Santa Claus

Many Christians know that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ- the greatest gift of all (as, from what I understand, in brief: His birth meant the fullfillment of Scripture- that a Saviour was born! Not a political but spiritual one- to reconcile us to God through forgiveness of our sins by bearing them on our behalf by His death on the cross; and sending us the Holy Spirit)

But what about Santa Claus? We tend to perceive him as the season's social icon, perhaps one that has deviated the proper attention due to Jesus Christ; whilst some actually bothered to take note or find out that Santa Claus is actually an eponomy of St. Nicolas, and well, that's about all they know about the person or character.

Curious about the matter myself, i googled ^-^
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38
Summary: Santa Claus DOES originate from St. Nicolas, Bishop of Myra—a natural phonetic alteration from the German Sankt Niklaus and Dutch Sinterklaas. He is actually worshipped by certain religious groups.

So how did a saint turn into rolly polly jolly Santa with the red suit?
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=35
Summary: Washington Irving's satirical fiction "Knickerbocker's History of New York"+ John Pintard who commissioned artist Alexander Anderson to create the first American image of Nicholas + "The Night Before Christmas" poem+ (Believe it or not) Coca-cola =)

Now that that's fully understood- let us return our hearts and minds to the true reason of Christmas celebration- Jesus Christ!


~**~Blessed Christmas dear reader~**~


Very merry,
Mi.

Psalm 55:2

This came as a forwarded email... read it and weep ;)

~*~*~
I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and die - I barely managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't even turn over. Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the quickie mart building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay.

When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eye s. She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her. It was a nickel.

At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.

I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying 'I don't want my kids to see me crying! ,' so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to California and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, 'And you were praying?' That made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, 'He heard you, and He sent me.'

I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fueling, walked to the next door McDonald's and bought 2 big bags o f food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.

She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City . Her boyfriend left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan. 1, and finally, in desperation, had called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about 5 years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there.

So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there.

I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, 'So, are you like an angel or something?'

This definitely made me cry. I said, 'Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people.'

It w as so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home with no problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.

Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutter of their wings...

Psalms 55:22 ' Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.'

~*~*~

This Christmas season, instead of wishing to meet angels, why not BE an angel to someone instead? =)

We don't always have to fork out money like what the guy in the story did to touch a life- sometimes it's the few extra words of encouragement, a warm hug, a gentle pat, a short lil chat that makes all the difference.

Very merry blessed Christmas dear reader!



Your "regular person",
Mi ^-^

I should be studying...

I should very well be studying for my paper on Tuesday. But I had the sudden urge to blog or to simply put down what I'm feeling now. As I was going through some questions to prepare myself for exams, memories from the past started coming back. I had been really nervous about doing well for my last paper and finally graduate not because I can't stand it but because I really should by now. In the last 3 months I have had such a hard time keeping myself together from having a complete emotional break down from all the stress and pressure that I'm facing. Surely you must be saying " Girl, there are bigger things out there, and you're worried about not passing your exams? "

You know, that made perfect sense. There are bigger things out there. This is nothing by comparison. But somehow it was a huge emotional and spiritual struggle. Did I bring it upon myself? I don't know. I guess I won't ever need to. Maybe not knowing is the best part of this whole experience. I've come to admit how helpless I am without Him. How He is in complete control of my life and all that's happened and will happen for me. If anything, He didn't fail me. I failed Him for not trusting Him enough and doubting Him every now and then. We always say He's got other plans and He will see us through everything. We need to wait on Him. Definitely easier said than done.

Its very true. Tonight, all the memories of how faithful He was before came right back like it happened just yesterday. Though it wasn't very long ago. There's this sense of peace that tells me no matter what happens, He will be there. No matter what, God is ever so faithful and He will decide my life for me. I don' t know if taking myself away from studying for just a bit to share this is the right thing to do. But I know this 15 minutes of Selah, mulling and be overwhelmed in the peace that only God can give, is worth every minute. I am clueless on what's going to happen. But I guess we'll find out.

Thanks for listening =)

The one who eagerly awaits His miracle to bring all things to completion. Me.