Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †
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✝️
Passing on the power of prayer …
Have a wonderful Sunday everybody. I hope we all can share in God’s grace in this special time.
One of my favorites. I try to post the new ones as they are posted at CFP. The Ameicans are the most generous people on the planet.
Brought me to tears – beautiful! Thank you for posting!
Me too. 🙂
Thank you, Garison…. //:0
Merry Christmas 🙂
The Visiting Preacher
By Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
Paul and Barnabas had seated themselves in the large synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. They were soon recognized as “clergymen,” however, for “after the reading of the law and the prophets” they were asked whether either of them might have some word of “exhortation” for those who had gathered.
These details are important, for as Moses, in giving the Law, had declared God’s moral standards, the prophets had for centuries challenged the people to obey the Law and had warned them of the dire consequences of breaking its commands. Hence, in the synagogues passages were generally read from the Law and the prophets, and the religious leaders would then “exhort” the people to heed the prophets and obey the Law.
Paul and Barnabas, the visiting preachers, therefore, were asked whether either of them had a “word of exhortation for the people.” Paul responded to the invitation but, rather than merely exhorting his hearers to keep the Law, he proclaimed Christ, who in love had died for all lawbreakers, closing with these words:
“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38,39).
How we need this message today! We may forever exhort one another to keep the Law, but who of us has not already broken it? Let us thank God, then, that He is a loving Savior as well as a just Judge and that as God the Son He paid for our sins Himself at Calvary so that we might be “justified freely by His grace.”
“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13).
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).
https://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/the-visiting-preacher/
Acts 13:38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
I find this very fascinating:
The Star of Bethlehem, The Christmas Star will be seen on Monday, December 21st, at sunset. One must look in the South West direction. It hasn’t been seen for 800 years.
How amazing is it that it is making an appearance in THIS year?? ?
? ?
Just say’n… 😉
Works for me;
what say thee?
Nope! It ain’t the governments money! Property rights are fundamental to liberty and freedom and we should fight to maintain them even if breaching such a fundamental right seems to have the results we desire. We should defend that fundamental right in all circumstances because giving such power to any government is a sure way to become serfs instead of citizens. .
True…and we, the people , pay one way or another…either thru taxes or higher prices in the market place. There ain’t no free ride. Ever.
Open up the economy.
I like the thought. Tulsi occasionally gets it.
In my state the free market was upended by govt regs which allowed large businesses to profit while devastating small ones. Passing regs to fix the inequities is in my mind warranted, especially as she has the profiteers paying for it.
Per the thought of rah and dilonsfo. It is not the govts money and it is not your money.
It’s the money of those that legally possess it and unless that wealth was accumulated illegally then it is the property of those that own it. Any government that can unjustly take wealth without due process of law is not one in which the people are free. Property rights are in fact the very foundation of liberty.
RONNIE MILSAP Performs “Merry, Merry Christmas Baby” (LIVE) | Jukebox | Huckabee
Roger’s Rangers “Rules of Ranging”
The fundamentals of conducting dismounted patrolling behind enemy lines have not changed in 100’s of years. The most famous and I believe the first to articulate those fundamentals in writing as a comprehensive set of orders and guide for tactics was the American colonist Robert Rogers.
Roger formed his colonial Ranger unit to serve the British during the French and Indian war. That war in North America was just an extension of a wider war between Britain and France with Spain as a player known to history as The Seven Years War . That war lasted from 1756 to 1763 as the European powers struggled with each other for control of the colonies from which their wealth sprang. By this time Spain’s initial dominance as a colonial power was long over and Britain was emerging as the dominate colonial power. But France, with the help of others, including Spain, was constantly challenging that dominance.
Some here may remember the old movie “Northwest Passage” staring Spencer Tracy, Robert Young, and Walter Brennan in which the most famous of the many long range patrols Roger’s Rangers conducted is depicted. That movie was based on a very good novel by Kenneth Rogers published in 1937.
Roger wrote his 28 Rules for Ranging to inform his men of how they were expected to conduct themselves and carry out operations. Today in the US Army there are several Field Manuals on Dismounted Patrolling depending on what branch is conducting the operation. The Ranger Handbook is the most comprehensive US Army publication on the subject and though it is intended for infantry it is applicable to all the branches. No Special Operations or infantry leader should be without one. I have a couple.
Inside the cover on my older copy of the Ranger Handbook are listed 19 of “Roger’s Rules of Ranging”. as General Orders for US Army Rangers. :
Here they are:
Thanks, Rah…happy to see your posts again, and praying for you.
#5 gave me a chuckle.
#17 reminded me of our VSGPDJT.
#3 is very very apt.
I also am happy to see your posts again, rah. Hope all is going well and you and the missus have a wonderful Christmas and healthy New Year.
Bored and tired of the pain. Though I am getting better everyday it is still a grind. Thank you both for your well wishes.
Tony the Worm flew to the North Pole…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/19/anthony-fauci-vaccinate-santa-claus-coronavirus
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/crazy-dr-fauci-makes-honest-statement-year-tells-children-flew-north-pole-vaccinated-santa-clause/
Thought I might mention a couple things I have learned about winter driving that maybe some of you may have forgotten or never thought of before. The first rule that will help keep you out of trouble more often than no is: HAVE THE PATIENCE OF A SAINT!
1. In changing conditions on roads that did not have ice on them before but there is percipitation and your not sure if it is freezing or not watch for the mist off your tires and the vehicles around you. If there is mist coming off the tires your most likely good to go. If that mist starts to lesson or disappears altogether WATCH OUT!
2. NEVER EVER use cruise control in slick conditions even when the slick spots are spotty/intermittent. Never downshift a standard transmission on really slick roads unless your going straight.
3. In potentially slick conditions feather the accelerator and more or less coast across overpasses and bridges which we know generally freeze more quickly and are worse than the roads. IOW slow to a comfortable speed BEFORE you get to the overpass or bridge and then try to keep your speed constant without heavy acceleration or any braking as you pass over.
4. LOOK at what the heck is around you. Quite often the first warning that your on a particuarly slick part of the road is that you see other vehicles that have slid off the road. Vehicles pulling trailers like campers using a standard ball hitch are usually the first to lose it and end up in the median or off the road. Stay away from bobtail tractors ( Semi tractors with no trailers) as much as possible since they are the most difficult vehicle to control on slick roads and the kind known as “cabovers” which have the engine underneath and the flat nose are the worst of the worst in slick conditions.
5. In heavy snow conditions or in blowing snow conditions that obscure the lines on the interstate feel for the rumble strips usually located on or just outside the yellow lines marking the outside portion of the outside lanes. I can feel them even in my big truck when there is 4″ of snow covering the road. They have kept me on the asphault in those kinds of conditions more times than I can remember.
6. Remember that quite often the exit ramps off the interstate will still be slick long after the plows and salt trucks have made the conditions on the main road better.
7. When you see the flashing yellow of a plow/salt truck ahead of you get over early and be very careful because you can’t anticipate what these vehicles are going to do, nor can you anticipate what the people trying to pass that vehcile will do. Quite often people run right up to these vehicles and hit their brakes suddenly when they realize they are throwing salt or snow off their blades.
8. Semi tractors having only two axles which you often see hauling double trailers on line haul for companies like XPO, UPS, Fed Ex, etc can have a great deal of trouble climbing hills in really slick conditions. More than once I have been stuck on interstates behind them when they failed to get up a hill. Many regular three axle tractors have an axle “interlock”. In normal conditions only the rear axle is providing the power but in slick conditions the driver can hit a switch engaging the drive for his front drive axle to get better traction. Normally “interlock” should only be used up to a speed of 45 mph.
9. NEVER EVER pull off on the shoulder of an interstate and stop unless you have absolutly no choice! It’s bad to do this in perfect conditions but in slick coditions and especially in those when visibility is compromised your just asking to get hit. If you must pull over and can get to a place where you can pull in so you have some kind of obstruction protecting you rear like a guard rail or overpass embuttment, do so.
10. Watch out for the hunks of frozen slush falling off other vehicles. Those coming off big rigs can be big enough to do some real damage. In certain conditions thick slabs of frozen percipitation can come sliding off the roof of a semi trailer.
I’m printing this!
Many thanks and get well soon.
Thank you. Glad you are back, too
Don’t pass a plow truck.
Don’t get out of your vehicle on the road.
Thank you for the very good information plus explanations.
People remember “what” so much better, once they understand “why”.
I am not saying do not pass a plow truck. I am saying to do so with caution but once you commit get by and don’t linger. How many times have I seen vehicles hang in the left lane very close to the plow when the plow is in the right and not pass!
Oh no, Rah. I’m just adding my two cents to your excellent advice! I have heard it many times, in the plowing profession, they see a driver desperate to get around them, on a two lane road, especially if they are also salting the roadway.
The driver will get in front of the plow, never thinking that the road in front of the plow is slippery, or else the plow would not be out. The driver then wipes out.
Funny story. When I arrived at Ft. Devens. MA and was put on a team in Co. A, 3rd, BN. 10th SFG(A). I was the first Special Forces qualified PFC (Private First Class) they had seen.
Being of such low rank I got some crap extra duties, one of which was to be a bus driver. So when the Battalion went to it’s annual ski training that year I trained with my team but I also drove a bus with the company loaded on it from our barracks at Camp Ethan Allen Vermont to the ski hill at Smugglers Notch and then at the end of the training day I drove us back to our quarters at the Camp.
I was following a big V shaped plow that was really moving the snow one evening on the return trip. Solid walls of snow blasting off the ends of the plow. Behind me was some kids in compact car and they decided they would pass both my bus and the plow. They hit that wall of snow and next I saw them they were 20′ off the road in a field of snow. That snow just blasted that little car off the road like it was nothing.
One can only shake ones head and laugh when they see such idiotic moves.
I promised to post some things on the Battle of the Bulge. Before my operation I posted the story of the Jumbo M4 Sherman tank that was the first in Bastogne. Here is some more on the fight to keep that route open and Patton’s effort to cut flank the German bulge:
Dec 31st, 1944
German units fight to close the recently opened relief corridor to Bastogne, Belgium. The attack forced Pattons 3rd Army to divert forces delaying it’s attack on Houffalize where it was attempting to meet up with Hodges first Army elements and thus trap large numbers German units. In the end, the tiny but strategically positioned town was not taken until after it was nearly leveled by air attack.
Later when Patton entered Houffalize seeing the total destruction of what has once been a nice town he wrote a verse to the tune of the song ‘Oh Little Town of Bethleham’.
O little town of Houffalize,
How still we see thee lie;
Above they steep and battered streets
The aeroplanes sail by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
Not any Goddamned light;
The hopes and fears of all thy years
Were blown to hell last night.
(Standing in the town square of Houffalize is a Panther tank. That tank was found upside down on the RR tracks at the Houffalize train station apparently blown there by allied air attack. The town salvaged it and put it out as a monument. In 1987 my team visited Houffalize as we toured other towns in the area of the Battle of the Bulge. A member of my team was a collector of WW II German uniforms and had brought his authentic SS Panzer officers uniform jacket with him. It was complete with rank and the skull and crossbones ensignia. And so I have a picture of me in the commanders hatch of that tank with only my upper torso exposed wearing that uniform jacket and cap.)
A funny Dog story I have saved in my email from a few years ago.
Unbaked Yeast Rolls
Those of you who have animals will probably appreciate this the most. It is a story that is hilarious in itself and the person who wrote it is a good writer and made the story even better. Enjoy…
We have a fox terrier by the name of Jasper. He came to us in the summer of 2001 from the fox terrier rescue program. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this type of adoption, imagine taking in a 10 year old child about whom you know nothing and committing to doing your best to be a good parent.
Like a child, the dog came with his own idiosyncrasies. He will only sleep on the bed, on top of the covers, nuzzled as close to my face as he can get without actually performing a French kiss on me.
Lest you think this is a bad case of ‘no discipline,’ I should tell you that Perry and I tried every means to break him of this habit, including locking him in a separate bedroom for several nights. The new door cost over $200. But I digress.
Five weeks ago we began remodeling our house. Although the cost of the project is downright obnoxious, it was 20 years overdue AND it got me out of cooking Thanksgiving for family, extended family, and a lot of friends that I like more than family most of the time.
I was assigned the task of preparing 124 of my famous yeast dinner rolls for the two Thanksgiving feasts we did attend.
I am still cursing the electrician for getting the new oven hooked up so quickly. It was the only appliance in the whole darn house that worked, thus the assignment.
I made the decision to cook the rolls on Wed evening to reheat Thurs am. Since the kitchen was freshly painted, you can imagine the odor. Not wanting the rolls to smell like Sherwin Williams #586, I put the rolls on baking sheets and set them in the living room to rise for a few hours. Perry and I decided to go out to eat, returning in about an hour. The rolls were ready to go in the oven.
It was 8:30 PM. When I went to the living room to retrieve the pans, much to my shock, one whole pan of 12 rolls was empty. I called out to Jasper and my worst nightmare became a reality. He literally wobbled over to me. He looked like a combination of the Pillsbury dough boy and the Michelin Tire man wrapped up in fur. He groaned when he walked. I swear even his cheeks were bloated.
I ran to the phone and called our vet. After a few seconds of uproarious laughter, he told me the dog would probably be okay; however, I needed to give him Pepto Bismol every 2 hours for the rest of the night. God only knows why I thought a dog would like Pepto Bismol any more than my kids did when they were sick. Suffice it to say that by the time we went to bed the dog was black, white and pink. He was so bloated we had to lift him onto the bed for the night.
We arose at 7:30 and as we always do first thing, put the dog out to relieve himself. Well, the dog was as drunk as a sailor on his first leave. He was running into walls, falling flat on his butt and most of the time when he was walking, his front half was going one direction and the other half was either dragging the grass or headed 90 degrees in another direction.
He couldn’t lift his leg to pee, so he would just walk and pee at the same time. When he ran down the small incline in our back yard he couldn’t stop himself and nearly ended up running into the fence.
His pupils were dilated and he was as dizzy as a loon. I endured another few seconds of laughter from the vet (second call within 12 hours) before he explained that the yeast had fermented in his belly and that he was indeed drunk.
He assured me that, not unlike most binges we humans go through, it would wear off after about 4 or 5 hours, and to keep giving him Pepto Bismol.
Afraid to leave him by himself in the house, Perry and I loaded him up and took him with us to my sister’s house for the first Thanksgiving meal of the day.
My sister lives outside of Muskogee on a ranch, (10 to 15 minute drive). Rolls firmly secured in the trunk (124 less 12) and drunk dog leaning from the back seat onto the console of the car between Perry and I, we took off.
Now I know you probably don’t believe that dogs burp, but believe me when I say that after eating a tray of risen unbaked yeast rolls, DOGS WILL BURP. These burps were pure Old Charter. They would have matched or beat any smell in a drunk tank at the police station. But that’s not the worst of it.
Now he was beginning to fart and they smelled like baked rolls. God strike me dead if I am not telling the truth! We endured this for the entire trip to Karen’s, thankful she didn’t live any further away than she did.
Once Jasper was firmly placed in my sister’s garage with the door locked, we finally sat down to enjoy our first Thanksgiving meal of the day. The dog was the topic of conversation all morning long and everyone made trips to the garage to witness my drunken dog, each returning with a tale of Jasper’s latest endeavor to walk without running into something. Of course, as the old adage goes, ‘what goes in must come out’ and Jasper was no exception.
Granted if it had been me that had eaten 12 risen, unbaked yeast rolls, you might as well have put a concrete block up my behind, but alas a dog’s digestive system is quite different from yours or mine. I discovered this was a mixed blessing when we prepared to leave Karen’s house. Having discovered his ‘packages’ on the garage floor, we loaded him up in the car so we could hose down the floor.
This was another naive decision on our part. The blast of water from the hose hit the poop on the floor and the poop on the floor withstood the blast from the hose. It was like Portland cement beginning to set up and cure.
We finally tried to remove it with a shovel. I (obviously no one else was going to offer their services) had to get on my hands and knees with a coarse brush to get the remnants off of the floor. And as if this wasn’t degrading enough, the darn dog in his drunken state had walked through the poop and left paw prints all over the garage floor that had to be brushed too.
Well, by this time the dog was sobering up nicely so we took him home and dropped him off before we left for our second Thanksgiving dinner at Perry’s sister’s house.
I am happy to report that as of today (Monday) the dog is back to normal both in size and temperament. He has had a bath and is no longer tricolor. None the worse for wear I presume. I am also happy to report that just this evening I found 2 risen unbaked yeast rolls hidden inside my closet door.
It appears he must have come to his senses after eating 10 of them but decided hiding 2 of them for later would not be a bad idea. Now, I’m doing research on the computer as to: ‘How to clean unbaked dough from the carpet.’
And how was your day?
THE RIGHT LINES OF WORK
“I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me.” John xii. 32
Very few of us have any understanding of the reason why Jesus Christ died. If sympathy is all that human beings need, then the Cross of Christ is a farce, there was no need for it. What the world needs is not “a little bit of love,” but a surgical operation.
When you are face to face with a soul in difficulty spiritually, remind yourself of Jesus Christ on the Cross. If that soul can get to God on any other line, then the Cross of Jesus Christ is unnecessary. If you can help others by your sympathy or understanding, you are a traitor to Jesus Christ. You have to keep your soul rightly related to God and pour out for others on His line, not pour out on the human line and ignore God. The great note today is amiable religiosity.
The one thing we have to do is to exhibit Jesus Christ crucified, to lift Him up all the time. Every doctrine that is not imbedded in the Cross of Jesus will lead astray. If the worker himself believes in Jesus Christ and is banking on the Reality of Redemption, the people he talks to MUST be concerned. The thing that remains and deepens is the worker’s simple relationship to Jesus Christ; his usefulness to God depends on that and that alone.
The calling of a New Testament worker is to uncover sin and to reveal Jesus Christ as Saviour, consequently he cannot be poetical, he must be sternly surgical. We are sent by God to lift up Jesus Christ, not to give wonderfully beautiful discourses. We have to probe straight down as deeply as God has probed us, to be keen in sensing the Scriptures which bring the truth straight home and to apply them fearlessly.
Oswald Chambers
December 20th Devotional
In some ways this crazy year has been good for me. It’s been a strong reminder not to put your faith in princes and mortal men who cannot save. (Psalm 146) instead it is only the Lord God Almighty who is eternally faithful and the source of our salvation.
For Advent I am reading Veritatis Splendor. It really explains so much of what drives me crazy: taking good action and removing it from its purpose (to serve God) or its end (to know God). When you remove God from the equation, it’s like tossing out the first few of the Ten Commandments saying they don’t matter. When I view some of the woke folks spouting justice without Truth, I am able to pray for them: forgive them, Lord, they know not what they do. The world needs Truth.
Thank you.
I see the popular sentiment today that we should practice “gratitude”. You can’t be grateful in a vacuum. Gratitude has to not only be for something, but to something.
. . . but deliver us from the Evil One.
Prayer of Saint Ioannikios the Great (+ 846)
My hope is the Father, my refuge the Son, my protection the Holy Spirit. O Holy Trinity, glory to Thee.
Dan Scavino, WH Communicatons Office posted
Mornin’ infidels!
(1) Meowica ?? on Twitter: “https://t.co/ygmJxG97Qp” / Twitter
Same to you WW.
And yes, I am an infidel and damn PROUD of it!
Morning Wee Weed. Thanks for the belly laugh!
Good afternoon, WeeWeed!
Merry Christmas!
I wonder if Sidney Powell will be empowered with prosecutorial authority? If not, she needs to be moved to AG or some place where she will wield the most power.
Maria B is on…not ONE questions about the election fraud. Not one question.
Just say’n… 😉
Telling it like it is…
https://twitter.com/EmeraldRobinson/status/1340698512103788552
My church joined up with the Branch Covidians. They are open, but I am not allowed to enter without a mask on.
“The soul of one who loves God always swims in joy, always keeps holiday, and is always in a mood for singing.” -St. John of the Cross
Erdogan’s social media representative law has its first compliant/sheep: YouTube. https://www.turkishminute.com/2020/12/17/erdogan-has-broken-youtubes-resistance/
For centuries and generations the Psalter has been a central part of both the Divine Services and the personal prayers of Orthodox Christians.
Psalm 50 according to the Septuagint is part of daily prayers and normally memorized by the Faithful.
This video is actually an audio clip of a nun’s voice saying the 50th Psalm from the English-language Psalter translated by Holy Transfiguration Monastery.
lilbirdee12’s prayer:
Our Heavenly Father, Your children come to you tonight to ask for healing and peace throughout our country so that we may return to being One Nation Under God. Guide us to be leaders in Your Kingdom, spreading Your Love and Salvation to all. Forgive us our sins and deliver us from evil.
Lord, we ask for a blanket of protection over all our troops and law enforcement who serve to defend and protect us. Bless our representatives with the strength and wisdom they need to achieve the path You have chosen for us.
Please place Your Guardian Angels of Protection around Donald Trump and Mike Pence and their families as they seek to lead America back to You. Also, we pray for Angels to protect and support our Sundance as he works for justice and peace.
Grant us patience, Lord, as the evil ones try to anger us and cause us to fall.
Spread blessings over Israel and Netanyahu.
We humbly ask that You please comfort those who are grieving and in pain.
Thank you Father, for Your Love and the gift of Life.
In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.
Amen
Amen.
Amen. And Lotd please watch over and protect General Flynn and his family, and all patriots and freedom loving people around the world.
Just say’n… 😉
Never Forget…
#GITMOCanHoldThemALL
Just say’n… 😉
Something to ponder… 😉
Lord carry us as a nation, and carry us as people. Open our eyes to see how we are dependent on you, give us the faith to let go and submit wholly to you.