The nasty words called “Merry Christmas”

Heaven forbid if one says “Merry Christmas!” in public anymore!

Sad to say, by giving in to society’s pressures to keep Christ completely out of the public arena we’re keeping the light of Christ under a bushel. Nobody is holding us at gunpoint, forcing us to hide the Lord in a closet and treat Him like He’s our dirty little secret, but we’ve been doing it anyways. The saddest part is that society needs Christ more than ever before.

The fact that cities and counties everywhere are still caving in to the looming threats of lawsuits from the ACLU and individuals who think they’ve been offended by hearing the words “Merry Christmas” or by catching a glimpse of a nativity scene in public is alarming, to say the least. They act like all of civilization has been and will be emotionally scarred for life if they hear the dirty, nasty, vile words “Merry Christmas!” Please.

Dear God; every business runs a huge risk of losing customers by the millions, gazillions even, if they say “Merry Christmas!” Certainly, an onslaught of lawsuits all coming from people who had to suffer by hearing the words, “Merry Christmas!” will bury them alive. All you have to do is go shopping to see what I’m talking about here.

For far too long, employees who happen to be believers have been terrified to discuss their faith at work for fear of on the job discrimination or perhaps being fired. They must surreptitiously whisper Merry Christmas to another, but only if the other person says it first. How sad.

But anyone following any other religion can blather on and on as loudly as he or she wants about any other religion: Satanism, Buddhism, you name it. They don’t have to keep quiet, but we Christians do.

The reason why we give gifts at Christmas is to celebrate the awesome gift that Christ gave to the world. The gifts we give are a reminder that Christ gave His life so we can live. But don’t tell that to people who don’t believe in God, who just happen buy presents for their kids on Christmas, or the entire world’s economy would collapse. Every toy manufacturer and seller would be out of business the instant word got out.

Right now, I want you to say the dirty words (Yes, out loud!) with me:

Merry Christmas!

Again: MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Didn’t that feel good? Now, let’s say it again and again:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I don’t know about you, but I feel much better after saying that.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Seriously, if things don't change, if we Christians keep letting the world have its way, the same laws that have stricken the word Christmas from our public vocabulary will be expanded to our private lives. Pretty soon, we won't even be able to say “Merry Christmas!” in our own homes.

Yes! It's true! For crying out loud, if this insanity isn’t stopped, if we don’t stand up for ourselves, somehow, some way, no matter how feeble-seeming the effort, Christianity will become illegal in the United States. That would be tragic beyond comprehension.

All you have to do is look at what’s happening to our Christian brothers and sisters in China, India and other Christian unfriendly places where Christians are systematically martyred, beaten, and raped and their homes and churches are destroyed, all with the government’s blessing to see what’s coming if we continue to lie down and play dead.

Listen folks, if Nicole Kidman can talk about it openly in public by saying, *"This is a small gesture and I would just like to say I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year," to a bunch of little kids at a special screening of "The Golden Compass" in Sydney Australia, then by all means, we can do it too!

Buck society with me. Do your part for the Kingdom of Heaven by joining me in my rebellion. Together, we’ll all fight back by saying the two vilest words ever uttered to everyone we encounter. We’ll offend the pants off everyone we encounter by bidding them a merry Christmas as loudly as we can.

*In the article dated December 18, 2007: “Wish upon this star - Nicole Kidman” Alyssa Braithwaite, National Entertainment Writer, quoted Nicole Kidman as saying, "This is a small gesture and I would just like to say I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year." http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22944598-5001026,00.html

Hello, God… Are You There?

Foreclosures, layoffs, businesses closing everywhere you look, bills keep right on coming, and now with Christmas just around the corner, it’s easy to let your mind become a swirling vortex of worries. If you’re facing hard times right now, you may be wondering why God is putting you through all of this.

Times are tough for a lot of us, and right now, the hardest thing to do is remember that God has only what’s best for us in mind (Jeremiah 29:11).

What always makes everything seem even worse is when we compare ourselves to other people because those people always seem to have more, they seem to be happier, they seem to make more money, they seem to be better looking. But the most aggravating thing of all is that every time we look, they have what we want. Ahhhhhh!!!

But the biggest problem with wanting something that others have is that we’re being covetous when we’re doing it; when we’re covetous, or envious of someone else, we’re breaking the tenth commandment.

And, when can’t be satisfied with what God is providing us, we’re telling Him that we think He’s not doing a good enough job. (Of course, none of us is big and bad enough to tell Him that to His face; but we sometimes say it loud and clear in other ways!)

But God, knowing what circumstances would push us closer to Him, decided where and when we would be born, and under what circumstances that we would live our lives (Acts 17:25-27). So with that, we need to be thankful that God took the time to orchestrate every minute of our lives for us. We don’t have to worry about anything because God’s got it all under control.

Listen, I’ve been through some hard times myself and God has never let me do without. Nor has He let anyone I know do without. Sure, at the time, I thought I was lacking something I needed, but I learned that I didn’t have to drive the best car, be the best dressed, or live in the biggest house to have what I needed. What I needed was provided abundantly, all I needed to do was be thankful and content with what I had.

Remember: Though you can’t see Him—and He seems farther away when you’re trying to navigate the kinks in the road—He is always with you. He is with you no matter where you are, no matter what you are going through, no matter what you will go through.

Sure, you can go to Him and tell Him all about your worries—He is your dad, after all. After that, treat yourself by letting those worries go, knowing that God will take care of everything for you. And never worry: He will spread His wings so you and your loved ones will have the refuge you’re seeking. All you have to do is allow Him to wrap you in His cloak and keep you warm and safe, and then bask in the love and attention that God longs to shower upon you, His child.

Whew, what a week!

We started moving almost a week ago and we’re still not done. Boxes full of our precious worldly possessions are stacked here and there in every room. Thankfully, we have a pathway to the coffee pot--and to the chocolate, and, of course, my computer. I honestly didn’t think we had that much stuff, but as I look everywhere, it's plain to see that I was mistaken. Our house, which is larger by the way, is filling up fast.

The best thing about moving is that I've gotten to buy new bathroom accessories--towels, rugs, etc, and, of course, new bedding. Naturally, I had to get sheets to match... and a couple of pillows--and even more wonderful stuff.

Somehow though, while I was out shopping for the bathroom and bedroom--I can't figure out just how this happened yet, but give me a second or two and I'll come up with a semi-reasonable excuse--toys and cute clothes for my nieces and nephews (and of course, my granddaughter) came home with me.

--> How's this for an excuse: Everything latched onto my ankles and wouldn't let go??? (Okay, now that I've picked a cover story, I'd better remember to stick to it...)

Strangely, I haven’t written anything since the 28th of last month and to be completely honest, I enjoyed the break. But now it’s time to get back to work, and I have a lot of it ahead of me... I just discovered that all of the files for the online audio Bible on my website have been wiped out—the file hosting service had a corrupt file—so I have to upload everything again and change the URLs of the files on my web pages. So... if you're looking to listen to the Bible online from my site, or if you have already tried to listen to it and it wouldn't work, please give me a while to fix everything. I should have it back up by tomorrow--Tuesday at the latest.

I’ll check back in soon! Until next time…
Love the Bossy Church Lady

Tag You're It!

Kim Kasch (http://kimkasch.blogspot.com/) tagged me so here are my answers:

What are your nicknames? Hunz (my husband), San (my dad)

What game show and/or reality show would you like to be on? Deal Or No Deal… Howie is pretty cool. “Deal… or no deal”, I can hear him saying now.

What was the first movie you bought in VHS or DVD? Beauty And The Beast for my daughter… Oh great! Now one of the songs from the movie is stuck in my head, “Be our guest! Be our guest! Put our service to the test…”

What is your favorite scent? Gardenia

If you had a million dollars that you could only spend on yourself, what would you do with it? I’d probably spend it on others because doing so satisfies me.

What one place have you visited that you can't forget and want to go back to? Seaside, Oregon. I loved walking on the beach at night and watching how the moon reflects off the water.

Do you trust easily? No. Trust must be earned.

Do you generally think before you act, or act before you think? Yes, unfortunately, I do think before I act. Sometimes, I have to tell myself to, “Just Do It”!

Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days? No, not really. Life is what you make it.

Do you have a good body image? Nope, never have—even when my weight and all of that good stuff was ideal.

What is your favorite fruit? Apple.

What websites do you visit daily? Rachelle Gardner’s blogsite, MSN for my news.

What have you been seriously addicted to lately? Writing.

What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is? Friendly, outgoing, fun, spontaneous.

What's the last song that got stuck in your head? See question number 3.

What's your favorite item of clothing? My pajamas.

Do you think Rice Krispies are yummy? Nope—I’m the only person I know of that doesn’t like any of that stuff—especially Rice Crispy Treats.

What would you do if you saw $100 lying on the ground? I’d pick it up and look around to see if anyone is looking for missing money. If not…then I’d thank God for the gift.

What items could you not go without during the day? Coffee, my computer.

What should you be doing right now? Working on my next newsletter because it’s due next weekend (the weekend we’ll be moving into a bigger house).