We know a hand full of things about the birth of Jesus. It was during a census and we know shepherds were grazing their flocks. We know that neither of these things happened in December, not even in what we now know as Israel.
Now, as with most Christian holidays there are many parts of Christmas which were adapted from other religions, most of which were pagan. As Christianity converted and absorbed masses of followers, often from lobbing for new laws, they would absorb whatever cultural or religious beliefs to make it easier for new followers to acclimate.
The truth is none of us, including me, know exactly when Jesus was born, but the one time it is easy to prove it was not, is Winter.
So, back to my point… In true Christian fashioned the holiday has been coopted over the years into something much more secular. Unfortunately, much of this hijacking has been commercial and materialistic, but certainly not all. Christmas in the United States has become the “holiday season”. This encompasses most faiths as many have their own holiday during this winter season.
The US Holiday Season kicks off with Thanksgiving, which is exactly as it sounds, a holiday to give thanks. This holiday goes all the way back to the beginning of the nation, or so the story goes. Now many want to make this a religious affair too and that is fine if that is how you want to celebrate it, but every American of every faith as well as no faith have reason to give thanks for this country of ours.
The US Holiday Season is filled with various holidays, but in general is a time for families and friends to gather, give gifts, and have feasts. It is also a time when Americans are more open to helping charitable causes and those who are more in need. Most would say that these themes honor Jesus’ teachings more than anything any church does all year.
Despite what you believe, Jesus was a real person. He did teach us to treat each other with respect, dignity and most of all charity. He taught us to be better than we are. I personally don’t believe in his divinity which is one of the many reasons I am not a Christian or religious, however he was one of the greatest men this world has ever seen and in these times it’s important to remember him and honor his teachings.
To those who would criticize me for celebrating someone who a faith is built on and I don’t believe in, I say this: I don’t have to agree with everything someone says or does to celebrate or even respect them. Washington and Jefferson were slave owners and many other terrible things, but I still celebrate them and believe they were great men. All men have flaws and aspects of their life I don’t agree with. I can objectively judge things based on the time in which they occur and overall outcome.
My overall point here is that Christmas may have been created by Christians, but it is now a holiday season, and is a holiday season for all people. How can you not get behind a holiday which celebrates our love for each other?
]]>- Homemade Chicken Potpie
- Gourmet Meatloaf
- Ham & Au gratin Potatoes
- Spaghetti
- Homemade Chili & Grilled Cheese
- Chili Dogs (Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs, Steak & Shake Chili)
- Turkey & Dressing
- Country Fried Steak
- Grilled Rib-eye
- Prime Rib
- Tacos
- Pot Roast
- Oven Baked/Breaded Pork Chops
- Breaded Pork Tenderloins
- Homemade Pulled Pork
- Barbecued Pork Steak (Crock Pot)
- Mexican Casserole
- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
- Homemade Chicken Stew
- Homemade Beef Stew
- Homemade Cheeseburger Soup
- Sausage (polish), Yellow Potatoes, & Carrots in butter sauce (Crock Pot)
- Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni
- Fried Chicken
- Lasagna
- Oven Baked Cheddar Breaded Chicken
- Baked Chicken in Corn & Stuffing
- Homemade Macaroni & Cheese
- Pork Chops in Cream of Mushroom Soup (Crock Pot)
- Barbecued Baby Back Ribs (Crock Pot)
- Smoked Baby Back Ribs
- Homemade Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
- Turkey Turnovers
- HHS Pasta Day/Night (Spaghetti & Meat Sauce with Velveeta Cheese Sauce)
- Ham & Cheese Roll Ups
- Homemade Pizza
- Homemade Salisbury Steak
- Homemade Beef Stroganoff
- Chicken Enchiladas
- Rotisserie Chicken
- Chicken Piccata with Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Homemade Chicken Tenders with Jan’s Sauce
- Crock pot Ground Beef & Marinara Cheese Tortellini
- Hawaiian Grilled Chicken
- Homemade Meatballs
- Chuck Wagon Stew
- Creamy Chicken & Biscuits
- Homemade Cheeseburgers
- Hawaiian Baked Beans
- Cheesy Chicken & Noodle Casserole
- Grilled Brats
- Pigs in a Blanket
- Ham & Great Northern Beans with Corn Bread
- Homemade Biscuits & Gravy
- Deep Fried French Toast
- Homemade Omelets
- Maid Rites
- Open Faced Hot Beef Sandwiches
- Barbecued Grilled Chicken Thighs
- Oven Baked Chicken with Rotisserie Seasoning
- Pulled Pork (Smoked or Crock Pot)
Blippi is the alter ego of Stevin John, a 30 year old youtube star. He started his career in the Airforce as a loadmaster. After serving he bounced around a bit doing odd jobs and started working in branding, film, and other online media. He was inspired by his toddler nephew to create Blippi to provide free online educational content for kids. He focuses on topics kids like and teach them values in a traditional Mr. Rodgers fashion with a modern twist.
My son is glued to the TV when he is on, and I don’t feel like I have to worry about him picking up negative things. Today you have to be careful with things like Spongebob, which are certainly funny as an adult, they can be harmful to a kid who is absorbing every little thing.
As someone of Blippi’s generation (I of course am a fair amount older) I appreciate his commitment to quality educational material, while maintaining the free platform of youtube. He does have a website, www.blippi.com where you can support him by buying promotional content and whatnot. I would encourage you to do so since most of things things kids love anyway.
If you would like to more about Blippi, here are some links:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5PYHgAzJ1wLEidB58SK6Xw
]]>My second best friend’s name was George. George was a feline, whom I raised from birth. George was another example of the evolution of my personality. When George and I crossed paths I kinda hated cats. My previous wife and I were in the process of buying a house and a friend of ours had a cat who had just gotten pregnant. My wife convinced me to take a cat when she had them. I wasn’t thrilled. I told her she was cleaning up after it and feeding it.
Well the cat went into labor and we went over for the birth. She had two… guess what? I got talked in to taking a brother and sister. We watched Greys Anatomy at the time back in 2007 and ended up naming them George and Izzy. Within a month George melted my heart. Over the years he was with me through the hardest times I ever had, and I was with him through some of his. Izzy is a very special girl too and now is the only cat we have. George was so different. He really thought he was human. I never treated him as a cat and as a result I don’t think he believed he was one. He tried so hard to actually verbally communicate with me. We really understood each other.
Last summer George got really sick. We took him to the hospital and discovered he had diabetes really bad. They kept him a week and a half and he recovered. He was at deaths door when we dropped him off. He couldn’t walk or lift his head. They made him feel so much better, but by fall the medicine was no longer working. Lets be clear, I have been through some tough stuff in my life; I wont go into it here, but it will be on my blog at some point. The day George went downhill for the second time was the worst day of my life. I have never had to go through anything that broke me like that did. It literally makes me cry right now just thinking about it. People who have pets know what it’s like to be close to a pet. That isn’t what this was. George was my friend. He wasn’t a pet. Losing him ate me up inside for a very long time.
All this brings me to the real point of this post. We have had many cats over the years that were pets. A week ago we had two cats living in our house, Izzy, as we mentioned above, was George’s sister and is still my little angel. The other, was Lexi. She was another story entirely. She was antisocial from the day we got her. She was a true cat, never human like at all. She didn’t really like people. She preferred cats. She would never leave Izzy alone, always wanting attention and love. She would never let a human even get close enough to pet her. We got Lexi in 2011 with her brother Mark. By 2012 she was as big as a barn. She had a real eating problem. She was white with black spots. She looked like a cow, so we called her cowcat.
Apparently for some time she had heart disease. All the weight had put a lot of strain on her heart. Yesterday I heard some weird thumping under the loveseat where she pretty much lives. I waited to see her squeeze her fat butt out from under there as usual, but just more thumping. I wasn’t about to put my hand in there, as the last time I had to “capture” her she bit me harder than I have ever been bit by a cat before. A couple of minutes passed and here she came. It was different though, she was dragging her legs. Like they were broken. She drug herself around the kitchen then back to the living room. She laid in her other favorite spot (in front of the patio door) for 15 minutes or so, then the weirdest thing ever happened. She drug herself over to my recliner where I was looking down at her, and she reached out to my feet and pawed at them and made a whimper. I reached down and petted her and she seemed quite pleased.
I knew at this time something weird was going on, and after a lot of research, I am pretty sure she had a stroke by this point. I had discovered by this time that the issue with her legs was a blood clot. Cats often come back from blood clots, but just like George her days would be numbered. I had to decide if it was worth spending a fortune on this cat who hated me, only for her to die anyway very soon. I put her in our spare bathroom as I knew what was coming if she was out and couldn’t stand. I didn’t want to clean that up around the whole house. I checked on her at least hourly. We had to go out last night. I checked on her before leaving and she was laying there. I pet her and she gave me a sweet little meow.
3 hours later, upon returning home and checking on her, she had slipped away. I think if George hadn’t died last year, this would have been a small blip in my life, but I have a fair amount of guilt for not doing more for this poor pitiful creature who was my responsibility.
I am about to go clean the bathroom which is absolutely horrible. After that I have to figure out how to explain what happened to Lexi to my 2 1/2 year old little boy.
Parenting is always an adventure, but things like this really test your abilities.
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