[Billie]

[Billie]

One of the most fun things of Christmas Open Houses and parties is reading character in the rites and decorations that people choose. Christmas is the time of year to let yourself go, tie ribbons on everything, smother pies with whipped cream, eat too many goodies, stay up too late ....

This weekend, you are invited to the Finest Open House, and we ask that you share some of *your* traditions and decorations with us. Let's go!

[The Mayor]

December 9, 2005

Door Of Humility

Read:
Philippians 2:5-11

God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. —Philippians 2:9-10

Bible In One Year: Philippians 1-4

Over the centuries, the entrance to Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity has twice been made smaller. The purpose in the last case was to keep marauders from entering the basilica on horseback. It's now referred to as the "Door of Humility," because visitors must bend down to enter.

As we age, bending our knees becomes more and more difficult and painful. In the physical realm, some people courageously undergo knee replacement surgery. To avoid years of increasingly painful joint damage, they endure several weeks of agony.

Like physical knees, spiritual knees can grow stiff over time. Years of stubborn pride and selfishness make us inflexible, and it becomes increasingly difficult and painful for us to humble ourselves. Seduced by false feelings of importance when others submit to us, we never learn that true importance comes from submitting ourselves to God and to others (Ephesians 5:21; 1 Peter 5:5).

As we celebrate Jesus' birth, it's good to remember the Door of Humility, for it reminds us that we all need new knees—knees that will bend. Humbly is the only way to enter the presence of God.

What better way to honor the One who bent so low to be with us. —Julie Ackerman Link

Christ's humble birth should help us see
What life in Him can bring;
It's not acclaim that we should seek
But service for our King. —Branon

The road to victory is paved with humble submission to God.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
Why Would Anyone Want To Be Holy?

[brivette]

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[Dubya]

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

051203-N-9866B-247 Pacific Ocean (Dec. 3, 2005) - Aviation Boatswain’s Mates direct an SH-60B Seahawk helicopter onto the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5). Peleliu and Expeditionary Strike Group Three (ESG-3) are underway off the coast of Southern California conducting Composite Unit Training Exercise (COMPTUEX) in preparation for an upcoming scheduled deployment. U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 2nd Class Zack Baddorf (RELEASED)

051207-N-8157C-140 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (Dec. 7, 2005) – People gather to watch the 64th commemoration of the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The ceremony, which included remarks by keynote speaker Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen, is held annually to honor those who served during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Dennis C. Cantrell (RELEASED)

Remember Pappy Boyington and his Black Sheep squadron? Here's what his squadron is flying now:

051203-N-9866B-072 Pacific Ocean (Dec. 3, 2005) - Aviation Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Roberto Gonzales directs an AV-8B Harrier, assigned to Marine Attack Squadron Two One Four (VMA-214) "Black Sheep", as it lands on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5). Peleliu and ESG-3 are underway off the coast of Southern California conducting Composite Unit Training Exercise (COMPTUEX) in preparation for an upcoming scheduled deployment. U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 2nd Class Zack Baddorf (RELEASED)

051203-N-4154B-013 Persian Gulf (Dec. 3, 2005) – The guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) sails through the waters of the Persian Gulf. Donald Cook is part of Carrier Strike Group Two (CSG-2), currently conducting maritime security operations. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Matthew Bash (RELEASED)

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Hmmm, why don't the celebrities that support the troops get any play in the media?

051203-N-3541A-001 Norfolk, Va. (Dec. 3, 2005) - Actress Kelly Preston talks with Navy family members at the United Service Organization (USO) holiday party at Rockwell Hall Gym on board Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va. The USO's annual holiday party gives service members and their families from throughout the mid-Atlantic region a chance to celebrate the holidays together. The party originally started in a partnership with Cox Communications as a way for families of deployed service members to record and send messages to their loved ones. U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 3rd Class Davis J. Anderson (RELEASED)

[Diver Dave]

Mornin' Billie. Your decorating should be in the Good Housekeeping Christmas edition. Great pictures! You must have a very big living room with two trees side by side. :)

Our decorating is a work in progress. Photos will be posted a little later. Meanwhile, thanks for "Mary Did You Know."

[deadhead]

Merry Christmas All

I have not even pulled out one box of decorations this year.
Posting a pic of Christmas cards from last year.

[Aquamarine]

This post is just beautiful Billie, everything about it including the pledge. Love your Christmas decorations, your kitchen looks immaculate.

This is the wreath on my front door.

[Pistov Elf]

Ahem! In accordance with Santa's wishes I am posting some reminders about the true spirit of Christmas.

All Elflings and Ladies...a Tissue Alert!!

A Christmas Story
By Hans Christian Anderson

The Little Match Girl

Once upon a time . . . a little girl tried to make a living by selling matches in the street.

It was New Year's Eve and the snowclad streets were deserted. From brightly lit windows came the tinkle of laughter and the sound of singing. People were getting ready to bring in the New Year. But the poor little matchseller sat sadly beside the fountain. Her ragged dress and worn shawl did not keep out the cold and she tried to keep her bare feet from touching the frozen ground. She hadn't sold one box of matches all day and she was frightened to go home, for her father would certainly be angry. It wouldn't be much warmer anyway, in the draughty attic that was her home. The little girl's fingers were stiff with cold. If only she could light a match! But what would her father say at such a waste! Falteringly she took out a match and lit it. What a nice warm flame! The little matchseller cupped her hand over it, and as she did so, she magically saw in its light a big brightly burning stove.

She held out her hands to the heat, but just then the match went out and the vision faded. The night seemed blacker than before and it was getting colder. A shiver ran through the little girl's thin body.

After hesitating for a long time, she struck another match on the wall, and this time, the glimmer turned the wall into a great sheet of crystal. Beyond that stood a fine table laden with food and lit by a candlestick. Holding out her arms towards the plates, the little matchseller seemed to pass through the glass, but then the match went out and the magic faded. Poor thing: in just a few seconds she had caught a glimpse of everything that life had denied her: warmth and good things to eat. Her eyes filled with tears and she lifted her gaze to the lit windows, praying that she too might know a little of such happiness.

She lit the third match and an even more wonderful thing happened. There stood a Christmas tree hung with hundreds of candles, glittering with tinsel and coloured balls. "Oh, how lovely!" exclaimed the little matchseller, holding up the match. Then, the match burned her finger and flickered out. The light from the Christmas candles rose higher and higher, then one of the lights fell, leaving a trail behind it. "Someone is dying," murmured the little girl, as she remembered her beloved Granny who used to say: "When a star falls, a heart stops beating!"

Scarcely aware of what she was doing, the little matchseller lit another match. This time, she saw her grandmother.

"Granny, stay with me!" she pleaded, as she lit one match after the other, so that her grandmother could not disappear like all the other visions. However, Granny did not vanish, but gazed smilingly at her. And she quickly struck the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to keep her grandmother with her. And the matches burned with such a glow that it became brighter than daylight. Grandmother had never been so grand and beautiful. Then she opened her arms and the little girl hugged her crying: "Granny, take me away with you!" She took the little girl in her arms, and both of them flew in brightness and joy above the earth, very, very high, and up there was neither cold, nor hunger, nor fear -- they were with God.

A cold day dawned and a pale sun shone on the fountain and the icy road. Close by lay the lifeless body of a little girl surrounded by spent matches. "Poor little thing!" exclaimed the passersby. "She was trying to keep warm!"

But by that time, the little matchseller was far away where there is neither cold, hunger nor pain. No one imagined what beautiful things she had seen, and how happily she had gone with her old grandmother into the bright New Year.

VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

May God bless you all!!!

Pistov[sniff] [sniff]

[apackof2]

Maddie & Me Christmas 2004

[VOA]

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