CHRISTMAS!!!

A former student was upset because he was concerned about what he was getting for Christmas. He was thinking his parents were upset with him and that Christmas wasn't what it used to be when he believed in Santa. He felt he deserved that same feeling in anticipation of what he would receive for Christmas.

"So what are you doing for Christmas? What do you want? What are you gonna get?"

My answer took him by surprise. 

"First, I am going to church to celebrate Jesus' birth. I know we picked a day to celebrate His birthday and we can celebrate that any time we want but this is the day we chose and that is what I am going to do," I replied.


"I don't understand why a church would have service and take you away from your family on Christmas day!" he said without thinking. "Shouldn't you be with family first and opening your gifts and all?"


"Yes, I should be with my family," I said. "And we should all be in church together to celebrate the greatest gift of all."

Christmas has become so commercial that we must teach our children that it is not about material things they receive but about the Greatest Gift they have been given: The most precious gift of love ever as expressed in John 3:16 as it came into fulfillment on that night over 2,000 years ago. 

My husband refuses to recognize the day as the bible does not say exactly what day Jesus was born. if it had been relevant, the Bible would have mentioned it. He says that we took the day from a pagan celebration and made it Christian. Jesus said to take the Lord's supper to remember His sacrifice but not his birth. I say we can take any day and make it Holy so why not December 25th? So I celebrate!

I do agree with the profane commercialism of the day with the pressure to buy, buy, buy. I refuse to purchase and decorate my home with blow-up, motorcycle-riding Santas, plastic light-up nativity scenes and the like.

Each Christmas, I have vowed to put feet to Jesus' teachings in some specific way. I try to do that all year long in taking the church beyond the four walls of a building by doing what we do in prison ministry and children's ministry. Of course I want my daily walk to reflect this even without being a part of a formal organization.

This year my projects were my less fortunate students and my mentee in the Second Chance Mentoring program. I have a young mentee who has had absolutely nothing: no clothes, no shoes and basically no family. She has Jesus, which she hadn't had in her life and now she can see some light at the end of the tunnel. People whom were thought to have written her off are returning or taking notice. My daughter and I surprised her with a photograph of things that will greet her when she is released from parish prison. We got a suitcase and put some new and used items of clothing in it for her. My daughter found that she likes some of the same books and has prepared a box of books. I have not seen anyone go on about a photo on a sheet of computer paper before, but she was ecstatic over these few things. More so, she has been telling me that what she appreciates most is someone listening to her and caring about her.

After our prayers both separately and together, her dad and brother traveled from out-of-state to pay her a visit. Then another mentor from the past came to visit! Things are looking up in anticipation of her release.as her grandmother has agreed to come and get her from another state and reunite her with her family.


To me, this is what Christmas is all about. My daughter sees the benefits in giving more than Christmas gifts to others. It's about giving of your time and resources all year long to give someone else the resources to help themselves out of the quagmire that lives can become without love.

God's love is not about hate for anyone:
--not gays in the military or wherever they may be
--not for brown people who may be living here illegally
--not for those who worship differently
--not for those who don't drink the tea or depend on "Faux news"
--not for those whose present address is where they have been sentenced as punishment for a crime.
It just is NOT about hate no matter who tries to make it so. It's about seeing Him in the eyes of every pair of eyes that looks back.

I went to Christmas service this morning at Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church. This afternoon I will go to my mother's house for lunch and visiting with out-of-town relatives. But this has been a great season to celebrate and see the Holy Spirit in action as we take Christ's walk. For that I am truly grateful. I thank God for the gift of his only Son, teacher, Savior and example. 

It is my prayer that more parents of my students will make Christmas more about what it should be--a day of recollection of how much one can give by His example during the year rather than anticipation of what material things one can receive on the day.

To serve

I thank brother Checo for this one! Lotsa street marchers for hate are forgetting this. But then those are the kind are only Christian behind the four walls of a building of people who look like themselves and agree with them...but not necessarily with Christ's teachings.

http://www.kathyskids.org
Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Checo Yancy
To: Checo Yancy
Sent: Thu, June 3, 2010 2:49:35 PM
Subject: To serve

Good afternoon, what blessing it is to serve others as we serve Him.

Thursday, June 03, 2010

'To serve' and 'to give' should define your life by Rick Warren

Your attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life. Matthew 20:28 (LB) "For Christians, service is not something to be tacked onto our schedules if we can spare the time. It is the heart of the Christian life. Jesus came 'to serve' and 'to give'—and those two verbs should define your life on earth, too. " We are commanded to serve God. Jesus was unmistakable: "Your attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life." (Matthew 20:28 LB). For Christians, service is not something to be tacked onto our schedules if we can spare the time. It is the heart of the Christian life. Jesus came "to serve" and "to give"—and those two verbs should define your life on earth, too. Serving and giving sum up God's fourth purpose for your life. Mother Teresa once said, "Holy living consists in doing God's work with a smile." Jesus taught that spiritual maturity is never an end in itself. Maturity is for ministry! We grow up in order to give out. It is not enough to keep learning more and more. We must act on what we know and practice what we claim to believe. Impression without expression causes depression. Study without service leads to spiritual stagnation. The old comparison between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea is still true. Galilee is a lake full of life because it takes in water but also gives it out. In contrast, nothing lives in the Dead Sea because, with no outflow, the lake has stagnated. The last thing many believers need is to go to another Bible study. They already know far more than they are putting into practice. What they need are serving experiences in which they can exercise their spiritual muscles. Serving is the opposite of our natural inclination. Most of the time we're more interested in "serve us" than service. We say, "I'm looking for a church that meets my needs and blesses me," not "I'm looking for a place to serve and be a blessing." We expect others to serve us, not vice versa. But as we mature in Christ, the focus of our lives should increasingly shift to living a life of service. The mature follower of Jesus stops asking, "Who's going to meet my needs?" and starts asking, "Whose needs can I meet?"

God Bless,

Checo W. Yancy

"We are not put on this earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other. If you are there for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you"

Jeff Warner

Awesome Video

http://www.kathyskids.org Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/ http://www.dearallofyou.com/sacredheart/

Easter Story

My husband sent this to me. It's an oldie but goodie I want to save here:

THE EASTER STORY Don't Leave It On The Desk - There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr.. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States . Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course their freshman year, regardless of his or her major. Although Dr.. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously. This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team and was the best student in the professor's class. One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. "How many push-ups can you do?" Steve said, "I do about 200 every night." "200? That's pretty good, Steve," Dr. Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?" Steve replied, "I don't know... I've never done 300 at a time." "Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Christianson. "Well, I can try," said Steve. "Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," said the professor. Steve said, "Well... I think I can... yeah, I can do it." Dr. Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind." Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. These weren't the normal kinds of donuts. They were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class. Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?" Cynthia said, "Yes." Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?" "Sure!" Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk. Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe, do you want a donut?" Joe said, "Yes." Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut. Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. The professor asked, "Scott do you want a donut?" Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own push-ups?" Dr. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them." Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then." Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?" With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups. Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!" Dr. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk. By this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?" Sternly, Jenny said, "No." Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve did ten. Jenny got a donut. By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say, "No!" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved. Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely. Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it. Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set. Steve asked Dr. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?" Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your push-ups. You can do them any way that you want." And Dr. Christianson went on. A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!" Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come." Dr. Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?" Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut." Dr. Christianson said, "Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?" Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "give me a donut." "Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down. Dr Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing. There was not a dry eye in the room. The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?" Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you." Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?" Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda. Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan and said, "'Susan, do you want a donut?" Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. "Dr. Christianson, can I help him?" Dr Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, Steve has to do it alone. I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes." "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?" As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor. Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, said to the Father, 'Into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that Jesus had done everything that was required of him, he yielded up his life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten." Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile. "Well done, good and faithful servant," said the professor, adding, "Not all sermons are preached in words." Turning to his class, the professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God spared not his only begotten son, but gave him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept God's gift to us, the price has been paid." Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?

Happy Resurrection Sunday!!!

Hunnee cares more about clothes than I do. He planned what he was going to wear. We have a couple of favorite suits and because he is colorblind we have some stories to go with them. He wore his celery green because it is a spring suit and because his sister and his daughters refer to it as an Easter egg suit. I wore a rather mauve-ish deal that I bought in Florida over Christmas break on the trip where I had the really bad case of hives.

We just don't get into the egg and rabbit stuff. At my church and others we celebrate Christ's saving us through his sacrifice and resurrection. So we don't go out and buy new "Easter clothes" and the like. Besides being off focus for the occasion it's just silly.

I made a special dessert and kept one for home which Hunnee and my baby dug into. He has been having trouble with swollen feet and ankles which he doesn't want to believe is about ingesting too much salt. He loves his salt and will sprinkle it over his plate before he even tastes it. Before he moved in Baby and I kept a carton of salt in the pantry for about two years. He demolished it in about a month. He has to see a doctor next week, who will tell him the same thing and charge him for it. Anyway, he had to wear loafers with his celery Easter egg suit because his feet won't fit into anything else but house slippers.

We went to the five o'clock sunrise service and he went back for the regular 11:00AM service which just wore him out. I packed my deserts up for my mother's house and we went over to have a very nice family time. My mother makes the best dressing--which we've trained Hunnee to call it rather than stuffing--which is a northern term. Whenever it's called stuffing, it doesn't taste as good. Believe me.

I made Hunnee prop his feet up after dinner. He said he feels like he has the Pillsbury Dough boy's feet. My sister said it looks like he's walking on marshmallows with toes.

We were talking about Christ's sacrifice and the miracle of His resurrection and why The Ten Commandments with Charleton Heston comes on every year at this time. Hunnee explained to my sister about its timing with Passover. Passover was what the last Supper was to be a feast for thus the two events are celebrated at the same time of year. The dialogue and acting from those big Cecile B. de Mille movies of that era can sometimes be humorous. There's the one scene where Moses is brought in as a prisoner and Charleton Heston's hands are wrapped behind his back on a stick and chained together. His awash in makeup that makes him look dirty, sweaty and suntanned. He's holding his stomach in for the camera.

I texted "Happy Resurrection Day" messages to some friends and relatives. My cousin Donna called from Virgina Beach.

We went home, the three of us, full as ticks. Mr. Bob Buttons was happy to see us.He went to sleep on my daughter's chair.