December 24, 2006

• Poinsettias and Preachiness
  

  I regret to report that my source regarding the toxicity of poinsettias may have been incorrect:  according to this article, they are non-toxic.  So please, feel at ease to use them--they'll add a festive Christmas zest to any Yuletide salad, drink, or snack tray!  And Santa will certainly appreciate a heaping plateful of colorful poinsettia leaves as a unique, low-fat alternative to those boring
  old cookies and milk!  Then our jolly old elf will wash it all down
  with a tall, cool, glass of Australia's latest, greatest root beer:  Foster Dad's!  (It does have quite a kick, but don't worry about St. Nick!  Those reindeer are really the ones in charge of the sleigh--as long as they are sober, Christmas won't be ober... Hmm, let me try that again...As long as they are okay, so is Christmas day, awash in all of its magical wonder and glorious present-getting!

  And speaking of present-getting, there is nothing
  so special about Christmas as the receiving of presents, for "it is
  more blessed to get and to receive," as the OKAY-book says.  It also
  says, "I'm OKAY, you're OKAY, so let us pursue happiness in our own
  ways and be OKAY unto one another, unless you get on my nerves, or
  until your pursuit of happiness interferes with my pursuit of
  happiness."

  On a serious note I do enjoy the gift-giving (and
  getting), and the OKAY-book's platitudes have a certain appeal.  But as
  a Christian, I need to be mindful of the Bible's message that we humans
  are basically NOT okay.  We have a sin problem that is deeply imbedded
  in our nature, as much as we may feel that we are basically good
  people, we need something greater, something beyond ourselves to save
  us from our sin--in short, we need a SAVIOR.  So, for the Christian,
  the story of the Christ-child is not just a warm-fuzzy story of a
  snuggly baby with Mary, Joseph, shepherds, and smiley animals in a cozy
  inn with an angel hovering overhead... it is part of the single most
  important event in human history:  GOD Himself entering the world as a
  man (fully God, yet fully man) in order to save humankind from its
  sin.  It's mind-boggling that the omnipotent creator of the universe
  would humble Himself to such a task, but that is the remarkable story
  of Christmas:  The Savior--the Messiah has come, and we can have the
  privilege of knowing Him. 

  see Luke, Chapter 2

                   MERRY CHRISTMAS!               

  • 12:54 am
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