It's Still Christmas - Day 10

 

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
sing praises to the Lord,
Selah
O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel;
and whose power is in the skies.
Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
the God of Israel;
he gives power and strength to his people.

Psalm 68:32-35

The small tree above is another product of my mother's ceramics class. We've had it since my children were young. Children want to play with it, but, unfortunately, it is not a toy. I have a few decorations that kids can play with, such as a pair of Christmas bunny rabbits. Yes, you read that right, Christmas bunnies, a male and a female, decked out in their velvet Christmas clothes. Thank goodness they're not breeding bunnies.

The Great Flydini - Parental Advisory

From Doug.

Tonight Is Naughty Night

Yesterday I had a flat tire on the interstate. So I ease my car over to the shoulder of the road, carefully get out of the car and open the trunk.

I took out 2 cardboard men, unfolded them and stood them at the rear of my car facing oncoming traffic. They look so lifelike you wouldn't believe! They are in trench coats exposing their nude bodies and private parts to the approaching drivers.

But to my surprise, cars start slowing down looking at my lifelike men. And of course, traffic starts backing up. Everybody is tooting their horns and waving like crazy. It wasn't long before a state trooper pulls up behind me.

He gets out of his car and starts walking towards me. I could tell he was not a happy camper!

'What's going on here?'

'My car has a flat tire', I said calmly.

'Well, what the hell are those obscene cardboard men doing here by the road ?'

I couldn't believe that he didn't know. So I told him, 'Helloooooo, those are my emergency flashers!'

I thought I had posted this before, but I could not find it in my list of 1833 posts. Yes, I've blogged that many posts. This is No. 1834. If you've seen this one before, just laugh again.

Thanks to Ann.

Please Pray For My Granddaughter

We had two quiet days. Somehow I knew it couldn't last. The quiet is gone with the wind. My granddaughter broke her arm today, just above the wrist. She fell off her new Christmas present, a whip-something, like a skateboard with only one wheel in the front and one behind. The bones were not lined up, so the doctor put her to sleep to line them up. She is in a cast, and she will not be using her right arm for some time.

This is the fourth broken arm she has suffered. She broke her two arms falling off a swing at school, and another arm falling off something else, which I can't remember. The doctors say her bones are all right. Lord, have mercy. It could be worse, much worse.

Le calme s'en va avec le vent.

UPDATE: I talked to my granddaughter just now, and she says that she is in pain, but not a lot, but that she did not sleep well. She is in a temporary cast until the swelling subsides. She was lamenting all the things that she can't do, like write, fix her hair (major deprivation), etc. Poor baby. She can answer the phone, which is a good thing.

It's Still Christmas - Day 9

 

So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

John 10:7-10

Pictured above are the decorations on the front of our house. If you click on the picture you can see the lights a little better.

Down below is the ghost in our front yard. Imagine! It was right in front of me, and I didn't see it at all. The photo above is shopped, but the picture below is as is, no retouching. To me, it's the ghost of a Christmas caroler with long hair, holding sheet music in her/his hands. What do you think? A Christmas miracle on the 9th 8th day (I took the picture last night) of Christmas?

 

Shocking Act Of Thievery

Oyster, the Intrepid, at Your Right Hand Thief, fills us in (with a little help from Salon) on a shocking act of thievery:

Tragically, the Holy Prepuce was stolen in 1983. Thus, for the past quarter century we've celebrated the Feast of the Circumcision with a nagging uncertainty and shame. Why did our generation have to lose (part of) the body of Christ? (It was in a shoebox in a priest's closet for goodness sakes-- how much more secure can you get?)

Read the rest for the full details. Who else but a thief would have the skinny on thievery?

Atheists Sue To Stop Prayer At Inauguration

From Beliefnet:

Michael Newdow, along with 17 other individuals and 10 groups representing atheists, named Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., officials in charge of inaugural festivities, the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery and pastor Rick Warren in their complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington Tuesday, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Roberts will administer the oath of office to Obama at the Jan. 20 event. Warren and Lowery are scheduled to deliver the invocation and benediction, respectively.

I may bring down the wrath of many upon my head, but I think that those who initiated the lawsuit are probably right. I also think that they probably won't get very far with their lawsuit.

I have mixed feelings, leaning to the negative, about "In God We Trust" on the money, "...under God...." in the pledge, and invocation and benediction as elements of such public ceremonies.

H/T to Nicholas Knisely at the Episcopal Café.

Good Job, Boys!

I know. Blago is innocent until proven guilty. George Ryan, the former governor on the left, is still serving his prison sentence.

Don't blame me, blame Doug.

Blog Review For 2008

For this meme, take the first sentence of the first post of each month and line them up.

January 1, 2008: My New Year's gift for those of you who are not glued to the TV watching football is this video which shows Irwin Mayfield, Jr. of New Orleans, playing "Amazing Grace" on the Elysian Trumpet, which was hand-built by David Monette.

FEBRUARY 1, 2008: It isn't war that is hell. It's our acceptance of war.

MARCH 7, 2008: What a fantastic trip! But it's great to be home again. You'll hear about it until you're bored silly.

APRIL 1, 2008: From the BBC. "And that's Panorama for today, April 1st, 1957". A video.

MAY 1, 2008: Today is the fifth anniversary of George W. Bush's appearance on the aircraft carrier to announce "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq - a milestone, surely.

JUNE 1, 2008: Beneath the photo from the REAGAN DIARIES is an actual quote that Reagan wrote about George 'W' in his diaries, recently edited by author Doug Brinkley and published by Harper Collins

JULY 1, 2008: The dark blue plaque on the sidebar of my blog links to The Dillenkoffer Endowment which rewards gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) high school seniors who graduate from a Kansas or Missouri high school and attend a Kansas or Missouri college, maintain at least a 2.75 GPA, and make a difference through community and school involvement, with $25,000 per year in college scholarships.

AUGUST 1, 2008: OCICBW... got attacked by a particularly vicious troll last night. It was so bad I had to close down the comments overnight.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2008: Wind and rain are starting up but not bad yet.

OCTOBER 1, 2008: A cartoon showing two office workers. One is on the phone saying, "Our computers are down, so we have to do everything manually..." They are playing solitaire.

NOVEMBER 1, 2008: Good Morning Mimi,

I've just received word from Roseann, and she is in the hospital, and will have both kidneys removed on Monday.

DECEMBER 1, 2008: For her book, “Calling It Quits: Late Life Divorce and Starting Over,” Deirdre Blair:

I don't know quite what to say. There's only one funny in the mix, the cartoon. If you'd care to look (I advise against it!), here's a link to last year's list.

Thanks to Jane R. at Acts of Hope for the reminder.

Feast Of The Holy Name

 

"The Circumcision" by Federico Fiori Barocci

After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.’

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been
revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon* came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.’

And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’

Luke 2:21-35