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I love all of the holidays, but Christmas is my favorite. It makes me sad that so many people forget that it's a celebration of the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Some will argue that it isn't even His real birthday. That's true. Nobody knows when Jesus was born. Some believe it was in the spring or summer. That could be true. Many argue that our beloved Christmas traditions are of pagan origin. That's also true. The newly converted Christians didn't want to give up their colorful and festive holiday traditions. The church was wise enough to to see the problem and offer a solution. They started a new holiday close to the old, to honor the birth of Jesus, as told in the books of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament of the Bible. They gave new meanings to old symbols and customs. They named it Christs Mass. The people embraced the new holiday and many of us celebrate it still today. Many people want to reduce it back to a pagan holiday. They have ...

Almost everyone is talking about Bruce Jenner. He's on television, radio, newspapers, and the social media. Everyone has an opinion. As a Christian, I wanted to know what the Bible teaches us. Here's what I found: Genesis 5:2 "male and female He created them." Psalms 139:13 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." God is perfect and does not make mistakes. God made Bruce Jenner into a man, so that is what he was meant to be, whether he likes it or not. Doctors can change the way he looks, but they cannot change what God made him to be. He may have breasts, but he still looks like a man, walks like a man, and sounds like a man. He may be an eunuch, but he is a man. Bruce dresses like a woman. The Bible says, Deuteronomy 22:5 "A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the Lord detests anyone who does this." 1 Corinthians 6:9 "Know ye not that the unright...

The Ten Commandments are being removed from all government properties in the United States. I'm a Christian. I have a hard time understanding what is so wrong with using the Ten Commandments as a way of teaching good values and morality. Most children are not getting that at home anymore. 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. If you believe in any god, I would suppose you would be expected to be loyal. If you don't believe in God, what difference does it make to you? Its not like you are going to do anything different. 2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. If you don't believe in God, you can worship money or anything else you want. Why does it upset you if I don't? 3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. It is considered unexceptable to use certain words, especially in public. Although sometimes frowned upon, most people substitute other words in their places. For instance, the word frick is often used to replace...

Our great country just celebrated another birthday. Here in the United States of America, we pride ourselves on being a free country. But what is freedom? Does that mean we can do anything we want? Of course not. For every freedom someone is granted, a freedom is taken away from someone else. There are some great controversies going on right now over freedoms. One is over the Confederate flag. Many see it as a symbol of hate. Others see it as a southern symbol or as a tradition. Now it is being banned all over the country, amid protests of many. The Civil War is being fought again. Shouldn't the people have been allowed to vote on that decision, instead of allowing it to be decided by politicians looking for votes in the next election? Why? Over a piece of cloth that you can make mean anything you wish. Yes, it was used toward the end of the war. That offends many. Not everyone that fought for the Confederacy owned slaves. Not everyone believed in slavery. Not everyone who...

Our little Baptist church on McClarity Fork, Four Mile, West Virginia, had The Lord's Supper several times a year. I can't remember how often,but I know it wasn't as often as the more modern churches do now. It was also much more formal. The men would set two pews facing each other on the left side of the church for the women, and two on the right side for the men. Everyone that had been baptized sat down on the pews facing each other. We had a washpan of water for each side and long cotton towels. One of the women would wrap the towel around her waist and kneel on the floor in front of the woman across from her with the washpan. She would remove the woman's shoes, then wash and dry her feet. The men did the same on their side of the church. After everyone's feet were done, the pews were returned to the normal places. A long table was set up in front of the church. A white table cloth was spread over it. Little plates and tiny glasses were set around. As many as...

When I went to church with Grandpa and Grandma Baker in West Virginia, I was usually a good little girl, but not always. I knew what being naughty would earn me. They would take me outside and whip me with a little, keen switch if I misbehaved. Although I didn't always understand everything as a small child, I loved singing. Someone once laughed a little and said I was the loudest singer in church. I was so proud, I thought it was a compliment. Once, after we got home, Grandma told me I had misunderstood what some of the words were to one of the songs we were singing. She told me the words were "It's a grand and glorious feeling," not a 'Granddaddy glorious feeling." I was embarrassed. I don't think I sang quite as loudly anymore. At a lot of our services, we would sing a song, while we walked through the church shaking everyone's hand. I liked that. I knew just about everyone there. Before we had prayer, we were always ask if we had any prayer ...

I lived with my Grandpa and Grandma Baker off and on throughout my childhood. They were the ones who taught me the most about Jesus, and our Heavenly Father. While staying there my Great Grandpa Shuff taught me the song "I'll Fly Away." Someone, probably Grandma Baker taught me to say 'The Lord's Prayer'. I can remember saying it when I was about three years old, alone at night in my bed. I can't remember when I didn't know it. My daddy, although he is not saved, taught me never to call him father, because I only have one, and that is my Heavenly Father. As far back as I can remember, Grandpa and Grandma took me to the little McClarity Baptist Church, down on the McClarity Fork of Four Mile, in Lincoln County, West Virginia. I can remember sitting, or lying, on the hard wooden pews. There was an old coal stove in the center of the room, for heat in the winter. We used hand-held paper fans during the summer. Almost all of the men sat on the right side ...

My books are out on Amazon.com, just in time for Christmas! A Real Frontiersman: The Life of Simon Kenton by Debra Baker Davis (Oct 12, 2013) $7.50 $5.66 Paperback Order in the next 6 minutes and get it by Monday, Nov 25. $5.00 Kindle Purchase More Buying Choices - Paperback $5.56 new (2 offers) FREE Shipping on orders over $35 . Who Is He, Really?: The Legend of Santa Claus Paperback – January 5, 2013 by Debra A Davis (Author) Be the first to review this item Paperback $15.80 1 New from $15.80

All Hallows Eve is the first of three Christian holy days called Hallowmas. The word, Hallow, means Holy. It occurs on October 31st. Hallowmas are days set aside to honor the dead saints and pray for everyone else who has died recently, but haven't made it to Heaven yet. It became a tradition to ring church bells for all the souls in purgatory. There are many myths, legends, stories, and superstitions connected with All Hallow's Eve. Although there are many traditions that have been passed down, no one really knows a lot about the early Celts or Druids. The fact is, there is very little in the way of records. Most of them were lost around the time of the Roman Empire. Archaeologists have discovered items and have made educated guesses about their uses. Customs, stories, and myths were all handed down mostly by word of mouth, from generation to generation. An Irish poem from the 10th century, suggests that there may have once been sacrifices of newborns made to a heat...

When I was younger, I was all for the death penalty for murderers. In some cases, I didn't think that death was a harsh enough punishment. I thought they should suffer some themselves, before they were put to death. Over the years my feelings and beliefs about the death penalty has drastically changed. Far too many times in my lifetime, I have heard stories about people sentenced to prison for life, that were later proved to be innocent. Recently a man was executed for a murder that many say was convicted on purely circumstantial evidence. It makes me wonder, just how many innocent men and women have been executed in the United States that were innocent? If an innocent person gets executed, they lose the opportunity to possibly someday be cleared and released. The Bible says, "Thou shalt not kill." I don't think God could have made it any clearer than that. He didn't say, "except for certain people who have committed certain crimes." There is nothing ...

This was a hard decision for me personally. I'm a Christian, but I'm not unrealistic. I am the grandmother of seven grandchildren of varied ages, from toddler to teenager. I personally dislike adult cartoons. I think they are vulgar and in poor taste, like a lot of other shows on television these days. However, there is a demand for adult cartoons and a lot of other sexually explicit and adult humor. There is also a large demand for violent shows and movies. As long as there is a demand, television stations will provide them. The days of Ozzie and Harriet are gone. They aren't coming back. While a lot of programs are not suitable for children to view, that doesn't mean that adults should be told what they can or cannot watch on TV. There are programs that I personally like that I do not think are appropriate for children. I don't think that I should be deprived from watching them. Censorship can be carried too far. I don't want anyone telling me what I can o...

Sexual identity should not be taught in schools. It is a parent's right to be able to teach children their values and beliefs. As a Christian, I feel like that would be violating my freedom of religion. Whatever happened to the division of church and state? Because of a select few, we are no longer allowed to post the Ten Commandments in our schools, because it might offend someone else's beliefs. We can no longer pray in school, because it might offend a non-believer. In some schools, children are no longer allowed to celebrate Christmas or Easter, because it might offend someone else. No matter what anyone says, it ties into a person's personal beliefs, or religion. The topic of sexual identity is a very personal choice, and not something to be aired in a classroom. Kids are cruel. If they got even a hint that somebody might be gay, first they would text everybody they know. Then they would post it on the internet. It would be as bad as the sexting problems we ha...

Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Patty and John had been trying to have a baby for a long time. They had almost given up. So you can imagine how happy they were when Patty found out she was pregnant! They told everyone the good news. They started making preparations for their new baby. They were really excited. The doctor ordered an ultrasound. They got to see a glimpse of their sweet baby girl. Everything seemed perfect. Then the doctor came in. “I have some bad news,” he said. “Our tests indicate that your baby is not normal. My advice is to get an abortion.” They were devastated. They tried for years to have a baby, now the doctor wanted them to abort it. They couldn’t do it. They had waited too long. This could be the only chance they would ever have. The months seemed to drag as they waited and worried. Finally the day came. Their new daughter was perfect. Th...

There were 102 passengers that left Plymouth, England on the ships, Mayflower and Speedwell, headed for the new world. It was September in the year 1620. Thirty-five or forty of the people were looking for a home with religious freedom. They were Puritans that were persecuted not only for breaking away from the Church of England, but also for their different beliefs. They called themselves 'Saints' but later came to be known as the Pilgrims. The other passengers were lured to the new world by the promise of owning land and hopes of prosperity. They were called 'Strangers' by the religious group. A rich merchant agreed to loan the money for the voyage. The Virginia Company gave them permission to build a plantation in the new world. The king granted them permission to leave the Church of England. Soon after setting sail, Speedwell began taking on water, and both ships had to turn back. Speedwell's occupants had to board the already crowded Mayflower. This ...