The Meaning of the Season: A Rifle for Christmas

This story is poignant this year. Some may know and some may not; 2008 was a hard year for my family. David was laid off from his programming job at CompUSA when they went out of business at the start of the year. He recently started a new job on December 1 for which we are very thankful. Despite the tighter belt through the year and this Christmas, I was compelled to help another family with Christmas as we aim to do each year. Even with one salary, we are blessed in so many ways and I wanted to share those blessings with others. This story touches on so many themes, I hope you enjoy it.

Better bundle up - the goose bumps will freeze you!! I think I need to read this every year at Christmas. This is what Christmas is all about...


Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or those who squandered their means and then never had enough for the necessities. But for those who were genuinely in need, his heart was as big as all outdoors. It was from him that I learned the greatest joy in life comes from giving, not from receiving.

It was Christmas Eve 1881. I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world had caved in on me because there just hadn't been enough money to buy me the rifle that I'd wanted for Christmas. We did the chores early that night for some reason. I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we could read in the Bible.

After supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible. I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn't in much of a mood to read Scriptures. But Pa didn't get the Bible, instead he bundled up again and went outside. I couldn't figure it out because we had already done all the chores. I didn't worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in self-pity. Soon Pa came back in. It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard. "Come on, Matt," he said. "Bundle up good, it's cold out tonight."

I was really upset then. Not only wasn't I getting the rifle for Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason that I could see. We'd already done all the chores, and I couldn't think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this. But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one's feet when he'd told them to do something, so I got up and put my boots back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens. Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house. Something was up, but I didn't know what..

Outside, I became even more dismayed. There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the big sled. Whatever it was we were going to do wasn't going to be a short, quick, little job. I could tell. We never hitched up this sled unless we were going to haul a big load. Pa was already up on the seat, reins in hand. I reluctantly climbed up beside him. The cold was already biting at me. I wasn't happy. When I was on, Pa pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed. He got off and I followed. "I think we'll put on the high sideboards," he said. "Here, help me."

The high sideboards! It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high side boards on.

After we had exchanged the sideboards, Pa went into the woodshed and came out with an armload of wood - the wood I'd spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then all Fall sawing into blocks and splitting. What was he doing? Finally I said something. "Pa," I asked, "what are you doing?" You been by the Widow Jensen's lately?" he asked. The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road. Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight. Sure, I'd been by, but so what? Yeah," I said, "Why?"

"I rode by just today," Pa said. "Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a few chips. They're out of wood, Matt."

That was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for another armload of wood. I followed him. We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it. Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading, then we went to the smoke house and Pa took down a big ham and a side of bacon. He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait.

When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand. "What's in the little sack?" I asked. “Shoes, they're out of shoes. Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this morning. I got the children a little candy too. It just wouldn't be Christmas without a little candy."

We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen's pretty much in silence. I tried to think through what Pa was doing. We didn't have much by worldly standards. Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it. We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that, but I knew we didn't have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and candy? Really, why was he doing any of this? Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us; it shouldn't have been our concern.

We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door. We knocked. The door opened a crack and a timid voice said, "Who is it?" "Lucas Miles, Ma'am, and my son, Matt, could we come in for a bit?"

Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front of the fireplace by a very small fire that hardly gave off any heat at all. Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp.

"We brought you a few things, Ma'am," Pa said and set down the sack of flour. I put the meat on the table. Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it. She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out one pair at a time. There was a pair for her and one for each of the children - sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last. I watched her carefully. She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks. She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say something, but it wouldn't come out.

"We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am," Pa said. He turned to me and said, "Matt, go bring in enough to last awhile. Let's get that fire up to size and heat this place up." I wasn't the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood. I had a big lump in my throat and as much as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too. In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks with so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn't speak.

My heart swelled within me and a joy that I'd never known before, filled my soul. I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had made so much difference. I could see we were literally saving the lives of these people.

I soon had the fire blazing and every one's spirits soared. The kids started giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and Widow Jensen looked on with a smile that probably hadn't crossed her face for a long time. She finally turned to us. "God bless you," she said. "I know the Lord has sent you. The children and I have been praying that he would send one of his angels to spare us."

In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up in my eyes again. I'd never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but after Widow Jensen mentioned it I could see that it was probably true. I was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth. I started remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma and me, and many others. The list seemed endless as I thought on it.

Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left. I was amazed when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get. Then I guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord that the Lord would make sure he got the right sizes.

Tears were running down Widow Jensen's face again when we stood up to leave. Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug. They clung to him and didn't want us to go. I could see that they missed their Pa, and I was glad that I still had mine.

At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, "The Mrs. wanted me to invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow. The turkey will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get cantankerous if he has to eat turkey for too many meals. We'll be by to get you about eleven. It'll be nice to have some little ones around again. Matt, here, hasn't been little for quite a spell." I was the youngest. My two brothers and two sisters had all married and had moved away.

Widow Jensen nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Miles. I don't have to say, May the Lord bless you, I know for certain that He will."

Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn't even notice the cold. When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said, "Matt, I want you to know something. Your ma and me have been tucking a little money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for you, but we didn't have quite enough. Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came by to make things square. Your ma and me were real excited, thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into town this morning to do just that, but on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I knew what I had to do. Son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy for those children. I hope you understand."

I understood, and my eyes became wet with tears again. I understood very well, and I was so glad Pa had done it. Now the rifle seemed very low on my list of priorities. Pa had given me a lot more. He had given me the look on Widow Jensen's face and the radiant smiles of her three children.

For the rest of my life, whenever I saw any of the Jensen’s, or split a block of wood, I remembered, and remembering brought back that same joy I felt riding home beside Pa that night. Pa had given me much more than a rifle that night, he had given me the best Christmas of my life – one where the true meaning of the season came shining through.

Merry Christmas Everyone and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Wisdom of Ages

In the history of the world, there has never been a socialist country that has succeeded for any significant period of time. Every one of those countries has gone down in economic flames. Anyone who does not believe that "spreading the wealth around" is socialism should take a governmental studies course.

As we face a serious event in the US tomorrow, I have found a thought to consider. Here are some words of wisdom for our country to think about…

• You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
• You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
• You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
• You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
• You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
• You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence.
• You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

~ attributed to Abraham Lincoln

God bless America - vote November 4th.

There is NO such thing as "Separation of Church and State" it is simply a liberal fairy tale

I am truly sick of the whole "separation of church and state" discussion that seems to be a knee-jerk reaction by liberals whenever a conservative mentions their personal faith.

The Foundation Documents of the U.S. include the Declaration of Independence; Constitution and Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution). The Declaration of Independence includes multiple references to God (or "The Creator" - who the heck do you think created us at the top of earth's food chain if not "God"?) and is the primary document on which the foundation of the USA rests.

The Constitution and the Bill of Rights does not include any language that establishes a "separation of church and state". In point of fact, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment protects the right of the people to have and practice their own chosen religion. This was written into the Constitution because of the situation in England that many of the Colonials suffered under.

In England; there existed the Church of England - a national church that was also a political entity and which could exact taxes from the citizens of England - in addition to the taxes exacted by the government. Many an English Landowner - most notably the second (or third, etc) sons of a nobleman lost their property - and their titles due to unjust taxation by the Church of England.

In America, the Founders were committed to preventing a state established religion that could exert similar authority to the Church of England. Thus, the First (ratified) Amendment to the Constitution is written to protect the people from being forced into an autocratic situation - that of having a state run religion.

As this is the history - and yes, it is documented - look in the Foundation Documents and the Articles of Confederation - to see the background explained here in this Blog post.

The actual term and interpretation of "separation of church and state" is contained in the text of a personal Thank You letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Church in 1802. This letter actually exemplified the explanation given above - that no man was subject to explaining his faith to any other man. Nor, was a man's faith subject to governance by the Federal Government.

So, as is exemplified in both the First Amendment and the Danbury Letter, in all fact; the term "separation of church and state" has been usurped by those who would deny the basic Christian Principles in the foundation of the US.

As if this was not enough; there is an Article of the Constitution which lays down clearly that if there is an incorrect "interpretation" of the Constitution and the Amendments, that interpretation - and any following actions based on that incorrect interpretation - do not constitute the creation of a right - or precedent of law that will stand under examination.

The meaning of the Founders was clear - practicing the religion of one's choice was protected in the US and infringement of that right is indeed Unconstitutional.

Life or Death? The choice seems abundantly clear...

I actively watched the major speeches of both the GOP and DNC conventions. The issue with the greatest clarity for me is the dichotomy of the two 'tickets'.

On the one hand, we have the silver tongued speaker who voted repeatedly against legislation to protect live babies (little human beings) when born following an attempted late term abortion. A man who would not want to "punish his daughters with a baby"(1) if she were in Bristol's shoes. A man who is all for protecting the polar bear and the three-toed purple spotted tree frog - but not a child.

On the other hand, we have a man who is pro-life who chose as his running mate a woman who, pregnant with a child the parents knew had special challenges - accepted that gift from God with open arms. A woman who believes in abstinence teachings for children - so that they may be taught by the ones with the true responsibility in the matter - their parents; not so that they be ignorant. A woman who feels a politician's job is to serve "with a servant's heart" (2). A woman who, upon finding her own daughter pregnant; once again accepts God's challenge ahead and supports Bristol and looks forward to welcoming her grandchild.

That is about the most clear you can get on the differences between McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden. A ticket that stands for life and respect - or - a ticket that stands for fluid morality.

The choice, for me, is clear.


Notes:
(1) - Senator Obama on March 30, 2008 in a Town Hall Meeting
(2) - Governor Palin on September 3, 2008 at the RNC

Liberals - the only ones who can "SAVE THE EARTH" - in their minds

One thing that astounds me is the level of hubris in the minds of the environmentally elite. (or those who like to think they are "elite")

Creationists, Darwinists, etc - agree that the earth is old. Over the life of the earth; species have come and species have gone. Extinction of one group has led to an opportunity for another to arise or thrive.

Those who are so intent on preventing the extinction of any species need to be aware that we are interfering with the process of the earth. By stepping in and re-creating or infusing new populations; we need to ask "are we stopping a normal event that will prevent another life form from growing; or even being?"

Yes, I know the hue and cry of "man is destroying habitat" will bombard me. I would say that the earth cycles and sun/solar system cycles destroy habitat and have done so for millennia on end.

The natural resources of the earth exist - irrefutable fact. They are being used under a technological evolution and invention by man. Cows, horses, lions, tigers, bears and beavers are not using (to my knowledge) air conditioning. Man is. Is it a "luxury?" Perhaps. I would say both A/C and heat have prevented human death and extended human life.

Is it "bad" or "evil" to use heat? No. Cavemen used wood fires. Due to smaller populations, this was not an issue. Today's population would not be able to subsist on wood energy without exhausting "wood reserves". Thus, oil and petroleum products are more sustainable than the technology of the Neolithic period. That is an improvement and advancement that protects the resources of the earth. Though some people still use some wood energy, it is by far replaced by oil. Follow me here before jumping my ass.

In tomorrow's technology, oil will become obsolete. Though some applications may continue to exist. However, we are not at the point of 'getting off oil'. Does this mean we will 'kill the planet'? No. (Though the case is certainly out there that technology advances in energy have been ignored due to the abundance and cheap availability of oil. ) If the perfect "renewable, clean, powerful energy solution was unveiled today, it would still be DECADES before delivery systems were in place in every nook and cranny of the US; vehicles able to use that energy are built; vehicles are replaced and are on the road that use the new fuel and not one "oil" car is left running; homes are powered by the magic new fuel; ALL 170 by-products of oil are recreated in some other form.

This process of replacing all oil touch points is not some unimportant piece of a new fuel program - it is integral to converting the country - and the world to new systems. You cannot by-pass his process by shutting off the spigot today and letting people suffer until new technology is in place. The world has to continue to run for those decades without much interruption or (nature of man) there will be massive wars, deaths, pestilence. I would think the environmentalist elites would be against these disasters. (maybe not)

Those who belittle the pragmatic and call them "planet haters"; "knuckle draggers"; deniers or whatever; I find interesting. They are bullies. These bullies assume if they ridicule those of disparate view points - or who bring up points that the enviro-bullies have no answer to - the pragmatists will curl up and blow away. You are all in for a sorry day coming quickly upon you. Those who are realistic enough to understand that oil will play a part in our near (and medium term) futures are gaining clout and voices. Those who call themselves "earth aware" will know that no longer will we run away and hide from sarcasm.

Those who are enviro-bullies are infantile political sycophants with little or no natural intelligence. Let's hope the one with the big ears doesn't get to move this January….