Would SANTA CLAUS DAY Be Easier?
 

As another Christmas passes (sitting here with a sore throat and lack of energy and no sports on yet ;)) I was reading through some of the threads I don't ever go into.

I noticed that, as usual, there has been a lot of stress and anger over who can and can't ~ who should and shouldn't celebrate Christmas. I have noticed that much of the focus has been on the stresses of shopping and families :(

I have noticed a lot of good things about gifts and family too :)

Because most of us live a world where we can worship any religion or set of beliefs we want to....Thank you TROOPS!....we, as people, often disagree ;)

A Christian believes ~

GRACE ALONE
God loves the people of the world, even though they are sinful, rebel against Him and do not deserve His love. He sent Jesus, His Son, to love the unlovable and save the ungodly.

FAITH ALONE
By His suffering and death as the substitute for all people of all time, Jesus purchased and won forgiveness and eternal life for them. Those who hear this Good News and believe it have the eternal life that it offers. God creates faith in Christ and gives people forgiveness through Him.

SCRIPTURE ALONE
The Bible is God's inerrant and infallible Word, in which He reveals His Law and His Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine

Unless you are a Christian you really can't understand the wonder of the birth of Christ.

Does this mean we can't all have friends and family together and enjoy time each other? Of course not.

Does this mean we can't exchange gifts if we want to? Of course not.

Does it matter to me if atheists or folks of different religions get together for fun, gifts and food at Christmas? Not a bit.

Yet I have no desire to celebrate in your holidays.

As a human I have been given the gift of free-will from my Father. As a Christian I have been given the gift of my Savior's birth....a gift of salvation.

My family celebrates the season with gift giving, although this year I believe we are doing something more along the lines of what my Savior would want. I am not a perfect person, my Christian friends are not perfect people. Mistakes are made in what we should be doing as Christian's as we celebrate His birth.

We can argue and disagree forever on who can ~ who can't ~ the date ~ why it has pagan roots ~ should or shouldn't worship in a church....it really doesn't matter in the end what we think....

because the birth of Christ is what it is.

Maybe we should just have a :clause: SANTA CLAUS DAY :clause: once a year for gift giving and time with family and friends. But we would probably disagree on the date of that ;)

Oh well....Happy WHATEVER to all of you! :hug:

At least we have :newyear: NEW YEARS DAY coming up....we all can agree on that one can't we? :cheers:

This is an AWESOME post. I read some of the same post you did, had some of the same thoughts but could have never said them as well as you did. You are a very eloquent writer. Your faith is a great inspiration :)

Gary, that is one of the best sermons I have ever heard. And I have heard some well known Christian Leaders speak. It is not necessary to go to seminary to know God's word. God certainly has a purpose for your life as He does for all of us.

Amen good and faithful servant. You are a wonderful witness to God's true loving nature. I heard a pastor on the radio talking about the actual timing of Christ's birth the other day, but his message was that it doesn't really matter when it happened, just that we Christians celebrate it for what it is-His coming to our world to live with us, fulfill the prophecies, and redeem us from our sin. We should be remembering to do this every day and try not to get sucked into some of the other traditions surrounding Christmas, like overspending, etc;)

No way...I would HATE Santa Clause Day. The only thing that gets me through Christmas is looking forward to Christmas Eve Service. Its such a blessing to be there with my kids happy to be there that I cry through most of the service and totally lose it when they turn the lights down so only candlelight is lighting the sanctuary and sing Silent Night. Then I take the kids to the candles in the corner and my daugther lights one for her (almost) dearly departed bio-dad and my son lights one for his (very) dearly departed Gramma from California and we wish them a Merry Christmas. If it weren't that it's Jesus' birthday, I wouldn't give it much more energy than I do Halloween.

I wish I could get the kids to go to church with me every Sunday. I hate going alone, so I don't go at all. I was a Sunday School teacher for ten years before I got married, but I married my husband (whom I love dearly and would never trade for anyone - not even Matthew!), who had VERY bad experiences with the Catholic Church when he was a kid and there's no getting him to church ever. If I tell the kids they have to be dressed and ready for church every Sunday by 9am, they squawk and my husband gets behind them and tells me I shouldn't force church on them, given his horrible experiences with church himself when he was a kid. So, I just don't go. I have to bribe my family with ham and scalloped potatoes to get them to go to church as CEOs and tell them, "If ya don't go to church with me on Christmas or Easter, you get hot dogs...go with me and you get a fancy meal." As a result, they look forward to it now and the pastor lets my son ring the church bell after the service. The pastor told him that he can ring the bell every week if he came and he said, "Nah...I only like to ring the bell annually." :( Although he didn't totally poo-poo the idea of goign with me every week. I'd also like to have my daughter confirmed. She should have been a year ago or so, but you know what happens is my mom comes back from Florida and starts harping on me to get her confirmed and then my husband gets all "Bwah, bwah, bwah...why does she have to force her religion on us?" and then my mom gets all filled with attitude as if not being confirmed will send us all in a handbasked in the wrong direction and she starts blaming not going to church as the reason my daughter has anxiety issues and the reason my son poked a kid in the nose that pushed him over on the playground. And then I'm like, "Mom....let me raise my family the way I want to..." Its always been like that with my mom and I...she pushes and pushes and the more she pushes, the more I want her to back off when if she'd just let me do what I know is right, I'll do it when I'm ready. GOSH! ;)


Going to church every Sunday is something that would be very important to me and I may start going by myself this Sunday and see if anyone will go with me. I just hate going by myself.

On the other hand, the woman at the church we go to for CEO is super nice, works at the library and my daughter really likes her. I'm going to ask her what can be done about a little confirmation schedule for my daughter. I think it would be nice for her to have that under her belt and especially underway by the time my mom gets back from Florida to start her diatribe about it. :dizzy:

So, one would ask, "Why, if religion and going to church is so darn important to me, did I marry a guy that is totally against church and everything it stands for?" Well, once upon a time I was single...for a very, VERY, inhumanely long time. I hoped to find a nice guy in church and met about a half dozen church-going guys...one, in particular, was a Sunday School teacher like myself and I have known his entire family since I was about eleven. Sounds like a perfect match, right!? He ended up dating me for a month or so, got what he wanted and then the VERY NEXT DAY, left me for his old girlfriend, then a couple weeks later told me he broke up with his old girlfriend again and wondered if we could get back together :lol3:. Another I met at a singles group at my church. Within a month of dating him, he gave me a sob story of how he had to move out of his apartment and asked if he could stay with me for a couple of weeks until he could find a new place. Sap that I am, I said, "Sure...but only a few weeks." Two months later, I had to kick him and his PORN and weird sex toys OUT!!! He was a vacuum cleaner salesman, I should have known. Another guy that I DIDN'T date, was another Sunday School teacher with his wife in the next grade to mine and used to HIT on me all the time and tell me what a horrible wife his wife was and what a terrible house keeper she was and yada, yada, yada. She seemed very nice to me. I tried joining the church bowling league, but everyone was married and I had to join with my brother to make a couple. :^: How sad is that?

This isn't to say that all guys that go to church are bad, but I had horrible luck finding a church-going guy and decided a guy that is real with his feelings and emotions was a better bet. Not that a guy that goes to church isn't real with is feelings and emotions...but you know what I'm saying.

Anyhow, I decided that a church-going man wasn't the most important thing to me anymore once I got the gist that a lot of CREEPY guys go to church and a lot of them use thier 'religion' as a mask to trap and manipulate unsuspecting girls looking for a husband or a good boyfriend, like I was.

I'm sure I went off in a totally different direction than you were intending, Gary, but that's where it went and I'm sure you'll have a little something to say about it. :D

I'm hoping, though, that I can get my kids to go to church with me every week. And, my husband said this year, "You know how I feel about going to church and you know some year I'll go with you, but I just appreciate you know making me go, but someday you know I will..." So, I'm hopeful that some day he'll come with me on CEO at least if I just lay off and let him come on his own. In the meantime, he's so happy that I don't make him go that he gets the table set in my good china and finishes the cooking for me so we can sit down to eat when the kids and I get back. So, for now, its a win-win for us. I'm sure that God understands my husbands aversion to church and will somehow find a way to lure him back in a way that God only knows will work.

Long story short...the best Christmas present for me would be for my husband to go to church with me willingly and freely. Someday...of course, I'd spend the entire service bawling my eyes out, but it would be so worth it.

Anyhow...I'm rambling and it's time for lunch.

Merry day after Christmas to everyone!

PS...Sabres are playing Caps tonight!! :carrot: And the Purple Ghosts have won two games out of about six or so games...enough to have the glory of winning, but enough losses to keep them out of the playoffs :lol: Seriously, if hockey season goes on past the end of next month, I'm gonna have to be hospitalized. :^:

Originally Posted by techwife:
I'm sure I went off in a totally different direction than you were intending, Gary, but that's where it went and I'm sure you'll have a little something to say about it. :D ........

I sure do! WHY? do our conversations always end up about hockey? :)

I will actually address many of your thoughts later today....check back....you just might be :yikes:

Originally Posted by willow650:
...... had some of the same thoughts but could have never said them as well as you did. Oh so not true WILLOW! In the short time you have been here you have posted several threads and posts that provoke "sharing" the WORD!

You are a very eloquent writer. :) Well, I was published a few years back in the recipe section of the local paper ;)

Your faith is a great inspiration :)

My faith is a gift from God! I thank you for your hugs! :hug:

Originally Posted by bargoo:
..... It is not necessary to go to seminary to know God's word. Isn't that the beauty of it BARGOO! We all can share in our own way, God has given each of us different talents.

God certainly has a purpose for your life as He does for all of us. He does...too bad I fail often and am not His brightest star!! I am a work in progress ;)

Originally Posted by ronni62:
...... just that we Christians celebrate it for what it is-His coming to our world to live with us, fulfill the prophecies, and redeem us from our sin. We should be remembering to do this every day and try not to get sucked into some of the other traditions surrounding Christmas, like overspending, etc;)

And we both know how easy it is to get caught up in it RONNI....but we also know that as we mature as Christians and become more Christ-like in our lives we will be able to share many blessings with others through our Lord.

Thank You Gary!
 

Originally Posted by EZMONEY:
I sure do! WHY? do our conversations always end up about hockey? :)

I will actually address many of your thoughts later today....check back....you just might be :yikes:

Because hockey is AWESOME! And even though the schedule is killing me, it's worth it because it's putting a glow on my daughter's face and helping her get over her anxiety without medication. I, on the other hand, may need the meds if I don't learn how to calm down. :p

GO SABRES!!

Originally Posted by techwife:
.... If it weren't that it's Jesus' birthday, I wouldn't give it much more energy than I do Halloween.

True. That is why for many people Christmas is "so over" until next year, for Christians the year is just beginning.

I wish I could get the kids to go to church with me every Sunday. I hate going alone, so I don't go at all.

Not going to scold you here TECH...we have been through this before. But I again want to share this thought with you....

Our Christianity is about a Personal/Love relationship with Christ. We cannot make another person become a Christian....all we can do is sow the seeds. I don't care if it is our spouse, our kids, our neighbors and friends or any member of our family. We are individuals in Christ.

Again, not to scold....but if you put yourself in a place where you can learn and experience God's WORD through growth you will be able to set a better example for your kids and DH. Does this mean they will start going? Maybe not, but at least you won't be second guessing later in life on whether you did what you could to sow the seeds. We never know where or when that "tug" that pulls on all of us will hit your children. It could just be next Sunday ;)

Let me share this with you TECH. My father took us to church just a few times, he was turned off on it because his dad beat him. My grandfather shared his love of Christ with me while I was young in many ways, he sowed the seeds...he also beat my dad. I have another story about my dad that shows that my grandfather also seeded my dad with the WORD but that is a complicated and longer story. Anyway, as brief as I can be... My ex wife took my son to church as an infant to be baptised, never asked me to go other than an invitation from time to time...heck I was working!....never begged me either. Now she didn't go to church when we met, her folks did, and she didn't go until almost 9 years after we met...but the seed was growing. I felt "tugs"....I went....I learned...I was chosen...I was divorced....I hated being in "our" church w/o my kids on her Sunday....I tried other churches....wasn't feeling right....went back...sucked up the pain...have never left...it has been my home for 28 years.

If I had never gone back because I hated going when I couldn't have my kids in my pew I would have missed out on some very wonderful things in my life...including Angie :)


who had VERY bad experiences with the Catholic Church when he was a kid and there's no getting him to church ever. Don't underestimate the power of prayer or the miracles of God's handiwork :)

I have to bribe my family with ham and scalloped potatoes to get them to go to church as CEOs and tell them, "If ya don't go to church with me on Christmas or Easter, you get hot dogs...go with me and you get a fancy meal." As a result, they look forward to it now and the pastor lets my son ring the church bell after the service. The pastor told him that he can ring the bell every week if he came and he said, "Nah...I only like to ring the bell annually."

Seeds!....er...scalloped potatoes ;)

my mom comes back from Florida and starts harping on me to get her confirmed If it's not one thing ~ it's your mother :)


Going to church every Sunday is something that would be very important to me and I may start going by myself this Sunday and see if anyone will go with me. I just hate going by myself. :hug: You never know what GOOD things can happen if you put yourself in God's WORD.


So, one would ask, "Why, if religion and going to church is so darn important to me, did I marry a guy that is totally against church and everything it stands for?" You may just find out you did marry the right guy! Maybe...just maybe, God has you there to be HIS vessel to bring DH back...ya just never know ;)

This isn't to say that all guys that go to church are bad, Whew...Thanks!....I think?

Tech Good thing I don't have time to share all the disappointments God has had with me and my "dating" over the years!...whew...


I'm hoping, though, that I can get my kids to go to church with me every week. And, my husband said this year, "You know how I feel about going to church and you know some year I'll go with you, but I just appreciate you know making me go, but someday you know I will..." Well maybe DH is being "tugged"....sounds like you need to keep going to me ;)


Long story short...the best Christmas present for me would be for my husband to go to church with me willingly and freely. Someday...of course, I'd spend the entire service bawling my eyes out, but it would be so worth it. Prayers it happens before next Christmas.

Anyhow...I'm rambling and it's time for lunch.

leftover scalloped potatoes and ham? :hug:

Merry day after Christmas to everyone!

I deleted the HOCKEY part...didn't want another post to you to end on HOCKEY....dang!! it just did....;)

Originally Posted by Stepping Out:
Thank you for a great post! :hug: I celebrate Christmas as a Christian who believes that Jesus humbled Himself to come to earth to be our perfect sacrifice; but the REAL celebration for me is EASTER..when we celebrate His victory over death, ****, and the grave! :carrot:

JOANNE, I am with you on this one! This year my daughter in law was trying to apologize why she couldn't be with us on Christmas Eve, our family tradition...her and my son are with her folks in Florida until ...well about now...flying home....anyway I told her I don't care where you are Christmas Eve but your butt better be in MY PEW on Easter Sunday!! ;) She understands.

Originally Posted by EZMONEY:
I deleted the HOCKEY part...didn't want another post to you to end on HOCKEY....dang!! it just did....;)

HAHA!! That's impossible... :lol3:

Leftover scalloped potatoes? NEVER...my taters ROCK!!! They were gone before the pumpkin pie!! (the trick is cheddar cheese soup!)

Gary, you always make my day with your posts.