I love God with all my heart. I have for as long as I can remember. He is the reason I am still alive today. But, for many years, I have had trouble with how we celebrate His human arrival into this world.
Since the kids have grown and left, we don't have a tree with decorations or twinkling lights to welcome twilight. Did you know that both the tree and the lights we originally brought into the house to keep demons away? First because it was 'magical' that a pine tree was still green in winter and later it was lit up with candles to make sure the bad spirits saw it and were appropriately scared away. Of course, that has evolved into different meanings over the years--like the lights representing Jesus, the Light of the World--but that doesn't erase the pagan origins of the tradition and that goes for Halloween, too.
Also, for me, Christmas coming in the heat of summer--after so, so many years of picture perfect cold weather holidays--it just doesn't seem right to kill a tree and bring it inside until it turns brown. And, even after 9 Christmases here, I am still caught off guard, occasionally, by hearing a Christmas song on the radio in the car when the AC is on full blast.
Hubby and I don't exchange presents and haven't for several years. First off, I hate surprises. And secondly, we buy what we want during the year, whether it's a simple or huge. Of course, we buy what we need, too, and never gave the kids 'necessary' things for Christmas presents because I always detested them. Sorry, Mom. I tried to act happy about the clothes but deep down I knew it was just because Dad was cheap and I wasn't the favorite.
Another thing. Your friends don't give each other presents on your birthday. The presents are suppose to be for the one who is celebrating their entrance into this world. 'The spirit of the season' seems a pitiful grasp at straws for a reason to go overboard to cram all the 'good tidings' and 'good will toward men' into a few weeks. We should be giving Jesus the gifts for His birthday and the only one He wants is your heart. And, I'm pretty sure He would want you to be nice to people all year round.
The final reason I have so much trouble with celebrating Jesus just one day is that I am grateful to Him every day of my life and I tell Him so quite often. I can't find the gumption to turn it up a notch for one long day when I am so thankful the other days of the year.
Here they call the time of year when kids are home from school for the summer and parliament is adjourned for the holidays the 'silly season' because there isn't much real news so silly things like hoaxes and such are 'reported.' At first, I found that odd. But then I realized that it applies all over the world for this time of year. People do and buy and say things that they wouldn't ordinarily do or buy or say the rest of the year. It makes much more sense to show the 'Christmas spirit' all year round as a gift to the One who is celebrated. Go the extra mile, make the 'special' gift, do a good deed when it's needed--not just at Christmas time.
12/20/2015
11/19/2015
I just don't get it
I admit that I am not one to closely follow the news because 'news' here in New Zealand is different from that in America. I mean, an island country the size of Nebraska that bans guns doesn't cultivate much sensationalism. I hear the 'headlines' during the day from the tv and am satisfied with that.
Some times, when we hear the 'headlines' of news coming up, Hubby and I just look at each other and say, 'Slow news day.' It reminds me of the story of April 18, 1930, in England where it was announced, 'There is no news today.' and piano music followed.
For the last few weeks, the biggest news was that Australia was sending back New Zealanders who have ever committed a crime. To me, this is news, but, as is sadly true for most reports here, there was no real follow up or any definitive conclusions. I would have expected irate citizens and politicians ranting but none were reported that I saw. Maybe I missed it.
With international news like the awful attack on Paris, we got the expected blips of information in 10 or 15 second updates and then a full report during the news broadcast. I thought we were well informed and Kiwi travelers were all accounted for, which is a good conclusion for our little country.
BUT...
...when a rugby player dies after losing a battle to cancer, programs were pre-empted, channel programming was disrupted and every bit of 'news' was taken up with the story and everybody's reaction from the coach to politicians to fans on the street. Days of headlines are about him. Maybe the fact that I'm not sports-minded gives me a different perspective, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who lives here but doesn't follow sports.
I just don't 'get it'. As far as I'm concerned, anything that interrupts Dr Phil should be more along the lines of world devastation or alien invasion.
Some times, when we hear the 'headlines' of news coming up, Hubby and I just look at each other and say, 'Slow news day.' It reminds me of the story of April 18, 1930, in England where it was announced, 'There is no news today.' and piano music followed.
For the last few weeks, the biggest news was that Australia was sending back New Zealanders who have ever committed a crime. To me, this is news, but, as is sadly true for most reports here, there was no real follow up or any definitive conclusions. I would have expected irate citizens and politicians ranting but none were reported that I saw. Maybe I missed it.
With international news like the awful attack on Paris, we got the expected blips of information in 10 or 15 second updates and then a full report during the news broadcast. I thought we were well informed and Kiwi travelers were all accounted for, which is a good conclusion for our little country.
BUT...
...when a rugby player dies after losing a battle to cancer, programs were pre-empted, channel programming was disrupted and every bit of 'news' was taken up with the story and everybody's reaction from the coach to politicians to fans on the street. Days of headlines are about him. Maybe the fact that I'm not sports-minded gives me a different perspective, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who lives here but doesn't follow sports.
I just don't 'get it'. As far as I'm concerned, anything that interrupts Dr Phil should be more along the lines of world devastation or alien invasion.
10/31/2015
Crazy cat lady starter pack
The house seemed a bit empty and the rabbits were digging up the gardens, so Hubby and I decided it was time to get another cat. On October 25, we went to the cat adoption center in Hawera and got some good news/bad news. There were no adult cats available! We were happy that there were none to find homes for but that meant we had to go to New Plymouth to see what they had available. There we found about 10 that weren't kittens to choose from.
After quite a while, we decided to bring home two cats.
This is Garfield. I would imagine he'd love lasagna but he settles for whatever is in the bowl. He is an older chubby cat, they said at least 5 years old, and he was found on the street. He has a wonky back foot that softly thumps when he walks so you always hear him coming. But he always has a lick for whoever is petting him and he doesn't mind at all being picked up (or the tiara and scepter!).
This is Sox. She's a long-haired 'teenage' cat (about 10 months old), and, to the surprise of the volunteers, came across the cat run to meet us when we got there. She is very affectionate, too, and, after a couple days of being afraid to go outside, is quite happy to wander when she wants and is rather quiet most of the time. I'm sure you can tell from the photo below that she is having such a hard time adjusting!
Hubby emptied the litter box around his veggie garden and hasn't had any plants eaten or holes dug since, which was a nice surprise. Good results all around.
10/14/2015
a better view
We aren't really big on 'keeping up with the Joneses' but sometimes you just have to upgrade. Last week we bought a new-to-us car.
It's a 2008 Nissan Xtrail, imported from Japan. The electronic console (and, of course, the GPS with a female voice) were all in Japanese, as is the owner's manual. Strangely enough, there were a few English words on the console and I recognized the letters 'AV' but the rest was just a guessing game to figure out how the radio worked. We finally made it a game of 'I dare you to press the button', but the GPS would come on at random times along with a map that we think was the last directions to the port before it was exported.
Yesterday, Hubby had the console replaced with one we can read and understand. As he took the old one out to the shed, he said, 'Let's see if she can figure out where she's at now!'
My only requirement for the new car was that it sat up high so I didn't have to hurt my knees getting out. The Xtrail works very well, as it sits a lot higher than the last car.
It sits up so much higher that, when we took a ride along well-known roads, we made each other giggly by saying, 'Look! I didn't know that was over there!' or 'Hay! I couldn't see that before!'
Such a fun change. I think we'll be happy with her.
It's a 2008 Nissan Xtrail, imported from Japan. The electronic console (and, of course, the GPS with a female voice) were all in Japanese, as is the owner's manual. Strangely enough, there were a few English words on the console and I recognized the letters 'AV' but the rest was just a guessing game to figure out how the radio worked. We finally made it a game of 'I dare you to press the button', but the GPS would come on at random times along with a map that we think was the last directions to the port before it was exported.
Yesterday, Hubby had the console replaced with one we can read and understand. As he took the old one out to the shed, he said, 'Let's see if she can figure out where she's at now!'
My only requirement for the new car was that it sat up high so I didn't have to hurt my knees getting out. The Xtrail works very well, as it sits a lot higher than the last car.
It sits up so much higher that, when we took a ride along well-known roads, we made each other giggly by saying, 'Look! I didn't know that was over there!' or 'Hay! I couldn't see that before!'
Such a fun change. I think we'll be happy with her.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)