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“Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33, NIV June and I lived for six years on the Micronesian island of Pohnpei, a lovely tropical Pacific island 200 miles above the equator. The Pohnpeian word for Christmas is Christmas, a word the local people had adopted into their language from the English when they converted from their animistic religion to Christianity. The word Christmas originally meant Christ’s Mass. That is, the mass that was celebrated in honor of Chris...
My wish is for everyone to have a great life. I hope people will be good to each other, and not bad. I am thankful for freedom, so I can go to school and learn all I can. I am thankful for my teacher because she’s the BEST! My family takes care of me and I am thankful for that. My wish is for everyone to have good friends, a good school, and a good family. I wish everyone in the world a very Merry Christmas! by Johnny Allen I am thankful for all of my family including my mom, dad, brother, grandmas, and all my cousins. They help take care of m...
Another Christmas is here along with the lights, shoppers and all the other festive activities. A festive Christmas seems to create false expectations that are impossible fill. Somebody will get sick, another cannot come home or that one of a kind special gift is nowhere to be found. All this to satisfy what has become a meaningless ritual that is placed on our VISA card. The original purpose of Christmas is lost to Santa, Rudolph or some other fictitious tale. Please, don’t take me wrong, my family continues to enjoy each of these festive t...
I would help him. I would try to pull him down the chimney. Ellee Voltz Well, I would wake up. I would hide and sneak up on him, that way I could get a peek at him. Haden Buness I would wake up and help him. If I had a rope, I would throw it up to him and yank him down. Braden Howard I would pull him down with a ladder. Imani Johnson I would give him big hugs. Breann Boon I would say, “I will help you Santa.” I would help pull him out. Then I would be his little elf, since I have his list for him. Mariah Mork I would get something heavy to pul...
Dear Santa, Can you give my Dad a new Dell computer? He deserves it because he helps me on devices. He works hard for my family as a surveyor. Love, Andrei Siekawitch Dear Santa, Please bring my Mom a new bike, she never bike rides. I beg you! Why does she deserve it, because she makes me breakfast. Love, Natalia Ashton Dear Santa, Can you please give my Mom a new cane? Cause she helps me tie my shoes. And she’s my best Mom. Love, Dante Chambers Dear Santa, Can you please bring my Dad a new saw blade? He is the best Dad because he packs my l...
Christmas was always one of the best times of the year for our family. Growing up on an Army base in Germany, the odds of having at least a few inches of snow in December were pretty good. School would be on hiatus for a few weeks, so my brother and I and our friends would make the most of the shortened days on the sledding hill behind our apartment block, a doubly sloping expanse with an enormous pear tree sticking out of it. The lot of us would trudge up and propel ourselves down again and...
Cocktail Dates Ingredients 12 large dried Medjool dates 1 4-ounce chunk Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 6 slices bacon, cut in half widthwise Preheat oven to 350 F. Directions: Insert a bamboo skewer or a similar facsimile in the bottom of the date until the pointy tip rests on the bottom of the pit. Push the pit out of the stem side. Reserve dates. Using your sharpest knife, cut Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into 1/4-inch slices. Cut those slices into 1/4-x-1-inch pieces (the resulting 1-inch pieces should be approximately the same diameter as a...
Surprises are one of God’s delights for humankind. Throughout scripture we find that, when the People of Israel and the followers of Christ least expected something, God’s delight presented an opportunity to which they needed to respond. I imagine that it was no real surprise for Joseph and Mary to find no room for them to stay and birth their child. Yet where they end their journey must have taken them by surprise. Not just the accommodations but the rough, tough, rude shepherds suddenly appearing at the stable door. They told stories of lig...
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths,...
Wow, how things and times have changed!! Technology (which means what you just bought needs to be updated or replaced), what is considered safe, what is ‘acceptable’ or ‘politically correct’, or even travel on and off our small island, it’s all changed!! “I remember when…” seems to be a daily recognition, good and bad, that we share constantly. Yet, while some (dare I say most) things change, it seems there are a few concrete, foundational, truths that remain unchanged. Through all of the years of translating the original manuscripts and...
Wrestling with a Christmas tree can mean getting covered with sap. Decorating is one of the many traditions associated with the holiday season. The family Christmas tree is arguably the most prominent decoration. Having a live tree inside the home can be awe-inspiring, but it can also be quite messy. The idea of bringing a formerly live tree inside a home as a decoration may seem odd, especially when individuals are faced with the aftermath, which is often a trail of pine needles and very sticky sap. A freshly cut pine tree will ooze sap,...
I recently visited with a friend in the grocery store. She showed me a picture of something that was going around on Facebook. It was it seemed to be a life size Jesus, as an adult, in front of a house. Someone, it looked like, was trying for Christmas Decorations. Jesus, the statue, was way more zombie looking than I had imagined He would look like. I think that most of us in our decorating and preparing, and yes, buying for Christmas, we miss the mark. We kind of end up on the crazy end of things when all is said and done. As a society we...
Dear Santa Please May I haVe a SMall 4 Wheeler and Leeos ELLee Santa I want a choker necklace, a new backpack, or a play kitchen please. I’m going to put out cookies because I really like you Santa! I’m excited for Christmas and the presents piled on my couch! I love you Santa! Breann Boon, Grade Kindergarten, Age 5 Deer Santa, My name is Shelton Eklun I am in seckent grade. I am 8 yers old. and I want a elf on the shelf and a toy pteradacktel for CHrisMas. How many rein deer doo you have. Love Shelton, Age 8 Dire Santa I wunt a keubord I ben g...
New Year’s Eve is one of the most festive nights of the year, when friends and families gather to count down the waning moments of the year as they anticipate the fun times ahead in the year to come. While adults tend to look forward to New Year’s Eve festivities more than children, there are ways parents can ring in the New Year with their kids. Invite kids into the kitchen. New Year’s Eve festivities often include food, so why not invite youngsters into the kitchen to cook alongside you? Kids may not be interested in preparing the main cours...
The first Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center was erected in 1931, two years before the opening of Rockefeller Plaza, where the tree now draws thousands of tourists each year. The tradition began when construction workers hard at work on building Rockefeller Center decorated a roughly 20-foot tall balsam fir tree on Christmas Eve in 1931. Strings of cranberries and tin cans were among the items used to decorate the tree. While there was no tree in 1932, the first official tree was unveiled in 1...
When you think about Christmas, you assume snow and cold, but not in Mexico. When it comes to Christmas down south the weather is warm and mild during the holiday season. Families decorate their homes with colorful flowers, moss, lanterns and evergreens. From December 16 until Christmas Eve families participate in “Las Pasadas” for nine nights. The children are given candles and figures of Mary and Joseph. Many Mexican children receive gifts from Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. The children sing about Joseph and Mary asking for a room in the hou...
Every year I go to Juneau for Christmas. I put my Christmas tree up. When I’m in Juneau, I open my Christmas stocking and presents on Christmas Day. My mom is going to make hot cocoa that I can drink while I open presents. Every Christmas I love going to Juneau. By Presley Petticrew Things I’m Grateful for at Christmas. I love my friends because they help me a lot. My family do the same as my friends. They help me also. I’m grateful for food and water because it helps us stay alive. For sure God and Jesus are important. If God did not send...
What I am thankful for: Chrysalis Balansaag “the snow, and I am thankful for my warm and toasty house.” Hailey Bartlett “Mom, Da, Bro” Angus Booker “snowflakes, they make me happy!” Brogan Booker “my Mom Dixie, my Dad Chris, my Baby Thoren.” Stella Buness “my Sissy, Mom & Dad, Auntie Loni, Gramma’s and Grampa.” Carter Cummings “I’m four.” Emily Cummings “peanut butter and graham crackers.” Evylin Gadd “clean up time with my Mom.” Jayden Daugherty “my family and my school.” Madison Gillen “my blanket and my cheese.” Derek Heller “John Wayne, and...