Awesome!

Last week, we played host to my parents, my sister (Wendi), her husband (Scott), and my nephew (Justin) for Christmas. We had a great time with them all but I would have to say that the highlight was my 8 year old nephew Justin. Everything was “Awesome!” for him; his Christmas gifts, our trip to Jamestown Settlement on Friday, and me. It got to the point that he would make me laugh every time he said, “Awesome!” I told Wendi that his “Awesome!” was “Awesome.”

Teresa and I really didn’t know what to expect with Justin this time around. It has been almost 2 years since we saw him last. I would have to say that Wendi and Scott are doing an awesome (I had to say it) job raising this little man. The last time they visited, he was 6 and he and I watched cartoons together in the morning because we were the only ones up and I didn’t mind him watching them. This time around, we watched a little bit of cartoons but we got to spend time together having more fun.

I really enjoy running so after we opened our Christmas gift, I suited up for a 6 mile run (we had 55 degree weather in VA on Christmas day). Justin saw we put my running shoes on and wanted to come with me. Wendi told him no because she knew I was going for 6 miles. He frowned but didn’t make a scene. I was coming back around my running route and saw Teresa and my mom doing Teresa’s normal 3.5 mile walk. I saw that little man (AKA Justin) was with them. I met up with them about a mile from the house. Teresa told me that Justin wanted to run with me so I slowed my pace and he ran with me. He kept up with me. When we got back to the house that’s all he talked about; the he ran with Uncle Tom. I would have to say it was “Awesome.”

I told Justin that on Saturday, I was planning to do a shorter run of 3 miles if he wanted to come with me. That’s all he talked about on Friday night. He told me before going upstairs for bed that he was going to sleep so he’ll be ready to run with me in the morning. I slept in a little on Saturday; woke up at 7:30am. Justin was waiting downstairs with his clothes on ready to go. I told him that we will run around 9am to allow the temperature to rise a little. At around 9am, we headed out for our 3 mile run. I told Wendi later that the run was all about Justin. I didn’t care about our pace. Justin did a good job. He ran 2.5 mile before I had to carry him on my back. I carried him about quarter of a mile and he was ready to go. He ran the last quarter and fell out on our loveseat. It was funny. Wendi took him upstairs for a bath. After the bath, he was ready to go again.

Justin shared with Teresa and me on Sunday morning that he didn’t sleep well Saturday. He said he didn’t want to leave. Justin is an awesome kid who I can’t wait to see how God will use him. He’s very sharp. I’m hoping we can get together in July. All in all, the week was “Awesome!”

Memories

The last month, more of my family members have become my Facebook friends. This has given the cousins a chance to get reconnected as adults. I have to admit that I haven’t been putting a lot of focus on the extended family. It’s been at least 5 years since Teresa and I have gone to a July 4th family party in Paducah, KY. My dad is number 6 of 12 children so the Thomasson clan has grown to about 70 plus people. It has been nice writing the cousins and hearing how they are doing about their children.

I have put photos for 2004 Christmas Teresa and I spent with my parents and one of my sisters and it has caused us to write about the memories we had of the Thomasson Christmas gatherings. When Maw (that’s what we called our grandmother) was alive, everyone would come to “Maw’s House” on Christmas day. Dad would load us up and we would drive to KY every year. It was a fun trip because we got to stay in a motel (little things excite children). Maw had a finished basement so everyone was down there eating and talking. There was a fireplace so some us kids would through the paper cups in the fire to watch them burn between playing games. Everyone got a gift and the children who were under 12 years old were given a coloring book and crayons. Wendi, Wanda, and I always loved getting the coloring book and crayons. In fact we were the only ones Maw continued for a few extra years for getting a set because she knew we loved coloring; something I’m still fond of today. I’m trying to keep this tradition alive by giving Wendi’s son a set every year he’s with us on Christmas.

I have so many good memories at Maw’s house during Christmas. She always made a big breakfast with eggs, bacon, homemade biscuits, and milk gravy (oh man she made awesome gravy). She always had a kind word to give and hug and kiss whenever she saw me. My favorite memories have to do with sitting and listening to my crazy aunts and uncles talking about my grandfather and their adventures as children. The stories would make a great novel and movie.

The best part about my memories of Maw and our time together is knowing she is in a better place now. She was a good Christian lady who raised 2 preachers. To my knowledge, most of the family members are church going Christians. Now that’s a testimony.

What a Weekend

Today is one of those Mondays I don’t mind. I’m at work and I feel that now I can relax. This was a crazy busy weekend and next weekend will be as crazy. I’m feeling my body giving way to fatigue which is a sign for me to slow down a notch (which means for me going from 10 to 9).

The weekend started when I left work at lunch to drive 45 miles to Windsor to help decorate for my friends’ wedding. Teresa was already there with the bride, bride’s family and friends, and the groom. We decorated for 4 hours straight and then the rehearsal. The rehearsal was a three ring circus without the clowns and fun. There was a wedding coordinator who was nice and knew her stuff but we has the maid of honor (the pastor called her a Nazi behind her back) trying to taking control. Roger (the pastor) finally had to have people claim down and ask the bride what she wanted. It was interesting. Teresa and I got home by 9 pm and were asleep by 9:30 pm (very tiring day).

Saturday we had the morning to ourselves. It was nice as long as it lasted. We left the house at 1:30 pm so we could get to the church for the photos. The wedding started at 5:30 pm. The bride was beautiful and the broom had stars in his eyes. It was awesome because Teresa and I both love Gil and Jen and they were made for one another. I sang “I Will Be Here” for them and I did alright (I didn’t screw up). I had people tell me they loved the song and the maid of honor (A.K.A. The Nazi) told me she thought it was a CD playing until she noticed I had a microphone in my hand. Apparently she wasn’t paying attention during rehearsal. I give all the honor and glory to God when people told me they liked my singing because He is the One who gave me the voice. It took almost an hour from the finish of the wedding and photos until Gil and Jen came back to the fellowship hall. It was a nice wedding but Teresa and I were tired when we got home at 9 pm.

Sunday morning was a great time with the men of the small group I lead. We had a good discussion on our topic and the men went away filled. The worship service went well. Teresa and I went over to Hampton to return the tux and I had originally planned to start on my sermon (I’m preaching next church); however, I was informed by Teresa we needed to finish our Christmas shopping. We got back to the house by 5 pm. I was too tired to think straight so I just helped with cleaning and clearing space for a Christmas tree. I think I stopped around 8 pm.

I enjoy relaxing when I can and I need to try to do so this week (sometime) so my body won’t have to make me stop. Once a year, I get sick and I have to stop and relax. I’ve been lucky so far because of my regular exercise program. I’ll take it a little slower this week so I will be in good health for this weekend and for Christmas. I have my folks and sister with her family coming for Christmas; it will be a good time.

The Origin of the Christmas Tree



Below is some possible origins on how we have our current day Christmas Trees.

One of the earliest stories relating back to Germany is about Saint Boniface. In 722, he encountered some pagans who were about to sacrifice a child at the base of a huge oak tree. He cut down the tree to prevent the sacrifice and a Fir tree grew up at the base of the oak. He then told everyone that this lovely evergreen, with its branches pointing to heaven, was a holy tree - the tree of the Christ child, and a symbol of His promise of eternal life.

Another story from Germany is about Queen Victoria. She often visited relatives in Germany and while she was there, she fell in love with Prince Albert. After they were married, they moved back to England to raise their family. Prince Albert decorated a tree and ever since that time, the English, because of their love for their Queen, copied her Christmas customs including the Christmas tree and ornaments. This story took place in the 19th century, around 1830.

Another story about the origin of the Christmas tree says that late in the Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees inside their homes or just outside their doors to show their hope that spring would soon come.

Another legend that has not been proved is that Martin Luther is responsible for the origin of the Christmas tree. This story says that one Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through the snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of the snow glistened trees. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moon light. When he got home, he set up a small fir tree and shared the story with his children. He decorated the Christmas tree with small candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ's birth.

Research into customs of various cultures shows that greenery was often brought into homes at the time of the winter solstice. It symbolized life in the midst of death in many cultures. The Romans were known to deck their homes with evergreens during of Kalends of January 15. Living trees were also brought into homes during the old Germany feast of Yule, which originally was a two month feast beginning in November. The Yule tree was planted in a tub and brought into the home. But there is no evidence that the Christmas tree is a direct descendent of the Yule tree. Evidence does point to the Paradise tree however. This story goes back to the 11th century religious plays. One of the most popular was the Paradise Play. The play depicted the story of the creation of Adam and Eve, their sin, and their banishment from Paradise. The only prop on the stage was the Paradise tree, a fir tree adorned with apples. The play would end with the promise of the coming Savior and His Incarnation. The people had grown so accustomed to the Paradise tree, that they began putting their own Paradise tree up in their homes on December 24.

Sermon Notes



I'm preaching on December 21st so I'm wanting to doing something regarding Christmas. I'm in the beginning of doing my research (love doing research) on the origin of Christmas. I've come across a website that has seom good stuff. I'll put parts of the information in the coming days. The first portion is regarding Christmas' Origin and how if it relates to Christ.

The True Origin of Christmas

BY DAVID C. PACK

Nearly all aspects of Christmas observance have their roots in Roman custom and religion. Consider the following admission from a large American newspaper (The Buffalo News, Nov. 22, 1984): “The earliest reference to Christmas being marked on Dec. 25 comes from the second century after Jesus’ birth. It is considered likely the first Christmas celebrations were in reaction to the Roman Saturnalia, a harvest festival that marked the winter solstice—the return of the sun—and honored Saturn, the god of sowing. Saturnalia was a rowdy time, much opposed by the more austere leaders among the still-minority Christian sect. Christmas developed, one scholar says, as a means of replacing worship of the sun with worship of the Son. By 529 A.D., after Christianity had become the official state religion of the Roman Empire, Emperor Justinian made Christmas a civic holiday. The celebration of Christmas reached its peak—some would say its worst moments—in the medieval period when it became a time for conspicuous consumption and unequaled revelry.”

Consider these quotes from the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 edition, under “Christmas”: “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church…the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt.” Further, “Pagan customs centering around the January calends gravitated to Christmas.” Under “Natal Day,” Origen, an early Catholic writer, admitted, “…In the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his birthday. It is only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod) who make great rejoicings over the day in which they were born into this world” (emphasis mine).

The Encyclopedia Americana, 1956 edition, adds, “Christmas…was not observed in the first centuries of the Christian church, since the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth…a feast was established in memory of this event [Christ’s birth] in the fourth century. In the fifth century the Western Church ordered the feast to be celebrated forever on the day of the Mithraic rites of the birth of the sun and at the close of the Saturnalia, as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ’s birth existed.”

There is no mistaking the origin of the modern Christmas celebration. Many additional sources could be cited and we will return to this later. Let’s begin to tie some other facts together.

It was 300 years after Christ before the Roman church kept Christmas, and not until the fifth century that it was mandated to be kept throughout the empire as an official festival honoring “Christ.”

Tom’s Psalm



God has been so good to Teresa and me. He is always faithful. Yesterday, Teresa received her pay stub (has direct deposit) and it showed where QVC paid for her unused vacation time. Teresa had 225 hours (28 days and 12.5 hours) of unused time so they cut her a check for it. I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head. This morning while driving to work, I started thinking about all the things God has done for us over the 12 years of marriage and over my 38 years of being on this world. My God is an awesome God.

I’ve been reading through the Book of Psalms, and I thought about how I would word a psalm of praise to my God. Here it is:

Oh my Father; you are great and awesome!
There is no other God but you.
Before You called me to Yourself, I was lost and clueless.
You have made me an heir to Your throne of my God!
I am not worthy to be called your son, but in your awesomeness You have made me worthy.
Thank you can not describe how I feel.

You take care of me even when I can’t see you in the storm.
You design storms to mold me into who I need to be in order to be used by You.

Who am I that You take notice of me?
I know it’s not anything I have done or who I am,
But it is because of what You have done and who You are that I am blessed beyond measure.

Thank you my God, my Father, my Lord, my Savior, my Friend.