The Winkler Family

There has been so much negative publicity regarding this tragedy. I thought I'd post a couple of articles I've seen whose objective doesn't seem to be to blame the church for this unfortunate tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers remain with this family.

Published in USA Today on 3/27/06.

Even after her first court appearance Monday, the public knows little about what motive Mary Winkler allegedly gave police for shooting her husband, a popular and well-liked minister at Fourth Street Church of Christ in the small town of Selmer, Tenn., 80 miles east of Memphis.
Sheriff's deputies lead Mary Winkler into the Baldwin County Satellite Courthouse in Foley, Ala. Sheriff's deputies lead Mary Winkler into the Baldwin County Satellite Courthouse in Foley, Ala.
Winkler, 32, said nothing beyond "no, sir" when asked if she had any questions during her arraignment Monday at the McNairy County Criminal Justice Center, where she has been held since she was extradited Saturday to Tennessee.

Her attorneys entered no plea, and the judge granted the defense's request to postpone a bail hearing until her preliminary hearing Thursday morning. The funeral for her husband, Fourth Street Church of Christ minister Matthew Winkler, will be today in Selmer.

Two students at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn., who knew the Winklers, were among 200 to 300 people who attended a visitation for the family Monday night in Selmer, Tenn.

Shane Fisher, 19, sophomore Bible major from McMinnville, had worked with Mary Winkler at the Super D drugstore there about two years ago. He was a clerk and she worked in the mail room.

He would often tell her jokes "to crack her up," Fisher said. He described her as "very compassionate, so friendly all the time."

"I don't ever remember her having a bad day," Fisher said. "She was a good Christian lady; she really was."

Fisher attended a youth seminar with FHU sophomore marketing major Tyler Boyd, 19, during spring break last week in McMinnville. Many youths were there who knew Matthew Winkler, whom they often called by the nickname "Wink," Boyd said.

Boyd said the minister encouraged young people to search the Bible, find the truth and serve God with everything they had.

His death has motivated many, Boyd said, adding that he also doesn't think Matthew Winkler would have any trouble forgiving his wife.

"I think Wink would be the first one to forgive her after this," Boyd said. "I don't think he'd have to think about it."

Mary Winkler's lead defense attorney, Steve Farese, said he had not seen the statement she gave police during questioning in Alabama after she was apprehended there Thursday night with her three daughters, and he cannot talk about any conversations he has had with his client.

He described her current state as "quiet, very reserved and still in semi-shock."

"She's sad about Matthew's death and sad about being away from the children," Farese said. "It's hard for everyone to understand what she's looking at right now."

Investigators said Winkler confessed and gave a reason why she shot her husband, but no motive has been publicly discussed.

Winkler was charged Friday with the killing after a nationally publicized search led to her capture in Alabama. Members of the church community have expressed shock at the shooting and have described the Winklers as a seemingly ideal family.

Family friend Pam Killingsworth visited her in jail Sunday and said Winkler expressed remorse. She wishes she could walk down the aisle of her church and repent her sins, Killingsworth said.

Wearing a jail-issued orange suit with her legs shackled, Winkler was led by hand Monday into the packed courtroom by her attorneys. She didn't look up at the more than 70 church members, spectators and media representatives seated in the small room and remained facing the judge once she was seated.

Winkler sniffled and seemed to be crying as her attorneys conferred at the bench and photographers behind her snapped photos.

At least a dozen women from her church attended the arraignment. Several sat in the front row so Winkler could see them.

"We just came to show moral support, but she didn't look up so I don't know if she saw us," said Fourth Street Church of Christ member Judy Turner.

"I believe she felt us," friend Susie Wolfe said.

Flyers were still posted on the courthouse bulletin board announcing the Amber Alert authorities had issued last week for Winkler and daughters Breanna, 1, Mary Alice, 6, and Patricia, 8, after church members found Matthew Winkler shot dead at the parsonage. A patrol officer in Orange Beach, Ala. caught Winkler Thursday night driving in her minivan with the three children. Matthew Winkler's parents, Dan and Diane Winkler, have custody of the couple's three children.

Defense attorney Leslie Ballin said he also hasn't seen Mary Winkler's statement, but he's not convinced it will amount to a legitimate confession.

"We will be looking at what condition she was held in, if she was without sleep or food, or any pressures that may have been lent upon her," Ballin said.

In a news conference, District Attorney Elizabeth Rice offered thoughts and prayers to the family of Matthew Winkler, 31.

Rice declined to comment on Winkler's alleged motive.

"All evidence will be presented at the appropriate time," Rice said.

Published today in the Jackson Sun Newspaper

SELMER - Though they don't understand what reason Mary Winkler would have had for killing their son, her in-laws have "assured her of their forgiveness," a longtime family friend said Monday.

Winkler, 32, has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of her husband, Fourth Street Church of Christ minister Matthew Winkler, 31. His body was found Wednesday at the couple's Selmer home. She fled after the shooting with their three young girls to Orange Beach, Ala., where she was arrested Thursday, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Police have said Mary Winkler confessed to shooting her husband in the back, though they haven't discussed a motive. She has since apologized to his parents, Dan and Diane Winkler, and their sons, Daniel and Jacob, according to Billy R. Smith, dean of the School of Biblical Studies at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson.
Smith has known the Winkler family for 25 years and said he and Dan Winkler have been friends for that long. Smith has talked to Dan Winkler several times since the tragedy and planned to attend visitation for Matthew Winkler on Monday night in Selmer, he said.

"They were able to visit with her in Alabama, and she expressed her great sorrow for what she'd done, and they assured her of their forgiveness," Smith said. Dan and Diane Winkler "have loved her as a daughter, not as a daughter-in-law, and if they could take her home with them right now, they would," he added.

"They're a great example of what it means to forgive," Smith said of Matthew Winkler's parents. "... That's because of their faith, their character and their love."

Mary Winkler was arraigned Monday afternoon on the murder charge.

Meanwhile, black bows hung on the doors of Selmer's Fourth Street Church of Christ, where Matthew Winkler had been the minister for just over a year. Some members worked around the church to prepare it for the funeral today.

A 5 p.m. visitation drew 200 to 300 people to Selmer's Shackelford Funeral Directors to pay their respects.

Mary Winkler's father, Clark Freeman, attended Monday's arraignment. Smith said he spoke with Freeman on Sunday.

"He's so sorry and just distraught for what has happened," Smith said. "But the relationship between the Winklers and him is very good."

Dan Winkler is a minister at the Huntingdon Church of Christ and teaches at FHU. His father, the late Wendell Winkler, was a well-known Church of Christ preacher, Smith said.

Smith last saw Matthew and Mary Winkler during FHU's Bible Lectureship in February. They visited his office to show him their new baby, 1-year-old daughter Brianna. Matthew Winkler also informed Smith that he'd be participating in an annual FHU youth leadership training program in July, as he'd done in recent years.

"They were both just as happy as they could be and on top of the world," Smith said of the visit.

Smith taught Matthew Winkler at FHU, and his son, Scotty Smith, and Matthew Winkler were best friends, he added.

"I never saw Matthew when he was not happy and excited about his life, but especially about his wife and family," Smith said. "Matthew was being very effective in his work (at Fourth Street) and had made a lot of new friends."

Smith described Mary Winkler as "a wonderful young lady, just like we've known and loved from the day they married." The two had been married 10 years.

"This is a mystery to both sides of the family and their friends," Smith said of the shooting.

Other than family and friends, those attending Monday's visitation included people Matthew had known and touched throughout his brief life.

There was a line of about 100 to 150 people waiting outside to get in before 6:30 p.m. Monday. The line continued inside and could be seen through a large glass window in the funeral home.

Police blocked an entrance to keep out media, which included many local and national print and television outlets.

Two Freed-Hardeman University students from McMinnville, who knew the Winklers, were among those coming to offer their condolences and say goodbye to Matthew Winkler.

Tyler Boyd, 19, a marketing major, believed Matthew Winkler would also be forgiving of Mary Winkler.

"I think Wink would be the first one to forgive her after this," Boyd said referring to Matthew Winkler by a nickname many young people used for him. "I don't think he'd have to think about it."

Boyd said Matthew Winkler encouraged youth to search the Bible, find the truth and serve God with everything they had.

Matthew Winkler taught at a Christian school in McMinnville and was a youth minister at a church there. His wife worked in the mail room at Super D Drugs in McMinnville.

FHU sophomore Shane Fisher, 19, worked with Mary Winkler at the drug store. He was a clerk.

He would often tell her jokes "to crack her up," Fisher said. He described her as "very compassionate; so friendly all the time."

"I don't ever remember her having a bad day," Fisher said. "She was a good Christian lady; she really was."

Both Boyd and Fisher attended a youth seminar last week during FHU's spring break in McMinnville with other youth who knew Matthew Winkler. His death has motivated many to serve God, Boyd added.

The seminar's theme was "The Power of Faith."

"It kind of uplifted us," Fisher said. "I think if Matthew Winkler was here right now, he would tell us, 'Keep going, never give up' and put our faith in God because everything's going to work out all right in the end."

The Cartoon Me

I used the editing program on my computer to turn myself into a cartoon. ( I'm STILL not happy with the way I look!) Oh well...

Can't we all just get along?

Went to church Sunday. We were attending at a different congregation for the Worship service because John and Kenny switched places. Anyway, as we were entering the church building someone actually voiced something I've thought for a very long time. Why, oh why, can't all the little, dinky congregations just get together under one roof and worship God? Why, oh why, does it have to be the way it is? This dear lady voiced my thoughts, read my mind, but she was brave enough to actually come out and say it. Everybody is not going to agree on every little thing scriptually. But why can't we love the Lord enough, have the desire enough to be Christians, to be able to set aside these petty little differences and be a united community, Able to worship God, to edify one another, to support each other and the church, in order to make a bigger and better impact on the community? Not to mention combining our resources and assets financially in order to be used to further the gospel instead of paying for all the expensive upkeep of all these different buildings in the area?

Sometimes it seems man can be his own worst enemy!

Diet Update - Two Weeks Later

While I am starting to lose my extra 20 pounds, I've found it to be slow and tedius. It's strange how easy it is to gain weight, but it's not easy to lose it! But I have lost 5 pounds in two weeks, so I am happy with that! A good start anyway!

Help Please!!!

As an addition to my last post, I was wondering if anyone out there would be willing to share a favorite recipe (low calorie, low fat, low cholesterol)...just anything that will give me some different ideas of what to eat!

Thanks a bunch!

A Time To Lose

Well, it's come down to it. I HAVE to go on a diet! I've been steadily gaining weight over the last couple of years. I've gained about 20 lbs! and I'm afraid if I don't just stop this right now, I'll just keep gaining and gaining! I'm actually between 5'2" and 5'3" and weigh 130 lbs!

I was visiting with one of the ladies from church the other day who is a friend of my mom. She said, "Oh, I have a dress I've been wanting to give you for a while now. I hope I haven't waited too long since you've gained so much weight!" Ha!

All my life I've been underweight and have never had a weight problem. So this is a whole new way of looking at myself. Others around me have always been on this diet or that one, so I guess now it's my turn!

I know, I know. No starvation diet (as if I could!); Eat sensibly; exercise more; eat more fruits; vegetables. Go gradual, only lose about 2-3 lbs a week. So my goal is to lose 20 lbs over the next few months.

Wish me luck!

A Fetus At 7 Weeks Gestation

In the church bulletin today there was an interesting little article about a doctor who was one of the leading abortion doctors in the US in the 1970's. He had campaigned for the legalization of abortion, and he had performed over 60,000 abortions. He believed in what he was doing; that he was providing a service that guaranteed a woman's right to control her own body.

But a medical breakthrough changed his mind, when the ultrasound was introduced in 1976. For the first time the window was opened and he could see inside the uterus. He could see a heart, with all 4 chambers of the heart pumping blood. And as we have become more sophisticated with the ultrasound images, you can now see the baby moving, sucking his thumb, making expressions. And what woman who has ever been pregnant has not felt their child as he experienced "hiccups?"

As our knowledge has grown regarding these little babies, as yet unborn, we are able to get a much clearer picture of just who and what they are. So, now we know all the medical facts (if we care to find out), and now we can even see our babies before they are even born. But the question is, what will people do with this information?

Aren't you glad your mother didn't choose to have an abortion when she was pregnant with you?

To learn more, and to see more, click on this link. A warning though, you will not be able to look at the images and not be moved. www.priestsforlife.org/.../fetaldevelopment.htm

Snowflakes

Rather than drive all the way home from work the other night, and have to just turn around and drive to church, I went on to the church building early. I picked up a magazine in Scott's office (our secretary) and started looking at it. Found an interesting article I wanted to share.

It was titled, "Why Not Use The Leftover Embryos?" It was talking about in vitro fertilization, and explained how the eggs are taken from the female and introduced to the guy's sperm in a test tube. The eggs become fertilized and are implanted in the womb of the woman to grow into a baby.

That's pretty straight forward. But what really caught my eye, what I didn't know, was that the procedure usually results in from 5 to 12 eggs being fertilized! Normally, they don't implant more than 3 of these in the woman's womb because of safety issues (multiple births). By implanting 3 of them, the odds of actually having 1 healthy baby are more likely.

Now do the math. If they fertilize 12 eggs, and they implant 3 of them into the uterus, that leaves 9 fertilized, living embryos out there. What do they do with them? Most of them are frozen in liquid nitrogen. This gives the potential parents time to see what happened with the 3 that were implanted. Did they all take? Are they going to have a single child? Twins? Triplets? Eventually they will have to make some kind of decision of what to do with the left-overs.

They have 3 options: donate them to research (where they will ultimately be destroyed); let them thaw out (they will die); OR (and this option is so exciting!) donate them to couples who are unable to conceive themselves! How great is that idea!

That's where Snowflakes comes in. It's an agency that adopts a healthy embryo to a couple. So a couple that is in this situation now have a choice that does not involve the destruction of human life! How cool is that!

I believe that life begins at conception. As human beings, we are made in the image of God. That makes us special, because God has given us a soul that will live forever and ever. Unlike God, who has no beginning or end, we do indeed have a beginning (at conception) and our physical bodies will have an end (at death). But our soul will live forever.

Check out their website! http://www.nightlight.org/snowflakes_description.asp

Rain In Seattle - Day # 27 and counting

I used to live in Seattle for over 25 years. Now I have children and grandchildren living there so I try to keep up with what's happening up there. It looks like Seattle is giving a go at beating it's old record of raining the most consecutive days in a roll. I remember the days and days that were gray, overcast, drizzly, wet, and cold. Pretty miserable in the winter, I can tell you! But on the other hand, the state of Washington is the most beautiful place in the world. On a clear, sunny day when you can see Mount Rainier in the distance, or the Olympics or the Cascade Mountains...there is nothing more beautiful!

The Seattle Times today reported that Friday, another rainy day, was the 26th successive day of rain. Seattle had 0.57 of an inch of rain Thursday for a total of 12.41 inches since Dec. 19, when the city started on the path toward its own record, which it could match on Jan. 20 or beat on Jan. 21. Seattle's wet streak — which stood at 26 days Friday — may exceed the previous record of 33 consecutive days, set in 1953 .

Here's to day 27...and counting!

Addenum: Ends: 27 consecutive days of rain ended over the weekend as sunny skies end run on rain. Alas, it was not meant to be! This is one record I'm sure no one is dissapointed in not making!

Life And Death

As a nurse working for Hospice, I have been present at the time of death for many of my patients. There is such a spiritual aspect to this act of dying. No two families seem to react to the death of their loved one the same. Some cry, some are in kind of a state of shock or disbelief, and some are even relieved to see their loved one finally "not hurting anymore" or they believe they are "in a better place".

It is such a personal time for a family, to be losing their loved one to death. To essentially have a stranger in their home sharing in that experience with them is something I don't take lightly. Yet death is a certainty of life. It is a moment that we will all face at some point; when our soul will leave our body behind and be reunited with the God who made us. In some ways I suppose I could compare my presence at the end of this life to being present when a new soul enters this world during birth.

I have had the opportunity to be present when two of my three grandchildren were born. In fact, when my daughter had her second child, not only was I there, but so was her mother-in-law and her six year old daughter. Oh, her husband was there too! It's such a wonder to see a new life enter the world. God has given us the ability to have children, and though it is within the laws of nature, the wonder of it all is so awesome. We do have an awesome God!

Children can't hide their feelings and emotions. They are out there for anyone who will see. When Gabriel was born, Aminah went through several emotions, watching the birth of her little brother. A little disbelief, maybe a little worry about her mom, but in the end just a six year old thinking it was all kind of a "yucky" business!

I thank God for the fact that He has given us life. I know our time here on earth is short . Even if we live to be a hundred years old, that would be only a moment when compared to how long eternity will be. Because we are made in the image of God, He has given us a soul that will live forever and ever. Our birth is the beginning, and in death we enter the doorway into eternal life. Where we spend that eternity will be determinded by how we have lived our life during our brief time here on earth.

God's forgiveness is like becoming a new born baby again, with our past mistakes forgiven and a clean slate laid out in front of us.

Subliminal Suggestion Anyone?

This morning when I was brushing my teeth I left the water faucet on. I looked down into the sink with all that water just going down the drain. Suddenly I remembered that commercial where a goldfish is in the little fish bowl and the water level is slowly getting lower and lower. The poor fish is going to die because some person is just too lazy to turn off the faucet while she's brushing her teeth! So I turned the faucet off because I figured I was just wasting water...either that or because I wanted to save the goldfish!

I guess my thought processes are a result of having just finished a book by Dean Koontz (can we say weird!) called "Night Chills". It hits on an interesting subject; behavior modification and subliminal suggestion. I guess the basic idea is that advertisers (or whoever) can reach our innermost selves, our subconscious mind, and in some way influence or control us. Like when you go to the movies and at the beginning of the previews you get this "Hungry?" question flashing across the screen. That probably gets you thinking about it, yeah...maybe I am a little hungry. Then they show all that buttery popcorn, pouring out like some weird colored snow, along with all those Junior Mints and those Good and Plenty Licorice candies. Then you start thinking, well if I'm going to eat all that, I know I"ll need something to drink too. Before that thought is complete, what do they show but a very large, ice cold Coca Cola with the water droplets running down the outside of the cup. You're hooked.

Remember the rumour going around that our poor innocent youth were being influenced in a very terrible way by playing their records? Apparently if you played it backwards (how could you play a record backwards on a record player??) it would say something like "Satan is Lord" and would make you a Satan worshiper. I think it was called back masking, or something like that. (I can't remember what my point was for bringing that up).

When my children were little, probably about 6 and 8 I wanted to make sure they knew that just because they saw something on the t.v. didn't mean it was real. I explained how they could make just about anything look real, and make-believe on the t.v. is just not the same thing as real-real life. I must have said something that stuck with my daughter that day. Because a few days later she and I was sitting on the couch watching something on t.v. A commercial came on, the one where the pretty girl shakes back her long blond hair and puts her hands on her hips saying, "Never let them see you sweat!" My daughter looked up at me with her big hazel eyes and said, "That's not true, mom!"

Who says kids never listen!

Me...The Risk Taker

Rock climbing in 1997. But not any more...Hey, I'm 50 years old!

I love this picture! Not sure where I got it, but I know I nabbed it from the Internet, somewhere. It seems rather in tune with the way I feel today. Maybe because I'm still feeling pretty rotten because of my rotten cold, and maybe because it's the end of yet another year. I don't know.

I'd say overall it was a pretty good year. I want to be like the guy in the picture, looking forward to new horizens and experiences. He's obviously kind of a risk taker, sitting on the side of that ledge like that! Just think what could happen if one good gust of wind came up! I used to be a little bit of a risk taker, but I guess as we get older we become more content to sit back and see what life brings to us. And if you listen to older people you realize they've become afraid of living as they've gotten older. I'm a good example of that. I used to swim in the Gulf of Mexico every chance I got as a child, but you won't see me out there anymore. Too many sharks! What about that undertow?!

Anyway, I wish you all a Happy New Year and may 2006 be even better than 2005 was!

Hot Donuts Now

I have a cold, and I really don't like feeling sick! They say nurses make the worst patients and I think there's some truth to that! Fortunately I didn't have to work today...and I don't have to work tomorrow. I think I've just been forcing myself to keep going to get through the holidays. In a way, I'm kind of glad they are over for another year.

I've been working pretty hard the last couple of weeks because we've had a lot of people out of town for the holiday. So we've been filling in. Yesterday I was driving across the bridge a little after 7 a.m. The sun was shining so pretty and glistening off the water. Very beautiful! Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that God is in the heavens and all is well.

And driving home after a hard day I pass by the local Krispy Kreme and see the "Hot Donuts Now" sign flashing. Just thinking about those warm, sugary donuts just coming out of the oven was a great temptation! I remember as a teenager when we used to go swimming we would stop at Krispy Kreme and get some donuts. I would be ravenous from all that swimming. Every once in a while we would hit it just at the right time when they would be warm right out of the oven. One of my girlfriends' mother worked there, so she would give us a dozen donuts FREE! I would gorge myself on 3 of them. Oh yeah...those were the good ole days.

Guess I'll go take my vitamin C and make a cup of tea!

Heaven A Matter Of Faith

This is an excerpt from an article I read this morning in the Editorial section of our local newspaper:

Heaven a matter of faith

Barbara Walters' television program "Heaven" presented a comprehensive view of a subject easy to accept for many but controversial for others.

From my Christian perspective, it is all a matter of faith: the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen; the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot now see it up ahead.

God gave His love letter, the Holy Bible, to mankind so that every person could read it and determine, by our free will, to accept or reject it as the Word of God. I believe God's marvelous plan for mankind included His road map to Heaven, the Bible.

The only way to get there is through His Son, Jesus. He said, I am the (only) way, the (only) truth and the (only) life: no man comes to the Father, but by Me.

Needless to say, I am in complete agreement with what was said above. Below is a copy of a response I wrote to someone who had left a comment. Wish I'd seen the program about Heaven.

I don't know you, but it seems from your posts that you are searching for answers in your life. Like most of us, we question our lives sometimes asking, "Is this all there is?" It's okay to not be sure just what you believe, or to question why things have happened to you. I think that's completely normal. You said in your post "I'm the only person my age that has a reason for not believing in him". I would like to respond to that and say you are NOT ALONE even though you may feel that you are sometimes.There are so many people that have had to grow up in very bad environments. There are people who have lost the people they love through illness and death. I am a Hospice nurse, so I have seen even young people who are terminally ill and know they are going to die. We live in a world that is not perfect, and we know that every one of us will eventually die.

You said you feel like being close to God, yet the whole concept of God is laughable. I guess it's just hard for most of us to believe in something we can't actually see, or hear, or touch. We have probably never seen the Indian Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, but we believe they exist because we have seen a map that shows us they are there. We have FAITH, we believe, even though we have never actually seen, or touched them, or smelled the salty air on the wind. God IS real, I can tell you that with 100 percent certainty, yet I can never prove to you that He exists. He doesn't just live up in the clouds, looking down on us and marking in His little book every time we are bad.

God speaks to us today, not in the literal way that He did to Adam and Eve, and Moses and the Prophets in the Old Testament times. Today He speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. The Bible was being written during the time they were alive, and God spoke directly to them. That's how the Bible came to be, by someone writing down the history of how the world was created, of how God created us with the free will to make our own decisions. He could have made us like zombies, or puppets that would act when He pulled the strings. But God didn't want that. God wanted us to LOVE Him back. God wanted us to WANT to do the right things. He knows what is best for us, because He created us. If you think about it, if everyone followed the Bible, don't you think the world would be so different today? Today people say, well how do you determine what is the right thing? What's right for me may not be right for you. That's why we need a standard, because otherwise everyone would do whatever they wanted because they say that is right for them. The Bible gives us that standard.

You said you feel as though all your mistakes and bad judgments are published for everybody to see. If you read the Bible, you will see MANY people who made some very bad mistakes, yet God loved them and forgave them of those mistakes. Every one of us has done things we aren't proud of. We'd like to somehow go back in time and do things differently with what we know now. But that's not possible, so we learn from our past mistakes and go on. That's what is so wonderful about knowing God is real, and He cares and He hears us when we talk to Him. It breaks His heart to see us sad and just living our lives in a way that He knows will make us unhappy, yet He allows it because we have been given free will to make our own decisions.

I'm glad you haven't given up on God, because He hasn't given up on you. Go to church on Sunday and really listen to what is said. If you really believe that things happen for a reason, then you will find that God loves you so much and if you make a move to get closer to Him, you will see more and more of His plan for YOUR life.

But Then Again...

Maybe this explains why we don't know how many wise men there were. And why they had to come from so far away!!!!!!

Did you know...

The Bible doesn't say that there were three wise men that traveled from afar riding on camels to visit the baby Jesus lying in a manger? Matthew 2:1 says: Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem . . .

The Bible doesn't say how many wise men there were that came from the east, doesn't mention their names, and doesn't provide any details about how they made their journey.

It has generally been assumed that the wise men (or magi) were three in number because Matthew 2:11 makes mention of three gifts: " . . . they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh."

And despite the familiar lyrics of the Christmas carol "We Three Kings," no biblical source depicts the three wise men as kings.

The Bible doesn't say that these wise men arrived just after the birth and found the baby Jesus lying in a manger. Matthew 2:11 states: And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him . . .

The wise men came "into the house," not the stable, and they saw a "young child," not a newborn. This passage indicates that the wise men didn't arrive until quite some time after Jesus' birth. (According to Luke 2, it was shepherds, not wise men, who visited the infant Jesus in the manger.)

We DO know from the Bible that wise men came from the east, that they followed a star to Bethlehem to find the Christ child, and that they brought him gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

(from our Sunday Church Bulletin)

Taking Christ Out Of Christmas

It's kind of scary how some people are being so aggressive and are trying to keep God out of everything! Our children can no longer bring a Bible or pray in school. The courts don't want our children to quote the line "One Nation Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. While I respect a person's right to believe or not, We DO live in this country, which was founded on the principles of God. Can we now not have "In God We Trust" on our currency? Why are people so adamant about changing this?

When I was driving to work the other morning I passed by a High School in the area. The sign outside read "Politically Correct Holiday Stories" and it gave the times for this. Meaning that there would be no religious connection to these stories, is my guess. I am so tired of both the public in general AND some members of the Church making such a big commotion about "taking Christ out of Christmas".

Yes, I am a Christian, and Yes, I know that the Bible does not tell us the exact date on which Jesus was born. I am in agreement that, as the church, we don't have any authority to celebrate December 25th as the birthday of Jesus. We go to church throughout the year on the first day of the week. So I don't think we need to have some kind of special Christmas program as a church. But, neither do I see anything wrong with personally remembering the birth of Christ on a specific date either.

I put up a Christmas tree. I have presents under the tree, and have lots of food with family members visiting. But I also use this time to remember the birth of a little baby, born in a manger in Bethlehem, who came to this world to suffer an excruciating death because I am a sinner. He died in my place. He rose on the third day and is now in heaven, sitting at the right hand of the Father. Because He did all this for EVERY ONE OF US (whether we believe it, or accept it, or even care, it still happened) we now have the hope of spending eternity in heaven if we are obedient Christians in this life.

The part that frustrates me is the CHURCH seems to be going out of the way to NOT say anything about the birth of Christ, or to NOT sing the traditional songs usually sung at this time of year about Christ. So the church is doing its share of taking Christ out of Christmas as well.

I say let's take advantage of this time of year to teach people about the birth of Christ. But that's just the beginning. That opens the door to telling them about WHO Christ is and WHAT He did for us. His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection!

How can that be wrong even on December 25th?

O Christmas Tree

We got the tree up finally, but still need to put on the rest of the bulbs. This is the first time I've put the lights on the tree. I guess they look okay!!!

My Hair

The new dilemma: Should I or shouldn't I???