don't be afraid...be amazed

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. but the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the pepole. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one anther, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from "sometimes you need an old man." All is well on Christmas morning 2006. AMH and Y are asleep since they didn't arrive from Ohio until 2:30 a.m. TRH is on his way from Oswego. Are there two e's in Oswego? Osweego? Must be one e. MKH is cooking up breakfast; coffee cake and pigs in a blanket. Grandma W is getting ready for the day.

Merry Christmas. Christ is born. We have a savior. A savior. Praise God. I hope Jesus is the center of your day and life.

Don't let the Scrooge get loose today.

TWH

some don't know when they're out of their league

Sean Penn recently accepted the 2006 Christopher Reeve First Amendment Award from the Creative Coalition in New York City. Congratulations.

Sean gave a rambling, disjointed speech in which he made some outrageous statements including a call for the impeachment of the President. The more some people talk, the more they reveal about themselves. A very wise person once said, "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt. Sean could benefit from that advice. Read more about his speech and award on drudgereport.com

Sean has a high school education and he has an acting career so I guess that qualifies him to run the world. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but Sean should consider how his qualifications stack up to the people that he criticizes so freely.

I doubt that Sean's high school education made him an expert on the affairs of State, National Security, Foreign Relations, Homeland Security, Political Science, Arms Control or any aspect of the Military. I also doubt if Sean receives daily briefings from the CIA, the FBI, Interpol, NATO, The United Nations, our own military, in addition to our allies all around the world. Of course the people he constantly criticizes have the benefit of all that and more to help them make good decisions in a very volatile world community.

I'll admit that I don't watch Sean's movies. People say they like his acting so I'm sure that he is an expert in acting and knows how to deliver his lines. I wish he would spend more time speaking on his area of expertise.

The moreI think about it, maybe it was appropriate for Sean to get the First Amendment Award considering the kinds of things he has said. Free speech is something that I value, even for people who don't know what they're talking about.

one of God's masterpieces

Recently our staff was alerted to the fact that there was a young hawk hanging around outside the front door of the church building. That was a unique happening so the offices emptied and soon everyone in the building was looking at a juvenile Cooper's Hawk that had been injured and had come to the front yard of the church building for shelter.

Immediately someone suggested that we call an animal shelter and make arrangements for the hawk to receive emergency care. DK called around and found a woman who did animal rescue. She said that we should capture the hawk and she would come right over.

"Capture the hawk?" Is that a joke? I wasn't planning on capturing the thing, after all don't hawks have sharp beaks and talons?" An injury involving a predatory bird didn't exactly fit into my idea of a claim for workman's compensation. "Well sir, I was studying the Bible and the next thing I knew a hawk was biting me on the hand."

But the prospect of capturing a real live hawk sounded a whole lot more interesting than writing another devotional nugget. So we got a tablecloth, a plastic rubbermaid bin, and with cameras rolling four grown men ganged up on a frightened and elusive masterpiece of God's creation.

Brian McLaren put me on to the concept of caring for God's universe as if it was a famous masterpiece. I like that idea. If Monet had been a friend of mine I would probably make every effort to keep one of his paintings from being destroyed. How much more so a masterpiece of God's.

A Cooper's Hawk is a masterpiece from the standpoint that it is a beautiful and efficient creature. It feeds on (ahem) other birds (sorry) and has been known to watch bird feeders for an easy meal. That's a new take on the idea of "feeding birds." One bird gets a seed and the other bird gets a seedeater. I was amazed to read that the Cooper's Hawk doesn't tear at its prey like other hawks, but simply squeezes them to death, or holds them under water until they drown.

Anyway, we caught the hawk, sent it on it's way and went back to work. Our hawk had a broken wing, and it was starving, judging by how skinny it was. The animal handler put a hood on the hawk and then it was calm for examination. It was so skinny you could feel every rib. Yes, I'm not kidding, it let us touch it and even examine it's broken wing.

I think my grandson would have liked to have been in on this adventure. One of our favorite things to do together is "help the birds." When you put out a birdfeeder (now is a good time) stock it up with sunflower seeds and think about the Cooper's Hawk. Okay, maybe you don't want to think about the Cooper's Hawk, but put out the feeder anyway.

coffee fiend

Time for a lighthearted post. If you've been reading this blog you know I am a convert to cold process coffee. For years I thought that coffee smelled good being made but it never tasted as good as it smelled. That was until the cold process.

Anyway...

I was reading along and I saw an ad for coffeefool.com They maintain that the reason why most coffee tastes so bitter is because it is stale. They sell "fresh" coffee. Interesting. Their most expensive "fresh" coffee is Hawaiian Kona at $23.95 for 12 ounces of beans. No thanks. One of the cheapest is Columbian Supremo at $7.75 for 12 ounces. I'm tempted to try that just for the fun of it.

I'm wondering what fresh coffee in the cold process would taste like. That would be comparable to a quadruple stuff Oreo cookie.


Below is a part of their sales pitch:

"Nearly all of the coffee out there is stale. The good news is that stale coffee is drinkable if you've never had truly fresh coffee. The bad news is that once you've tasted truly fresh coffee, you'll be forever hooked. It will make you giddy every time you go to make a pot. Tingle right down to your toes. Reverberate around your head like a funky aura. That's because coffee, just a few days out of the roaster, is nature's most flavorful drink - more complex than even wine - containing well over 900 flavor compounds to dance on your taste buds. But after a few weeks, you'd be lucky to see half that number.How do you know if coffee is stale? Simple test: If it's bitter or flat, it's too late. Coffee is actually known by connoisseurs as a 'sweet' beverage. But shush... you're not supposed to know that. And who doesn't want you to know? Coffee companies who make their living on convenience. And yes, believing that freshness is as simple as 'burping' air out of a coffee container, is convenient. Truly fresh coffee is a pain because you have to order it frequently."

If you've tried "fresh" coffee or even if you haven't, I'd like to hear from you.