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Where Have All The Wise Men Gone? Jesus Is Not Acceptable For Christmas!

admin — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:57:57 +0000

by Jan McCracken

It’s CHRISTmas!

Where are the wise men?

WOW – The wise men are MISSING! What kind of Christmas is this anyway?

Are you caught up in the “season” with this Christmas thing? Do YOU know where the wise men are?

For over 200 years we have celebrated Christmas and all of the joys and festivities that go with the “holidays” in this great country of ours. Christmas was declared a federal holiday in 1870 by President Ulysses S. Grant for the purpose of celebrating the “philosophy of good will toward men.” What’s changed?

And, where are those wise men?

The Associated Press reported last Christmas that in New Jersey the sixth-grade class of the South Orange Middle School planned a field trip to see the play, “A Christmas Carol.” However, due to pressure from some of the parents the field trip was “re-routed” to a show, “The Great Railroad Race”!

Why? Because of the concerns from parents that the play, “A Christmas Carol” might have something to do with CHRISTMAS! The school principal told the AP, “There is a great sensitivity to putting students in awkward situations.”

Jesus is just not acceptable! Nice…

The school board in Covington, GA last year voted to “remove” the word Christmas from the school calendar!

Hundreds of towns across the US have banned placing nativity scenes and even poinsettias on public property. It seems that the ACLU as well as other organizations have threatened lawsuits and instilled the fear of God, uh, that would be the fear of “a greater power” because we have these “sensitivity concerns” and need to suppress any kind of religious display!

Why? Because Jesus Christ is involved in Christmas. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Jesus Christ, the great philosopher who believed that all men should love one another!

DOWN with all the happiness this national holiday brings to old and young alike. DOWN with tradition. DOWN with peace on earth and good will towards men. OH, and forget about that love one another stuff! Our world is in such GREAT shape this Christmas that we really don’t need any of that LOVE stuff, right?

And just how do we take Christ out of this season, out of Christmas? And WHY would we want to?

Our founding forefathers saw fit to utilize much of Christ’s philosophy in drafting the Constitution of the United States, a document that is the rock of this country reads…”One nation under God…”

Where are the wise men? We need them and I hope they show up pronto and start hanging out with us. This US would be WE, mis-guided and very confused Americans!

In the precious name of Christmas and all the wonder, magic, peace and love that it holds, please whisper a prayer that the “wise men” will show up in the nick of time for the world!

Wishing you all the love and happiness of this great Christmas season and abundant blessings of peace,

www.LowCarbcookin.com
Home site of Low Carb Christmas Cookin’
The FIRST Low Carb Christmas Cookbook!
Low Carb Christmas Cookin’- with an Old-Fashioned Cook! 224 fun-filled, sometimes hysterical pages!

About The Author
Jan McCracken is author and self-publisher of 39 gift books and cookbooks. Born in the Midwest and former owner/innkeeper of a country bed and breakfast in Branson, MO, she has been cooking since she was seventeen years old (she won’t tell us how many years that is! Jan has been living the low carb lifestyle for almost eight years. Her long-term goal is helping people understand that food is truly the great medicine, prevention and healer of disease. jan@lowcarbcookin.com

73 Ideas to Spend Time With Your Family at Christmas

admin — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:48:33 +0000

by Patty Getz

Christmas is about so much more than presents and parties, and yet, each year, that is the focus that we as a society place on it. Christmas has become a stress for some, and financial hardship for others. Where there used to be a holiday, to celebrate Family, we have some how lost touch with our roots, and a meaningful soulful Christmas.

Following is a list of of Ideas that cost little or no money, that you can do with your family this Christmas for a more meaningful Christmas. Set aside some time, and lets all get back to the basics of Christmas. Take this list, and let each family member choose one, and then set aside an evening, for each activity, you will be surprised and amazed how much this will Change your and your families outlook on Christmas.

Make a popcorn Garland
Make garland with construction paper
Watch Christmas shows together with hot chocolate and popcorn
Make decorating the the tree a family event, serve hot chocolate and play Christmas music
Make your own Christmas cards to send to people
Go Christmas shopping at the the Dollar Store and donate to a charity for Christmas gifts
Donate clothes or toys for needy children
Make a snowman
Have a snowball fight
Make a ginger bread house out of graham crackers and what ever you have in the house
Paint Christmassy pictures on the windows with washable paint
Make a game out of hunting around the house, for things to make Christmas decorations out of
Build a fire, and have a slumber party with your kids
Bake and decorate cookies
Have a wrapping party
Plan to share a plate of goodies with any elderly or young parents in the neighborhood
Go caroling
Go for a drive and see who wins for the best lights in town — make an award for the winner and present it to them
Attend a live Nativity
Take a special drive at night to enjoy others Christmas lights
Invite your children’s friends over to make cards or gifts for their parents
Go collect pine cones and use them to make ornaments
Make bird treat with peanut butter and birdseed
Sing Christmas carols
Have the kids write and act out a Christmas play
Go to the library and borrow Christmas videos and books
Have a game night
Take a walk or drive around a neighborhood that has their houses all lit up and decorated
Shovel the snow for your elderly neighbors
Read one Christmas short story each night before bed
Write Christmas letter to all the relatives with the kids all telling what they have been up to in their own words
Go sledding (a personal favorite) and come back to the house for hot cider and hot chocolate (we do this and invite the kid’s friends to join us)
Take a picture of the kids in front of the Christmas tree, and make it a yearly tradition
Visit the local nursing home and present some of the residents with homemade Christmas cards
Do a random act of kindness for a neighbor that you know is sick or feeling down, like take them a plate of cookies or some homemade ornaments
Attend a church service together
Invite an older person/couple for a holiday meal
Have a campout night, and sleep in sleeping bags under your lighted Christmas tree or some Christmas lights
Make up a Christmas scavenger hunt
Watch the all the videos or home movies of Christmas, or look at all the photos from Christmas
Make some ornaments
Color some Christmas pages together
Share a favorite Christmas memory
Help your local church/library/community center organize a special holiday reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas, A Christmas Carol, etc. Invite seniors/families. Maybe get a local store to donate some cookies or cocoa.
Have a birthday celebration, complete with cake, and birthday decorations
We make a video of ourselves decorating the tree, making cookies, singing Christmas carols and telling the Christmas story, then we make copies of it for all the far off relatives (beats a humdrum letter)
Volunteer as a family for the local shelter or nursing home
Have your kids make Christmas cards or snowflakes and take them to the local nursing home
Organize your scout troop or Sunday school or home school group and go caroling at a nursing home
Scout or youth group could also offer to paint the windows of local businesses for the holiday with washable paint
Ask the local supermarket if your youth group or older kids can help carry groceries out for senior citizens. Those turkeys are heavy to pick up and put in the car!
Help sort food for a food pantry that does food baskets for the holiday
Make paper snowflakes to decorate your windows
Organize or volunteer to work in a Christmas wrap booth that gives the proceeds to charity
Volunteer as food servers at shelters that provide Christmas/Thanksgiving dinners
Light up your walkway/driveway with handmade luminaries
Collect pine boughs and pine cones and make wreaths – can be shared at nursing homes or with elderly ones nearby
We decorate our stocking each year. I buy the ones from the Dollar Store, and whatever we wish to decorate with. Last year we used sticky foam shapes, this year we used glitter glue pens
Get out your old records – or borrow your parents – and listen to the golden oldie Christmas songs from your youth, and share the memories of Christmas past with your children
Learn about different cultures celebrate Christmas…. and about what they did years ago.
Sing silly Christmas songs with your kiddos… (Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer)
Find an angel tree and have your kids help pick out a toy for the needy child’s name on the angel tree
Make a manger scene out of playdough or clay or even construction paper, whatever is handy
Create a calendar that the kids can mark off the days until Christmas.
Have a “Christmas Past, Present and Future” evening/afternoon. Get out your photo albums/scrapbooks and talk about Christmas Past, remembering those who are no longer here to share it with us; for Christmas Present, discuss what one thing makes Christmas special for each person; for Christmas Future, talk about your hopes and dreams for the coming years ahead.
Make Christmas gifts for your family’s pet and other relative’s pets
Take a little Christmas tree and decorate it with your pet’s toys and set it in the living room with your bigger tree – just for the pets! Wrap up some treats and place them under the pet’s tree, too, like a small can of some fancy cat food or a package of doggie treats. (Hopefully the dog won’t tear it apart to get at it until Christmas day.
Let the kids make their own stockings out of felt and stocking “packages” out of paper grocery sacks to put gifts for others in.
Gingerbread people made out of brown grocery sacks are very cute, too and inexpensive and make great tags on presents and ornaments for a tree or wreath. You could glue on google eyes and a small candy cane to the gingerbread people, too and make them even more dimensional and if using two sides, you can tape or glue them together and stuff them with cotton balls to fill them out if you want to make them puffy.
Let your child decorate their bedroom door for Christmas. A wreath with some small trinkets on it is charming on every door inside the house, too.
Make snowmen out of styrofoam ball ornaments or styro balls or old Christmas bulbs (the breakable kind) in 2 sizes (one larger and one smaller glued together), paint white or glue on cottonballs or fake snow and add glitter. Use google eyes or dots punched out of a paper punch for eyes, Orange pipe cleaner twisted to a carrot shape for the nose, little buttons or Mini M & M’s or small pom poms can be buttons or even the gold top of a paper fastener clip. Also can use yarn for eyes, smile, eyebrows or braid yarn for a scarf. Use your imagination and whatever you have around the house, toothpicks or tree branches for arms, etc. An old sweater and flannel shirt can provide scarves and hats, mittens for all the snowmen and snowwomen which can be grouped together under a tree branch from outside. Provide all the scrap materials you have and let the kids have a great time making them.
Make some snow globes with old jars.
Create a God Can for family members here is how — use a tall odd shaped can, the one I found was a solid gold color, was maybe 6 inches tall and semi squared with a rounded bubble shaped lid. (Found it at Dollar Tree last year)

This is what I attached.

God Can
When your worries get too heavy
Follow this little plan
Just write it on a little note
And drop it in this can
You know that any problem
That you place in Our Lord’s hands
Will soon be taken care of
Because we can’t but God Can!

About the Author:
Patty Getz is the owner, and editor, of Totally Frugal, and Old Fashioned Families, and loves to spend her time with family, in the kitchen, and Teaching others, how to have a more fullfilling life. Webmaster and owner of www.totallyfrugal.com. Send comments to mailto: totallyfrugal@totallyfrugal.com This article may be reprinted, provided the byline and contents are not Changed in any way.

Spend More Time With Your Family This Holiday Season: Host A Caroling Party

admin — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:45:15 +0000

by Rondi Hillstrom Davis and Janell Sewall Oakes

Too often we forgo entertaining because of the mere thought of all of the preparation that is involved. And more is not better. Often we try to out do each other with lavish parties and expensive gifts. Stop and remember for a second what was important from your own childhood. Was it an outing? Baking cookies with your grandmother? Building a snowman with your dad? We need to connect. This doesn’t require more time, just shifting the focus of the time we already have. Here, a casual party and a very simple activity were the catalyst that brought everyone together.

To get the entire neighborhood into the Christmas spirit we planned a caroling party.

The day before our guests arrived, my kids and I spent an afternoon making decorative candleholders to give to each caroler, to light the way for our caroling expedition.

Dad, dressed as Santa, provided our very own photo opportunity. Little ones whispered their Christmas list in Santa’s ear. Grown ups, as well as kids, had their pictures taken in Santa’s lap.

Adults, kids, and even a few dogs then joined us on our merry way. Our numbers grew as we made our way caroling through the neighborhood.

As the carolers returned, we welcomed them with Mexican hot chocolate and ginger spice cookies. This party was a great way to engage everyone in an activity that the whole family could enjoy. And for a few short hours we were able to turn our attention away from the commercial marketing of the holidays to something much more personal.

Recipe: Mexican Hot Chocolate
Recipes are one of our most cherished traditions. Passed down from one generation to the next, they conjure up memories of holiday preparations or time spent with a favorite relative. Cooking provides a quiet time to pass on the wisdom of family lore.

Ingredients:
4 cups whole milk
4 ounces Mexican chocolate such as Ibarra

3 1/2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate plus 1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla, preferably Mexican
2 eggs

In a medium sized saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat until scalding.
Break the chocolate into pieces. Add to the hot milk along with the sugar and salt. Stir until melted. Beat with a wire whisk until frothy.
Add the eggs and vanilla. Continue to whisk.
Pour into 4 mugs. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

About The Author
Rondi Hillstrom Davis and Janell Sewall Oakes are the co-authors of the award-winning book Together: Creating Family Traditions. To check out their website that’s jam packed with family ideas, visit www.togetherparenting.com. To subscribe to their online newsletter, go to www.togetherparenting.com/feedback.asp. info@togetherparenting.com

Gift Ideas for Baby’s First Christmas

admin — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:39:05 +0000

by Kathy Burns-Millyard

Its baby’s first Christmas! How exciting! It’s a perfect time to start a tradition, like buying the little bundle of joy a special ornament for this holiday and every holiday to come, or you can just plain spoil them with lots of toys and fun-filled activities. Here are a handful of suggestions that will have them cooing with glee:

Piggy Bank: A piggy bank is a collectible gift that will be treasured for a lifetime. It’s also a great way to start teaching a young child the fundamentals of money management. What better way to get good habits started early? Personalize it with the baby’s name for an extra special touch.

Classic Baby Toys: Encourage imagination and learning with a time-honored and tested baby toy. Some of the better choices include a Fisher Price Animal Sounds Farm, wooden ABC blocks, jack-in-the-box, shape sorter or an activity gym. Go to a toy store to find the largest assortment of classic baby toys.

Collectible Teddy Bear: Here’s another option for launching a family tradition. Every year, buy the baby a collectible bear from a specialty teddy bear store. These are high quality crafted items that will be cherished for generations. They can also be found at your nearest gift store, or your favorite online shopping spot.

Baby Einstein Gifts: The entire Baby Einstein collection is loved by parents and babies, too. The theory behind Baby Einstein is to teach a baby basic ideas and concepts. Select from their award-winning videos, DVDs, books and music. Baby Einstein products can be ordered online or picked up at your favorite toy or department store.

Music Cube: It’s been proven that music stimulates the brain and encourages early learning skills. With the push of a button, a baby can compose and arrange musical scores and develop their creative mind. Your local toy store should carry several different types of music cubes, and of course many options can be found online as well.

LeapFrog LeapStart Learning Table: This award-winning educational toy will introduce a child to letters, numbers, shapes and colors through a fully interactive musical experience. It’s a learning adventure that is sure to delight any baby! They’re available at toy stores and mass-merchandisers nationwide.

There isn’t a magical tool for finding the perfect gift for a child. But if it is a gift from the heart it will surely bring magic.

About the Author
© 2005, Kathy Burns-Millyard. All Rights Reserved. This article is brought to you courtesy of The Home Gift Shopper – http://www.homegiftshopper.com – A wonderful online source for gifts and gift ideas.

Winning the Candy Wars

admin — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:33:14 +0000

By Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller

Our children are being bombarded with candy from every direction. Chocolate bars, gum, suckers, and assorted gummy candies line the checkout lanes in grocery stores. School fundraisers sell candy bars, cookies, and brownies in the hallways during lunch hours. Every mall, skating rink, soccer complex, movie theater, and even the video store has a place to buy candy.

And then there is the holidays. Halloween trick or treat bags bulge with every kind of candy imaginable. Christmas stockings are topped with bubble gum and chocolate bars. Valentine messages are stamped on candy hearts and boxes of candy are the staple of communicating love. Easter baskets overflow with jellybeans and chocolate bunnies.

Candy is everywhere and its presence wreaking havoc on our children’s teeth and waist lines. Children are visiting the dentist with serious tooth decay at younger and younger ages every year. Obesity in children is a national concern.

With candy being universally available and regularly within sight of children, what is a parent to do? How do you combat its influence on your children? How do you lessen the influence of advertisers and get candy consumption under control in your family? How can you win the candy wars?

The following suggestions can assist you in curbing your children’s candy consumption. Use them to increase the health and well-being of your family.

1. Begin by being a model for your children to follow.

If you are a chocoholic and find yourself foraging through the cupboard for the last chocolate bar or eating an entire bag of M & M’s once they are opened, reflect on the message you are sending your children. It will be difficult for you to curb your children’s candy consumption when they see you unable to curb your own. So model the message. Eat a small portion of candy and set the rest aside for later. Talk to your children about your desire and your willingness to stay conscious and make healthy choices about your own candy consumption. The positive images you give them on how to set candy aside will help them to be more likely they are to set it aside themselves.

2. See candy as a wonderful opportunity to set limits with your children.

As parents we set limits around television, computer time, video games, bed times, friends, and a variety of other items. Setting limits with candy does not mean you make if totally off limits. It means that you provide opportunities for your children to enjoy candy within some clearly defined parameters or guidelines.

Children want guidelines. They thrive on structure. It is the structure provided by the adult that allows them, to relax into being a child. Of course they will push and test the limits. That is there job. Pushing and testing the limits does not mean that your children want them changed. It most often means that they want to see if the structure is really in place.

Set your limits early before you go to the store, before the Easter bunny arrives, before the Halloween bags are full, before you bring candy into the house. “We will be buying one treat today in the store,” sets the limit. So does, “We are shopping for food today. This will be a non-candy trip.”

Discuss with your children how candy consumptions will take place before they head out to gather a bag full at Halloween time. Agree on a portion to be eaten each day and a place to keep it. Do not allow candy to be taken into their bedroom. Do not leave bags of candy in the cupboard for easy access. This is part of setting limits and it is your responsibility as a conscious, committed parent to see that it is done.

Setting a limit doesn’t means you have to say, “No.” Sometimes saying, “Yes,” with a qualifier, helps you avoid power struggles.

“Yes, you can have one right after supper.”

Another important way to set limits and structure candy consumption in your family while reducing resistance and resentment is to offer children choices.

3. Offer your children choices when it comes to candy consumption.

“You can choose five pieces of candy out of your Halloween bag for today and set the rest aside for a different day. Let spread all your candy out and look at your choices.”

“You can choose one piece of candy now or two pieces of candy for after supper. You decide.”

“You can choose to have your Easter basket candy kept in the kitchen cupboard where we can keep track of it or you can choose to be done having access to your candy.”

With candy, remind your children that responsibility equals opportunity. Your children have an opportunity to have some candy. If they are responsible with following the parameters you have set then the opportunity continues .If they choose not to be responsible with candy, they choose to lose the opportunity to have it available. In that instance, access to candy is removed.

This could mean you may have to remove all the candy from the house and make it unavailable to anyone. That would include you.

4. Make the eating of candy something special.

Educate your children that candy is not food. It is junk and has no nutritional value for their bodies. Candy and the opportunity to eat it is something special and are reserved for special moments. Keep candy eating rare and enjoyable. Once the line is crossed and candy becomes an everyday occurrence, specialness of it wears off and it presence is now expected..

Have different candy around at different times to bring attention to the special event that the candy may represent. Focus on the event and how different types of candy are significant at different times of the year. Talk about the cultural or family significance of what a particular type of candy may represent. Change the focus from that of mass consumption to that of significance to you and your family.

5. Don’t use candy as a reward.

When you use candy to motivate your children to perform a particular task or behave in a certain way, you are positioning it as a tool of manipulation. Using candy to get children to behave is a form of bribery and produces children who perform for a substance. In this way you end up producing a “candy junky,” someone who chases after the next fix of the desirable substance.

Candy should never be used as a reward by parents, teachers, or any professional working with children. This distorts the role candy should have in a young person’s life and teaches children that the reward (in this case candy) is more important than the task performed..

6. Help your children create an inner authority.

You are not always going to be present when your children have access to candy. You are not going to be there to enforce a limit for your children or give them choices. You want the ability to curb candy consumption to already be inside them. This control for within will develop in children if you can start early and consistently utilize the suggestions above.

Another way to help your child build inner controls is to debrief or talk through your child’s choices with him after he returns from a place where you know candy is easily available. Help him think about and talk through his decisions. Ask him to articulate what he would want to keep the same and what he would like to different next time. Help him create a plan to build on his successes.

Your child’s inner authority is the only authority she will take with her wherever she goes Help her learn to trust her ability to decide and make healthy, responsible choices.

By following these six suggestions you and your children can enjoy the wonderful taste of chocolate and other candies. The holidays can be filled with pleasant moments of special candy consumptions. The “candy wars” will no longer be necessary. Instead, eating candy will move from a weight and tooth decay issue to a wonderful time when one can simply enjoy a sweet taste upon the pallet.

About the Authors:
Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller are the authors of The 10 Commitments: Parenting with Purpose. They also publish a FREE email newsletter for parents and another for educators. Subscribe to them when you visit, http://www.chickmoorman.com or http://www.thomashaller.com. Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller are two of the world’s foremost authorities on raising responsible, caring, confident children. For more information about how they can help you or your group meet your parenting needs, visit their websites today.

Gift Ideas for Baby’s First Christmas

admin — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 03:43:21 +0000

by Kathy Burns-Millyard

There isn’t a magical tool for finding the perfect gift for a child. But if it is a gift from the heart it will surely bring magic.