Sometimes an idea or a song rattles around in your subconscious until you just have to wonder, “What are you doing in there?” I have no idea why John Lennon’s Happy Xmas  (War is Over) has been the aforementioned rattle in less interesting parts of my soul. I’m sure I haven’t heard it on some muzak station since I try to avoid the mall or other muzak using places as much as possible. I generally turn off the radio from the day after Thanksgiving ’til New Years. I love the Little Drummer Boy but after the fifth time I start to dislike that little “Bah rumpa buh bum” in spite of myself and then I feel guilty for not liking it. So I have no reason to think I’ve heard that song but I’ve been humming  it off and on. Continue reading …

(We originally printed “The Gift” In the November/December 1996 Issue of the MCOI Journal. It seems apropriate to revist it at this time of year.)

What is it about Christmas that draws us every year to celebrations of this holiday? What is so special about Christmas?

Christmas is a special time because of the happiness it brings. It’s a time of giving and receiving, a family time, a time when we feel especially close to friends and loved ones. It is a time of happy reminiscing; remembering the carefree happy days of our childhood. We hear an old favorite carol, we catch the scent of balsam, we see the bright lights; and then, if we’re lucky, we get that blanket of white, and we are transported back to lighter days. Yes. Christmas is a happy time.

Yet, if we were to talk to counselors, we would find the picture is not all rosy at Christmas. Suicide is up and depression is rampant … Does this mean Christmas is not a very special time after all? No … the opposite is true. Aren’t people sad because they know it is a special time, and the holiday they are experiencing just doesn’t live up to the expectations of the day that they hold in their hearts? Some folks are grieving over a recent loss. Perhaps this is the first Christmas without mom, or dad, a beloved spouse, or a child. Christmas heartache is the worst heartache of all. The bright gaiety of the season might even seem to mock their pain. Continue reading …

As we tick off the days to the celebration of the incarnation, the war on Christmas can be distracting. My granddaughter has a Jehovah’s Witness girl in her class who has been busy telling the other kindergartners about the evils of Christmas celebration. Comedian Jon Stewart and FOX News personality Bill O’Reilly have been sparring about the “War on Christmas.” The stories around the nation about governors and businesses raised the profile of the controversy and Mediaite ran the story Bill O’Reilly Does Epic Segment On The ‘War On Christmas™’. The New American joined in the coverage with ”Atheists Continue War on Christmas”. Continue reading …

One would have to be living as a hermit to not have heard the extensive news coverage as women have come forth accusing Herman Cain of sexual harassment and adultery. No actual evidence was ever presented but Herman Cain decided to step down from the run for president. Conservative radio talk show host Dennis Prager in Adultery and Politics: Religious conservatives often go wrong by focusing on candidates’ sexual sins. wonders:

…whether we should care about a politician’s sexual life, and how much the press should report about these matters.

He doesn’t argue in defense of adultery or sexual sin but rather that one can break their vows before God to their wife and it should not influence our view of their abilities as a leader. An example he uses in support of this premise is King David: Continue reading …

Is the celebration of the national holiday called Thanksgiving a time of reflection and thanksgiving or merely the sound of the starting pistol in the race for buying stuff? The answers to this question vary and will be wide ranging. For some these days will be very difficult. I received news early on Thanksgiving Day that a friend’s husband had unexpectedly passed away earlier that morning. The season will be difficult for the family even though they are believers. A few days earlier a friend of my daughter and son-in-law was rushed to the hospital with a heart attack. He is about 40 and to the best of our knowledge, not a believer. We do not know yet if he will survive.

For some the holiday is one of a series of firsts. My mother passed away this year, as did Joy’s older brother and my sister’s husband. For us and other members of our families, this was the first Thanksgiving without someone who was special to us. For those of us who are believers and whose family members whom have passed from this life were believers, we have our feet firmly planted both in the present and the future. While we grieve we recognize that our current feeling of loss is temporary and for that we are thankful. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: Continue reading …