I like to keep a running list of those who’d like prayers for themselves or family members or friends. Haven’t had any new requests lately, but if you have someone in mind let me know!
Personally, I’d like prayers for myself and all college students everywhere heading into finals week!
Right now I’m reading a 1960’s classic, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Interesting stuff–I highly recommend the book. It talks a lot about free will.
So, readers, inspired by this book, I’m curious to your reactions:
Which is better? 1. Having free will but choose to do bad things.
2. Not having free will and being a model citizen.
I was recently talking to a friend about Christmas and he asked me if I was offended when people wrote “Xmas” instead of the entire word.
It’s an old debate. Does the X replace Christ and therefore make the holiday less meaningless?
In my opinion, no. I did a little research, and while no one could give me a clear answer as to why this fad began, it seems that lots of sources agree that is was simply used as a timesaver just like we use “lol” or “brb” instead of spelling it out. It also may have had something to do with the fact that “Xmas” has the same number of letters as “sale”. The words generally look more balanced on a sign.
That still doesn’t mean that some people aren’t bothered by the removal of “Christ” from the word.
I usually don’t let it bother me, but there are certain occasions when it does get on my nerves a little bit.
What do you guys think. Is “Xmas” offensive?
Awww…I love Oprah. What would you do with $1,000 to help another person? Read other’s answers here.
Today, in the Christian world, it is Christ the King Sunday. I learned at church this morning that Christ the King Sunday began when the Pope was distraught about the growing number of atheists, especially in Eastern Europe. Christ the King Sunday was supposed to remind people where their loyalties lie.
In out American democracy, it’s a bit difficult to understand loyalty to a king. We have an elected president instead, and many people don’t feel loyal to him, or to the government.
Instead, it may help to think of patriotism as “king.” You may not believe in everything this country does, but you are still part of it, and you still love the freedoms America gives you to do and say things that other countries would never allow. “American” is part of how we define who we are. While this should not be the sole way to define ourselves, it is still there, whether we like it our not. We look to our country (maybe not always to the president or to the government, but to the country on a whole) for protection and guidence.
Jesus works in the same way, offering protection and, most of all, guidence. You don’t have to agree with the church, just like you don’t have to agree with the government, to seek the love of Jesus, in my personal opinion. The church is a tool, but in fact, I believe that Jesus can be a role model even to those who don’t believe in God. I mean, even if you want to see Jesus simply as a human being, you can still see the good deed he did on earth and look to him as a role model. Essentially, this is what a king is–a role model.
Today, on Christ the King Sunday, I am not asking you to lay out your loyalties, as many would have you do. Simply, I am asking you to question your life–who (or what) is King? Who is a role model? From Whom do you seek protection and guidence?
Make good choices in life. If you think following Jesus can help you do that, I hope you’ll give it a try.
Christian, Christ the King Sunday, Christ, Pope, protection, guidence, Jesus, church, God
It’s black Friday. This morning shoppers across America pushed and shoved to get the best bargains of the day. It’s a little ironic, isn’t it, to think how brutal Christmas gift shopping can be on black Friday!
In any case, some people chose not to drive to the mall and inside logged online to grab some great deals at retailers’ websites. Wal-mart’s site even crashed today because of the large volume of users!
In a previous post (read it here), I told you all about an innovative gift idea for that person who had everything–make a donation to charity in their honor.
As promised, here’s my list of top five charities for Christmas giving. Happy Holidays!
1. Heifer International: This charity has long been a favorite of mine. Instead of donating food to families that need it, they donate entire live animals. This provides a long-lasting food source for the family, as well as a possible source of income. Instead of simply donating money, you can buy geese, rabbits, cows, sheep, and other animals. “What did you get me for Christmas this year?” “A water buffalo…no really, I did…” www.heifer.org
2. Samaritan House: Samaritan House is an organization based on the concept “Neighbors helping Neighbors.” Often, I think we get so caught up with helping the poor countries around the world that we forget about those in need right in our own neighborhood. This specific charity is located in California, but groups around the world are providing communities with the same services–literacy programs, hot meals, places to stay, job assistance, clothing, and medical needs. www.samaritanhouse.com
3.The Make-a-Wish Foundations: Most people ahve heard of this charity. If you have not, the premis is simply. This organization pays for children who are sick with terminal illnesses to fulfill a final wish–some go to Disney World, some meet celebrities, you get the idea. The charity aims at providing a memorable experience for the entire family without them having to worry about the financial aspect. www.wish.org
4.America’s Second Harvest: For every dollar you donate to this charity, they give about 28 pounds of food to Americans who really need it. During the holidays, we have an overabundance of food at my house. Is yours the same? If the answer is yes, then your friends and family don’t need that extra fruitcake–take the money you would have spent buying cookies and candy and donate it to this charity instead! www.secondharvest.org
5.My Two Front Teeth: You’ve heard for toys for tots, and My Two Front Teeth works in almost the same way. However, here, you don’t have to pruchase a toy or find a drop box–simply make a monetary donation and the charity takes care of purchasing toys–specific items children ask for! This year, they have a goal of fulfilling the wishes of 5,000 children. www.mytwofrontteeth.org
black Friday, Christmas, gift shopping, innovative gift idea, donation, charity, Holidays
I’m not a big fan of those forwards that fill up my inbox every day, but my mom sent me one, and I thought it was really cute, so I’m sharing it with you all!
As I was walking down life’s highway many years ago
I came upon a sign that read Heavens Grocery Store.
When I got a little closer, the doors swung open wide
And when I came to myself I was standing inside.
I saw a host of angels. They were standing everywhere
One handed me a basket and said “Child, shop with care.”
Everything a human needed was in that grocery store
And what you could not carry you could come back for more.
First I got some Patience. Love was in that same row.
Further down was Understanding, you need that everywhere you go.
I got a box or two of Wisdom and Faith a bag or two.
And Charity of course, I would need some of that too.
I couldn’t miss the Holy Ghost. It was all over the place.
And then some Strength and Courage to help me run this race.
And then I chose Salvation for Salvation was for free
I tried to get enough of that to do for you and me.
Then I started to the counter to pay my grocery bill,
For I thought I had everything to do the Masters will.
As I went up the aisle I saw Prayer and put that in,
For I knew when I stepped outside I would run into sin.
Peace and Joy were plentiful, the last things on the shelf.
Song and Praise were hanging near so I just helped myself.
Then I said to the angel, “Now how much do I owe?”
He smiled and said, “Just take them everywhere you go.”
Again I asked “Really now, How much do I owe?”
“My child” he said, “God paid your bill a long long time ago.”
Cute. I couldn’t help myself!
forwards, angels, Patience, Love, Understanding, Wisdom, Faith, Charity, Holy Ghost, Strength, Courage, Salvation, Prayer, Peace, Joy, Song, Praise, God, Cute
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Mmmmmmmm mashed potatoes.
My grandmother (Mammy, never Grandma) would always write down little sayings that she saw that were cute or funny. She was one of the most influential people in my life, and when she passed away, it was really hard for me.
Anyway, since I’ve been talking a lot about family lately, I’ve been remembering her, and something I saw posted on another blog reminded me of one of the sayings she had seen on a church sign and written down:
Seven days without prayer makes one weak.
Cute, just thought I’d share
Ok, this may seem a little preacher-y, but it’s been on my mind. Tommorrow is Thanksgiving, and it’s a holiday that most, if not all Americans celebrate with family and friends, no matter what religion is celebrated in the household.
At the first Thanksgiving, Protestants and Nature worshippers gathered together and didn’t fight over what kind of God they were thanking for the harvest. They simply thanked God.
During the holidays, groups of people who don’t neccessarily agree on religion come together. My challenge to you is to tolerate them all.
1. Learn about one another’s religion instead of debating (and even arguing) about it. Debate surely has its time and place, but the holidays should bring people together, not pull them apart.
2. If your family says a prayer at dinner and their are people from other religions at your table, make it a general prayer. Thank God or thank the Divine rather than thanking Jesus or making referances to people in the Bible that not everyone knows. It will help make everyone at your table feel more comfortable.
3. Let the holidays be about time spent together, and let old feuds, including those about inter-religion marriages and the like, die (for at least the day, if not forever).
Tolerance is not the same as acceptance, and I hope you try to do both this holiday season and beyond.
I pledge to tolerate and accept people of other faiths, whether they be atheist, agnostic, extremely zealous about their religion, or simply practice a different religion than my own. I will welcome everyone and pray for everyone will remaining strong in my own faith.
Everyone out there reading this, if you pledge this as well, leave a comment saying so. If we all work together, the holidays can be a more special time of year regardless of past differences. You don’t have to agree with everything I say, but if you tolerate and accept people, everyone will have a happier holdiday season.
Thanksgiving, holiday, religion, God, challenge, family, dinner, the Divine, Jesus, Bible, Tolerance, acceptance, holiday season, faith, pledge
This is one of most strange policy stories I’ve ever heard.
I think, overall, that this was simply a huge mistake on everyone’s part. I’m not sure anyone in particlar should be held responsible. When mistakes like this happen, my prayers go out to everyone, because these poor people have to live with what happened weighing on their minds.
God bless them all.
I found an interesting charity idea on my own campus–it’s not one that I’ll include in my “Top 10″ list, since it’s not a national organization, but one I think a lot of churches have, so check out your neighborhood.
We have an angel tree, with small paper ornaments. Each ornament has the name, age, and Christmas wish for a child who’s father or mother is in jail. The gift comes to them “from dad and a secret santa”.
I think it’s a really nice idea because it helps us show compassion to children who really didn’t do anything wrong and it helps us learn forgiveness by helping the inmates. In short, it helps God live in your heart.
And if you don’t believe in God? Well, it’s still a very nice deed.
charity, churches, angel, Christmas, jail, gift, santa, children, forgiveness, God
I’m in the middle of moving my life from two different locations to a single apartment. Can you say stressful? In any case, since I can no longer see the floor of my bedroom, I’ve been misplacing a lot of things.
I’m not Catholic, but I know people who are, and some of them pray to the saints for certain things in their lives, like losing things.
Do you pray to the saints? I’d be interested in talking to someone who did, since I don’t know much about the concept. Send me a line!
Friday is the day. You know that day–the one that brings thousands of thrift shoppers out of the woodwork. It’s Black Friday.
Now what does this have to do with religion, other than the fact that, dear readers, your faithful blogger loves to shop (mostly window shopping, but I do splurge a little every now and then on good deals). Well, Black Friday is the tradtional shopping day that begins the Christmas season.
I suppose I could write a long post about how Christmas is too commercialized and how it should focus solely on religion and all that good stuff. In my opinion, however, Christmas IS about gifts, whether we like it or not.
It doesn’t have to be about greedy “I want” attitudes that we see in many around Christmas. More or less, I believe that the gift-giving aspect CAN be very religiously-based, if you choose it to be. If you aren’t a religious person, but still celebrate Christmas, gift-giving can be a way to come together as a family or as a group of friends and simply show your appreciation for one another.
I don’t think that’s ALL of what Christmas is about. I do, however, think that’s a part of it.
In any case, two Christmases ago (Christmases…what an awkward word…), one of my best friends introduced my to a new gift-giving idea. Instead of purchasing lots of toys for the children in her family, she bought them one smaller item and then one item which she gave to Toys for Tots in their honor. I thought it was a really nice idea. You get two rewards out of that–one, the charity aspect and two, the gift-giving aspect.
A little “white liberalist”? Maybe. But that doesn’t mean that it still doesn’t help the charities. That doesn’t mean that no one benefits.
In any case, no matter how you choose to celebrate Christmas, I hope you give this idea some consideration. In honor of black Friday, I’m looking for some nominations for really worthy charities that could help readers get into the Christmas spirit.
I’ve already mentioned Toys for Tots, and another charity that I really like is the Heifer Project. There are tons more out there, and I want to devote a post to sharing some of the best charities for holiday giving, and *hopefully* year-round giving. Nominations?
Black Friday, religion, shopping, Christmas, gifts, celebrate, charity, charities, Toys for Tots, holiday
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