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Tiny Tim Trait

Posted by peripheral on Thursday, December 17, 2009 4:58:56 AM
From My Perspective - - -

Colloquialisms (characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing; informal) are an integral part of the English Language. Idioms and Nuances abound in it. Phrases such as “Hell Hath No Fury…” and/or “Heaven Help Us…” and/or ”Outside The Box…” and/or :Break Out Of Your Comfort Zone…” are employed as a response or an interjection and may have no immediate application to the subject being considered. Some Colloquialisms appear in the Charles Dickens Classic: A Christmas Carol.

Ebenezer Scrooge is one of the principle characters. A Christmas Carol (see Wikipedia) is “…about miserly, cold, unfeeling, old and curmudgeonly Ebenezer Scrooge and his secular conversion and redemption after being visited by four ghosts on Christmas Eve.” The story also includes reference to: Bob Cratchit who is …the abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge… In the story, Cratchit is seen at work, where he copies letters by hand in an under-heated dismal little cell…and in his small…home with his large family on the following Christmas Day and a future one, gatherings which Scrooge visits invisibly with the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, respectively. Cratchit is repeatedly described as little, and clothes himself in a tattered white comforter, not being able to afford a coat. Though Cratchit is treated poorly by Scrooge…he is not given wages enough to feed his family a proper Christmas dinner, he remains loyal to his employer, even in face of the protestations of his wife. It is partly through concern for the plight of Cratchit's youngest son, the frail and crippled Tiny Tim, that Scrooge makes the transformation from miser to philanthropist, offering Cratchit a raise and discussion of his affairs.”

Tiny Tim is a cheerful child in spite of his frailty and physical limitations. When Scrooge is visited by The Ghost of Christmas Present he is shown just how ill Tim really is, and that Tim will die unless he receives treatment. When visited by The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come all he sees of Tim is his crutch, as Tim has died. This, and several other visions, lead Scrooge to reform his ways. At the end of the story, Dickens makes it explicit that Tim did not die…” As the Book closes, one becomes aware of the Tiny Tim Train when he cries "God Bless Us, Every One!" Yes, indeed – God Bless Us Everyone – more than a colloquialism – one that could be a recognition or prayer: God Bless Us Everyone!

What if you decided to “live outside the box” this Christmas and instead of lavishing gifts upon ourselves or our children, we thought of the poor in the world and practical ways by which we could alleviate their burden of wants, hunger, poverty - - - World Vision shares a very Innovative and Useful Idea for meeting the Food Needs of a growing number of people in the world was this year’s goal. Some gift ideas are on: www.worldvisiongifts.org, or you can write: World Vision; PO Box 70359; Tacoma, WA 98481-0359
As A Family, you could share in the practical provision for different ones by giving a gift for…
     A Pair of Chickens       $ 25.00            A Sheep         $105.00
     A Dairy Cow              $500.00           A Goat           $ 75.00
     A Pair of Goats          $150.00            5 Ducks          $ 30.00
     1 Family Fishing Kit      $ 40.00
     6 Rabbits                 $ 96.00            1 Pig              $195.00
     A Donkey                 $225.00            2 Oxen and Plow $575.00
                      To Dig & Stock A Fish Pond     $200.00
In James 1:27, we are told: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction…” The Message translates this verse: “Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.” Embrace and Employ the Tiny Tim Trait – “God Bless Us Everyone” – and - Pray for the Orphans Widows & Hungry in our World… From our Surplus we can Sacrifice to meaningfully and creatively help others to have a Merry Christmas. Consider these things with me!
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Freedom Is Not Free

Posted by peripheral on Thursday, July 03, 2008 6:37:10 AM

From My Perspective - - -

Lee Greenwood wrote the stirring words to, “I’m Proud To Be An American”…  Some of the lyrics express the following: 

If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life,
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife.
I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today,
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom
and they can’t take that away.

 From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee,
across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea,

From Detroit down to Houston and New York to LA,
Well, there’s pride in every American heart,

and it’s time to stand and say:

 

I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A

Freedom isn’t free. It carries a price of commitment and sacrifice to preserve that freedom and to pass it on to future generations intact.  In order that Freedom will become a reality, our nation needs to return to its spiritual heritage and to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are two basic considerations shared with us in Galatians 5, (1) vs. 1: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery, and (2) vs. 13:  You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” The price for our freedom was the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sin. The price of our obligation in the freedom we enjoy is to serve one another in love.

A nerve (perhaps conscience) was touched when words resonated across our land as Martin Luther King gave his “I Have A Dream” speech in Washington, DC on August 28th, 1963. The familiar words are - - -

And so –
Let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside,
Let freedom ring.

For the Church and the individual professing Christian, there must be the commitment to make our freedom in Christ be genuine and working at its best and finest - everywhere. We can no longer live for ourselves and by our own set of rules. Submission to authority is not easy but it is the responsible way to live and interact. No one is ever really free in this world and lifetime – there are guidelines and expectations ranging from civility on the secular plane to yieldedness on the spiritual plane. The restrictions God places on our freedom are not infringements on our liberty – they are protections against evil.

Think about this with me - - -

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