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Hi everybody!
((((HUGS))))
At our house some Christmas events are the same each year. Among them is my wife Marties appeal to the kids and grandkids as they attack their gifts: Save the paper, we can use it next year! Martie loves to give nice gifts, but she also appreciates the wrapping. Presentation is part of the beauty of the gift.
It makes me think of the wrapping Christ chose when He came as a redemptive gift to rescue us from our sinful selves. Jesus could have wrapped Himself in a mind-boggling show of power, lighting up the sky with His presence in a celestial show of glory. Instead, in a beautiful reversal of Genesis 1:26, He chose to wrap Himself in the likeness of men (Phil. 2:7).
So why is this wrapping so important? Because, being like us, He is no stranger to our struggles. He experienced deep loneliness and the betrayal of a dear friend. He was publicly shamed, misunderstood, and falsely accused. In short, He feels our pain. As a result, the writer of Hebrews tells us that we can come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16).
When you think of the gift of Jesus this Christmas, remember to keep the wrapping in mind!
Cangy Bomber.
Great thread, galz. God rest the souls of these fallen heroes!
Good morning, Canteen.
Good morning to our
AWESOME
Military, our Allies, and their families.
(another unique design)
Thank you, Star, for preparing the Canteen
for todays activities.
Ready for the annual Berlin Airlift.
Ok, needless for me to say, but this will be a post-n-run day.
Back in the office after 2 days off,
so there's stuff to get done before
I leave half day on Wednesday.
Because people will be traveling or off line during the holidays
(I may be one of them)
let me say
Moving into lurker mode; will respond when I can.
Please stick around and visit with the
military and/or family members.
That's what we're here for.
The FR Canteen is ALWAYS
Come in and sit for a while.
There's always plenty of coffee, tea,
pancakes, conversation, silliness,
and plain old BS
REMEMBER THEM ~ DEFENDERS OF FREEDOM
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Kathy,
Sorry to post so late to this thread, but post I must. My MIL has lived with us for the past three years. She turned 100 years old last May. She was born in Berlin. Her father was a German Mennonite farmer whose family, generations before, had been invited by Catherine the Great to Russia to teach farming to the rural folks. After a required 2 year stint in the Russian Forestry Service, he had gone to Berlin to get a degree in Divinity so he could teach in the local college when he went back to Russia. But, things got crazy in 1914.
While in Russia, near the Black Sea, he had met his wife, an English woman whose father was a factory owner in Sheffield. She was a widow with 4 children having previously married another Mennonite farmer who died suddenly from a virus. Man did they click. They married and whole family (which had already increased by one) went to Berlin while the
father studied. There, my MIL was born in May near a street lined with Linden trees. One night in August, her mother said to the family that they must get up from dinner and all go to England immediately. They got up from the table, grabbed a few clothes, and walked out of the house with dirty dishes still on the table. She knew war was going to break out and they could not return to their home in Russia, nor stay and get stranded in E. Berlin. They headed for the harbor and the family of 8 hopped one of the last ships out of Germany before the war broke out the next day.
They arrived in England and stayed a couple of months with her family in Sheffield, but could not stay there because of her father being German. So, they found a distant relative in the United States to sponsor them and once again the family, mother pregnant again with her 7th child, went to Canada, down the St. Lawrence and finally settled in Nebraska, then Kansas, Indiana, Detroit, Texas, and finally Missouri. All together the family wound up as 2 brothers and 2 sisters (from first husband) and 6 more sisters with husband number two.
My MIL has spent 3 years telling me the stories and it’s been so amazing. She had a stroke about a month ago and is now hospicing in our house. (Anyone with good advice about hospice, please feel free to let me know.) I’ve been pulling night detail as I can sleep better in a chair than a bed because of my back and so everyone gets a decent night sleep. It’s about time for me to hit the hay so I can get to my post by 11:00 pm.
I hope you enjoy the little story from a long absent poster.
BSW