Trials and Blessings part 2

So we made it to Phoenix. I have been sick for the last 2 days, fever over 103. I was so sick I thought I was going to die. It's Christmas eve, and I am starting to recover. I am excited about the gift of the Chevy Malibu, we have awesome friends. I need to figure out what to do with our van, which is stuck in North Platte Nebraska. We are so thankful for God's protection.

I was thinking about it last night how lucky we really were. We started to break down about 10 to 15 miles outside of Paxton Nebraska. It was dark and cold, and we limped into a Days Inn and parked. We stayed the night, got up to try to get to North Platte and didn't even get off the on ramp when the tranny went out. I can't imagine what we would have done if it went out that night in the dark and the cold somewhere between towns in Nebraska. God was looking out for us and taking care of us the entire time. His grace and mercy is so amazing.

Thank you all for your prayers. I am feeling better today, and the weather is awesome. I am excited to see all my Sioux City friends again soon, but I am enjoying Arizona for the time being.

Trials and blessings

So Elaine and I left Sioux City Friday morning to head to Arizona for Christmas. Everything was going fine until mid Nebraska. Long story short, we lost the tranny around Paxton Nebraska. We got towed to North Platte Nebraska, and our friend Dan came to pick us up. He drove us back to his house in Cheyenne Wyoming. It's been an adventure so far, but it seems like God is going to take care of us. Our friends are letting us use a van, and another friend is giving us a car. Wild, eh. God takes care of us, and we are so blessed and so thankful that God is taking care of us. Thanks for your prayers.

Merry X-Mas

Yes, I said it, X-Mas. Before you write me a dirty comment, I want to unpack this a little. As Christians, we have to stop yelling at the rooftops about stuff like this. Here is why. Pagans and Atheist didn't come up with X-Mas. It wasn't a result of the Anti-Christ, in fact it's a Christian invention. X is the Greek letter for Christ. X = Christ. So X-Mas is Christ Mas. We as Christians came up with it, then it became widely used, and we forgot the origins and then got mad and yelled at anyone who used it.

On top of that, stop yelling about Happy Holidays. If you are a Christian, that’s great, I am so happy you are in the family. Don’t assume everyone else is a Christian. Some people are Jewish, and they celebrate Hanukah. You don’t hear the Jews getting mad because of the Happy Holidays, they don’t demand we all say Happy Hanukah. I don’t know what Kwanzaa is all about, but I know it’s during the same time. And we all celebrate New Years, unless you are using the Chinese calendar.

Here is the point. We have become so culturally Christian that we forgot what is means to be a Christian. We tell people about Christ, not demand they use his name as part of a holiday celebration. If you say Merry Christmas, but don’t know Jesus, you’ll still go to hell. Sorry, but it’s the truth. If you make someone say Merry Christmas, and they don’t know Jesus, you haven’t helped. If you boycott Hallmark because they don’t have cards with Nativity Scenes on them, you have doomed a secular company by removing the witness they so desperately need. Protest people to hurt children, abuse students and kill babies. Leave poor Hallmark alone.

Salt and Light. Now you can say Merry Christmas, but don’t get mad at everyone else who doesn’t. I saw Petco has a sign on the door that had every holiday that is around the month of December. These poor people, they probably pray every night that God will keep us at home and not in their faces about their choice of holiday greetings! Think about it.