Merry (belated) Christmas!

 

Merry Christmas errbody! I knew it had been a while since I blogged, but jeepers creepers! I haven't written since Thanksgiving! It was a nice break and we were very busy during our time in Florida. Just a few mentionable moments and then I will get to my agenda for this post. For those of you who may not know, the above picture is with my son Justin, mother-in-law Judy, and Pam (from left to right). This picture was taken during the Christmas service at Judy's church in The Villages Florida. Note how I really dressed up my feet for the occasion!

We spent a lot of time visiting with friends as well. A couple of my good friends decided it would be funny if they got the shirts pictured below. The shirts are from an existential college somewhere. I am not sure where, but Scott (left) saw a commercial or some kind of advertisement for it and decided he and Mark (right) should buy one and wear them to dinner one night. I also received one of my very own from them. Oh the memories we share! Thanks fellas.

I was specifically asked by one of our friends to be mentioned in this blog so she could feel somewhat famous. I don't know if she realizes how many people actually read this blog, but if you're looking for fame you're barking up the wrong tree! However, in light of that, we spent many evenings visiting with the Renicks (Scott [above], Amanda, Gracie, and Lauren), the Saporitos (Mark [above], Kim, James and Megan, Laurie, Lucas, and mother Lou [98 years young!] pictured below with Mark). Lou is a little spit-fire and still has it all together both mentally and physically. We sure do love her and spending time with her! 

The above picture is Scott and Amanda, good friends of ours from Florida. They have been prayer warriors in our worst of times and we miss them dearly when we're away. It was great to see them, and they even let us park our trailer amongst the cows in their pasture for a night. Incredibly accommodating people and they would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it, well . . . Amanda won't do it for "girly" reasons! Speaking of that, we are currently an hour NW of New Orleans and decided we were close enough that we simply had to visit. We found the shirt below at a shop on Bourbon Street. Is one of them photo-shopped? I will leave that up to you to decide.

I have a lot to catch up on as this blog is concerned, so I will have to leave it for another day. However, I wanted to mention something that kind of saddens me. In preparation for posting today, I Googled "Christmas." There wasn't a single image of accurate representation of the true meaning of Christmas. No manger scenes, no Wiseman, no images of Jesus whatsoever. 

On the contrary, there were thousands of images of trees, Santa, stockings over the fireplace, ornaments, wreaths, etc. It has truly become a secular holiday with no meaning behind it other than gifts and Santa. To my recollection, there is not a single other instance of a faith's holiday that has been so hijacked. People who don't believe in Jesus even celebrate Christmas. But I don't understand it. I am not Jewish, so I don't celebrate Hanukah. I am not Hindu, so I don't celebrate Diwali. I am not Muslim so I don't participate in Ramadan. So why has Christmas become such a glorified holiday that is celebrated by so many people who aren't believers? Even some Jewish people have recorded Christmas songs (Neil Diamond, Barbara Streisand, Sammy Davis Jr, Bette Midler, Carly Simon, etc.). 

I suppose, in the end, it doesn't really matter; but it's still baffling how or why this came to be. After all, God is still God whether you believe it or not. Your belief does not change fact. In other words, if you believe that two plus two equals five, you have every right to believe that but you're still wrong. Scripture tells us, "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11) One day, we will all come to the same conclusion, that Jesus is the Son of God. It will be unanimous. There will be no gray area. Not only will we all come to the same conclusion, but we will all actually say it out loud according to scripture. You see, no matter what you believe, in the end you will eventually acknowledge what has been true all along, Jesus is four and not five. I pray that you would come to the logical conclusion of the truth of God, and that you will be incredibly blessed by that decision. May God bless you all. Merry Christmas . . . and happy trails!