Happy Holy Days!

I was reading my friend Darrell's Blog about all of the Politically correct garbage of saying "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas and it put me in mind of something I recently experienced. (Before I share it with you, let me suggest that you check out Darrell's blog and the song that is on it)

During the Thanksgiving Holiday, I took Sam to see, "Fred Clause." It was an "OK" movie that had a few laughs and a decent story line but at the ending of it they play the song, Silent Night. It is a cover of the song by some popular Artist of the day. She has a beautiful voice and I thought "how great is it that they actually put a Christian song into the Movie!"

It was only after the Movie that my youngest brother, Jeremy, pointed out to me that they had pretty much taken Christ out of the Song. How? The ending of the first verse is, "sleep in heavenly peace" which she sang perfectly. The ending of the second verse is "Christ the Savior is born" which is totally absent from the Movie version of the Song. In its place the Singer simply repeats, "sleep in heavenly peace."

Now Friends, I have to ask the question. Have we become so politically correct that we have lost our common sense? I'm a pretty nice guy. I can put up with a lot of junk but I am honestly getting fed up with the stupidity that society is attempting to force on us. If the name, Jesus Christ, used in its proper context offends you, then GOOD! Why is it that it is not acceptable to mention anything related to Christ, unless we use it as a swear word? This Country was founded upon biblical and Christian values and if that offends anyone then deal with it. If our Politicians do not have enough backbone to stand up for the principles that this Country was founded on then let's change Politicians.

So I say to any and all that may read this, MERRY CHRISTMAS! And I encourage every Believer to insist upon greeting every Clerk in every Store that you shop at with, "Merry Christmas!" If they object, ask them why and then take your business elsewhere. In my opinion, the only reason this PC junk has any weight at all, is because the Christian voice has been silent for too long.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

Merry Christmas, ya'll! Because CHRIST THE SAVIOR Lives!

TipTOE through 2007

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. It's the time of year that we concentrate on doing what we should do all year long. That is, BE THANKFUL!

We live in a blessed Country, even with its faults and flaws, its crooked Politicians and even our sinful natures, it is still a blessed Country. The thing that kills me is that with all that we have and all that we have accomplished, there seems to me to be an attitude of complaining that has literally INFECTED us. I believe that God allows trials in our lives, partly because we need to appreciate the blessings more than we do.

I've learned a lot about Thankfulness in 2007. For me it will be the year of the TOE! Thank God, I believe we have finally overcome it and I can Tomp amd Tomp again. (inside joke)

I'm thankful for a good Job that I have often complained about. It has provided for my family and given me the ability to continue to do the thing I love and am called to do. It has provided Insurance that has kept me afloat in the year of the Toe!

I'm thankful for a newer Car. After wearing two out with all of the miles we drive, I now have one that I don't have to worry about. One that will keep my family safe in the Winter months and one that I really LIKE!

I'm thankful for a loving Church that has walked through the trenches with me. We are small in number but huge in heart. My Church is AWESOME!

I'm thankful for a Home where peace can be felt by anyone that walks into it and for the Wife and Son that light up my life even on the dreariest of days.

I'm thankful for family! Those that understand me and even those that are frustrated by me. ;<) I have great family on both sides of my Marriage and I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of them!

I am thankful for the process of healing that my Dad is going through and especially thankful for His survival. Recently in an altar service, the power of God was so strong that Dad got out of his wheelchair and had other people sit in it, while he pushed them around! He still has a way to go but God is doing it, day by day!

There are many things more that I am thankful for but more than anything else, I am thankful for a living God that loves me more than words can say. He loves me when I am unlovable. He loves me when I am stupid. He loves me when I get it wrong and when I get it right. I am thankful to Him because without Him, none of the other things that He has blessed me with would matter. I'm not just thankful for the blessings but I am also learning to be thankful for the trials and the year of the Toe as well.

I hope this Thanksgiving that you will take time to set down and write out things you are thankful for. Whether you publish it somewhere or nor, does not matter. Who knows, you may need to read it in the year of whatever you may go through next!

Be blessed!

Catching up

It seems that the older I get, the faster that Life goes! Even when I think I am catching up, I get further behind. Suffice it to say that I have been busy lately so I thought I would take a bit of time and catch you up.

Those of you that have been regular readers, know that I went through the Ministerial Internship program this past year. What you may not have known was that although my Classroom work was done, I was still behind on several test. There was a month that I had missed and three tests that we had to take on our own. Two of them were on Old Testament and New Testament and were actually several tests within the two. I had been putting it off until I had more time to adequately study, when one day it hit me, "I'm probably not going to get more time!" So I decided to bite the bullet and take all of my tests at once and see which ones I would have to re-do. LOL

I received word today that I passed every one of them! Yea! Certainly not the best score in the class but I will sure take it! I still have some process to go through but the testing phase is complete.

Things have been good, just extremely busy. Since my bi-vocation is in Farm implements, this Harvest Season has been the busiest time of year. On top of that, I am trying to get more physically active in hopes of gaining some in the area of health. Sam has been helping me with that. We've been to Starved Rock State Park and have hiked our legs off. Tuesday we went to a Forest Preserve and Japanese Garden. It was a lot of walking and a lot of fun. My Boy is turning into quite the young man!

Church wise, we are holding our own. We have had some great things happen recently. Some of you will remember David. David was the young man that began writing to me while he was in Prison. This past Sunday was the six month Anniversary of David's release and he testified, thanking God for another chance and for the fact that he was drug free! He is a really great guy. Keep him in your prayers!

Sunday was also the day that one of my Heroin addicted families came back from a Vacation. As normal as that might sound to some, it was truly miraculous. You see, just a year ago, any extra money that they may have had to go on a Vacation with, would have been spent on their habit. During their Vacation, the Father was reunited with a Daughter that he had never really known. God is doing an awesome work in their lives. They looked "healthy" and that is a huge thing. It's been a long road for them and there may still be set backs but the chances of that decrease with every passing day.

I've learned some hard lessons in my nearly seven years here. One of them is that "Victory" sometimes comes, one day at a time. I thank God for this past Sunday. I'll take as many of them as I can get!