December 21, 2020 -Day 23 of Advent

Oh, my. It’s almost Christmas Eve, almost Christmas Day. You might need your crayons or coloring pencils for this one towards the end of the page.

Now for the quiz: Do you know what the 12 Days of Christmas song is actually about?

It is a coded song!

Modern folklore claims that the song’s lyrics were written as a “Catechism song” to help young Catholics learn their faith, at a time when practicing Catholicism was criminalized in England (1558 until 1829). –[King Henry 8^th outlawed Catholicism and declared that no one but God is above the king of England. So goodbye to the Pope and the Catholic Church; Hello to the Anglican Church.-zm]

It is more probable that the song is French and dates back to at least 1625.  It is probably confused with a song titled “Those 12 Days” which was recited in a question-answer format.

-What are they that are but one?  We have one God alone, In heaven above sits on His throne.

-What are they that are but two? Two Testaments, the old and new, We do acknowledge to be true.

-What are they which are but three?  Three persons in the Trinity, Which make one God in unity.

These are religious codes from the 1500’s in English Europe, possibly France. Here we go:

–On the first Day of Christmas  what gave my true love [Loving God] to me?

  Translation for the beginning. ….. -My true love is not my love smitten boyfriend or love smitten girlfriend, but God embodied in Jesus  Christ. -The partridge is a bird that represents Jesus because that particular bird is willing to sacrifice its life as necessary to protect and save its young. His son….who  gave His life for me.

–On the 2nd Day of Christmas what  gave my Loving God to me? 2 Turtle doves aka The Bible in the Old and New Testaments…

–On the 3rd Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me? 3 French hens called Faith, Hope, and Love…

–On the 4th Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me? 4 calling birds… known as Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John …….

–On the 5th Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me? 5 Golden rings! ..which are the rings that hold us together in moral law The Pentatuch, the 5 books of Moses!……

–On the 6th Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me? 6 geese a laying …those eggs are the 6 Days of Creation productivity so that I could rest from obligated work on Day 7 and Worship in Spirit and in Truth to prepare for the next series of 6 Days of laying those eggs of creative productivity!

–On the 7th Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me? 7 Swans a-swimming! The 7 fold gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Giving, Leadership, and Compassion ….. We tend to think of swans as graceful creatures…graceful. So let us conduct ourselves in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit being full of Grace, Graceful; with Grace!

Remember, the lords of the olden times were very entitled people who had to behave with superior confidence and authority! Otherwise they were not to be taken seriously if they were commoners, not entitled to be in command as lords. So those gifts of the Holy Spirit are bestowed for serious use.

-On the 8thDay of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me? The 8 Beatitudes that cover the soul with the milk of the Kindness of Heaven…[You know, those 8 maids a-milking!]

-On the 9th Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me? 9 Lords a-leaping!      The 9 Fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace,  Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control. Remember, the lords of the olden times were very entitled people, who had to behave with superior confidence and air of bestowed authority! Otherwise they were not to be taken seriously as commoners, not entitled to be in command as lords who are so designated by their king. So those gifts of the Holy Spirit are bestowed for serious use. When you take a leap into the air, you do so with the confidence that you WILL land safely, not matter what. You have practiced, and daily practice to activate the right muscles that keep you worthy of confidently leaping! And so we go endowed by the Holy Spirit of God to spread the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit in the ever evolving organic dynamics of living.

-On the 10th Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me? 10 ladies dancing! The 10 Commandments! …. Ah! Watch out for those ladies. They hold us to be true to the laws of moral living…They help us to understand the essentials God requires of us in getting along with each other in peace, rather than in pieces. Sometimes these “ladies” are referred to as the 10 categories, further explained in 613 amendements of “yeah-buts” in the book of Leviticus. Think of them as the fancy layers of clothing fabric. Condensed into a single fabric, that fabric has the 10 essential structures of comprehensive moral law. Watch out for those dancing ladies. These ladies are of a privileged Source. They will stomp on you, or better yet let you stomp on yourself, if you get out of sync, with nobody to blame but yourself. But that’s where Advent and Christ come in..as you sing the song all the way back to the Partridge in the pear tree!

-On the 11th Day of Christmas what gave my Loving God to me? 11 pipers piping! The 11 faithful apostles! 1.) Simon (whom He named Peter); 2.) Andrew; 3.) James; 4.) John; 5.) Philip; 6.) Bartholomew; 7.) Matthew; 8.) Thomas; 9.) James son of Alphaeus;   10.) Simon who was called the Zealot; 11.) Judas son of James (not Judas Iscariot)

Yes, those pipers played the song of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, all the way to the ends of their days. Some piped out more music than others, but that depends on who wrote it down, and if their music made it into the Holy Canons of writings in the original Catholic Church. Some did, some didn’t. Some made it into the Holy Canons of the Eastern Orthodox and Coptic Churches rather than excluded as what happened in the Roman Catholic church. But that’s another adventure all by itself!

-On the 12th Day of Christmas what did my true love, Loving God, give to me? 12 drummers drumming, of course! And just what was drummed into understanding the beliefs of the early Christian church that held them together? The 12 points of belief in the Apostle’s Creed:

1. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

2. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

3. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

4. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

5. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again.

6. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

7. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

8. I believe in the Holy Spirit,

9. -the holy catholic/universal Church, the communion of saints,

10.- the forgiveness of sins,

11.- the resurrection of the body,

12. -and the life everlasting.

Ok, now you can sing along peacefullyjust in your head!

Forgot the words? htp://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/christmas/12-days-lyrics.htm .

Yes, do some coloring while you sing in quiet peaceful meditation about that partridge in the pear tree!

Resources:  http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources//advent/customs-and-traditions/the-history-of-the-twelve-days-of-christmas

http://www.householdsoffaith.wordpress.com/tag/12-points-of-the-apostles-creed/

http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/apostles-creed-traditional-ecumenical

And this turned out to be a very peaceful page! Amazing!

December 22, 2020 -Day 22 of Advent

If you are just tuning in, it’s ok to get caught up. I publish pages ahead of time as the ideas pop into my head and as time is available. Get caught up, then come back to here.

Now that we are back together, again, let’s think about Joseph, the “dad” in the Nativity story. Nobody sings about him. It’s all about Mary. But without Joseph doing the “daddy” work to protect and provide for his beloved, the Nativity story might have not been so wonderful. However, God always provides.

By now you have figured out that music is such a motivating medium for me. It is an avenue of speech that has the power of telling the story of something. Like in Christmas Carols, which is how we traditionally learn to remember the Christmas Story. Unfortunately, the first Christmas really didn’t take place in the Merry Olde England, or in German churches that is celebrated with the European style carols, but that’s ok.

God’s truth always finds a way to survive, no matter what. That’s one of those miracles. The story gets beclouded by the civilization that tries to save it, the story goes undergound to survive, and resurfaces. Songs get repurposed, new songs and ballads develop. Amazing.

Back to Joseph: Some new ballads have sprung up since the year 2000AD. Here’s one of them. Enjoy!

It’s almost time …. and the beat goes on……

December 19, 2020 -Day 21 of Advent

Writing this blog is quite an adventure. I am trying to keep it in line with a church Advent weekly topic for the Advent season, but I find it hard to separate out the joys! I am one of those people who multi-joy task…and it happens at random times. For me to separate it out into the different candles of joy….while not impossible, it is quite a task. Instead I get each time a supernova of Joys!

That being said, what’s your story for a Joy of the day in your life? Is it a flit, spark, a candle, a bonfire, a supernova? Isn’t it a wonderful thing to have to choose which Joy you have inside to share with the world!

Hopeful Joy!

Loving Joy!

Unabashed, unreserved Joy!

Peaceful Joy!

Incarnate Joy!

……and the follow-up safety net of it all…Compassionate Joy!

It’s so difficult to choose…. but here it is…

Let this be your mantra for whenever you need it! Mantra: something you say that motivates you, that excites you to calm, think, and be in the moment; something that inspires you to step outside of yourself and into the Prevenient Grace that God provides.

The what? The Prevenient Grace, as John Wesley noted. It’s that state of basking in in the infinite Love of God that lifts us up in our Spirit in a way that no mortal can bring us down unless we let them. No one can take it away, no one can earn it. It is freely given for us to freely receive. Not sure if that is what John Wesley had in mind, but that’s the way I understand it for now.

December 18, 2020 -Day 20 of Advent

In some of the older Christmas cards produced in the middle east, there was always a bowl of fruit in every Nativity scene. We never had that on our US produced Christmas cards. I asked my husband’s family what’s the bowl of fruit about. They said that you always have fruit on hand to help feed guests. It’s just the right thing to do for the past thousands of years…. Timeless tradition. Bowl of fruit, water, and tea for the bigger spread. I can imagine this was provided at the stable by the local women, but we don’t hear about that part, only what the men did.

After traveling around the planet, it was interesting to see what churches did that were open to the public. In Berlin, Germany, there was the rubble of the Kaiser Wilhelm Church left from a World War II bombing, left as a type of living museum reminder of that war, and next to it was the church rebuilt as a resurrection reminder lets us construct what we will in its meaning of the two buildings side by side.

In the new building, the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, in the lobby, there is a perpetual bowl of fruit, apples, oranges, for visitors and regulars to the church to help them in their journeys, as I was told at the time. It was their open hospitality, available as long as the church doors were open. Entering the church sanctuary we passed through an interesting door. That door was actually the groundwork level UNDER the church organ, which made the entire church a sound chamber for the church organ. The church’s interior worship sanctuary room design was cleverly laid out to move the eyes upward… We were there in the late 1990’s.

To me, the photo below, the interior design suggests to me that even when we think we are in the darkest hole, Jesus brings hopeful Joy, Incarnate Eternal Joy we can always depend on, even to the end of the ages. All we have to do is look up to get started… What’s your take on this architectural design?

Before the setting in of the corona virus covid-19, many churches here in the US had a weekly fellowship meal or snack time after the sermons or at a non-traditional worship setting on the non-traditional worship day. Some churches here, and abroad, make water available to whomever needs it. These churches offer a sense of hope, because as the hands and feet of Christ, we are able in the flesh to offer hope and fellowship over the smallest offerings of hospitality.

With the virus spreading, we can still offer foods to help feed the hungry by volunteering at foodbanks, helping to pass out foods from the food banks to the lins of people waiting. That might also extend to baking someting for a neighbor who might be struggling with health issues or just loneliness. If you don’t bake, even a bag of fruit is helpful. The gesture means somebody cares. That’s the important part.

That’s the message of Advent! Hope in the middle of adverse situations. Hope through the Incarnate Joy of Jesus Christ. Random acts of Joyful Kindness help give hope. Giving and expecting nothing in return helps to spread the Joy that somebody cares! Somebody cares, in the name and the Holy Trinity especially! Somebody! Remember to commit a Random Act of Kindness today. Give, share the hope of hospitality in Compassionate Love, and Incarnate Joys, to help brighten someone else’s day.

And remember to tell somebody, “Thank you!” Even for the small acts like at the grocery store, letting someone else go in front of you or who needs to pass you, or you them. If they want to know why, the answer is that it makes you feel good just to say thank you!

Do remember to thank the cashiers who are waiting on you in line as well as the people who load your grocery bags, also. It’s the little things like that. It the manners your grammy and great greammy taught you that you thought were so nuts…. they were right!

There’s Hope in the Joy

and Joy in the Hope

and Love in the Hope and the Joy…..

that wheel keeps going around and around

that wheel goes around …..and around!

December 17, 2020 -Day 19 of Advent

TRADITIONS! by Sue Tesar, Guest Author © 12/2020

My sister-in-law made a manger scene for us when our children were very young.  She painted the angels to resemble them, Joe and Beth. 

This has been placed our living room(s) every year.  I put the baby Jesus in the drawer of the table; during the night they sneak downstairs and bring the baby out and into the stable.

They will not be with us this year, and like so many families, we are re-imagining what will be in place of our usual Christmas traditions.

Looking at these angels, I notice that the once-perfect wings are broken from the numerous packing and re-packings as well as the life time of Navy moves.

Things are different today, some might even say, broken.  I do not see the brokenness when I look at these little angel faces.  I see sweet memories and love in the creation of this manger 40 years ago.

We will set the manger up this Sunday and in doing so, affirm that memories are filled with the spirit of love and grace.  We remember the infant Jesus, born so many years ago and the Light that shines, even now, especially now,  when life seems dark and uncertain.

Everything was created through him;
    nothing—not one thing!—
    came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
    and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
    the darkness couldn’t put it out.

                 from John 1: 3-5, The Message

Prayer:

 Gracious and Generous God.

Fill us with your Light as we seek you anew.

Demonstrate through us, your constant presence

             as we gather our traditions and memories.

As we  welcome you one more time,

            shine your Light in our hearts,

            renew our spirits with your grace,

that we too, may reflect that love

to others and lighten up the darkness.

In your precious name, in the name of your precious son

and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we pray

Amen.

December 16, 2020 -Day 18 of Advent

The Wonders of His Love of us…

In the Beginning

We all know how the book of the Gospel according to John starts: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God! (John 1:1)

I recently heard a PBS memory talk of sons about their dad. The wisdom that never left them was: there are 2 things that can never be taken from you. Those 2 things are your name and your word.

Some might debate that part about the name. During slavery times, Africans were stripped of their names given by their parents and renamed according to whomever bought them. The 10 Commandments instruct us to honor our father and our mother which are our family name. But lets apply that to Christianity, too. Jesus bought all of us with his life. He gave us a Freedom identity as we took on that name designation of Christian.

And now about ‘your word’.  The sounds we utter that have meaning that we intend for solidifying relationships, that is our word. Let’s relate that to John 1:1 . God exists as the Godhead Entity Eternal Maternal Paternal Source who has named us before we were born into this earthly life. A friend of mine wrote a song about being called by our Right Name.  God spoke us all into eternal existence. We get born into this life to be again “called” into ministry by our names.. We have hymns about “I can Hear My Saviour Calling”.  We have words that express our relationship with Jesus, with God through Jesus Christ. There is a word that in Syriac-Aramaic means so be it, sealed with my life and word: Amen. 

Isaiah 43:1 Israel, the LORD who created you says, “Do not be afraid–I will save you. I have called you by name–you are mine. [Good News Translation]

John 10:3 “To this one the gate keeper opens the gate and the flock hears his voice; he calls his sheep by their names and leads them out. [ABPE]  Remember, the Good Shepherd is Jesus Christ our Lord. He is the gate keeper and he knows us by our Right Name.

John 1:1 In the origin The Word had been existing and That Word had been existing with God and That Word was himself God. [ABPE]

We have Jesus Christ, the Word that is with God, the Word that is God. We have that name in His honor: Christian. Let us remember to work in His honor, in honor to the Word that is God, that has been ever present in the beginning…the 2 things that will never be taken away from us: the name of God, the Word. Our Name, our Word.

In this Advent Season, join us finding the Holiness of momments that celebrates the anticipation of the birth of the Christchild, just as the shepherds and wisemen found the announcement in the skies of angels and stars, and set on their quest to find the Christ. 

Amen! [ABPE-Aramaic Bible in Plain English via www.biblehub.com]

December 15, 2020 -Day 17 of Advent

What a long title. Not to worry. Todays’ task for you embodies all three Joys at one time. Joy, Joy, Joy! How Great the Joy! There’s that German Carol again! Makes you want to get up and dance a jig! https://youtu.be/Yuiwi4br8jo …Sing along!

Ok, we have reached far into December. Get that Random Acts list going.

Random Acts of Christmas Kindness for 2020

[idea source: 2020 Random Acts of Kindness Christmas Calendar | Coffee Cups and Crayons]

1. Donate toys to your favorite charity. [Or make cookies and give them away!-zm]
2. Tell silly jokes to make someone laugh.
3. Make a homemade gift.
4. Donate food to your local food pantry.
5. Make a card for a soldier.
6. Pick up litter.
7. Make a thank you sign for your delivery drivers.
8. Donate socks to a homeless shelter.
9. Call a faraway friend or relative to say hello.
10. Take supplies to the animal shelter.
11. Do a chore for someone in your family.
12. Candy cane bomb a parking lot* or send a candy cane gram.
13. Leave a kindness rock in your neighborhood.
14. Mail a Christmas card to a local nursing home.
15. Pay for a stranger’s coffee.
16. Teach someone something new.
17. Leave a happy note for someone to find.
18. Give a treat to a community helper.
19. Leave a treat for your mail carrier.
20. Smile at everyone you see today.
21. Bring cookies to a neighbor.
22. Do a secret act of kindness for someone.
23. Give a compliment to a friend.
24. Feed the birds.

What? You don’t sponsor children? Ok, think locally. Children are also at homeless shelters, as well as homeless gathering places for adults (they are like the lost children)… You don’t bake? Yeah you do, thru the local bakery and donut shop!

OR draw a picture for a stranger, give it away. OR Give away a Christmas card by you to a vet.. you know one when you see one, still wearing the Veteran’s Hat proudly.

This time of year you will see people stressed out to the max. And remember to give away a smiling greeting of the season. If someone says something ugly to you for it, wink! Just remember that our Jesus loves them just the same, and then you move on.

Help someone outside of yourself to experience that great Joy-Joy-Joy!

When All Seems Not so Calm and Bright

December 14, 2020 -Day 16 of Advent

Back in the day when I was in elementary school, in the 5th Grade Glee Club, we learned to sing Silent Night differently. We learned a descant to it. When paired with the first verse of Silent Night, our voices made a wonderful angelic sound.

‘Neath the shining stars a town is sleeping. Flocks are safe within the fold, Secure from hunger, want or cold. Silent, silent night Holy, holy night. Sleep in peace; sleep in heavenly peace, in  peace. ‘

According to my college German Professor’s version, Herr Kellinger, of the song Silent Night, when Franz Gruber created the music, he had his guitar with him and was on a hillside outdoors overlooking a small town. The skies were quiet, the town was quiet, all was calm, all was bright with the stars in the sky. According to another version, Pastor Josef Mohr was between church services that featured performances of the Nativity event re-enactments.

On his way home, as the took the scenic route, a meditative mood overcame him to  stand on a hillside overlooking the town of Oberndorf, Austria. He was struck by the total calm and quiet.  In the urge to set the poem he wrote to music on the church organ, he found out that the organ was broken, so he asked Franz Gruber to help with composing the music. And so it was.

Here’s the miracle. The poem set into Gruber’s music was no longer dependent on the magnificence of a church organ, but was wonderously rendered on a simple guitar. I am sure there are other similar and dissimilar versions of the Silent Night carol origin story. Some call it a lullaby, too, because it requires a calm, and type of soothing and majestic calm in order for it to really be heard.

It’s a far cry from the hustle and bustle, and immigration issues that went on during the time of Jesus’s birth, in that Bethlehem was a busy place, an intersection of the Roman occupied  world that required people to return to their birthplaces for a proper census taking. Our world today is in a parallel universe, so to speak… Murders happening today, just as was in those times. Government collusions, obstructions, etc, just as in our times. Immigration woes, arrests, all the messy business and greedy guts people doing what they will in order to prevail as important. The good people trying to stay out of harms way, but offering a quiet refuge to those who needed it. Politics, politics, politics….

Far out in the fields, away from the hustle and bustle of the urban area night, the shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks as well as delivering baby lambs, in the wonderful quiet of night, where for them all was calm, thank God!  The animals of the wilds were giving them a break, for a change. And the stars in the sky….all was bright, yet suddenly bursting with a host of angels flapping their wings and singing Glory to God in the Highest! Somehow, all remained calm and bright.

So in the midst of our own hustle and bustle, and immigration issues, we can make time, too, for the calm, and for the witnessing of the miracles of stars and angels… it all just depends on what we are ready to perceive and receive.

I don’t know who the author of the descant might be. Searches for who wrote it yielded only that the descant of this nature existed, and folks who remembered were simply happy with that.  There’s more for each verse, but for now, that first verse sets the world’s stage that celebrates the story  entrance of our Heavenly King.

December 13, 2020 -Day 15 of Advent

By now you have reached December 13th. Be sure you don’t miss the readings that started on Day 1. Just work backwards to there and then roll forward. Today’s entry is about the legend of the Woof Kitty, as related to me by ….a cat!

Back in Bethlehem, when people were a long, long time ago trying to find a place to stay in town because of the census degree, people were staying where ever they could, even displacing us animals, the cats. We had t scatter all around and “roost” where ever we could find a warm place. Desert days may be hot but the nights are very cool, if not downright cold at times.

So there we were, a few of us little cats, keeping watch over the town by night. The big cats were out in the wilds, trying to find some night wild life to catch. But we regular “domestic” kitties were in town, keeping order, as usually, and more than usual. My sharp ears heard something out of the winds in the sky. My night eyes spied strange things happening up there in the heavens. You know, my hairs started to rise up, but they stopped. I heard the rhythmic flapping of great wings. They weren’t frightening, just great. Never saw such as sight before in my whole life.

Then this creature came closer. It was transparent, had wings, as big as a giant eagle but it wasn’t one of those. It wasn’t an owl, either. It looked human but was glowing with a transparent and translucent light. My cat fellows and I tried to pinpoint its nationality or tribal group. It like wasn’t anything we have seen or heard of before.

And it sang! “Glory to God! Glory to God in the highest! Peace on Earth to people of good will!”

Then it looked directly at our little group huddled together. The thing spoke to us and told us God knew of our warrior spirit, goodness and kindness. It told us that it was an angel sent from God to tell us of our great task before us. We asked, of course, “What great task?”

The thing, the angel told us that a baby was about to be born in a cowbarn, a stable close by in the town area. We wanted to know when and where. The angel thing told us that God Himself will send us signs and signals. It said also that our special job was to keep a baby warm if it needed an extra blanket, to keep the feet of the adults warm if they needed us, and to redirect the rats and mice that came to irritate and annoy.

“What! What baby?” I shouted out. The angel thing told me to pipe down and speak more softly. I was so embarrassed. But anyway, we cats looked each other and listened some more. We were told that God will put us where He wants us to be at the right time, so we were supposed to be patient and on watch.

Well, further down the line of time, we cats had the urge to gravitate towards a special barn place, a stable. It was empty and clean, except for the cows and a few donkeys, livestock, and some…..mice. Mice. O boy! Mice. ..and a few rats of no mention, which the other hoof animals ignored. As soon as we arrived, the mice and rats took notice that we were there, and they started to scatter away, quickly. They didn’t want to be our next snack.

Some people come wandering in. There was a pregnant lady, a man who stayed close to her, and all led by some guy who owned the property. That lady looked like she was ready to have kittens. She and the man didn’t know what to do. He kept looking around and said something to the other guy who just shrugged his shoulders and left. Somehow we cats knew just what to do.

We went and stood by the hay filled trough, the manger. And there were some other stacks of hay laying around, too. Sure enough that lady was going to have kittens, and it was just about to happen. We got out of the way and stood guard by the door.

The little mice and rats were out there in the streets by the door wanting to know when they could go back in. We told them a lady was having her kittens. I mean, ok human people have babies but we still call them kittens. We told the rats and company to stay away for a while, and they could come back to the door for a look see, later. However, I warned them if anybody got out of hand and did stupid annoying stuff, we cats would love to have them for dinner on the spot.

Well, the lady had a kitten, 1 big kitten. It was so cute! You should have seen her husband. He had tears in his eyes. Did you know there was another lady hanging around with extra cloths and water to help this lady have her kittens? Yep, but that’s what women do here, help each other deliver their kittens. O that baby was a beautiful human kitten. And guess what…it glowed! That baby glowed! And the momma glowed. And the daddy glowed.

There was an angel thing suspended in the air over where we were! It said to us that we did a fine job, and to keep up the good work. The angel thing called us the most precious Woofs ever. I thought the thing meant wolves. It read my mind and said we were Woofs! Woof Kitties. “Woofs do not commit harm but do guard duty with lots of love, compassion, mercy, and kindness!” Well, well, well .

What an adventure. We decided to be on duty for as long as we were needed. The rest is history. Is this a real story? Put it this way. The cattle were lowing (humming), the poor baby wakes. But Little Kitty Jesus, no crying he makes…. Notice there is no mention of rats and mice in any of the tales or pictures. You usually won’t see us cats depicted, either, because it is our job to stay out of sight unless there is some correcting that needs to go on.

The tradition continues even into this century. When you see a cat hanging around your Christmas stuff, you know it is on Woof Kitty duty!

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Now you know the legend of the Woof Kitty!

Jigsaw Puzzle | Let All the Earth Rejoice | 36 pieces | Jigidi -click on this for a sweet surprise!

December 12, 2020 -the 14th Day of Advent

The Saint Nicholas story continues. By now you have seen the vidclip about Santa and Pete. In some countries, Saint Nicholas is accompanied by some creature who seeks out the mischief makers and deals out the punishments while Saint Nicholas deals out the goodies and treats to those who have been good. Then comes the legend of the fellow, Pete, who was an African. I’d think the fellow, Pete, is or was a remnant of the invasion of southern Europe by Mansa Mussa the 3rd. Moving right along, the Pete fellow garnered the legendary status of being Saint Nicholas’s helper by fitting down the chimneys, hence his darker color, as the European story goes. You know how the rumors and legends go and grow. Did you miss that little history bit in the Santa and Pete tale? Go back and look for it.

Meanwhile, Saint Nicholas has an interesting history all his own. Lots of folks don’t know it, but here it is. Some what we consider bizarre facts, but many of which are just ordinary events, and some are….well…bizarre facts! However, some good soul tracked down the information.https://listverse.com/2016/12/17/10-bizarre-stories-about-the-real-saint-nicholas/

What does all of this have to do with Advent? Think of the history of Saint Nicholas, and then see how he followed the footsteps of Christ, the promise Christ, feeding Christ’s sheep. Think of how you have been guided into the footsteps of Christ, regardless of the distractions that tugged at you along the way. Think of how much you struggle and have struggled to keep Christmas Advent as a holy season over a materialistic season. Yes, it is a struggle. But go back to that movie and watch Hume Cronyn’s depiction of what Saint Nicholas did when he needed some help and guidance. Learn, baby, learn!

In case you missed it from yesterday, here is the trailer, again.

You will have to locate a copy of the video or the book to find out.

Meanwhile, another expose by the internet network… [ Do forgive the name of the website but that’s what it is named…]

https://www.kickassfacts.com/santa-claus-facts/#:~:text=%2030%20Interesting%20Facts%20About%20Santa%20Claus%20,the%20world%E2%80%99s%20most%20powerful%20mutant%20ever…%20More%20

………………………………Time for a break and a brain rest! Get some fresh air and exercise!