"Anyone who believes that men and women are equal has never seen a man trying to wrap a Christmas present." ~ copied

As a legitimate card-carrying member in good standing of the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas (IBRBS), I bid you a Ho Ho Ho and welcome to today's edition on this Tuesday, May 24, 2016. I think we have over 1300 members at this time. The other day a fellow brother in red posted a scathing indictment of the Santas that portray the jolly old elf on a full-time basis. I've mentioned how that a good number actually make their living doing advertising and all kinds of special events throughout the year. Well, this fellow thinks those guys are ruining it for the kids. He believes by having Santa around the clock it diminishes the potential joy that surrounds his once a year Christmas appearance. He, of course, only does his Santa work at Christmas time. I suppose he more or less included me in his complaint since I do wear some red and green nearly every day. I understood exactly where he was coming from. I just don't agree with his analysis. I can't imagine there being enough Santa presence to make a dent in kids perception and anticipation of Christmas. And, I do know from personal experience, it is an opportunity, on a one-off, spontaneous basis, to help make someone's day. Here's the latest example for me. The other day I was driving down a country road, minding my own business, in my pickup on my way home. A school bus was in front of me and it slowed and then stopped to make a left turn. I was sitting there waiting when one little guy saw me from the back door window and started waving and jumping up and down. Pretty soon there were a dozen or more kids doing the same thing. I waved and they were happy. I just can't see the harm in that. Sorry. I really can't.

I mentioned the other day that I do attempt to keep up with what is going on in the world. Here's some detail on what I was talking about. I follow 55 different feeds on Twitter. Some 98% of those are news feeds. This means my Twitter feed is constantly changing. News from around the world. News from our nation. News from our area. Literally thousands of updates per day. Inundated. Saturated. With one click on a tweet, I can watch the actual report emanating from Paris, France. I can do the same for a feed from Tel Aviv. Or, South Korea. Or, Japan. I also can listen to my satellite radio feed on the internet, therefore, I can listen when I feel like doing so. There's maybe 150 channels, many of them devoted to political discourse. Or, I can listen to sermons, or inspirational music, or comedy, or old time radio, or tune in to CSPAN for one of my favorites on Wednesdays, The British House of Commons, Prime Minister Question Time, or watch the US House in session, or watch the US Senate in session, or watch the various congressional panels as they do their work. Oh yeah, lest I forget, I also can do my job, the one I get paid to do. The challenge? Do it all at the same time without missing a beat. I didn't say it was easy but it can be done. Mostly. Most of the time. It really can. Don't forget. I've had years of practice.

I know most of us are aware how the culture's message to those who hold Christian beliefs is that we should get over it. I read a letter from Austria printed in the online edition of the New York Times where the writer was lamenting the rise of the right wing in that country. One example used was the approval by a court to let a lawsuit proceed where a teacher is suing a Muslim man for not shaking her hand. The fellow writing thought how unimaginable for them to not recognize the Muslim man's religious beliefs about having no contact whatsoever with the opposite sex. This was in the New York Times no less, a source not known for caring one iota about deeply held Christian beliefs. I'm not breaking new ground here. It would appear that some religious beliefs by some people are worthy of protection. Meanwhile, religious liberty for those who are Christians is not deemed worthy by the leftist liberal media as we are constantly told to just shut up and get over it. Our class read a passage this past Sunday where Jesus clearly identified Satan as the ruler of this world. (John 14:30) I think we tend to forget that. The world is fallen. It has its leader. It is aligned against God and those who would follow Him. We see it every day played out before us. We shouldn't be surprised because God has given us the truth so that we will recognize and resist these forces of evil. We can. Not on our own. We are not alone. He is in us, our hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) Amen. ......More later.