish claims.

Update on Sore Throat

There is no sore throat. It lasted a couple days, and slowly evolved into a mild cough which I am still dealing with somewhat, especially at night. I think the key to it was drinking chicken broth. It really seemed to help. In the past I have occasionally been plagued with sore throats that last for many days. Guess I got lucky this time.

Tomorrow is Pearl Harbor day.

God bless the troops who died at Pearl Harbor back in 1941. It awakened the sleeping giant (the USA) and we have been on the job ever since! God bless our fighting soldiers!

70's TV shows!

I love those old 70's situation comedies. I'm into Sanford & Son right now.

Sore throat time again

I have a sore throat developing. It is already affecting my voice. I am going to track this one like a mutha. I will track what I take for it that works to soothe it, how long it lasts, etc. Stay tuned.

Right now its just a rawness at the top of the back of my throat. Hurts mostly when swallowing.

I am going to try chicken broth bouillon to see if that will magically fix it (yeah right).