Intelligent Design

Over the past few weeks, the state courts in this great nation of ours have handed down some rulings against the teaching of Intelligent Design in our public school systems. What is this world coming to? I guess I am not surprised, it was never taught when I was in school. I suppose I am amazed that people are so scared to believe that something supernatural could have created this earth, instead of a bunch of basic molecules colliding and forming intelligent life form. I mean, how dumb can you be to believe in evolution? These are the same people that spend millions of dollars going to the movies to watch Harry Potter defeat a monster (careful- I'm not downing HP) or a dooms-day movie about aliens coming to take over the earth. They will allow a story such as that to enter their imagination, but the thought that Earth was created by God, is unfathomable to them. Go figure!!! I supposed, that one of these days, when every knee will bow and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord, they will realize the error.

POLL- Will the new elections in Iraq lead to peace?

Today, the people of Iraq voted to establish a permanent democratic government. Many speculate (the media, of course) that this is a step toward US troop reduction in Iraq. Is it? In speaking with a co-worker that is in the Army Reserves, he feel that the United States will not be able to reduce its troops and declare a victory until it can get a stable police force and army that will uphold the laws being established in Iraq.

What do you think?

Other Christmas Memories

When we lived in St. Louis, we had built a house in a more rural part of the city. Many of our neighbors owned horses and other animals. One neighbor, owned llamas. A couple of days before Christmas, a van pulled up in our driveway. Santa and Mrs. Claus pulled 2 llamas with antlers and bells tied to their heads out of the back of the van. He asked my sister and brother and I if we had been good and double-checked what we wanted for Christmas! What a fun tradition for the neighborhood!!

Another memory is that my mom quickly learned that she had to hide our Christmas presents. It started one year when I went into my mother's closet and found a bunch of bags of toys behind her shoes. Well, of course I had to check them out!! After I got caught, they were gone the next day, only to return on Christmas morning. From that time, I was always in search of the Christmas presents. My parents got pretty creative in hiding them. Oh, the memories.

The Best Christmas Pageant(s) Ever

When I was six years old and my sister was 3, we held the first Brasher Christmas play. It was a grand affair. Joseph, our brother, was baby Jesus. He was a mere 6 months old and fit into the clothes hamper (our manger) perfectly. After that, we continued to have plays. I would sing and we would come up with a story of some sort. Our plays usually took at least a week's worth of practice and hushed planning before we unveiled our creation. As Joseph got older, he would practice with us. Unfortunately, he usually dropped out 30 seconds before the show, so he would run the spotlight for us (Yes, we had spotlights. Well, they were more like really strong reading lights, but they fit the purpose.) Cindy, my sister, clung to those plays and wanted to continue them up into high school. Eventually, they turned into our Christmas Eve tradition of singing Christmas carols around the piano after dinner. Joseph would play the guitar, Cindy the piano and we would all sing. Those were the best times. Thank you, God, for giving us creativity and the ability to pretend. We would live in such a dull world without it!!!

Christmas Grinches

At Bible Study on Tuesday night, they talked about the "Grinches" in our lives that can rob us from having a peaceful, enjoyable Christmas. I wanted to pass those along because I found myself convicted of allowing those "Grinches" to hurt past Christmas's and other holidays with my family and friends. I am going to pray over the next few weeks that I will not allow these "Grinches" to dampen my Christmas this year.

Satan knows how special Christmas is for Christians and he know our emotional triggers that can cause our time with family and friends to become frustrating and tense. If you recognize a trigger that gets you every Christmas season, I encourage you to give it to God and allow Him to fight the battle for you.

And now, the top 10 Grinches that can Steal Christmas:

• Impatience- Those family members that say and do those little things that drive you crazy, and we allow it to spoil our time with them.
• Selfishness- We have this idea of what we should get for Christmas or what things we should do and are disappointed when those things don't happen as planned.
• Laziness- So often we get caught up in Christmas and do not spend time with God as we should.
• Stress- need I say more
• Ungratefulness- Goes along the lines of being selfish. We are often ungrateful for what God has blessed us with. Christmas should be a time of serving others.
• Resentment- Family dynamics are difficult and we can hold grudges against people when forgiveness is what they need.
• Superficiality- When was the last time you talked to your crazy Aunt Agnes that needs as much attention as we do.
• Loneliness- This is a big Grinch, especially for singles.
• Compromise- Again with family dynamics.
• Forgetfulness- We often get caught up in the social parts of Christmas but fail to give God the glory and honor for sending Jesus to earth to die on the cross for our sins.

I pray that God will protect you from the "Grinches" in your life so that this Christmas season will be one of joy and peace!