I'll take a dip of the good stuff!!
Thanks to Time Magazine and my students recieving Time for Kids, I am the honorary recipient of Time Magazine...which I hate! They are liberal, annoying, and I think that it is a waste of a tree for them to send me one!
When I do read it, the only reason is there is an interesting cover story. ie greatest inventions, year in pictures, etc...
Which brings me to my rant! As I was looking through the year in pictures, I noticed that there is not one positive picture in the issue. There are houses burning, dead people, lonely people, stranded tsunami surviors, floods, dead popes, lonely military men in Iraq, and many more depressing photos, and the only thing they are convincing me of is that the world is in terrible shape.
I think this is hogwash! Where are the pictures of people recieving aid, the smoke announcing a new healthier pope, people enjoying the revitalized clubs in New Orleans (slim as that number might be), where are the new houses being built, the tents being set up for earthquake torn areas, insurgents being snuffed out and Iraqis voting.
If you want to know why the world is in such bad shape, it is because there is not enough good news being spread. Especially at this festive time of year, I would like to hear the great things humanity is doing, read the articles, and see the pictures. If the media would show some of this, I imagine that the world would slowly become a better place!
Sad but True
I saw a saw but true comic just the other day....I love teacher's lounge goodies!
There were three children sitting outside the principal's office. Two obviously mean children sitting there, one remarks that he was there for saying the s-h word, the other said a different choice four letter word. Sitting on the end ofthe bench was a terrified little boy, who seemed to be in shock. He shly remarks, I said "Chritstmas"!
The other teacher's lounge goodie, is completely unsupported by my own research, so I am trusting that the anonymous e-mail is accurate. Here is what it reads:
As you open your pockets for yet another natural disaster, keep these facts in mind:Marsha J evans, President and CEO of the American Red Cross...Salary for year ending 6/30/03 was $651,957 plus expenses.Brian Gallagher, President of the United Way recieves a $375,000 base salary, plus numerous expense benefits.The Salvation Army's Commissioner Todd Bassett recieves a salary of only $13,000 per year (plus housing) for managinf this $2 billion dollar organizationLike I said I am not sure of the facts here, and it does sound a little spun to favor the Salvation Army (ok a lot), but if there is any credibility here I think it is worth noting!
Have a wonderful day!
True Wise Men
The following was sent to me by a friend the other day. He has more in depth critical thinkingin his big toe, than I do in my entire body. How ironic...We as a society have commercialized Christmas to the point where we lose the true meaning because of these guys bearing gifts, yet these the wisest of all in Bible time completely uncommercialized themselves!
Robert L. Short
1707 Candy Court South
Kokomo, IN 46902
Tel.: (765) 453-6639
Being both a Bible and a history student, I love finding out details missed by those who fail to investigate. Such details often unlock great stories to a whole new dimension of comprehension. Christmas and Easter are specialties of mine. At Christmas, there is no part of the Nativity more touching and interesting than the story of the Wise Men.
Matthew is the only gospel writer to give this story. Matthew wrote primarily to the Jews to convince them Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. Thus, the vignette of the nativity stories he gives explain how Hebrew messianic prophecies were fulfilled through Jesus:
The genealogy shows his lineage from David.
The virgin birth reflects Isaiah’s Immanuel.
The Magi story explains how his exile was financed.
The holy family’s escape to Egypt fulfills the scripture, "Out of Egypt I called my son," (Micah 5:2).
The Bethlehem Massacre is seen in Jeremiah (31:15).
Every year at Christmas we are subjected to the popular notion that the Wise Men were "Three Kings" from the east or the "Orient" who followed westward an ever-shining beacon-bright star until it stopped over the manger. Nothing could be farther from the truth!
The "wise men" were "magi". The word is Greek, referring to the "secret arts" of astrology, divination of animal entrails and bones, use of potions and drugs to call up the dead and to speak to spirits. Their activities were outlawed by Hebrew law (Deut. 18:9-13) as "detestable". Yet, in Babylon, the probable site of their origin, they were highly respected by monarchs for giving advice to them from gods, the dead, and the spirit world, to guide royal actions.
These astrologers were cultic priests, complete with temples, sacrifices, revenue, rituals, etc. However, astrology was their primary form of information guiding their belief system. Nightly, they searched the skies for developments in the intricate dance of the heavens. They had books that detailed the meaning and significance of each of the heavenly bodies’ movements, conjunctions, appearance, and disappearance.
They noted over a period of a year a number of startling astral events. Planets, stars, and moon played out a sequence as clear to their beliefs as a giant billboard with electronically sequenced lights telling a story.
The events told them of the birth of a male child. He was to be the king of the Jews. He was the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He was the King of Kings. He was the Son of God. Those four heavenly signs in a year’ s time were enough to totally rock their world. No one before or since has been foretold with such significance by astrologers. Nor could they be!
I once noted the frequency of occurrence of each of the heavenly bodies’ movements and calculated that the same conjunctions could not occur again for over 200,000 years – if then! These guys found something that was of eternal significance, far more than a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Their decision was the most dramatic of any I have ever noted in religious response, yet it is seen only by reading between the lines. They closed down their temples, removed the holy objects dedicated to their idols and gods (That is, they took the gold from the temple treasure, the frankincense used in ritual ceremony, and the myrrh used as perfume to preserve sacrifices) and went a few months travel to worship a new God!
Never have I seen it written in all the stories and all the commentaries such a gripping tale of forsaking the old for the new. Never have I seen such an act of faith to pay homage.
By the time they could arrive in Jerusalem, perhaps hundreds of them, not three (which was a number based on the types of gifts), Jesus was now at least two. We know that because the word "child" (vs. 9,11) is a translation for what we call a "toddler". Also, Herod sent troops to Bethlehem to kill all boys "two years old and under." (vs. 16) Also, by now, the family was settled in a "house" (vs. 11), not the manger.
These men gave their gifts in worship to their new God and King, a fabulous treasury. They pledged their undying allegiance to Him. In an act of protection, they circumvented King Herod’s authority to return to Babylon. O how I wish the archaeologists would discover what happened to them then.
Can we drop all of our unholiness and come before the King? Can we give up our comforts, our livelihood, our reputations, our way of life, our treasures, and follow after Him? Can we risk our very lives to pursue the deepest allegiance of our hearts? If so, perhaps we are wise men.Out of time, but there is more to come on this later!
Is there any common sense in the house?
I have long since believed that the whole No Child Left Behind legislation was a load of unattainable expectations, but I have never just sat and listed all the ways that it is lacking.
Thanks to the Doc Stock and the National Council of Churches I don't have to! Check out this article. I believe I agree with most if not all the points they make.
http://www.ncccusa.org/pdfs/LeftBehind.pdfWhat do you think?
