Thought for the day...

I’ve been told this is not true but who cares? It sounds like it could make sense.


There is one Christmas Carol that seems silly. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

 

Very believable .... That reminds of this old song.... by Tex Ritter ... Always have like this song...

 

A Candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for the Birth, Ministry and Death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the Foundation of the Church and the firmness of the promises of God.

He made the candy in the form of a “J” to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It could also represent the staff of the “Good Shepard” with which He reaches down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candy maker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.

Unfortunately, the candy became known as a candy cane; a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the meaning is still there for those who “have eyes to see and ears to hear.” I pray that this symbol will again be used to witness to the Wonder of Jesus and His Great Love that came down at Christmas and remains the ultimate and dominate force in the universe today.

 

REACH FOR THE STARS

Once upon a time there was a reindeer named Rudolph; the only reindeer in the whole wide world that had a big, red, shinning nose. Naturally, people called him Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.

So begins the classic Christmas story of hope, of an outcast who became a hero. It's a story that has delighted several generations of children - and their parents - as they cheered on the once scorned little deer.

What isn't so well known, however, is how Rudolph came to be a part of our Christmas fun. It also is a tale of triumph. It began over fifty years ago, on a cold December night in Chicago, as a young father struggled to answer his daughter's unanswerable question. "Daddy," four-year-old Barbara May asked as she climbed onto her father's lap, "Why isn't my mommy like everyone else's mommy?" Robert May was shaken. How, he wondered, could he explain the tragedy that had befallen their family? He glanced across the living room of their small apartment, to where his young wife, Evelyn, lay on the sofa, desperately ill. The ordeal had already shattered two adult lives; now, he realized, his small daughter was also suffering.

Bob knew only too well what it meant to be "different." As a child, he had been taunted mercilessly by playmates because he had been weak and delicate. Later, when he was a student at Dartmouth College, Bob was so small he was always being mistaken for someone's "little brother."

Nor had his adult life brought much more happiness. Unlike many of his classmates who floated from college into plush jobs, Bob became a low-paid copywriter for a New York department store. Later, in 1935, he went to work writing copy for Montgomery Ward, the large Chicago mail-order store. Now, at age 33, Bob was deep in debt from his wife's illness - and deeply depressed. Cradling his little girl's head against his shoulder, Bob tried to answer her question by making up a story that would be both understandable and uplifting. So he began.

"Rudolph," Bob explained, "Was terribly embarrassed by his unique nose. Other reindeer laughed at him; even his mother and father and sister and brothers were mortified because he wasn't like other reindeer. Rudolph himself wallowed in self-pity. `Why was I born with such a terrible nose?' he cried."

As Bob went on to tell about Rudolph, he tried to help Barbara understand that even though some of God's creatures are strange or "different," they often have a special ability to make others happy. "Well, one Christmas Eve," continued Bob, "Santa Claus got his team of reindeer ready for their yearly round-the-world trip. The entire reindeer community assembled to cheer these great heroes on their way. But a terrible fog engulfed the earth that evening. The mist was so thick that Santa knew he wouldn't be able to find any chimneys.

"Suddenly, Rudolph appeared. His big red nose glowing brighter than ever and Santa knew that here was the answer to his problem. He led shiny-nosed Rudolph to the front of the sleigh, fastened the harness, and climbed in. They were off! Rudolph guided Santa safely to every chimney that night. Rain and fog; snow and sleet; nothing bothered Rudolph, for his bright nose pierced the mist like a beacon.

"And so it was," Bob finished, "That Rudolph became the most famous and beloved of all reindeer. The huge red nose he once hid in shame was now the envy of every buck and doe in the reindeer world. Santa Claus told everyone that Rudolph had saved the day; and from that Christmas Eve onward, Rudolph has been living serenely and happily."

Little Barbara laughed with delight when her father finished. Every night she begged him to repeat the tale until finally Bob could rattle it off in his sleep. Then, as Christmas neared, he decided to turn the story into a poem, illustrate it, and make it into a little booklet for Barbara's Christmas gift.

Night after night, Bob worked on the verses after Barbara had gone to bed. Then, as he was about to put the finishing touches on "Rudolph," Evelyn died. Grief-stricken, Bob now had only his daughter, and finishing the book became even more important. He was determined she would have her Christmas present. Bob's work paid off when, on Christmas morning, he saw Barbara's delight at the special book. But little did Bob suspect that soon "Rudolph" would gain a much wider audience.

Shortly after Christmas, Bob, at his associates' insistence, attended the annual Montgomery Ward employees' holiday party. He brought the poem with him and began reading it to the crowd. At first, the laughing and talking continued, but soon the group listened quietly and at the end broke into applause. Several Ward executives asked Bob for copies. Then someone suggested, "Why not put the poem into a booklet form as a free gift for Ward customers the following Christmas?" The next year, a year in which Bob labored to pay his debts and keep Barbara fed and clothed, 2,400,000 copies of the book were printed and given to youngsters at the hundreds of Montgomery Ward stores all over the country.

The story of the reindeer caught on immediately. Parents, teachers and psychologists hailed "Rudolph" as a perfect gift for children. Newspapers and magazines printed stories about the new hero. The following year, Ward's stores and catalog offices upped the order to 3,000,000 copies.

Meanwhile, Bob won acclaim; but little else. "Rudolph" had been copyrighted by Montgomery Ward to use as a Christmas promotion; he had received no money for it. Yet, Bob was happy that his child, and millions of other children, loved his red-nosed reindeer. And in other ways, Bob's life began to brighten. In 1941, he married Virginia Newton, a secretary at the company, and in time, three new Rudolph fans, Joanne, Christopher and Ginger, were born.

During World War II, the giveaway project was shelved, but afterwards, Ward executives planned a new Rudolph book. Even better news: Sewel Avery, president of Ward's, ordered the copyright turned over to Bob. From then on, he would receive any royalties that "Rudolph" earned.

In 1946, 3,600,000 "Rudolph" booklets were distributed by Wards. (That now made nine million copies in print.) Immediately there was a deluge of demands from businessmen eager to manufacture Rudolph products; toys, puzzles, slippers, skirts, jewelry and lamps.

A special recording of the poem was made. Maxton Publishers bought the rights to produce a bookstore edition in 1947. Parker Brothers brought out a Rudolph game. Even Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus got into the act. They had a pony equipped with antlers and electrically lighted red nose called "Rudolph." From all these Rudolph ventures, Bob did receive royalties.

Christmas of 1947 was the brightest ever for Bob May, his family, and Rudolph. Some 6,000,000 more copies of the booklet were given away or sold (now a total of 15,000,000), making "Rudolph" one of the most widely distributed books in the world.

In the years since, there has been a Rudolph Technicolor cartoon, directed by Max Fleischer and narrated by Paul Wing, which ran many Christmas seasons in thousands of movie theaters. Manufacturers have poured out literally dozens of millions of Rudolph items; hats, socks, false faces, pajamas, T-shirts, sneakers, crayons, dolls, tree ornaments, buttons, even underwear. And with the immensely popular Gene Autry recording of Rudolph (one of his most popular recordings ever), the deer's place in Christmas lore seemed assured.

When Bob May died several years ago, he was an extremely wealthy man, thanks to Rudolph. But as Bob himself and his daughter, Barbara, would agree, more important was the satisfaction Bob achieved with his red-nosed deer. The trip Rudolph made from laughing stock to hero rivaled Bob May's own rise from humiliation to acclaim; and was a message of hope to countless others.

 

He that will not sail till all dangers are over must not put to sea.


It is safest sailing within reach of shore.


Set your sail according to the wind.


The heron is a saint when there are no fish in sight.


All are not saints who go to church.

 

Many a child is hungry because the saloon-keeper is rich.


As you salute, you will be saluted.


The fearless man is his own salvation.


The knowledge of sin is the beginning of salvation.


When the ox falls there are many who will help to kill him.

 

Men who are both rich and intelligent hold on to their mind as well as their money.


Sarcasm is the language of the devil.


A sneer is the weapon of the weak.


If you want a neat wife, choose her on a Saturday.


The man who knows most knows most his own ignorance.

 

He who would save should begin with his mouth.


If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as of getting.


Lay up something for a rainy day.


Penny and penny laid up will be many.


Between saying and doing there is a long road.

 

A scab is a scab, even if you smear honey on it.


A false scale is hated even by God.


Every one that repeats it adds something to the scandal.


Foul linen should be washed at home.


Praise undeserved is scandal in disguise.

 

Who is always looking for mud generally finds it.


Free thinkers are generally those who never think at all.


Despise school and remain a fool.


Great scholars are not the shrewdest men.


Every good scholar is not a good schoolmaster.

 

Wonder is the seed of science.


Science is nothing but good sense and reason.


Much science, much sorrow.


He scolds most that can hurt the least.


Scripture, like Nature, lays down no definitions.