Christmas-Celebrating the Birth of Jesus

I had a great Christmas. Cheri and I celebrated at our house with 21 family and friends, a house full at my mother's and a group at my Dad and Stephanie's, (my stepmother), Jeff, Susye and Andrew were unable to make it this year. My grandmother, 95 years young made it to my Dad's house. I was happy for that. I know that Grandma Martha, Gretchen, and I all had a big Christmas with several celebrations. I think that we were in need of a little R&R.
I did create a video Christmas card for Facebook. Here it is.https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=562494460486300&l=8569421858028982852


A little girl asked her father, How did the human race appear?

The father answered, God made Adam and Eve and they had children and so was all mankind made.

Two days later the girl asked her mother the same question.

The mother answered, Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved.

The confused girl returned to her father and said, Dad how is it possible, that you told me the human race was created by God, and Mom said they developed from monkeys?

The father answered, Well, dear, it is very simple. I told you about
my side of the family and your mother told you about hers.

Much love, Dennis

Censorship

 I occasionally watch Duck Dynasty on A & E.

When I do watch them I enjoy their Christian values and the comedic circumstances that they portray for the cameras. Phil Robertson is the patriarch and the one who leads them in prayer to God through Jesus before their family meals. Phill sat down for an interview with GQ magazine. During the interview he was questioned about his views concerning homosexuality. He paraphrased 1st Corinthians 6:9-10. As a born-again Christian I believe that what is written in the Bible came from God and is intended to help us become more Christlike. Those two verses standing alone do not do justice (in my opinion) to the overall meaning of chapter 6. Everyone has sinned and fallen short of the standard God requires to be considered righteous. Jesus took care of that problem on the cross. Anyone, Anyone who confesses the Lord Jesus with his mouth and believes that God has raised  him from the dead, will be saved. Here is the amplified Bible version.
Romans 10:9  Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Phil has been indefinitely suspended from the show. His family has come out with the statement supporting him and decided that No Phil = No Duck Dynasty show. I fully support his right to speak freely. Many have tried to silence him in the name of tolerance- PC.  Tolerance in today's world appears to be a one-way street. To some people you may say whatever you like - unless it does not coincide with their views.

Thursday I decided to express my opinion on Facebook. To show my support for Phil Robertson I posted his picture as my profile picture at about 11 AM.

Facebook obviously decided that I didn't need his picture, so they put up the generic photo at about 5:15 PM.

I reposted Phil as my profile picture and wrote this as my status. "Okay Facebook, your move". Within 15 min. my picture was changed to the generic again and my status was altered to say- "Okay".
I had Cheri look at what had taken place, she immediately sent a note to Facebook explaining that I was being censored and that she would be letting others know about their actions. 10 min. later my profile picture was restored and my altered status was changed back to the original statement. I have to thank my wife for her actions. She caught FB with their hand in the cookie jar and called them out.
In today's world, free-speech is fast becoming "politically correct free-speech".  It's okay to speak your mind unless your Christian values are expressed. You will then be labeled a bigot and someone who uses hate speech.
When you make Jesus the forefront of your life... you know the Enemy gets upset. By the way, I paraphrased that from the Bible.

I know that I've been long-winded on this post, so I will say Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

God bless and much love, Dennis

Lighthearted Offering

I left my last post without my usual lighthearted closing. Here is that offering, it's one of my favorites.

A married couple, both 60 years old, were celebrating their 35th anniversary. 

During their party, an angel appeared to congratulate them and grant them each a blessing. The wife wanted to travel around the world. The angel waved her hand and instantly the wife had 2 tickets in her hand for a world cruise. Next, the Angel asked the husband what he wanted. He said, "I would like a wife 30 years younger than me." So the Angel lifted her hand and the husband instantly became 90.

Much love, Dennis

FCA

On Thursday I was able to attend a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Christmas luncheon at GB's restaurant here in Fairview. I have been a part of that group since last school year and it is very good therapy for me. I have been unable to attend for several weeks due to a combination of my health and bad weather. I don't know exactly how many members there are but attendance varies from week to week. For the luncheon there were around 30 students and I know there were several regulars who were unable to attend.

                           Looks like I needed to raise my hat.                

 These guys have something in high school that I lacked at that age, basically a willingness to spend time each week to gather with other young Christians and grow their relationship with Jesus. Special thanks to Linda Zimmerman (directly to my left), for allowing me to be a part of this group. Mrs. Zimmerman is the group leader and a very special person.

Because I am unable to drive, I have to make arrangements any time that I commit to outside engagements.
I would like to thank my mother (Jan Boyer) for getting me to and from the restaurant. She has a lot of things on her plate right now and her time is limited. 
I would ask that you continue to pray for my sister-in-law Gretchen. She is home now and gaining strength daily.
No joke today, but it is on the way :-)

Much love, Dennis

Darla Olson My Mother-In-Law

Wednesday was my mother-in-law's birthday.

Most of you know that after my accident in 2006 she and my father-in-law moved in with us. Now it's just Darla, Cheri, and myself. She has sacrificed a lot so that I can have the freedom of living at home. Darla does 99% of the cooking and much of my daytime care giving. Even though she has been in the workforce longer enough to retire, she still does "work from home" accounting for a local car dealership. I know that I am in good hands because I can see that God has his signature on my lifestyle here at home. Sometimes I know that my mother-in-law gets tired of saying "you're welcome", but when you have been blessed as much as I have it's hard not to say "Thank You".

The way that the puzzle of my life has been carefully crafted is sometimes almost unbelievable. There are too many things that have happened in the last 7+ years that coincidence could not be a factor. Thank you to my mother-in-law for all that she does.

Cheri, said to her husband, Dennis, when he returned from work, 'I have great news for you. Pretty soon there are going to be three in this house instead of two.'
Dennis started glowing with happiness and kissing Cheri , 'Oh darling, I'm the happiest man in the world.'
Cheri smiled and added, 'I'm glad that you feel that way, Dennis, because tomorrow morning my mother moves in with us.'

It is just a joke, I love you Darla and a Very Happy Birthday to you.

Much love, Dennis

The theory of evolution

I'm just starting my third week of antibiotics. So far I'm tolerating them pretty good although I have spent some time dozing off in the afternoons. My energy level is low and I've spent some extra time just watching TV. It's amazing to me how much information about evolution is presented as factual, when even Darwin himself said that unless the missing pieces of the fossilized records were found, evolution was and is a theory. I don't want to go into detail, but I believe that some people that subscribe to the evolution theory have more faith than those of us who believe in "God's Creation".


How many evolutionists does it take to change a light bulb?
Only one, but it takes millions of years.


Much love, Dennis