thestream--2020-12-19--A Surprising Truth: We Can Be Grateful We Don’t Know More About Jesus’ Early Years

Wouldn ’ t you just love to know what Jesus did the first 30 years of His life ?
Doesn ’ t bother you how much seems to be missing from the record ?
We know some things , but not much .
I can ’ t help wondering what He was like , who He spent time with , whether He became a master carpenter alongside Joseph .
I ’ ve tried to imagine what was it like for his family and neighbors to watch his moral perfection in action .
I wish I knew more .
Or at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ realized how wise God was not to give us that information .
It isn ’ t just that the Gospels fit into the common style of the day , though they did .
Ancient Roman and Greek biographies almost always start when the person enters public life in his adult years .
The Gospels fit the genre .
No one at the time would have thought it unusual that Jesus ’ story begins there , too , with the exception of the relatively short birth stories in Matthew and Luke .
So it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then , which by the way should also satisfy the skeptic today who thinks something fishy is going on with all this “ missing ” information .
What about you and me , though , who love Jesus and want to know more about Him ?
Lately I ’ ve realized I should be thankful He didn ’ t tell us more .
God gave us exactly what we need , fine-tuned for what we would need to know throughout the ages ; no less information than we need to follow Jesus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ either .
God Kept Us From a Whole New Way of Worshiping Idols Think with me what a mess we ’ d be in if we had the whole story of Jesus ’ life .
Put it in context with what we know to be true of human nature in general .
We ’ ve got a long history of making gods out of the wrong things .
In deep history , and still in many places today , it ’ s been gods of wood and stone .
To the secularized West @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like power , success , fame , or even family .
One way or another we love to put lesser things in place of the One True God .
If that isn ’ t bad enough , as a race we really love to make up things we should do in order to be right with the gods .
When Christians do this , it ’ s called legalism , the idea that we can be made right with God by doing certain “ religious ” acts .
Whether it ’ s rituals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or doing deeds of service for others , if we think it ’ s the way to salvation , it ’ s legalism .
It ’ s been Christianity ’ s favorite heresy since the Apostle Paul warned against it in more than one of his letters .
So with that in mind , think what would have happened if we had a table Jesus made with His own hands .
There ’ d be pilgrimages to view the table .
Someone would take control of it and make millions off it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the privilege of taking Communion there .
We wouldn ’ t just admire the table .
Some of us would worship it , like other idols of wood and stone .
If we knew of a house Jesus built , it would put a whole new meaning on “ place of worship.
” We — meaning a whole lot of us , if not everyone — wouldn ’ t just worship in that house , we ’ d worship the house !
The Vocation That Really Matters We wouldn ’ t need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though .
Suppose we had really solid information that Jesus started out as a carpenter .
Christians want to follow Christ , right ?
How many of us would conclude that the way to do that is by building things ?
No amount of teaching could keep us from thinking , “ Carpenters are more like Jesus.
” There ’ d be priesthoods of stone-cutters ( the word tekton , translated “ carpenter ” included workers in stone ) .
There ’ d be monasteries devoted to hammering and sawing , not for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but for the mere sake of hammering and sawing .
Bishops and archbishops would be chosen by how plumb they could erect a wall .
Carpentry is a noble occupation , but so is any work a Christian does under the calling of Jesus Christ .
Your most spiritual vocation ( a word derived from the Latin vocare , “ to call ” ) is the one in which you can obey and glorify God the most .
If you ’ ve ever thought one calling was lesser , for example , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ’ s the person you ’ re thanking God for when you say grace over that hamburger .
God was wise not to confuse us into thinking carpentry was more religious than other work .
He wants us to pattern our lives after Jesus ’ love , His commitment to truth , His obedience to the Father , His teaching , and His sacrifice , not the way he measured and cut and fashioned things .
Remarkably Fine Tuned for What We Need The life of Christ we see in the Gospels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re supposed to emulate .
It ’ s fine-tuned to give us all the important specifics of the life of Christ , yet its teaching is broad enough for believers to follow in every culture of the world , throughout all the centuries since then .
This is why I say it contributes to our confidence in the Gospels .
If they aren ’ t true accounts of the life of Christ , then we have to account for this fine-tuning another way .
Were the Gospel authors so wise , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every culture would need for thousands of years to come ?
Or were they just extraordinarily lucky to get it right that way ?
On its own that might or might not seem like a weighty argument for the Gospels , but it certainly aligns with others like it that I ’ ve written about in Too Good to be False , and it joins a long list of historical evidences to create a strong cumulative case for the truth of the Scriptures .
What skeptics think of it is up to them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can marvel at God ’ s wisdom in giving us just what we need of the life of Christ .
Someday in heaven we ’ ll be able to ask Him and all His family and friends about it .
Until then our business is getting there .
God wants us to take up the vocation that ’ s right for us , and to follow Jesus the way He meant us to follow Him — no more and no less .
Thank God He didn ’ t confuse us by giving us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
followingTom Gilson ( @ TomGilsonAuthor ) is a senior editor with The Stream and the author or editor of six books , including the recently released Too Good To Be False : How Jesus ’ Incomparable Character Reveals His Reality .

Wouldn’t you just love to know what Jesus did the first 30 years of His life? Doesn’t bother you how much seems to be missing from the record? We know some things, but not much. I can’t help wondering what He was like, who He spent time with, whether He became a master carpenter alongside Joseph. I’ve tried to imagine what was it like for his family and neighbors to watch his moral perfection in action.
I wish I knew more. Or at least I used to, until I realized how wise God was not to give us that information.
It isn’t just that the Gospels fit into the common style of the day, though they did. Ancient Roman and Greek biographies almost always start when the person enters public life in his adult years. The Gospels fit the genre. No one at the time would have thought it unusual that Jesus’ story begins there, too, with the exception of the relatively short birth stories in Matthew and Luke. So it would have been fine for the people then, which by the way should also satisfy the skeptic today who thinks something fishy is going on with all this “missing” information.
What about you and me, though, who love Jesus and want to know more about Him? Lately I’ve realized I should be thankful He didn’t tell us more. God gave us exactly what we need, fine-tuned for what we would need to know throughout the ages; no less information than we need to follow Jesus, but no more than we need, either.
God Kept Us From a Whole New Way of Worshiping Idols
Think with me what a mess we’d be in if we had the whole story of Jesus’ life. Put it in context with what we know to be true of human nature in general. We’ve got a long history of making gods out of the wrong things. In deep history, and still in many places today, it’s been gods of wood and stone. To the secularized West it’s more often abstract things like power, success, fame, or even family. One way or another we love to put lesser things in place of the One True God.
If that isn’t bad enough, as a race we really love to make up things we should do in order to be right with the gods. When Christians do this, it’s called legalism, the idea that we can be made right with God by doing certain “religious” acts. Whether it’s rituals to do in church, or self-denial, or doing deeds of service for others, if we think it’s the way to salvation, it’s legalism. It’s been Christianity’s favorite heresy since the Apostle Paul warned against it in more than one of his letters.
So with that in mind, think what would have happened if we had a table Jesus made with His own hands. There’d be pilgrimages to view the table. Someone would take control of it and make millions off it. He’d probably charge extra for the privilege of taking Communion there. We wouldn’t just admire the table. Some of us would worship it, like other idols of wood and stone.
If we knew of a house Jesus built, it would put a whole new meaning on “place of worship.” We — meaning a whole lot of us, if not everyone — wouldn’t just worship in that house, we’d worship the house!
The Vocation That Really Matters
We wouldn’t need those artifacts to get it wrong, though. Suppose we had really solid information that Jesus started out as a carpenter. Christians want to follow Christ, right? How many of us would conclude that the way to do that is by building things? No amount of teaching could keep us from thinking, “Carpenters are more like Jesus.”
There’d be priesthoods of stone-cutters (the word tekton, translated “carpenter” included workers in stone). There’d be monasteries devoted to hammering and sawing, not for the sake of building things people need, but for the mere sake of hammering and sawing. Bishops and archbishops would be chosen by how plumb they could erect a wall.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Carpentry is a noble occupation, but so is any work a Christian does under the calling of Jesus Christ. Your most spiritual vocation (a word derived from the Latin vocare, “to call”) is the one in which you can obey and glorify God the most. If you’ve ever thought one calling was lesser, for example, serving at a fast-food counter, remember that’s the person you’re thanking God for when you say grace over that hamburger.
God was wise not to confuse us into thinking carpentry was more religious than other work. He wants us to pattern our lives after Jesus’ love, His commitment to truth, His obedience to the Father, His teaching, and His sacrifice, not the way he measured and cut and fashioned things.
Remarkably Fine Tuned for What We Need
The life of Christ we see in the Gospels is custom-fit to show us what we’re supposed to emulate. It’s fine-tuned to give us all the important specifics of the life of Christ, yet its teaching is broad enough for believers to follow in every culture of the world, throughout all the centuries since then.
This is why I say it contributes to our confidence in the Gospels. If they aren’t true accounts of the life of Christ, then we have to account for this fine-tuning another way. Were the Gospel authors so wise, they could see exactly what kind of teaching every culture would need for thousands of years to come? Or were they just extraordinarily lucky to get it right that way?
On its own that might or might not seem like a weighty argument for the Gospels, but it certainly aligns with others like it that I’ve written about in Too Good to be False, and it joins a long list of historical evidences to create a strong cumulative case for the truth of the Scriptures.
Marvel at God’s Wisdom
What skeptics think of it is up to them, but we who believe in Jesus can marvel at God’s wisdom in giving us just what we need of the life of Christ.
Someday in heaven we’ll be able to ask Him and all His family and friends about it. Until then our business is getting there. God wants us to take up the vocation that’s right for us, and to follow Jesus the way He meant us to follow Him — no more and no less. Thank God He didn’t confuse us by giving us more than we need to do that.
followingTom Gilson (@TomGilsonAuthor) is a senior editor with The Stream and the author or editor of six books, including the recently released Too Good To Be False: How Jesus’ Incomparable Character Reveals His Reality.


thestream--2020-12-19--Americans Are Being Sold Out by Our Chiefs, as the American Indians Were

Will the Steal succeed ?
One option after another seems to be vanishing .
Can we still legally prevent the Democrats from installing a president elected under the shadow of massive vote fraud ?
Now it seems our last resort is a vote in Congress to reject the tainted Biden electors and accept electors for Trump .
But our own party leaders , such as Mitch McConnell , are wielding all their power to prevent that .
Every major medium , including Fox News and National Review , covers its eyes and plugs its ears .
They don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of massive , coordinated cheating .
To follow the story , we must seek out new venues .
I ’ m grateful that Newsmax , Real America ’ s Voice , One America News , and The Epoch Times still exist .
That Parler ’ s still free .
( Editor ’ s note : The Stream is now on Gab and MeWe also . )
Those of us who insist on talking about the Steal are being purged , one by one , from social media .
Friends report getting banned for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Courageous citizens like Eric Metaxas are getting their reputations dragged through the muck by comfort-loving conservatives , who value their Pharisaical good names above their country .
There ’ s no “ evidence ” these time-servers say .
Then they point to court decisions based on purely procedural grounds .
Present them with the evidence ?
Then they ’ ll shout “ La-la-la !
Not listening , it ’ s too late !
” Well , which is it , then ?
Is there no proof the vote was stolen ?
Or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Make up your mind .
Will our country ’ s freedom , and the prospect of any future honest elections ever , be choked in the eye of a loophole ?
Far too many Christians today gladly strain at gnats , but choke down camels .
I ’ m glad they showed their true colors .
I know whose phone numbers to lose , and whose books not to buy .
How many of those waving off affidavits , video evidence , and statistical proof that the sudden , late-night Biden vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • The Russia Collusion hoax ?
( No evidence for that was ever presented . )
• The “ racism ” witch-hunt against Nick Sandmann and his fellow pro-life marchers ?
• The impeachment charges against President Trump for making one , on-the-record , phone call to Ukraine ?
( These charges would have vanished if his own FBI had not withheld from him , the defendant , the exculpatory evidence on Hunter Biden ’ s laptop . )
But now the media ’ s finally reporting on the Biden family ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of massive Chinese influence-peddling and spying on our Congress .
Those Russia collusion hawks hide behind legislative deadlines .
Then they accuse us of being deranged conspiracy theorists .
Read This Fraud Report .
Tell Your Representatives to .
For a detailed account of the fraud , see Peter Navarro ’ s comprehensive document “ The Immaculate Deception.
” You can find it in full here .
Read it carefully .
Quote it to friends who have been gas-lit into thinking there ’ s nothing wrong .
Then contact your senator and congressman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and vote to reject electors chosen due to corruption .
Will that work ?
I don ’ t know .
I don ’ t know if God is done with the United States of America , for having so long tolerated an evil like abortion .
In strict justice He should be .
But we can implore His mercy , instead .
Are We Cursed by Ancestral Guilt ?
What haunts me at the moment are the grim historical parallels between how our elites are treating us now , and how American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when our ancestors were conquering North America .
Any American furnished with a conscience finds it painful to read the history of Europeans ’ treatment of the Indians .
Since I ’ m not on the Left , I won ’ t indulge in any of the standard anti-American myths .
Here are a few .
• That the native Americans lived in perfect harmony with nature .
In cold , hard fact they overhunted many species into extinction .
For instance , the horse , which it took Spanish conquistadors to reintroduce @ @ @ @ @ @ @ room for agriculture , a wasteful , destructive practice .
Their damaging use of land is one reason small Indian tribes needed vast territories to support them .
Slash , burn , move on was the standard practice .
• That the Indians were unfallen , peaceful peoples , whom rapacious Europeans wantonly slaughtered .
The brutality and savagery of constant inter-tribal war was no colonial myth .
It was routine for victorious tribes to slaughter women and children .
They ’ d subject beaten men to long hours of gratuitous torture , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ settlement , the natives would have continued to inhabit North America unmolested .
Sooner or later , explorers from the aggressive , crowded Muslim world would have found the vast , lightly populated territories .
Or from teeming China .
They would have settled here .
They ’ d have carried the same Old World diseases that wiped out tens of millions of Indians when our ancestors arrived .
The newcomers would have fought wars against the Indians , as Muslims did in India and Chinese did against all their neighbors , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ historically inevitable that some more advanced people from the Old World where land was scarce would take over North America .
Given fallen human nature , it ’ s highly unlikely that those settlers would have behaved like Quakers , at least for long .
Even the French who settled Canada lightly and tried to baptize and co-exist with the Indians unknowingly carried devastating diseases which slashed their population .
Are Our Chiefs Selling Us Out ?
But from a Christian perspective , none of that absolves how so many European settlers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indians .
And the ways they behaved should resonate with us in a tragic key today .
Because the West ’ s globalist elites , and their partners in Communist China , are treating us today as land-hungry Europeans treated the Indians , over and over again .
That is , get hold of the leaders of the people , and intimidate or bribe them .
Offer them personal gain and promises of power and support .
Then get them to sell out their people ’ s lands and future .
English then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Indian chiefs , which in effect amounted to bribes .
They offered the chiefs themselves tempting alliances , bags of trinkets , boxes of rifles , and casks of rum .
Thus satisfied , the chiefs would sign complicated treaties they barely understood , which gave Europeans pretexts to keep on marching westward .
Did China Buy America for the Price of a Few State Officials ?
And that is exactly what ’ s happening to America right now , from top to bottom .
Big Chief Joe Biden , we know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the massive bribes it paid his son .
He was also subject to blackmail , for the other filth found on Hunter ’ s laptop .
We know that a leading Democrat on the Intelligence Committee , Rep. Eric Swalwell , was compromised by his affair with a Chinese spy .
I wonder what we will find out someday about Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia , whose last chief of staff now works … for Dominion Voting Systems .
What will we learn about secretaries of state from Georgia and other states where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ certified ?
Will a Biden-run FBI even investigate ?
Will we ever find out why leaders of Republican-run state legislators wouldn ’ t take fraud evidence seriously ?
Why they wouldn ’ t fight to send honestly-chosen electors to Washington ?
Was it corruption , Trump Derangement Syndrome , or simple cowardice ?
China Pulls Its Strings , and Our Leaders Dance We know that Chinese Communist leadership is enraged at President Trump ’ s strong pushback against China ’ s aggressions .
For the first time in decades , the U.S. has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the use of slave labor to make export goods , to massive theft of intellectual property and widespread spying and bribery , Trump has sought to hold China accountable .
In past administrations , China could count on its “ friends ” in “ the highest places ” to tamp down American outrage .
Don ’ t believe me , watch this highly placed Chinese Communist brag about it .
China intentionally inflicted the COVID pandemic on the world by letting one million potentially infected Chinese get on international flights .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against travel , and sick people in Wuhan were getting welded into their homes to die .
Democrats led by Biden denounced Trump ’ s travel ban , with fake “ xenophobia ” charges .
Then they pounced on the virus like jackals on a wounded antelope .
They closed our churches , but not their abortion clinics .
They closed our businesses , and made Americans dependent on their government checks .
Worst of all , they claimed that massive riots burning down our cities wouldn ’ t spread the virus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a scam which Republicans idiotically accepted in state after state , finally made the Steal so difficult to fight .
Will we someday learn that our chiefs sold us out to foreign masters and unpatriotic elites for a few casks of rum , deposited in Cayman Islands accounts ?
Will we even be free to mourn it ?
Let ’ s speak up like the Indian chief who wouldn ’ t drink the white man ’ s rum .
Who won ’ t give up his homeland .
If there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is it .
There may be no more hills left after this one .
So as not to spoil all your Christmas spirit , let me end on a lighter note .
Don ’ t miss Eric Metaxas ’ hilarious new Stop The Steal Song , “ Just Rest Ye in the Basement , Friend.
” John Zmirak is a senior editor at The Stream , and author or co-author of ten books , including The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism .
He is co-author @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Guns , & the Government .
”

Will the Steal succeed? One option after another seems to be vanishing. Can we still legally prevent the Democrats from installing a president elected under the shadow of massive vote fraud? Now it seems our last resort is a vote in Congress to reject the tainted Biden electors and accept electors for Trump.
But our own party leaders, such as Mitch McConnell, are wielding all their power to prevent that. Every major medium, including Fox News and National Review, covers its eyes and plugs its ears. They don’t want to know about the mounting evidence of massive, coordinated cheating. To follow the story, we must seek out new venues. I’m grateful that Newsmax, Real America’s Voice, One America News, and The Epoch Times still exist. That Parler’s still free. (Editor’s note: The Stream is now on Gab and MeWe also.)
Silencing and Purges
Those of us who insist on talking about the Steal are being purged, one by one, from social media. Friends report getting banned for sharing President Trump’s own posts. Courageous citizens like Eric Metaxas are getting their reputations dragged through the muck by comfort-loving conservatives, who value their Pharisaical good names above their country.
Will our country’s freedom, and the prospect of any future honest elections ever, be choked in the eye of a loophole? Far too many Christians today gladly strain at gnats, but choke down camels.
There’s no “evidence” these time-servers say. Then they point to court decisions based on purely procedural grounds. Present them with the evidence? Then they’ll shout “La-la-la! Not listening, it’s too late!” Well, which is it, then? Is there no proof the vote was stolen? Or is it too late to challenge it? Make up your mind. Will our country’s freedom, and the prospect of any future honest elections ever, be choked in the eye of a loophole? Far too many Christians today gladly strain at gnats, but choke down camels.
I’m glad they showed their true colors. I know whose phone numbers to lose, and whose books not to buy.
The Gullible Now Wax Skeptical
How many of those waving off affidavits, video evidence, and statistical proof that the sudden, late-night Biden vote surge was corrupt solemnly took seriously:
The Russia Collusion hoax? (No evidence for that was ever presented.)
Jussie Smollet’s fake lynching?
Claims that Brett Kavanaugh led a teenage rape gang?
The “racism” witch-hunt against Nick Sandmann and his fellow pro-life marchers?
The impeachment charges against President Trump for making one, on-the-record, phone call to Ukraine? (These charges would have vanished if his own FBI had not withheld from him, the defendant, the exculpatory evidence on Hunter Biden’s laptop.)
But now the media’s finally reporting on the Biden family’s corruption. We’re seeing proof of massive Chinese influence-peddling and spying on our Congress. Those Russia collusion hawks hide behind legislative deadlines. Then they accuse us of being deranged conspiracy theorists.
Read This Fraud Report. Tell Your Representatives to.
For a detailed account of the fraud, see Peter Navarro’s comprehensive document “The Immaculate Deception.” You can find it in full here. Read it carefully. Quote it to friends who have been gas-lit into thinking there’s nothing wrong. Then contact your senator and congressman. Demand that they read that report, and vote to reject electors chosen due to corruption.
Will that work? I don’t know. I don’t know if God is done with the United States of America, for having so long tolerated an evil like abortion. In strict justice He should be. But we can implore His mercy, instead.
Are We Cursed by Ancestral Guilt?
What haunts me at the moment are the grim historical parallels between how our elites are treating us now, and how American Indian leaders treated their own people, when our ancestors were conquering North America.
Any American furnished with a conscience finds it painful to read the history of Europeans’ treatment of the Indians. Since I’m not on the Left, I won’t indulge in any of the standard anti-American myths. Here are a few.
That the native Americans lived in perfect harmony with nature. In cold, hard fact they overhunted many species into extinction. For instance, the horse, which it took Spanish conquistadors to reintroduce. They also burned forests to make room for agriculture, a wasteful, destructive practice. Their damaging use of land is one reason small Indian tribes needed vast territories to support them. Slash, burn, move on was the standard practice.
That the Indians were unfallen, peaceful peoples, whom rapacious Europeans wantonly slaughtered. The brutality and savagery of constant inter-tribal war was no colonial myth. It was routine for victorious tribes to slaughter women and children. They’d subject beaten men to long hours of gratuitous torture, then death.
That absent European settlement, the natives would have continued to inhabit North America unmolested. Sooner or later, explorers from the aggressive, crowded Muslim world would have found the vast, lightly populated territories. Or from teeming China. They would have settled here. They’d have carried the same Old World diseases that wiped out tens of millions of Indians when our ancestors arrived. The newcomers would have fought wars against the Indians, as Muslims did in India and Chinese did against all their neighbors, and conquered the country themselves.
It was historically inevitable that some more advanced people from the Old World where land was scarce would take over North America. Given fallen human nature, it’s highly unlikely that those settlers would have behaved like Quakers, at least for long. Even the French who settled Canada lightly and tried to baptize and co-exist with the Indians unknowingly carried devastating diseases which slashed their population.
Are Our Chiefs Selling Us Out?
But from a Christian perspective, none of that absolves how so many European settlers, then U.S. officials, behaved toward the Indians. And the ways they behaved should resonate with us in a tragic key today. Because the West’s globalist elites, and their partners in Communist China, are treating us today as land-hungry Europeans treated the Indians, over and over again. That is, get hold of the leaders of the people, and intimidate or bribe them. Offer them personal gain and promises of power and support. Then get them to sell out their people’s lands and future.
English then American settlers again and again made treaties with Indian chiefs, which in effect amounted to bribes. They offered the chiefs themselves tempting alliances, bags of trinkets, boxes of rifles, and casks of rum. Thus satisfied, the chiefs would sign complicated treaties they barely understood, which gave Europeans pretexts to keep on marching westward.
Did China Buy America for the Price of a Few State Officials?
And that is exactly what’s happening to America right now, from top to bottom. Big Chief Joe Biden, we know how, was beholden to China for the massive bribes it paid his son. He was also subject to blackmail, for the other filth found on Hunter’s laptop. We know that a leading Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, Rep. Eric Swalwell, was compromised by his affair with a Chinese spy. I wonder what we will find out someday about Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia, whose last chief of staff now works … for Dominion Voting Systems.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
What will we learn about secretaries of state from Georgia and other states where the vote was stolen, then solemnly certified? Will a Biden-run FBI even investigate? Will we ever find out why leaders of Republican-run state legislators wouldn’t take fraud evidence seriously? Why they wouldn’t fight to send honestly-chosen electors to Washington? Was it corruption, Trump Derangement Syndrome, or simple cowardice?
China Pulls Its Strings, and Our Leaders Dance
We know that Chinese Communist leadership is enraged at President Trump’s strong pushback against China’s aggressions. For the first time in decades, the U.S. has shown some spine. From unfair trade, the use of slave labor to make export goods, to massive theft of intellectual property and widespread spying and bribery, Trump has sought to hold China accountable. In past administrations, China could count on its “friends” in “the highest places” to tamp down American outrage. Don’t believe me, watch this highly placed Chinese Communist brag about it.
China intentionally inflicted the COVID pandemic on the world by letting one million potentially infected Chinese get on international flights. This while all of China was locked down against travel, and sick people in Wuhan were getting welded into their homes to die.
Democrats led by Biden denounced Trump’s travel ban, with fake “xenophobia” charges. Then they pounced on the virus like jackals on a wounded antelope. They closed our churches, but not their abortion clinics. They closed our businesses, and made Americans dependent on their government checks. Worst of all, they claimed that massive riots burning down our cities wouldn’t spread the virus, but in-person voting would.
Mail-in voting, a scam which Republicans idiotically accepted in state after state, finally made the Steal so difficult to fight. Will we someday learn that our chiefs sold us out to foreign masters and unpatriotic elites for a few casks of rum, deposited in Cayman Islands accounts?
Will we even be free to mourn it?
Let’s speak up like the Indian chief who wouldn’t drink the white man’s rum. Who won’t give up his homeland. If there’s ever a hill to die on, this is it. There may be no more hills left after this one.
So as not to spoil all your Christmas spirit, let me end on a lighter note. Don’t miss Eric Metaxas’ hilarious new Stop The Steal Song, “Just Rest Ye in the Basement, Friend.”
John Zmirak is a senior editor at The Stream, and author or co-author of ten books, including The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism. He is co-author with Jason Jones of “God, Guns, & the Government.”


thestream--2020-12-19--The State vs. Christmas

The State vs. Christmas

Around the turn of the first century A.D. , a Judean puppet king called Herod the Great ordered the slaughter of little boys in Bethlehem .
He hoped to kill one in particular — a child that some called the king of the Jews , Jesus .
That was the first time a tyrant tried to cancel Christmas .
The so-called “ war on Christmas ” has been a perennial American controversy .
Some pundits on the right see it as a full blown left wing conspiracy .
Others on the left shrug it off as a right wing conspiracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a war on Christmas have been overcooked ( or even half baked ) .
But authoritarian states ’ tactics and motivations regarding Christmas as recently as the last century are instructive for us today .
Their extreme rhetoric has made their real agendas so much more apparent .
Governments in these nations have often seen the traditional Christmas story and celebration as a threat .
As a result , Soviet leaders and activists parodied Christmas with alternative celebrations .
The 1923 Komsomol Christmas parade featured show trials judging Christianity .
The state ordered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christmas trees .
They Christmas hymns new lyrics praising the communist revolution .
Later , the Party banned using fir trees as decorations , teaching the Soviet youth group The Young Pioneers a song about the importance of planting trees instead of chopping them down .
Over time , the Party shifted the impetus of winter celebration from Christmas to New Year ’ s Day .
They allowed the selling of “ New Year ’ s trees , ” though they sought to stop their sale after January 1st so as to prevent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 7th Eastern Orthodox Christmas celebration .
Not surprisingly , the legendary Russian gift-giver , Grandfather Frost , was associated with the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin .
The Party hoped the people would see him as a kind of Soviet Santa , and love him for what he supposedly gave to them .
As the Soviet empire and influence expanded , Marxist regimes altered Christmas according to how much they believed the people could tolerate .
Poland ’ s strong Catholicism made banning Christmas outright impossible , but Albanian leaders forced both Christians and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their Icons of St. Nicholas behind official portraits of Albania ’ s head of state , Enver Hoxha .
Devotion to the State , Not to Christ The Nazis had a different ideological fixation — on militaristic ethnic nationalism and the old Norse gods .
This created obvious conflicts with the Christmas message about the Jews ’ God becoming a man and giving His life for the sins of humanity .
German publisher Hermann Ullstein wrote in 1943 about shops in Berlin and Munich that displayed posters reading , “ Down with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ !
The German God can not be a suffering God !
He is a God of power and strength !
” A 1937 article in the state policy and propaganda organ Die Neue Gemeinschaft reflected on the inherent contradiction between German values and Christmas .
It highlighted the need to give “ inherited customs a new content consistent with the volksgemeinschaft ( people ’ s community ) .
” The author , Hannes Kremer , went on to write that a holiday or ceremony should : …mobilize the spiritual or emotional strengths of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ example , Christmas is an inherited holiday about a theoretical peace for all of humanity .
There is no national or social necessity to believe in this .
However , we can present it as a holiday of actual domestic national peace… If we make visible the blessings of this actual peace , along with its foundations and requirements , then ‘ Christmas ’ doubtless can be a high point in the course of the political year .
Both according to popular custom and popular view , the Christmas holiday can justifiably be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A Christmas ceremony… [ should arouse ] confidence in our ability to lead the people spiritually .
In other words , the spiritual needs of the people should be met not by devotion to Christ , but to the state .
It should be no surprise then that they taught children to sing a new version of Silent Night : Indeed , the state regularly excised or downplayed the distinctively Christian elements of Christmas .
In 1938 , the state banned carols and nativity plays in German schools .
Advent calendars sent to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ front cover .
For Christmas Eve , the calendar displayed German soldiers surrounding a fallen comrade ’ s grave and a list of countries the Nazis had conquered .
This put the old religion of paganism and the new religion of ethno-nationalist militarism front and center while hiding the real meaning of the Christmas celebration .
Where the Nazis saw strong faith among the people in spite of their propaganda , they tried reshape it by placing their people in positions of authority in the churches .
They sought to craft a new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elements and repainting Jesus as an Aryan hero betrayed by the Jews .
Nearly two thousand years separate Herod from Stalin and Hitler , but they operated by similar rationales — eliminate the competition .
Herod the king wasn ’ t about to have anyone challenge his authority , not even a little baby born in a manger .
Stalin knew that the tyrant ’ s chief weapon , the fear of death , was useless if the people believed in another King who would raise them up and reward them for their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no doubt similar .
The Nazis couldn ’ t dislodge all of Christianity from the German people , but they could place Hitler and his platform at the center of German religion .
It was good enough , they thought .
As historian Gerry Bowler wrote in his book Christmas in the Crosshairs , “ a totalitarian government can allow no spiritual rivals , no organizations or systems of thought that have a higher allegiance than the state.
” ( This book was my source for many of the stories in this article @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today ’ s “ war on Christmas ” ?
It ’ s obviously far more benign than the wars Hitler and Stalin waged on the holiday .
It has this in common with them , though : all of them have been spurred on by a desire to create a more unified nation with shared values and customs to serve a political end .
The same desire shows in President Dwight Eisenhower ’ s call for a generic civil religion : “ Our government makes no sense unless it is founded on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t care what it is.
” There ’ s a lesson for us here , then , or at least a question .
Is it more dangerous to take the Christ out of Christmas , or to insert the state into it ?
Whichever your answer , the faithful Christian should want no part of either .
Cody Cook is a theology graduate student and the author of several books , including Fight the Powers : What the Bible Says About the Relationship Between Spiritual Forces and Human Governments and Unhitched @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Divorced from the Old Testament .
He is also the host of the podcast Cantus Firmus .

Around the turn of the first century A.D., a Judean puppet king called Herod the Great ordered the slaughter of little boys in Bethlehem. He hoped to kill one in particular — a child that some called the king of the Jews, Jesus.
That was the first time a tyrant tried to cancel Christmas.
“War on Christmas” — The Real Agendas
The so-called “war on Christmas” has been a perennial American controversy. Some pundits on the right see it as a full blown left wing conspiracy. Others on the left shrug it off as a right wing conspiracy theory. Many of the arguments claiming a war on Christmas have been overcooked (or even half baked). But authoritarian states’ tactics and motivations regarding Christmas as recently as the last century are instructive for us today. Their extreme rhetoric has made their real agendas so much more apparent.
Is it more dangerous to take the Christ out of Christmas,
or to insert the state into it?
Governments in these nations have often seen the traditional Christmas story and celebration as a threat. As a result, Soviet leaders and activists parodied Christmas with alternative celebrations. The 1923 Komsomol Christmas parade featured show trials judging Christianity. The state ordered red stars put at the top of Christmas trees. Then new lyrics for Christmas hymns praising the communist revolution. Later, the Party banned using fir trees as decorations, teaching the Soviet youth group The Young Pioneers a song about the importance of planting trees instead of chopping them down.
“New Year’s Trees”
Over time, the Party shifted the impetus of winter celebration from Christmas to New Year’s Day. They allowed the selling of “New Year’s trees,” though they sought to stop their sale after January 1st so as to prevent people from buying them for the January 7th Eastern Orthodox Christmas celebration. Not surprisingly, the legendary Russian gift-giver, Grandfather Frost, was associated with the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. The Party hoped the people would see him as a kind of Soviet Santa, and love him for what he supposedly gave to them.
As the Soviet empire and influence expanded, Marxist regimes altered Christmas according to how much they believed the people could tolerate. Poland’s strong Catholicism made banning Christmas outright impossible, but Albanian leaders forced both Christians and Muslims underground. The faithful often hid their Icons of St. Nicholas behind official portraits of Albania’s head of state, Enver Hoxha.
Devotion to the State, Not to Christ
The Nazis had a different ideological fixation — on militaristic ethnic nationalism and the old Norse gods. This created obvious conflicts with the Christmas message about the Jews’ God becoming a man and giving His life for the sins of humanity. German publisher Hermann Ullstein wrote in 1943 about shops in Berlin and Munich that displayed posters reading, “Down with a Christ who allows himself to be crucified! The German God cannot be a suffering God! He is a God of power and strength!”
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
A 1937 article in the state policy and propaganda organ Die Neue Gemeinschaft reflected on the inherent contradiction between German values and Christmas. It highlighted the need to give “inherited customs a new content consistent with the volksgemeinschaft (people’s community).” The author, Hannes Kremer, went on to write that a holiday or ceremony should:
…mobilize the spiritual or emotional strengths of the community for National Socialism. For example, Christmas is an inherited holiday about a theoretical peace for all of humanity. There is no national or social necessity to believe in this. However, we can present it as a holiday of actual domestic national peace… If we make visible the blessings of this actual peace, along with its foundations and requirements, then ‘Christmas’ doubtless can be a high point in the course of the political year. Both according to popular custom and popular view, the Christmas holiday can justifiably be seen as a festival of the nation… A Christmas ceremony… [should arouse] confidence in our ability to lead the people spiritually.
Twisted Carols
In other words, the spiritual needs of the people should be met not by devotion to Christ, but to the state. It should be no surprise then that they taught children to sing a new version of Silent Night:
Silent Night, Holy Night
All is calm, all is bright
Only the Chancellor stays on guard
Germany’s future to watch and to ward
Guiding our nation aright…
Adolf Hitler is Germany’s star
Showing us greatness and glory afar
Bringing us Germans the might.
“German Christianity”
Indeed, the state regularly excised or downplayed the distinctively Christian elements of Christmas. In 1938, the state banned carols and nativity plays in German schools. Advent calendars sent to families had a solstice symbol on the front cover. For Christmas Eve, the calendar displayed German soldiers surrounding a fallen comrade’s grave and a list of countries the Nazis had conquered. This put the old religion of paganism and the new religion of ethno-nationalist militarism front and center while hiding the real meaning of the Christmas celebration.
Where the Nazis saw strong faith among the people in spite of their propaganda, they tried to reshape it by placing their people in positions of authority in the churches. They sought to craft a new “German Christianity” by removing Jewish elements and repainting Jesus as an Aryan hero betrayed by the Jews.
Eliminating Religious Competition
Nearly two thousand years separate Herod from Stalin and Hitler, but they operated by similar rationales — eliminate the competition. Herod the king wasn’t about to have anyone challenge his authority, not even a little baby born in a manger. Stalin knew that the tyrant’s chief weapon, the fear of death, was useless if the people believed in another King who would raise them up and reward them for their faithfulness. Hitler’s motivations were no doubt similar. The Nazis couldn’t dislodge all of Christianity from the German people, but they could place Hitler and his platform at the center of German religion. It was good enough, they thought.
As historian Gerry Bowler wrote in his book Christmas in the Crosshairs, “a totalitarian government can allow no spiritual rivals, no organizations or systems of thought that have a higher allegiance than the state.” (This book was my source for many of the stories in this article.)
A Lesson for Today
So then, what about today’s “war on Christmas”? It’s obviously far more benign than the wars Hitler and Stalin waged on the holiday. It has this in common with them, though: all of them have been spurred on by a desire to create a more unified nation with shared values and customs to serve a political end. The same desire shows in President Dwight Eisenhower’s call for a generic civil religion: “Our government makes no sense unless it is founded on a deeply felt religious faith, and I don’t care what it is.”
There’s a lesson for us here, then, or at least a question. Is it more dangerous to take the Christ out of Christmas, or to insert the state into it? Whichever your answer, the faithful Christian should want no part of either.
Cody Cook is a theology graduate student and the author of several books, including Fight the Powers: What the Bible Says About the Relationship Between Spiritual Forces and Human Governments and Unhitched: Why Jesus Can’t Be Divorced from the Old Testament. He is also the host of the podcast Cantus Firmus.


thestream--2020-12-19--Video: There’s No Excuse for Abortion Unless You’re Certain the Unborn Isn’t a Person

In Roe v. Wade , Associate Justice Harry Blackmun , speaking for the majority , said the Court was unable to determine when life begins .
He wrote : ‘ ‘ When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine , philosophy , and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus … the judiciary , at this point in the development of man ’ s knowledge , is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.
” So since we ’ re skeptical about when life begins , it should be the mother ’ s decision right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kreeft argues that “ abortion agnosticism ” is actually a reason why we should be pro-life , not the other way around .
In this video , I take a ten-minute snippet of Kreeft ’ s quadrilemma and set it to an animated whiteboard video to help drive Kreeft ’ s points home .
Erik is a Reasonable Faith Chapter Director located in Cedar Rapids , Iowa .
He ’ s a former freelance baseball writer and the co-owner of a vintage and handmade decor business with his wife , Dawn .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and evangelism .
Peter Kreeft , Ph.D. , is a professor of philosophy at Boston College .
He loves his five grandchildren , four children , one wife , one cat , and one God .
His 95 books include : Handbook of Christian Apologetics , Christianity for Modern Pagans and Fundamentals of the Faith .

In Roe v. Wade, Associate Justice Harry Blackmun, speaking for the majority, said the Court was unable to determine when life begins. He wrote: ‘‘When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus … the judiciary, at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.”
So since we’re skeptical about when life begins, it should be the mother’s decision right? Well, no. Philosopher Peter Kreeft argues that “abortion agnosticism” is actually a reason why we should be pro-life, not the other way around.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
In this video, I take a ten-minute snippet of Kreeft’s quadrilemma and set it to an animated whiteboard video to help drive Kreeft’s points home.
Erik is a Reasonable Faith Chapter Director located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He’s a former freelance baseball writer and the co-owner of a vintage and handmade decor business with his wife, Dawn. He is passionate about the intersection of apologetics and evangelism.
Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College. He loves his five grandchildren, four children, one wife, one cat, and one God. His 95 books include: Handbook of Christian Apologetics, Christianity for Modern Pagans and Fundamentals of the Faith.


thestream--2020-12-19--5 Ways to Keep Your Home a Sanctuary in the Digital Age

Two words we love to say and hear after a busy day out of the house are “ welcome home ” !
Home is where we return to relax , refresh and rest .
It ’ s the headquarters of our private sphere , a sanctuary made sacred by our most intimate relationships .
It ’ s a safe place that shields us from the outside world , where we can let our guard down and practice being ourselves .
And it ’ s where we can take time to reflect on the influx of information we experience every day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the public square .
Up until the early decades of the 20th century , most companies and institutions abided by the unwritten rule that the family home was a private domain that should not be intruded upon by the marketplace .
But with the advent of new technologies like the telephone , radio and television , that began to change .
Fast forward to 2020 .
Not only have we let endless entertainment and advertising in through our TVs .
We ’ re also giving technology companies intimate access to our home and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , digital assistants , and screens .
This infringement on our attention and refuge is affecting our relationships and our wellbeing .
It ’ s one reason loneliness has reached epidemic levels recently and why suicide rates have risen by 30 % over the last two decades .
It ’ s time to reclaim our homes .
Here are five ways to keep your tech in check through the holidays and beyond and maximize your home ’ s potential to safeguard and nurture the life of your family .
A few years ago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wooden box and etched the word Unplug on it .
It ’ s large enough to house two or three smartphones and a tablet .
Make your own Unplug box or buy one that complements your décor .
Once you have it , decide when to use it .
We box our phones the first hour of each morning and the last few hours before bedtime .
We also try to go a whole day each week , usually Sunday , without messing with phones or screens .
We ’ ve found that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more clarity and commitment to our family time .
It also frees up mental space to think of others around us , like starting a conversation with a neighbor .
Use your box to enjoy more unplugged moments at home .
Embrace the feeling of separation between you and your phone or tablet .
It ’ s easy to succumb to the lure of a digital assistant .
Instant access to information , music , and other smart systems sounds pretty handy .
But the long-term disadvantages of gadgets like the Amazon Echo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ short-term benefits .
Take your family ’ s privacy .
Digital assistants can collect a range of data from your home , including voice recordings of questions , time spent on devices , floorplans , user info and more .
Companies use this daily data to compile a record of your behavior at home so they can sell you more stuff directly or indirectly .
No corporate entity deserves such a comprehensive window into your family ’ s personal life .
And anything that connects to a network can also be hacked , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ havoc .
Second , your family ’ s ability to learn is at stake .
Robert A. Bjork , the director of the Learning and Forgetting Lab at UCLA , says learning needs to have difficulty to be effective .
“ The more students have to exert their mental muscles to learn a concept or recall an idea , the stronger their memory and learning will become.
” Learning should be a journey that takes time and effort , not an instant information download .
And what about motivation ?
The more a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reliant on quick information access we become .
Over time , this can lead to entitlement and intellectual laziness .
Most of us want our kids to be lifelong learners .
We can model that in the ways we choose to learn .
Defend the privacy and wellbeing of your family by just saying no to digital assistants .
3 .
Dust Off the Old Games ( And Buy a Few New Ones ! )
As busy families , we can get into a routine that is hard to break out of sometimes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home for happy family moments is crucial .
So turn the screens off and gather in the living room or at the family dining table and play a game together .
It doesn ’ t really matter what game it is — it ’ s the coming together and the letting loose that counts .
Little ones enjoy the thrills of games like Hi Ho !
Cherry-o , Hungry Hippos or Sorry !
As they get older , they can roll with games like Scattergories , Chutes & Ladders , Yahtzee and Charades @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like Risk , Monopoly , Life , Battleship , Scrabble , Guess Who ?
and more , to say nothing of domino and card games .
Our family enjoys the Ticket to Ride series , the chaotic fun of Bounce-Off , and search-and-find games like Eye Found It .
Game nights will strengthen your family ’ s bond and give ample opportunity for lasting memories to be made .
And while everyone is having fun , important social skills are being practiced — like communication , teamwork and good sportsmanship .
Let ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ times we are moving through .
Family games give us a few moments to suspend reality and do something fun , just for fun .
Like flossing your teeth , reading aloud as a family is a pretty simple activity , which comes with a lot of benefit , too .
A school-time reader , says Jim Trelease , author of the bestselling guide The Read-Aloud Handbook , is one who reads well enough to graduate but stops reading once they leave school .
A life-long reader , on the other hand , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life long after graduating .
The difference is exposure .
The more we read aloud to our kids , the more likely they will do it themselves when they grow up .
They ’ ll also have a larger vocabulary , be more perceptive , and be more motivated to succeed in school .
Read to your children before they ’ re even born and continue long after they can read for themselves .
Read them stories written hundreds of years ago as well as newer offerings .
And do read them books @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notable people to the amazing world of sharks , and everything in between .
Vary up your family reading time by giving the kids a chance to read to you , reading silently with time afterward to share , or by assigning characters and following along together .
Enjoy the delightfully analog experience of reading aloud as a family and watch your kids develop skills that will serve them well as adults .
One of the items visitors to our home tend to notice and comment about is the mustard-yellow touchtone telephone in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a 1960s communication icon .
They may also notice the old View-Master on the mantle containing a gallery of images from outer space , the Bluetooth-enabled turntable with old and new vinyl underneath it , or our facsimile copy of Webster ’ s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language on the shelf .
Objects like these are a good way to kindle curiosity and serve as a healthy reminder that the latest isn ’ t always the greatest .
While innovation certainly has its place , sometimes we just need to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and what better place to do that than in our home ?
Gather together your own selection of retro and antique tech and give your family the chance to appreciate the marvels of yesteryear .
More possibilities include an apple press , an antique radio , a set of encyclopedias from the 1940s , a typewriter , an antique school desk , a pair of World War II binoculars , or perhaps a family heirloom that has been gathering dust in the attic .
If the item can still be used , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of old and new reflects not only the generations in your own family but also the history and culture of the nation at large .
It can inspire your family toward an exciting future while staying grounded by the lessons and gifts of the past .
Take charge of the tech you allow into your home .
Implementing these five ideas will ensure that your living space remains a much-needed sanctuary for your loved ones .
Andrew McDiarmid is a media specialist at the Discovery Institute .
He is author of the blog @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Smartphone .
His writing has appeared in The Christian Post , Yahoo Voices , The Washington Times , Evolution News & Science Today , Relevant Magazine and elsewhere .
Follow Andrew on Twitter @ AMcDiarmid .

Two words we love to say and hear after a busy day out of the house are “welcome home”! Home is where we return to relax, refresh and rest. It’s the headquarters of our private sphere, a sanctuary made sacred by our most intimate relationships. It’s a safe place that shields us from the outside world, where we can let our guard down and practice being ourselves. And it’s where we can take time to reflect on the influx of information we experience every day at work, school, and in the public square.
Up until the early decades of the 20th century, most companies and institutions abided by the unwritten rule that the family home was a private domain that should not be intruded upon by the marketplace. But with the advent of new technologies like the telephone, radio and television, that began to change.
Fast forward to 2020. Not only have we let endless entertainment and advertising in through our TVs. We’re also giving technology companies intimate access to our home and family through a host of smart appliances, digital assistants, and screens. This infringement on our attention and refuge is affecting our relationships and our wellbeing. It’s one reason loneliness has reached epidemic levels recently and why suicide rates have risen by 30% over the last two decades. It’s time to reclaim our homes.
Here are five ways to keep your tech in check through the holidays and beyond and maximize your home’s potential to safeguard and nurture the life of your family.
1. Create an Unplug Box
A few years ago, my wife made a small rectangular wooden box and etched the word Unplug on it. It’s large enough to house two or three smartphones and a tablet. Make your own Unplug box or buy one that complements your décor. Once you have it, decide when to use it.
We’ve found that physically distancing ourselves from our phones brings more clarity and commitment to our family time.
We box our phones the first hour of each morning and the last few hours before bedtime. We also try to go a whole day each week, usually Sunday, without messing with phones or screens.
We’ve found that physically distancing ourselves from our phones brings more clarity and commitment to our family time. It also frees up mental space to think of others around us, like starting a conversation with a neighbor. Use your box to enjoy more unplugged moments at home. Embrace the feeling of separation between you and your phone or tablet.
2. Ditch the Digital Assistants
It’s easy to succumb to the lure of a digital assistant. Instant access to information, music, and other smart systems sounds pretty handy. But the long-term disadvantages of gadgets like the Amazon Echo or the Google Home far outweigh the short-term benefits.
Take your family’s privacy. Digital assistants can collect a range of data from your home, including voice recordings of questions, time spent on devices, floorplans, user info and more. Companies use this daily data to compile a record of your behavior at home so they can sell you more stuff directly or indirectly. No corporate entity deserves such a comprehensive window into your family’s personal life. And anything that connects to a network can also be hacked, which leads to its own kinds of havoc.
Second, your family’s ability to learn is at stake. Robert A. Bjork, the director of the Learning and Forgetting Lab at UCLA, says learning needs to have difficulty to be effective. “The more students have to exert their mental muscles to learn a concept or recall an idea, the stronger their memory and learning will become.” Learning should be a journey that takes time and effort, not an instant information download.
And what about motivation? The more a digital assistant is used, the more reliant on quick information access we become. Over time, this can lead to entitlement and intellectual laziness. Most of us want our kids to be lifelong learners. We can model that in the ways we choose to learn. Defend the privacy and wellbeing of your family by just saying no to digital assistants.
3. Dust Off the Old Games (And Buy a Few New Ones!)
As busy families, we can get into a routine that is hard to break out of sometimes. But making time and room at home for happy family moments is crucial. So turn the screens off and gather in the living room or at the family dining table and play a game together. It doesn’t really matter what game it is — it’s the coming together and the letting loose that counts.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Little ones enjoy the thrills of games like Hi Ho! Cherry-o, Hungry Hippos or Sorry! As they get older, they can roll with games like Scattergories, Chutes & Ladders, Yahtzee and Charades. Then there are the classics, like Risk, Monopoly, Life, Battleship, Scrabble, Guess Who? and more, to say nothing of domino and card games.
Our family enjoys the Ticket to Ride series, the chaotic fun of Bounce-Off, and search-and-find games like Eye Found It. Game nights will strengthen your family’s bond and give ample opportunity for lasting memories to be made. And while everyone is having fun, important social skills are being practiced — like communication, teamwork and good sportsmanship.
Let’s face it. These are challenging times we are moving through. Family games give us a few moments to suspend reality and do something fun, just for fun.
4. Read Together as a Family
Like flossing your teeth, reading aloud as a family is a pretty simple activity, which comes with a lot of benefit, too.
A school-time reader, says Jim Trelease, author of the bestselling guide The Read-Aloud Handbook, is one who reads well enough to graduate but stops reading once they leave school. A life-long reader, on the other hand, continues to read and educate themselves throughout life long after graduating. The difference is exposure.
The more we read aloud to our kids, the more likely they will do it themselves when they grow up. They’ll also have a larger vocabulary, be more perceptive, and be more motivated to succeed in school. Read to your children before they’re even born and continue long after they can read for themselves. Read them stories written hundreds of years ago as well as newer offerings. And do read them books of all kinds, from biographies of notable people to the amazing world of sharks, and everything in between. Vary up your family reading time by giving the kids a chance to read to you, reading silently with time afterward to share, or by assigning characters and following along together. Enjoy the delightfully analog experience of reading aloud as a family and watch your kids develop skills that will serve them well as adults.
5. Go Retro to Stay Rooted
One of the items visitors to our home tend to notice and comment about is the mustard-yellow touchtone telephone in our living room, a modern throwback to a 1960s communication icon. They may also notice the old View-Master on the mantle containing a gallery of images from outer space, the Bluetooth-enabled turntable with old and new vinyl underneath it, or our facsimile copy of Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language on the shelf.
While innovation certainly has its place, sometimes we just need to get back to the basics in life, and what better place to do that than in our home
Objects like these are a good way to kindle curiosity and serve as a healthy reminder that the latest isn’t always the greatest. While innovation certainly has its place, sometimes we just need to get back to the basics in life, and what better place to do that than in our home? Gather together your own selection of retro and antique tech and give your family the chance to appreciate the marvels of yesteryear. More possibilities include an apple press, an antique radio, a set of encyclopedias from the 1940s, a typewriter, an antique school desk, a pair of World War II binoculars, or perhaps a family heirloom that has been gathering dust in the attic. If the item can still be used, all the better!
A thoughtful mix of old and new reflects not only the generations in your own family but also the history and culture of the nation at large. It can inspire your family toward an exciting future while staying grounded by the lessons and gifts of the past.
Take charge of the tech you allow into your home. Implementing these five ideas will ensure that your living space remains a much-needed sanctuary for your loved ones.
Andrew McDiarmid is a media specialist at the Discovery Institute. He is author of the blog Authentic: Living Well in the Age of the Smartphone. His writing has appeared in The Christian Post, Yahoo Voices, The Washington Times, Evolution News & Science Today, Relevant Magazine and elsewhere. Follow Andrew on Twitter @AMcDiarmid.


thestream--2020-12-20--The Very Real Harm COVID-19 Policies are Doing to Our Kids

• Restrictions enacted throughout the coronavirus pandemic have had a devastating effect on children that will continue to have repercussions , experts warn .
• “ We ’ re going to almost need a New Deal for an entire generation of kids to give them the opportunity to catch up , ” Executive Director of Share Our Strength Billy Shore said , adding , “ we don ’ t even know what we ’ re going to be dealing with.
” • Students ’ grades are failing , class participation is down , students face the danger of not having @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vulnerable students do not appear to be in school at all .
Restrictions enacted throughout the coronavirus pandemic have had a devastating effect on children that will continue to have repercussions , experts warn .
“ We ’ re going to almost need a New Deal for an entire generation of kids to give them the opportunity to catch up , ” Executive Director of Share Our Strength Billy Shore told NBC News , saying that right now , “ we don ’ t even know what we ’ re going to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ orders in the spring requiring Americans to lockdown and stay-at-home , resulting in school closures and remote learning as early as March .
Officials have quarreled over whether schools should reopen this fall , and many teachers ’ unions have taken strong stances against reopening , arguing that it puts teachers at risk .
Data collected globally indicates that school openings did not cause a surge in coronavirus cases , yet schools in major cities such as Chicago , Philadelphia , Boston and San Diego have not reopened — despite Dr. Anthony Fauci @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found that the rates of drug and alcohol use among youth , as well as arrest and incarceration rates among youth , have fallen .
But the publication found many negative effects on children compared to years past .
Compared to last year , there has been a 24 % increase in mental health-related emergency room visits for children aged 5 to 11 .
The number of children who do not have enough food increased by more than 6 million : 17 million children now face the danger of not having enough to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that many of these children formerly relied on free school lunches .
Many students are disproportionately struggling in virtual learning classes compared to last year , NBC found , and the number of students who have missed at least 10 % of classes has more than doubled in some school districts .
Three million vulnerable students do not appear to be in school at all , the publication reported — students who are learning English , have disabilities , are in foster care , or who are homeless .
“ Recovery from Katrina @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We didn ’ t just bring the kids back and everything fell into place .
And this will be the same , ” Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington Associate Director Betheny Gross told NBC .
Gross said that the United States may need more than a vaccine to help children return to normal , adding , “ I don ’ t think we can just start school next fall and say , ‘ Everything ’ s going to be OK. ’ ” “ If we fail to address @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trauma .
We ’ re compounding loss , ” Barbara Duffield , who advocates for homeless children through SchoolHouse Connection , told NBC .
“ A student who is homeless , who has a disability , who has been traumatized by the racial violence we ’ ve seen this year , and then to be disconnected from arguably the only universal support system is disastrous.
” “ It means higher rates of suicide , ” she continued .
“ Higher rates of depression , addiction , mental illness and physical disability , particularly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ developing right now .
They ’ ll face more developmental delays leading to deficits in their education as they grow.
” And it will be the most vulnerable children who will be most strongly affected , director of Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law , David Hinojosa , told the publication .
“ I can tell you , ” he told NBC , citing studies he has reviewed , “ that learning time has plummeted , that English learners are being shortchanged of the language acquisition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s basically a one-size-fits-all approach , and that students with disabilities have been grossly neglected across the country.
” “ Children are frustrated , ” he added .
“ Teachers are frustrated .
Civil rights advocates are frustrated and I think it ’ s reaching a boiling point .
”

Restrictions enacted throughout the coronavirus pandemic have had a devastating effect on children that will continue to have repercussions, experts warn.
“We’re going to almost need a New Deal for an entire generation of kids to give them the opportunity to catch up,” Executive Director of Share Our Strength Billy Shore said, adding, “we don’t even know what we’re going to be dealing with.”
Students’ grades are failing, class participation is down, students face the danger of not having enough to eat, and three million vulnerable students do not appear to be in school at all.
Restrictions enacted throughout the coronavirus pandemic have had a devastating effect on children that will continue to have repercussions, experts warn.
“We’re going to almost need a New Deal for an entire generation of kids to give them the opportunity to catch up,” Executive Director of Share Our Strength Billy Shore told NBC News, saying that right now, “we don’t even know what we’re going to be dealing with.”
Elected officials enacted executive orders in the spring requiring Americans to lockdown and stay-at-home, resulting in school closures and remote learning as early as March. Officials have quarreled over whether schools should reopen this fall, and many teachers’ unions have taken strong stances against reopening, arguing that it puts teachers at risk.
Data collected globally indicates that school openings did not cause a surge in coronavirus cases, yet schools in major cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and San Diego have not reopened — despite Dr. Anthony Fauci’s late-November recommendation.
NBC News found that the rates of drug and alcohol use among youth, as well as arrest and incarceration rates among youth, have fallen.
But the publication found many negative effects on children compared to years past. Compared to last year, there has been a 24% increase in mental health-related emergency room visits for children aged 5 to 11.
The number of children who do not have enough food increased by more than 6 million: 17 million children now face the danger of not having enough to eat, the publication reported, noting that many of these children formerly relied on free school lunches.
Many students are disproportionately struggling in virtual learning classes compared to last year, NBC found, and the number of students who have missed at least 10% of classes has more than doubled in some school districts.
Three million vulnerable students do not appear to be in school at all, the publication reported — students who are learning English, have disabilities, are in foster care, or who are homeless.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
“Recovery from Katrina wasn’t a one-year recovery. We didn’t just bring the kids back and everything fell into place. And this will be the same,” Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington Associate Director Betheny Gross told NBC.
Gross said that the United States may need more than a vaccine to help children return to normal, adding, “I don’t think we can just start school next fall and say, ‘Everything’s going to be OK.’”
“If we fail to address this, we’re just compounding trauma. We’re compounding loss,” Barbara Duffield, who advocates for homeless children through SchoolHouse Connection, told NBC. “A student who is homeless, who has a disability, who has been traumatized by the racial violence we’ve seen this year, and then to be disconnected from arguably the only universal support system is disastrous.”
“It means higher rates of suicide,” she continued. “Higher rates of depression, addiction, mental illness and physical disability, particularly for young children who are growing and developing right now. They’ll face more developmental delays leading to deficits in their education as they grow.”
And it will be the most vulnerable children who will be most strongly affected, director of Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, David Hinojosa, told the publication.
“I can tell you,” he told NBC, citing studies he has reviewed, “that learning time has plummeted, that English learners are being shortchanged of the language acquisition materials and teaching that they need because it’s basically a one-size-fits-all approach, and that students with disabilities have been grossly neglected across the country.”
“Children are frustrated,” he added. “Teachers are frustrated. Civil rights advocates are frustrated and I think it’s reaching a boiling point.”
Copyright 2020 The Daily Caller News Foundation
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thestream--2020-12-20--The Year of St. Joe

The Year of St. Joe

This is the year of Joe .
Not Biden .
But the main man in the Nativity scene nearest you ( since Jesus is but a baby , albeit divine ) .
Pope Francis delivered the news of a year dedicated to St. Joseph earlier this month on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8 .
So , we are already a few weeks in .
Since the pandemic hit , the little things have taken on a new importance .
A year ago , going to the grocery store didn ’ t seem like an act of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seat , and so has fear .
St. Joseph could have been consumed by fear when he heard that his wife was pregnant with the son of God .
Could our cynical times receive such news ?
And yet , here we are at Christmas , which invites us to a renewed humility , to an understanding that our greatest weaknesses can become our greatest strengths .
“ [ W ] e must learn to look upon our weaknesses with tender mercy , ” is how Pope Francis puts it in his proclamation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He says : “ Even through Joseph ’ s fears , God ’ s will , his history and his plan , were at work .
Joseph , then , teaches us that faith in God includes believing that he can work even through our fears , our frailties and our weaknesses .
He also teaches us that amid the tempests of life , we must never be afraid to let the Lord steer our course .
At times , we want to be in complete control , yet God always sees the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pope says is relevant to what we are currently living through .
Consider these words : “ Tenderness is the best way to touch the frailty within us .
Pointing fingers and judging others are frequently signs of an inability to accept our own weaknesses , our own frailty .
Only tender love will save us.
” Tender love has myriad practical implications .
The fact that Joseph is the foster father of Jesus is incredibly relevant .
With over 400,000 children in the foster-care system in the United States today , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ creche scene reminds us of those children who do not have stable , permanent , loving homes — a forever family , as it is often put .
If you have a moment to give thanks this Christmas , to see children smile — or scream — under the lights of a tree , remember there are children who have been scarred by trauma and maltreatment .
The miracle of a tender heart in their lives could be a way out of the darkness .
It ’ s something to consider .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — it can be music to my ears to hear St. Francis of Assisi cited , as the president-elect did after the Electoral College made his win official .
“ [ F ] or where there is discord , union ; where there is doubt , faith , where there is darkness , light , ” Biden quoted .
The pray is a plea to God for the grace to be a vessel of tenderness — the kind of merciful love that is the reason we celebrate Christmas .
“ For God so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only Son , so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life , ” as John 1:16 famously puts it .
I ’ m hoping against hope that Biden might pay more attention to what the Catholic Church has to say about abortion during his administration .
The day after a big snowstorm in New York , I happened upon some graffiti : “ Laugh , cry and honk your [ heart ] out .
Our country is saved .
Thank you , Joe and Kamala.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t really believe that the country is saved , I ’ m sure .
But exuberance is a reflection on how over this year people are .
In his words on St. Joseph , Pope Francis repeated what Jesus said to St. Paul : “ My grace is sufficient for you , for power is made perfect in weakness.
” That ’ s the kind of humble approach we need for a revolution of tenderness that will save us — it ’ s not up to us , but to God , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is senior fellow at the National Review Institute , editor-at-large of National Review magazine and author of the new book A Year With the Mystics : Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living .
She is also chair of Cardinal Dolan ’ s pro-life commission in New York .
She can be contacted at klopez @ nationalreview.com .

This is the year of Joe. Not Biden. But the main man in the Nativity scene nearest you (since Jesus is but a baby, albeit divine). Pope Francis delivered the news of a year dedicated to St. Joseph earlier this month on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8. So, we are already a few weeks in.
Since the pandemic hit, the little things have taken on a new importance. A year ago, going to the grocery store didn’t seem like an act of courage. Charity has taken a front seat, and so has fear. St. Joseph could have been consumed by fear when he heard that his wife was pregnant with the son of God. Could our cynical times receive such news? And yet, here we are at Christmas, which invites us to a renewed humility, to an understanding that our greatest weaknesses can become our greatest strengths.
God Sees the Bigger Picture
“[W]e must learn to look upon our weaknesses with tender mercy,” is how Pope Francis puts it in his proclamation of the Year of St. Joseph. He says: “Even through Joseph’s fears, God’s will, his history and his plan, were at work. Joseph, then, teaches us that faith in God includes believing that he can work even through our fears, our frailties and our weaknesses. He also teaches us that amid the tempests of life, we must never be afraid to let the Lord steer our course. At times, we want to be in complete control, yet God always sees the bigger picture.”
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
So much of what the pope says is relevant to what we are currently living through. Consider these words: “Tenderness is the best way to touch the frailty within us. Pointing fingers and judging others are frequently signs of an inability to accept our own weaknesses, our own frailty. Only tender love will save us.”
Tender love has myriad practical implications. The fact that Joseph is the foster father of Jesus is incredibly relevant. With over 400,000 children in the foster-care system in the United States today, St. Joseph’s presence in a creche scene reminds us of those children who do not have stable, permanent, loving homes — a forever family, as it is often put. If you have a moment to give thanks this Christmas, to see children smile — or scream — under the lights of a tree, remember there are children who have been scarred by trauma and maltreatment. The miracle of a tender heart in their lives could be a way out of the darkness. It’s something to consider.
A Plea to God
And about the other Joe in the news — it can be music to my ears to hear St. Francis of Assisi cited, as the president-elect did after the Electoral College made his win official. “[F]or where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith, where there is darkness, light,” Biden quoted. The pray is a plea to God for the grace to be a vessel of tenderness — the kind of merciful love that is the reason we celebrate Christmas. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life,” as John 1:16 famously puts it. I’m hoping against hope that Biden might pay more attention to what the Catholic Church has to say about abortion during his administration.
The day after a big snowstorm in New York, I happened upon some graffiti: “Laugh, cry and honk your [heart] out. Our country is saved. Thank you, Joe and Kamala.” Even the person who wrote that doesn’t really believe that the country is saved, I’m sure. But exuberance is a reflection on how over this year people are. In his words on St. Joseph, Pope Francis repeated what Jesus said to St. Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” That’s the kind of humble approach we need for a revolution of tenderness that will save us — it’s not up to us, but to God, with our cooperation.
Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review magazine and author of the new book A Year With the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living. She is also chair of Cardinal Dolan’s pro-life commission in New York. She can be contacted at [email protected].


Every Good Gift

Every good and every perfect gift is from above , coming down from the Father of lights… ( James 1:17a ) Jesus is the most perfect gift — the greatest gift — we celebrate during the Christmas season and Christmas Day .
A child was born , wrapped in swaddling clothes , and laid in a manger .
This precious gift from the Father of all light , love , and life , gave us the greatest gift the world has ever received .
And think about it , we can personally know this person who not only was born @ @ @ @ @ @ @ His life on the cross , raised by the power of God on the third day , ascended to Heaven , but also sent another of the same kind ( the Holy Spirit ) to live in us .
Wow !
What a day !
What a reality !
What a gift we joyfully celebrate !
Jesus Came for These Challenging Times We are living in very challenging days .
We have been impacted by the father of lies , the deceiver , death , disease , and destruction in a horrific fashion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : not only was a child born , but the King of Kings and Lord of Lords came to earth and He came to give us meaningful life filled with love , joy , and peace — even in the most challenging times .
My own birth was the result of a forced sexual relationship on a home health nurse who was 40 years old .
When a doctor refused to abort me , I was allowed to live and because of my birth mother ’ s difficult circumstances , she placed an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me to a loving Christian home .
Yet she took me from that home when I was five years old .
I was taken away from “ Mommy and Daddy ” to be with my mother .
There is no way to describe the pain and confusion I felt .
Two years after being with her , I remember a Christmas when I was seven years old and we barely had enough income to eat .
We lived in a one-room house behind the homes on a small , narrow street and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which in some ways became my playground .
But what I really remember as a seven-year-old is that we couldn ’ t afford a Christmas tree or any decorations to put on it , so our tree was a watercolor painting that I had done in my second grade class .
I remember us sitting by that picture of a tree with some tiny gifts my mother had purchased .
She had cut me off from my foster parents and from an aunt who loved me because she so longed for love that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ died when she was a young girl and she had a very unhappy marriage starting when she was 15 .
Yet , even then , I know the Father above looked at a little boy He really wanted to bless and bless others through him .
I made the best of it in those circumstances and God , the Father above who gave the perfect gift , was watching me .
When I came to know this perfect Father , my life was changed .
Everything changed and although I was very shy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just before my 18th birthday , I found His kingdom purpose and really did , with all the understanding I had , sell out to Him !
God gave me the most beautiful bride , Betty .
He gave us a very special relationship and blessed us with three children and then eleven grandchildren .
For so many years Betty and I , our children and their spouses and our grandchildren ( 19 of us ) , celebrated every Christmas together .
They are precious memories , and believe me , when you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ becomes even more precious .
We celebrated with those children all those memories and now we will soon have our ninth great-grandbaby !
If we brought all our family together with twenty children and grandchildren , there would be 37 of us !
This is what I want you to hear : Jesus is the center of our life and in the face of any storm He gives us peace .
I recently prayed with a couple that I love very much who said goodbye to the wife ’ s parents .
Last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apart with COVID .
They had said their entire marriage that when they died , they wanted to go together , and they told me they sang her dad into heaven a short time after his wife preceded him .
This is the peace that surpasses understanding that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords came to give us as the Prince of Peace .
It is that peace I ’ m praying for to prevail in your life no matter what happens during these challenging days .
Betty also wanted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this special time : James and I wanted to let you know we are especially praying for you during this Christmas season .
We are aware of the many challenges we all face with the effects of the virus still an ongoing issue .
I know it has impacted your families and friends .
Some of our close friends and family members have been hit directly by the virus .
We must continue to lift everyone in prayer for healing and restoration .
You may have lost a loved one .
If so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comfort as you walk through that terrible loss .
We do know how you feel , as this time of the year is very difficult for James and me .
Eight years ago on the 28th of this month , we lost our beautiful daughter , Robin .
She now has two sweetheart granddaughters that she watches from heaven .
I ’ ll never forget her asking me as she was battling so hard to beat the cancer that had devastated her body : “ Mom , do you think I will get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she is — but she watches from heaven .
We have come to know the real faithfulness of God as He has held us close and brought His comfort for the hurt and loss we have experienced .
We must grab hold of God ’ s hope , comfort and great love for us and remember that He gave His greatest treasure to us through His Son , Jesus .
He sent Him that we might have eternal life and share His life with others through our witness .
We owe Jesus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the Father by giving of ourselves that others might come to know Him personally .
Thank you for all you do to help those who are hurting , hungry , thirsty and who do not know the Christ whose birth we celebrate .
We pray God ’ s richest blessings on you and all those you love .
Please know how much Betty and I love you .
Thank you for helping us put God ’ s arms around people who are too often overlooked around the world .
Thank you for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Lord of Lords , the King of Kings with so many .
God wants to hold you real close to His heart .
While we celebrate His birth and life , please remember these words : Rejoice in the Lord always ; again I will say , rejoice !
Let your gentle spirit be known to all people .
The Lord is near .
Do not be anxious about anything , but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God .
And the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comprehension , will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus .
Finally , brothers and sisters , whatever is true , whatever is honorable , whatever is right , whatever is pure , whatever is lovely , whatever is commendable , if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise , think about these things .
As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me , practice these things , and the God of peace will be with you .
( Philippians 4:4-9 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ founder and publisher .
He is co-founder of LIFE Outreach International and co-host of LIFE Today .
He ’ s the author of many books , including Indivisible ( with Jay Richards ) and Living Amazed .

Every good and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights… (James 1:17a)
Jesus is the most perfect gift — the greatest gift — we celebrate during the Christmas season and Christmas Day. A child was born, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. This precious gift from the Father of all light, love, and life, gave us the greatest gift the world has ever received. And think about it, we can personally know this person who not only was born, lived the perfect life, gave His life on the cross, raised by the power of God on the third day, ascended to Heaven, but also sent another of the same kind (the Holy Spirit) to live in us. Wow! What a day! What a reality! What a gift we joyfully celebrate!
Jesus Came for These Challenging Times
We are living in very challenging days. We have been impacted by the father of lies, the deceiver, death, disease, and destruction in a horrific fashion. But please hear me my friends: not only was a child born, but the King of Kings and Lord of Lords came to earth and He came to give us meaningful life filled with love, joy, and peace — even in the most challenging times.
Jesus is the center of our life and in the face of any storm
He gives us peace.
My own birth was the result of a forced sexual relationship on a home health nurse who was 40 years old. When a doctor refused to abort me, I was allowed to live and because of my birth mother’s difficult circumstances, she placed an ad in the newspaper, and sent me to a loving Christian home. Yet she took me from that home when I was five years old. I was taken away from “Mommy and Daddy” to be with my mother. There is no way to describe the pain and confusion I felt.
Two years after being with her, I remember a Christmas when I was seven years old and we barely had enough income to eat. We lived in a one-room house behind the homes on a small, narrow street and the entire backside was a salvage dump, which in some ways became my playground. But what I really remember as a seven-year-old is that we couldn’t afford a Christmas tree or any decorations to put on it, so our tree was a watercolor painting that I had done in my second grade class. I remember us sitting by that picture of a tree with some tiny gifts my mother had purchased. She had cut me off from my foster parents and from an aunt who loved me because she so longed for love that she had not known since her parents died when she was a young girl and she had a very unhappy marriage starting when she was 15. Yet, even then, I know the Father above looked at a little boy He really wanted to bless and bless others through him.
Made for Kingdom Purpose
I made the best of it in those circumstances and God, the Father above who gave the perfect gift, was watching me. When I came to know this perfect Father, my life was changed. Everything changed and although I was very shy, when God called me to preach just before my 18th birthday, I found His kingdom purpose and really did, with all the understanding I had, sell out to Him!
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
God gave me the most beautiful bride, Betty. He gave us a very special relationship and blessed us with three children and then eleven grandchildren. For so many years Betty and I, our children and their spouses and our grandchildren (19 of us), celebrated every Christmas together. They are precious memories, and believe me, when you’re 77, every precious memory becomes even more precious. We celebrated with those children all those memories and now we will soon have our ninth great-grandbaby! If we brought all our family together with twenty children and grandchildren, there would be 37 of us!
Peace That Surpasses Understanding
This is what I want you to hear: Jesus is the center of our life and in the face of any storm He gives us peace. I recently prayed with a couple that I love very much who said goodbye to the wife’s parents. Last week, they died a few hours apart with COVID. They had said their entire marriage that when they died, they wanted to go together, and they told me they sang her dad into heaven a short time after his wife preceded him. This is the peace that surpasses understanding that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords came to give us as the Prince of Peace. It is that peace I’m praying for to prevail in your life no matter what happens during these challenging days.
A Special Note From Betty
Betty also wanted to share a few words with you at this special time:
James and I wanted to let you know we are especially praying for you during this Christmas season. We are aware of the many challenges we all face with the effects of the virus still an ongoing issue. I know it has impacted your families and friends. Some of our close friends and family members have been hit directly by the virus. We must continue to lift everyone in prayer for healing and restoration. You may have lost a loved one. If so, we pray for God’s comfort as you walk through that terrible loss. We do know how you feel, as this time of the year is very difficult for James and me. Eight years ago on the 28th of this month, we lost our beautiful daughter, Robin. She now has two sweetheart granddaughters that she watches from heaven. I’ll never forget her asking me as she was battling so hard to beat the cancer that had devastated her body: “Mom, do you think I will get to see my grandchildren?” Well, she is — but she watches from heaven. We have come to know the real faithfulness of God as He has held us close and brought His comfort for the hurt and loss we have experienced. We must grab hold of God’s hope, comfort and great love for us and remember that He gave His greatest treasure to us through His Son, Jesus. He sent Him that we might have eternal life and share His life with others through our witness. We owe Jesus our love and commitment to serve Him and the Father by giving of ourselves that others might come to know Him personally. Thank you for all you do to help those who are hurting, hungry, thirsty and who do not know the Christ whose birth we celebrate. We pray God’s richest blessings on you and all those you love.
Please know how much Betty and I love you. Thank you for helping us put God’s arms around people who are too often overlooked around the world. Thank you for helping us share the Prince of Peace, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings with so many. God wants to hold you real close to His heart. While we celebrate His birth and life, please remember these words:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9)
James Robison is The Stream’s founder and publisher. He is co-founder of LIFE Outreach International and co-host of LIFE Today. He’s the author of many books, including Indivisible (with Jay Richards) and Living Amazed.