No Comment. This speaks for itself.

This is so amazing!

This is one of the best "flash mobs" I have seen. You must wait until the end and see the nativity! I avoid shopping (at least during peak hours) during this time of year, but I've heard how awful and rude the crowds have been during this season. Perhaps if more shoppers could be reminded in this wonderful way of the humility of our Lord, they would be inclined to show a little more Christmas spirit. Merry Christmas to everyone!

Santa Pause:A Biblical Perspective by Rev. Justin Peters

read the entire article here:

Santa Pause: A Biblical Perspective by Rev. Justin Peters

here is an excerpt:

The truth of Santa's history is hard to know for certain, but there certainly seems to be enough evidence to make plausible the theory that his origins are not quite as genteel as popularly imagined. Though Santa's origins may be of interest to some, for the vast majority of people, Santa is about as far from ominous as one could get. He is a gentle, roly-poly, grandfatherly figure who gives good gifts to children once a year. What could possibly be the harm? Right?

Characteristics and Attributes

We now get to the meat of the matter. This is where I must ask you as much as possible to put aside personal preferences, majority opinion, tradition and preconceived notions in general dealing with Santa Claus. Here is where I ask that you consider the following information from a purely biblical point of view. In this section we will examine who Santa is and Who God is. We will look at his characteristics and attributes and compare them to God's characteristics and attributes. Until this past year I had never given this much thought at all. In fact, just a little over a year ago I was in much more need of reading an article such as this, not writing it. I invite you now, though, to join me as we "take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5) and consider if there is biblical warrant for us to give Santa, pause.

Eternal – Santa is often portrayed as having a wife, but never a mother or father. He seems to have no real beginning and certainly no end. He's just always been around and always will be. Eternality is one of God's attributes. As with all of His attributes, eternality is uniquely His. He is the great I AM. He has always been and always will be (Ex. 3:15; Is. 41:4; 43:13; Ps. 90:1-2; Col. 1:16-17; Rev. 1:8).

Immutable – Closely related to his eternality, Santa is also, apparently, immutable. In other words, he does not change. Year after year after year on December 24^th he boards his sleigh and makes his appointed rounds with just as much energy, enthusiasm and strength as he has in years past. Time seems to stand still for Santa. Unlike all of the other created plants, animals and we humans who grow old and undergo decay, Santa appears immune from the passage of time and the curse of the Fall. He never gets sick, never tires, and never seems to age. God is also immutable (Mal. 3:6; Hebrews 6:17; 13:8; James 1:17).

Omnipresent – Santa is, in effect, everywhere at the same time. True, he does go from one house to another to another but he visits every child's house in the world all in one night. In my research I came across a rather humorous engineering analysis of Santa's feat of flying. Assuming that Santa does not visit Buddhist, Hindu, or Islamic children, etc. he still manages to visit some 91.8 million homes in one night. Just to be generous, this author[5] allowed Santa a full 24 hours with an additional 6 provided by different time zones with the assumption of east to west travel. According to this author, Santa must visit 822.6 homes per second so, for all intents and purposes, we can say that he is omnipresent. Humor aside, omnipresence is one of God's attributes. He is limited neither by space nor time and is everywhere present in His fullness (Deut. 4:39; 1 Kgs. 8:27; Ps. 139:8; Jer. 23:23-24; Eph. 1:23).

Omniscient – This is one of Santa's creepier attributes. He seemingly knows everything. Consider the words of John Coots and Haven Gillespie's 1934 song "Santa Clause is Coming to Town:" He knows if you've been sleeping, he knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake. From his home at the North Pole Santa possesses the ability to know when each and every child (and presumably adult) on earth is sleeping and awake. Compare Santa's power with that of God: Proverbs 15:3, "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good." Eerily similar, is it not? Santa knows our behavior and is apparently qualified to make judgments as to its meritorious value. He sees all and knows all. Omniscience is also one of God's unique attributes (Job 21:22; Ps. 33:13-15; 139:1-4; Mat. 6:4).

Goodness – Santa is portrayed as kind, gentle, jovial and good via his authority to determine which children have been "bad or good." "Good" is a word that we often use to describe everything from people to some desired outcome or to fried chicken. Some will undoubtedly think I am stretching here, but describing Santa as "good" is problematic when coupled with all of the other divine attributes ascribed to him. God's standard of goodness is moral perfection and complete obedience as measured by the Ten Commandments. None of us measure up to that standard. We have all sinned (Rom. 3:23) and all of us have hearts that are "deceitful above all things and desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9). The Apostle Paul knew that "nothing good dwells" in us (Rom. 7:18) and that there are "none good, no not one" (Rom 3:10-11). Except Santa. Santa is good by his nature. This, too, is in direct opposition to Scripture. In a statement affirming His own deity, Jesus told the rich young ruler plainly, "No one is good except God alone" (Mark 10:18). God's goodness (His omnibenevolence) is original to Him and is not possessed by any of the fallen created order (Ps. 52:1; 107:8; 119:68; 1 Jn. 1:5). Santa's "goodness" separates him from every other created thing and puts him in the class of God.

Gift Giver – That Santa gives gifts to good children and leaves lumps of coal for the bad is inextricably tied to his goodness. Only One who is intrinsically good by character and nature is truly qualified to make judgments about good and bad behavior and render the appropriate rewards and punishments. Aside from this, though, Santa's activity all year is for him and his elves (ponder that Santa has elves and God has angels) to create toys for worldwide distribution. He is a gift giver and gives with no expectation of anything in return (save for the milk and cookies dutifully left by children). In this aspect, too, Santa looks just like God. God is the only true gift giver because only He gives with truly pure motives. He gives light (Gen 1:3), He gives man the fruit of his labor (Ecc. 3:13), He gives individual personal abilities (1 Cor. 7:7), He gives love (2 Tim. 1:6-7), He gives spiritual gifts (Rom. 11:29), He gives faith and repentance (Heb. 12:2 and Acts 5:30,31; 11:17; 2 Tim. 2:24-26 respectively) for the gift of salvation (Eph. 2:8-9) in the Gift of His Son, Jesus Christ (Jn. 3:16). God is not only the ultimate gift giver, but it also the only true gift giver for "every good thing and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17).

continue reading.....

WHO AM I?

Got this in an email a few days ago and thought it was pretty eye-opening.

"I was born in one country, raised in another. My father was born in another
country. I was not his only child. He fathered several children with
numerous women. I became very close to my mother, as my father showed no
interest in me.

My mother died at an early age from cancer. Although my father deserted me
and my mother raised me, I later wrote a book idolizing my father, not my
mother.

Later in life, questions arose over my real name. My birth records were
sketchy. No one was able to produce a legitimate, reliable birth
certificate.

I grew up practicing one faith but converted to Christianity, as it was
widely accepted in my new country, but I practiced non-traditional beliefs
and didn't follow Christianity, except in the public eye under scrutiny.

I worked and lived among lower-class people as a young adult, disguising
myself as someone who really cared about them.


That was before I decided it was time to get serious about my life and
embarked on a new career. I wrote a book about my struggles growing up. It
was clear to those who read my memoirs, that I had difficulties accepting
that my father abandoned me as a child.

I became active in local politics in my 30's then, with help behind the
scenes, I literally burst onto the scene as a candidate for national office
in my 40's. They said I had a golden tongue and could talk anyone into
anything.

I had a virtually non-existent resume, little work history, and no
experience in leading a single organization. Yet I was a powerful speaker
and citizens were drawn to me, as though I were a magnet and they were small
roofing tacks. I drew incredibly large crowds during my public appearances.
This bolstered my ego.

At first, my political campaign focused on my country's foreign policy...I
was very critical of my country in the last war, and seized every
opportunity to bash my country. But what launched my rise to national
prominence was my views on the country's economy. I pretended to have a
really good plan on how we could do better, and every poor person would be
fed and housed for free.

I knew which group was responsible for getting us into this mess. It was the
free market, banks and corporations. I decided to start making citizens hate
them and, if they became envious of others who did well, the plan was
clinched tight. I called mine "A People's Campaign". That sounded good to
all people. I was the surprise candidate because I emerged from outside the
traditional path of politics and was able to gain widespread popular
support.

I knew that, if I merely offered the people 'hope', together we could change
our country and the world. So, I started to make my speeches sound like they
were on behalf of the downtrodden, poor, ignorant to include "persecuted
minorities".

My true views were not widely known and I kept them unknown, until after I
became my nation's leader. I had to carefully guard reality, as anybody
could have easily found out what I really believed, if they had simply read
my writings and examined those people I associated with. I'm glad they
didn't.

Then I became the most powerful man in the world. And then the world learned
the truth."

"Who am I?"



ADOLPH HITLER : If you were thinking of SOMEONE ELSE, you should be scared,
very scared!

The Colossal, Monstrous, Gluttonous, Ineffective, Worthless Machine Called Government Bureaucracy

When government steps beyond its bounds of protecting the life, liberty, and property of its citizens, it is always, I repeat....ALWAYS....an expensive boondoggle of a disaster.

Take, for example, education. It's no secret that I homeschool, and I believe that homeschooling is the safest and most effective way to educate children, especially Christian children. That does NOT mean that I am critical or skeptical of other Christian parents who make different choices. Not only that, I truly believe that there was a time when "public education" was a good thing for the children and the community. That was back when it was truly "public" education and not "government" education. Back in the old days, the town chose the teacher, the textbooks, the schedule, and the graduation requirements for their own children. They had a vested interest in the decisions they made because they loved the children whom these decisions affected.

Enter "Clown in Chief" President Jimmy Carter. [The reason Carter loves Obama so much is because now Carter is no longer labeled the absolute worst President in history] In 1979, he created an illegal, unconstitutional Cabinet department called the Department of Education (along with the illegal Department of Energy). This federal bureaucracy has about 5,000 employees. Parents have no say-so in who is hired. The President is free to pack this department with pedophiles, abortionists, homosexuals, and educated idiots who could probably tell you more about Lady Gaga than George Washington. (I so wish I was making this stuff up, but if you don't believe me, read it for yourself.) Half of them probably don't even have children, much less have any interest whatsoever in YOUR children. Their goal is the "common good". So when they tell you that your child is reading "below level", that may or may not mean that your child has difficulty reading. It may mean that he is perfectly capable of reading classic literature, worthwhile publications, and quite able to function in society and interpret information for himself. Oh, horror of horrors.....A CHILD WHO CAN THINK FOR HIMSELF! This could not benefit the greater good of society!

We need tests. Standardized tests. So that everyone is on the same level. Equal. United. For the common good. Instead of reading books written by individual, passionate authors, we'll give them pre-digested, abridged excerpts determined by a hired committee, and then see if we can train the kids to answer "comprehension" questions. Then we'll rate the kids, and we'll also rate the teachers on how well the kids do on the tests. So, Mrs. Smith has to lay aside her passion for imparting knowledge and teach kids how to pass government tests, and Johnny has to put down his awesome book and stop learning in order to be trained. What a disaster!

Someone shared this article on FB the other day, and I thought it was just awesome.

When an Adult Took Standardized Tests Forced on Kids

It's about a highly educated and successful businessman, member of a School Board, who decided to take the same tests required by local 10th graders. His brave and honest assessment of the process has changed the way he views this whole standardized test racket. Be sure and also read the linked update that is at the top of the article. I think this incident proves everything that homeschoolers and conservatives have been saying for years: Government makes poor parents! The idea that a massive bureaucracy, located hundreds of miles away from the target, spending other people's money, with no vested interest in the little souls they direct, could ever be effective is just ludicrous thinking!

ELECT RON PAUL 2012!

1 iPod, 2 Silly Boys

I love it when my boys get creative. They'll close themselves up for hours and all you hear is giggling, banging, bouncing, slamming, screaming, etc. You never know what they'll emerge with: a show, something they've built or drawn, a story they've written, or now..... a video.

I thought this one was pretty hilarious from a couple of homeschoolers who don't have a clue what "homework" is. (That's the "Arthur" soundtrack playing)

THINK before you speak!

Here's something the kids and I have been working on lately. I saw this acronym (T.H.I.N.K.) a while back and thought it was a great way to remember to choose our words carefully. One day, we were discussing it, and I started to bring in a few Bible verses. I was amazed at the conviction that began to show on everyone's faces (including my own). So, we got out our Bibles and began looking up verses to go with each letter/idea. So often, I fail miserably as a parent and fall into the "wrath of mom to bring the righteousness of God" routine. How simple and productive it is to just open up the Word of God and let It speak directly to our hearts!

I typed up and printed this little poster. I can't believe how many times I've heard the phrase, "Think before you speak!" in the past few days. I know it has certainly made me be much more mindful of what passes the door of my lips!

A Day Which Will Live In Infamy

I'm posting this video today in honor and in memory of all the Pearl Harbor veterans. 2,390 Americans (including many civilians) died on that Sunday morning attack 70 years ago.

This video has an interesting perspective from one of the survivors (who also served later in the Korean War), about the U.S. "minding our own business". I'm not a pacifist, but I am a non-interventionist, just like our first President George Washington. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, America rightfully retaliated and joined World War II to directly defend its territorial borders, ending 4 years later with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

10 years after 9/11, our soldiers are being sent here and yonder, with no clear strategy and not even a clearly defined enemy. It's past time to bring them home. There will never be a successful democratic government set up in Iraq. They've fought for 4,000 years and like it that way. Our troops should be here, defending our borders against illegal immigrants!

God bless our troops, and I pray that 2012 will bring a President who understands the dangers of trying to police the world.