Christmas Spirit Stops the War

British–German truce

The truce began on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1914, when German troops began decorating the area around their trenches in the region of Ypres, Belgium, for Christmas. They began by placing candles on trees, then continued the celebration by singing Christmas carols, most notably Stille Nacht (Silent Night). The Scottish troops in the trenches across from them responded by singing English carols.
The two sides continued by shouting Christmas greetings to each other. Soon thereafter, there were calls for visits across the "No Man's Land" where small gifts were exchanged — whisky, jam, cigars, chocolate, and the like. The soldiers exchanged gifts, sometimes addresses, and drank together. The artillery in the region fell silent that night. The truce also allowed a breathing spell where recently-fallen soldiers could be brought back behind their lines by burial parties. Proper burials took place as soldiers from both sides mourned the dead together and paid their respects. At one funeral in No Man's Land, soldiers from both sides gathered and read a passage from the 23rd Psalm:
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
The truce spread to other areas of the lines, and there are many stories of football matches between the opposing forces.
In many sectors, the truce lasted through Christmas night, but in some areas, it continued until New Year's Day.
The truce occurred in spite of opposition at higher levels of the military. Earlier in the autumn, a call by Pope Benedict XV for an official truce between the warring governments had been ignored.
British commanders Sir John French and Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien vowed that no such truce would be allowed again, although both had left command before Christmas 1915. In all of the following years of the war, artillery bombardments were ordered on Christmas Eve to ensure that there were no further lulls in the combat. Troops were also rotated through various sectors of the front to prevent them from becoming overly familiar with the enemy. Despite those measures, there were a few friendly encounters between enemy soldiers, but on a much smaller scale than in 1914.

Dead Squirrel

I have decided to give in to the pressure of my family and at least trim my facial hair. I have been growing a beard (gotee) for about two months and it is getting into the fringe of being socially unacceptable. My wife has been saying it looks like I have a dead squirrel on my face and of course my kids thinks that is the funniest saying anyone could possible say about someones face.

So, under great pressure and with sadness, I will at least trim my gotee and be again accepted by society or at least my family.

Now my wife will have to find some other minor item about me that she feels needs fixing and make that her new life's goal.

It is with great regret that I say good by to my DEAD SQUIRREL.

The Best Wrestle Match Ever.

Once upon a time there was a little girl
and her two little brothers.
They both love her father dearly.
They would wrestle all day and night.
One day dad said ‘lets stop I am tired’.
So they stopped and the children said thanks for wrestling.
They all lived happily ever after.
By the way the kids won.

Author - 9 year old daughter

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

I am part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I’ve stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.
I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.
I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, live by prayer, and labor by power.
My face is set, my fait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my guide reliable, my mission clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won’t give up, shut up, let up, or slow up until I’ve preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus.

I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops.

And when He comes to get His own, He’ll have no problems recognizing me.
My colors will be clear!"
Author Unknown

Uncle Jerry

My uncle Jerry died this past week and he was my last living uncle. I was sad from his death, but not due to usual reasons, but from thinking that he wasted his life. He died a drunk alone with no family members at his side. I know that he did not have a realtionship with his only son and that he was divorced from his last wife. My only memories of Uncle Jerry was of him drinking and or being drunk. He was a small man and always had a large beer gut. Just like my other uncle, who died in a gutter drunk, they both seemed to try and drink their lives away. I guess they both finally succeeded.


My brother told me that he thinks Uncle Jerry went to church some before he died, so I take some peace in thinking that he accepted Jesus Christ as his lord and savior and is in heaven. I know that any place in Heaven is better than the best place here on Earth, so that gives me comfort.


Alcohol has stolen too much from my extended family, I pray that the vicious cycle is broken and the curse is removed.

Security is a kind of death

Security is a kind of death – Tennessee Williams

I believe we all block God’s direction for our lives due to our secure lives and fear of change. I believe that most of us, myself included, do not change due to our lives as we are living them are secure, comfortable, and manageable. I also believe that God wants more for each of us and because of our free will we refuse to follow his path. We fear cahnge more than a wasted life. That due to our secure existence we keep doing the same thing everyday and don’t even question the hamster wheel we are running on. We keep going through the motions of surviving the best we know how and don't even know why. Like a hamster on a wheel a lot of effort, but that effort doesn't get us anywhere. We wake up one day and we are old and realize that our lives are over and question what we did with the most precious gift God has given us - our life.

I’m not criticizing anyone, I just feel that in my heart God has a plan for me, it could be small or it could be large, but God does have a plan. I feel that it is my responsibility to open my heart up to God’s plan and live my destiny. To move confidently in God's directed story of my life.

But before I go further I also believe that it is my responsibility to care for those who God has entrusted in my care, my wife and my children. Following God’s plan doesn’t give me the right to quit my job and not care for my family. It doesn’t give me the right not to pay my bills and or disobey the laws of our government.

I believe that if you follow God’s plan for you life, you and your loved ones will be cared for along that wonderful journey of a live well lived.

How can I find out what God’s plan is for my life? I believe the following things must be done in order to know what direction we must travel in our lives to live God’s destiny for his children.

1) Believe that God has a plan and that God loves his children
2) Pray, read the bible, meditate, and listen for God’s direction

If we have faith and make the first step for God, I believe like doing anything in life with practice comes proficiency. I also believe that God can speak to us through many different ways;

1) Chance meeting
2) Television shows
3) Church sermon
4) Individuals in our lives
5) Articles we read
6) Gut feelings
7) Ideas

All of the signs are probable around us all the time, but we have not opened our hearts to hear and receive God’s direction. I plan on moving out of my comfort zone and pray for faith and direction in my life. Once my heart knows God’s plan, I will pray that my head listens to my heart, and finally that my feet move in that direction.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all – Helen Keller

Bobcat

I got to enjoy a fun filled weekend with my family camping. This was primitive tent camping. It was for my oldest son's tiger scout camping with pack 31. What a great time, there was an olympic style game for the scouts, great food, and socializing for all the other family members.

At the olypmic games my son's team did very well and ended up placing first and winning the gold medal. He was very excited and in some of the events, even thought he was the youngest member of the team, he actually had the high score for his team in certain events. This whole process really impressed me by how the kids in the cub scouts worked together and how some of the older members showed very good leadership and helped the younger kids.

Also, at this weekend camping trip, my son was awarded the Bobcat patch, it is the first ranking that a cub scout obtains. They had a ceremony with a real stuffed Bobcat and they also painted the boys face with two colors of paint. I believe the colors were blue and gold. The first stood for honesty and purity and the second stood for doing what is right. I don't know if that is exactly correct, but it is close.

My whole family has a greater appreciation for the cub scouts and we all look forward to many more memorial moments with my son in the cub scouts.