The Right Scoop
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!
I look forward to a New Year with all my fellow Scoopees!
I find it rather peculiar that we don't hear from Sarah much anymore...has she or her family been threatened...?
I don't think so, Kelly. I think they just consider the Christmas Season a family thing, absent of Politics. Wait until January. The first stupid thing Obama does, she'll be all over it. Along with Michelle Malkin.
I wish all of you a Merry Christmas. Our back and forth helps so much and gives me hope for a Happy New Year!
Couldn't reply down below for some reason, but That's the spirit my friend!! :-) We'll fight the good fight, the best we can or die trying.
I hope you had a Blessed Christmas hongryhawg! :-) Have a happy, and safe New Year! We've got a lot to do.
You are so right. Whenever I feel like just throwing up my hands and saying to H with it, I remind myself that that is exactly what they want. So, I plan to double down this year. I'm not whimpering and I know, from your posts, you aren't either. Here we go!!
As I was sitting here at my computer enjoying a glass of Chardonnay, and "A Romantic Christmas," by John Tesh, a thought suddenly came to me.
All those puppies are Canadian!
God help us! We'll never hear the end of it from AmericanborninCanada and BlueGood.
The real Person of the Year: http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2012/12/friday-afternoon-roundup-gun-control-in.html
I do agree, Conniption, but these would be my pick: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Photos+of+Benghazi+4&FORM=IQFRBA&view=detail&id=7AF9EA3FA014765F0B1F6600DCCFDFBCF5B6AABB#
I don't know how many of you remember Baby Adam, a child who was deformed and abandoned in India, but miraculously taken in by an amazing and loving couple, who gave him the necessary surgeries to save and better his life.
http://www.therightscoop.com/baby-adam-deformed-and-abandoned-a-baby-unites-a-community/
Well, I was one of so many that donated to the Baby Adam Fund at UNC Chapel Hill, NC back then, and yesterday I received a beautiful Christmas card from them, showing a picture of Adam and an update on his progress:
"Dear Friends,
Adam has recently discovered his shadow! Everywhere he goes he looks for his shadow - often asking for a flashlight to create his own shadow. He looks around to find where the light is coming from, then raises his arms and tilts his head, following the light to his shadow. All that he does is beyond what we could have asked for.
We see in Adam's life how God can make beauty out of ashes.
P.S. - Adam and family will return to UNC in the Spring of 2013 for his next team evaluation and staged surgeries."
http://medicalfoundationofnc.org/babyadam
Just another indication of the power of God and the wonders of the love that Jesus taught us. Merry Christmas and thank God for people like Raja and Jessica Paulraj. May there always be the light of the Lord shining through.
AW!!!!! That is excellent Nukefriend!! I remember Adam! How precious!! God is an Awesome God, and He loves us so much. He never ceases to amaze me and humble me at the same time with the way He works. xoxoxoxo
Merry Christmas and may all of you have the joy of being loved the way a dog can love you.
Merry Christmas to all normal people! ;)
May GOD be with you.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
To hell with members and sympathizers of communist/socialist utopia!
May devil be frying you forever! :---]
Jesus teaches us to love thine enemy. I shall wish 'hope and change' to all those afflicted with Obamial pneumonia and progressivitis, no matter how far gone they are. Merry Christmas, John. Have a Blessed holiday.
Here is a whimsical column by Michael Medved that gives us a way to ease away from the Holiday Season, and back into the realm of the political arena.
Santa is a Conservative. Yes, you heard me right.
Battered by electoral disaster and a withering budget fight, Republicans should rally their disheartened troops by reclaiming the most beloved figure in American life as one of their own: yes, Santa is a conservative!
A very Merry Christmas to all my friends and fellow patriots. May we all be at peace today.
Merry Blessed Christmas toon!!!!!! Hope you and your family have a beautiful day!!!
Forgive me, but as 2012 winds down, I keep looking for stories in the news that are uplifting to the spirit. The bad stuff will be back with us soon enough.
I found this very poignant one that every parent has gone through, about preserving the mystery of Christmas to their children. Not the religious side, but the Santa side. Too long to post here, but here's the link:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-holland-santa-20121225,0,2153470.story
Christmas Lights From Around The World.
Take a moment to enjoy the magic of Christmas.
http://framework.latimes.com/2012/12/24/christmas-light-from-around-the-world-2012/#/0
I got a Kindle Fire HD, some warm hunting socks, a bunch of Winchester rifled slugs for my 12 gauge, a "Fun" CD and a "Jason Mraz" CD. Good music. My wife and I together got a Wii finally and some games to go with it. She also got an Apple I-Pod Touch. I'll have to post here a little later with the new Kindle just to see if it works right.
It's 26F and snowing here in North Michigan. A White Christmas as usual :-)
Happy Birthday Jesus !
...And one more Merry Christmas to my cherished Scoop-friends.
Indian River, MI, one of my most favorite places on Earth. Not a UP, but close, Merry Christmas, Rshill7.
Our favorite place is Mackinaw Island. Indian River is quite popular. You are right. It's a such a cool place. Here's a little video about Indian River: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PolsXfHkPeE
Happy New Year Suzyqpie !
Wow that was fun, thanks. What a treat, the whole family enjoyed seeing all the houses and places along the river that we all recognized. Happy New Year Rshill7, again thank you.
I'm wearing my Marine cap (didn't have any Green Berets lol- maybe next Christmas ;-)) listening to some excellent tunes on my MP3 :-D Gonna go out shortly and hang up the new Gadsen flag and Stars and Stripes to replace our old ones. It's low 80s and sunshine. :-D I do miss snow though on Christmas. Enjoy it myBear!!
Sounds like Santa was good to you.
We havent opened any gifts yet. Its only 9:45 and gone are the days of our son waking at daylight. We're just glad he spent the night! Nice to have someone in his room.
We have a Wi. Rs.
Our son, and my hubby and I- like to play the sports on it. He whips us in the bowling and tennis!
Its fun to make the players resemble yourself.
Merry CHRISTmas everyone!
CHRISTmas just wouldn't be the same without a CHRISTmas song sung by David Phelps....enjoy my frineds.
David Phelps Sings "Oh, Holy Night"
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/video/8099704-david-phelps-sings-oh-holy-night/
Merry Merry Blessed Christmas stage9!! I hope you have a beautiful day! Thank you for the song- it's my favorite Christmas song. :-) Beautiful...
Its Christmas morning, and this was the only thing in my email (I thought that was strange). Glenn Beck's Charlie Brown message for Christmas. I think it gives a sense of balance to all that has happened recently. Merry Christmas to all my Scoop family, and Best Wishes for a New Year and a New Beginning for America.
December 25, 2012
I think a lot of people today can sympathize with Charlie Brown in the opening scene of the American TV classic A Charlie Brown Christmas when he admitted that, although the Christmas season had arrived, he was depressed. One look at the news and that state of mind is quite understandable: riots broke out at a mall & a man was shot over the release of new Michael Jordan retro sneakers; police armed with riot gear were needed to break up a fight at a youth football game in California; free condom dispensers are being placed at Philadelphia high schools for the holidays; and of course none of us can shake the unimaginable tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary. It's tough to digest six-year-old children being so violently robbed of their chance to live a full life, and the scars the survivors will carry with them for the rest of their life.
These stories and infinite others like them pummel our sense of "merriment" into submission, leaving us dazed & confused about the world surrounding us. Why did this happen? How could it happen? Where's God in all of this? Shouldn't He be doing some serious smiting or something? I wish I had the answer to the how's and the why's, but I am not going to pretend to have all the answers. I know we have free will & I know evil exists - but why does something like the Sandy Hook tragedy happen? Simply stated: I do not know.
But let me share with you what I do know: while we live in a fallen world, there is hope. Not a hollow 'things will get better' promise based on nothing in particular; but real, true hope. The ultimate proof is the very reason we celebrate Christmas: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
That is the real meaning of Christmas. The message many Christians complain is lost in an onslaught of the winter solstice, holiday trees, stuff, Santa and yet more stuff. And that's true, but I'll take it a step further - and this is where non-Christians, atheists, Muslims, Jews, Wiccans and everyone in between can come together: the real meaning of Christmas isn't just about the baby Jesus. It's also about what we do with the knowledge of the Christmas story.
Making sure our National Nativity Defense Force is vigorously patrolling manger scenes all across America and bickering with atheists shouldn't be the extent of our Christianity. We should instead be on the lookout for those in need: the poor, the needy, widows, orphans, loners, the rejected, the suffering, the lost, the angry, the depressed, neighbors, strangers, brothers, sisters, co-workers, friends, and yes even enemies. And we should help and love them because God first loved us. Just doing that alone will shine a giant spotlight of hope into a dark world.
When Charlie Brown's cast for his Christmas play had lost sight of the real meaning of Christmas, Linus stepped up to the stage and recited this from Luke:
"'And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.'"
The message of hope caused the gang to have a change of heart and start loving instead of complaining. My prayer this Christmas is for more people everywhere, believers and non-believers, to be inspired by the Christmas story and the love God showed His people, and for them to pass that love on to others.
Laus Deo,
Somehow, not only for Christmas,
but all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others,
Is the joy that comes back to you.
-John Greenleaf Whittier
To your enemy . . .forgiveness,
To your opponent . . .tolerance.
To a friend . . . your heart.
To a customer . . . service.
To all men . . .charity.
To every child . . . a good example
To yourself . . .respect
-Author Unknown
God Bless mywhitefriend! Have a beautiful Blessed Christmas. ((()))s
Oh whitefriend, you have a way with sweetness!! I've gotten so much joy, more than I deserve in Blessings, but I am SO grateful. God is SO good and Glorious!! Have a Beautiful Christmas evening dear friend. ((()))s :-D ♥ ♥
Merry Christmas white531. Loved the post, the line in the article that caused me to think hard was this;
"We should instead be on the lookout for those in need: the poor, the needy, widows, orphans, loners, the rejected, the suffering, the lost, the angry, the depressed, neighbors, strangers, brothers, sisters, co-workers, friends, and yes even enemies."
I heard a riddle while listening to the T.V. and folding some laundry I was doing, and a person asked "what is the best way for you to defeat your enemy?" Immediately my response was; the best way to defeat your enemy is to make them your friend. This portion of the article resonates this simple philosophy in how we should deal with others even when we are not their friends. Even friends disagree occasionally but seek not each other’s destruction, rather reach for common ground to support us all. Let us keep Christmas in our hearts and seek to help others as best we can.
Merry Christmas to you and all on this Earth.
armyvet, I know you posted this 9 hours ago, but that was at the height of the Christmas celebration. Now that the Christmas festivities are winding down, I felt it was still a comment deserving of a more in-depth reply. This is why. Charity used to be how Americans took care of each other. That is, before the Federal Damned Government became involved.
If there was one thing the Pilgrims did and did well, it was to take care of each other. They saw it as their Christian duty. But it was a different kind of charity than we have now. It was a hand out, as opposed to a handout. There is a difference. It was meant to get you over a hard time, so that you could go on with your life, and continue to be a contributing member of the community. "A leg up," would be a better phrase for what they did.
Everyone who was healthy, was expected to work. If you or your family fell on hard times, they saw to it you had a warm fire and something to eat. But, they expected you to get over your difficulties and get back to work and take care of yourself.
I guess those four words, "take care of yourself," exemplify the difference between us and other nations. To take charity when needed, but to get back on your own, as soon as humanly possible. The Democratic Party changed all that.
We have become a nation of people who prefer charity and welfare, to working for our own needs. It has distorted the relationship between those who have, and those who have not.
Americans are still the most generous people in the world. Yet we sometimes don't know where that generosity is going to end up. We have been witness to the worldwide organizations where the salaries of the company officers eat up most of the money donated to those organizations. We have seen the million dollar homes of the Christian Evangelists, built with the last few dollars of a poor elderly woman, who went without food, so she could write that check. I don't want to get too melodramatic here, but you know where I am going with this. Charity has become a business. A tax-exempt business, I might add.
How does that affect you and me, when it comes to personal charity? Well, let's begin with what your Federal Government spends on welfare. About $1.03 Trillion. Medicare, Social Security, Food Stamps, and all the other so-called Safety Net programs, dreamed up and executed by your glorious leaders. Some of you will no doubt argue about the accuracy of those numbers, but let's say its a lot of money, Ok?
Now if half the people in this country are on some form of government subsistence, with their food free, their rent free, their medical care free, I only have one question.
Why am I still working??? I buy my own food. I own my own home. I pay for my own medical. None of my cars are newer than five years. When they break, I have them repaired, or fix them myself.
Even with all that, when I drive up to a red light, and there's a guy or gal standing there with a sign that says, "I haven't eaten in three days," what am I supposed to do?
I have heard stories that these people make four hundred dollars a week and live in a nice apartment. On the other hand, when I lived in Houston four years ago, there was a woman who worked one of the intersections there, who actually lived in a tent in the woods, not far from the intersection. Who's the poor person, and who's the cheat? You see, we don't really know. Because Charity has become a business, just like any other.
Couple of stories. I never run out of stories. Years ago, coming out of church one time in Phoenix, a street bum, now we call them homeless, was hanging around the church looking for a handout. I gave him some money. One of my sons said, "Dad, why did you do that?" I said, "well, he looked like he needed it." He said, "Dad, the guy's a bum! He's just gonna spend it on a bottle of cheap wine!" We are always trying to educate our children at that young age, so I told him, "Son, that's between him and God. It is none of my affair." I don't think he bought it.
My son was probably right. He probably did in fact, spend the money I gave him, on a bottle of cheap wine. The point of all of this, is that you and I have no way of knowing.
I have a cousin who lives in Kingman. Town northwest of Phoenix. Desert Rat, if there ever was one. Happier, out in the desert, than in his own home. Went to visit him one time around Christmas, several years ago. He said, let's go cut some firewood tomorrow. I said, sure. Four o'clock in the morning, he wakes me up. It's twenty-eight degrees outside, an pitch black dark. We load the trucks and head out to the nearby mountains. We start cutting Mesquite, and the branches go into a big bonfire. On the embers of those branches, the women in the party put iron skillets in the coals and cooked breakfast and made coffee. Only in Arizona.
After breakfast, we loaded all the Mesquite firewood into several trucks. My cousin took one of the trucks and headed off in a different direction from home. I asked him where he was going. Turns out, he was headed to a remote residence, occupied by two seniors, who although they still lived on their own, had lost the ability to take care of themselves. He evidently made this journey about every two weeks, and delivered not only firewood, but other basic things this old couple depended on. Without his deliveries, they would have had to move into town, probably to some miserable care center.
Just so you know, my cousin is about the crustiest bastard you are likely to find in northern Arizona. He drinks beer for breakfast. He also delivers toys he has collected, to a small town in Mexico. Makes the trip at least once a month, in an old Chevy truck that has seen better days. They love him down there in that small town. They call him, "Santa del Norte." Santa Claus from the North.
You never know where charity comes from. It is a part of all of us. I have no real knowledge of such things, but I believe it is Christ within us, that makes us feel compelled to do these things. Perhaps you have a better answer for the way ordinary people feel compelled to help those less fortunate. I believe it is simply the goodness in our souls, that we were born with. The empathy we feel, for all the others who are on the same journey we are.
There is life, and there is death. It is only what you occupy your time with between those two unavoidable extremes, that measures you, as a human being.
And that is why we celebrate Christmas. God Bless each and every one of you. Try to make a difference, while you are here.
A pastor in Texas said once, "Every religion in the world except Christianity is spelled 'D-O,' only Christianity is spelled 'D-O-N-E.'"
People need to think about that. So many (or more truthfully, all) of the world's religions have conditions attached, works that must be done before one can be pure enough to attain whatever, paradise, oneness, universal whatever, nirvana... It is only Christ that offers to take us as we are, and by believing on Him. He has already saved us... we only need to acknowlege Him and accept His gift. :-)
"Since no man is excluded from calling upon God the gate of salvation is open to all. There is nothing else to hinder us from entering, but our own unbelief." John Calvin
And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Acts 16:30,31
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" Jesus (Matt. 11:28)
"we can come to Him just as we are."
I don't think you can find a statement in Scripture, as pure as that one.
Salvation is so simple, when you think about it.
I am sure some of you wish we would move on, and get away from all this.
In due time. This is still an open thread. One of the best posted by The Right Scoop.
There is enough ugliness in America, these days, that you can tolerate a little religion.
If not Religion, at least decency. Can we at least have decency?
He knows our thoughts yes. We're all sinners mywhitefriend. He is working on us, but we're still works in progress. It's encouraging to know we can come to Him just as we are... He's the One who cleans us up :-) xoxoxoxo
Well said, armyvet. We are all on the same journey, and all have the responsibility for arriving at the same destination. God Willing.
Jesus doesn't watch your actions. Only other mortal beings watch your actions. Jesus watches your thoughts.
I have to be careful here. I am the biggest sinner among you. But I'm working on getting better.
Thanks for the reply, as for the stories; well we all have ours to tell. I have said this to others and perhaps even through posts at various times throughout the year. Charity is our chance to help ourselves by helping others. Mathew 25: 35-40 best tells us why we do what we do for others, even our enemies. We control nothing of what anyone will do with a gift; we can only believe that God placed us there in their pathway for a reason. It may not be our effort that helps someone to get back on their feet, but at least we can be the stone upon which they take their first step back from the abyss of this world's despair. My daughter has asked me why I put money in the kettle for the Salvation Army every year at this time. My reply is always the same, "Because someone somewhere needs a hand up." I have given road side people money and thought what will they do with it, the peace of mind I get through God, conscience or my heart tells me that no matter what happens with my gift at least an effort was made to treat this individual as a person and not a statistic. Have a blessed evening; I must get the wife and daughter to bed for the night. With all of the posts I have read and replied to, I have much reflecting to do. Perhaps in conversation with our heavenly father, enlightenment will come upon me, if not, then I will continue to seek his counsel until he feels I am ready.
God bless us all in our travels here on Earth and on our way home.
Well said whitefriend. I couldn't help but notice your reply to your son though- about giving money to the "bum". You're right. You see a person before you, dirty, homeless, destitute- it's in our nature to want to help a person, even if deep down we believe they will take the money and do something foolish with it. But, it's true- what he does is between him and God.
We can't ever know where our tithes and charity will end up. I haven't been able to give much by way of money these past few years because we've been out of work, but when I used to give, I sometimes wondered if the money would be going to the people or to the pockets of those running the charities. I would say a prayer as I sent it, for it to be used for something good, knowing that whatever happened to it, was between the people asking for it, and God.
Now, if I do have an extra dollar or 2, I find a way to give in different ways which will help someone, or give to something in my community. That's what's been the hardest about the crappy economy- not being able to give as much.
I have to be creative now. But I pray it's still enough to change someone even in a small way, to know Jesus loves them too.
Sorry, going way long again. Didn't mean to go on so. But your words touched me. xoxo
I just read that too. I think Linus says it all. Have a Blessed Christmas, White. And a wonderful New Year.
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