Who Started Christmas?

This morning I heard a story on the radio of a woman who was out Christmas shopping with her two children.  After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable, and after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her kids.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year – Overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every house-warming, taste all the holiday food and treats, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure we don’t forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.

Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the car.  She pushed her way into the car, dragged her two kids in with her, and all the bags of stuff.  When the doors closed she couldn’t take it anymore and stated, “Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up, and shot.”

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A beautiful message!

Hi guys just want to share this beautiful message by George Carlin – comedian of the 70′s and 80′s. Hope you like this because it so eloquent and very appropriate for everyone of us.

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

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Can you sleep when the wind blows?

Have to share this beautiful story. Take time to read it!

Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic . They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic , wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.

As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received A steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. “Are you a good farm hand?” the farmer asked him. “Well, I can sleep when the wind blows,” answered the little man.

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Easter is a season..

It is actually a seven-week season called Eastertide. It is a period of fifty days beginning at sundown on the eve of Easter Sunday and lasting for six more Sunday until Pentecost. Thus Easter includes fifty days a week of Sundays.

Like all of the major holidays of the Christian year, the season of Easter is framed around a sequence of events in the life of Jesus. In this case, it commemorates the time that Jesus spent with His disciples following resurrection, prior to His ascension.

Tradition holds that Jesus “ascended” to God on the 40th day after the resurrection. On the church calendar this day, always a Thursday, is referred to as Ascension Day. In practice, the Ascension is sometimes “transferred” to the sixth Sunday of Easter.

The season officially ends on Pentecost Sunday, which Christians think as the “birthday of the church.” This holiday celebrates the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and indeed, the world.

Maundy Thursday….

Maundy Thursday (also known as Holy Thursday and Green Thursday) remembers the night before Jesus died. These events are best described in Mathew 26:20-30, Mark 14:17-26, Luke 22:14-35 and John 13-17, and Luke focus on the institution of the Lord’s Supper and the eating of the Passover meal. John focuses on the words of Jesus and His washing of the disciples’ feet.

The name “Maundy” comes from the words of Jesus, “Mandatum Novum” (a new commandment,” John 13:34). From the Fourth century on, Maundy Thursday was viewed as the last day of the Lenten fast and also as the day of reconciliation.

Since it was on this night that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, that sacred meal has often been the chief emphasis of Maundy Thursday. The Lord’s Supper is celebrated and often its meaning is rehearsed. At the end of the service, the altar is stripped, in preparation for Good Friday. This symbolizes Christ being stripped by the Roman soldiers prior to His crucifixion. Psalm 22, a Messianic psalm which clearly prophesies the Messiah’s death, is read while the altar is stripped.

From ancient times the Church in various places has also observed a ceremony of foot washing, in memory of our Lord washing His disciples’ feet in this night. The liturgy of foot washing came to be called mandatum.

Holy week

As we now practice it, holy week is the last 40 day season of Lent and the week preceding Easter. In Holy Week we focus on the last week of Christ’s life, remembering especially His passion and resurrection. Though calling this week “Holy Week” is more and recent innovation, the annual observance of the festivals within it, are of ancient origin.

Palm/Passion Sunday

Palm Sunday is the commemoration of our Lord’s triumphant entry to Jerusalem five days before His crucifixion. Scripture records this incident in Mathew 11:1-11, Luke 19:29-44 and John 12”12-19. This day takes its name from the fact that as Jesus approached Jerusalem on a donkey (in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9), the huge crowd that followed carried palm branches as they praised Him. The people hailed Him as the long awaited “Son of David,” that is the, Messiah.

Though not annually observed at first, by 600-1000 A.D. Palm Sunday was being given full treatment, especially by Christians aligned with Rome. This treatment was part of a growing emphasis at that time to imitate as closely as possible the last days of Christ’s life.

Palm Sunday has a dual focus today. Our service begins with a joyful procession with palms to remember our Lord’s jubilant entry to Jerusalem. The hymns, prayers, and lectionary Scripture readings also reflect this joy. A second focus on Palm Sunday is our Lord’s Passion. When this second focus is observed, the entire passion story (Mathew, Mark, or Luke) is read (in the place of the sermon).

Originally, however, Passion Sunday was held two weeks before Easter and it began the two week period known as “Passiontide” in which special stress was placed on Christ’s suffering and crucifixion. The two week Passiontide is older than Lent, having been observed since the third century.

Dr. Richard Bucher

Reminiscing my first job!

I remember 3 years ago when I was roaming around town looking for a job. I have been to almost all offices here in Davao. By then, one of my criteria in accepting the job is the office itself. I am really motivated to do better in my interviews if I can see a good quality office furniture. It sounds ridiculous but ever since a child aside from becoming a fashion designer, my dream is to work in an office with a nice office desk with many subordinates reporting for me. When I accepted my current job I thought that I will be having my own desk but as expected I’m just an employee with no subordinates at all. The good thing is that on my first day in reporting in my so-called office I found a very comfortable ambiance with a kind manager. My work then is a customer service representative. I’m confident enough to do it better but my nervousness merely swallowed me. But I gained my composure as time goes by. At the end of the day I have to do my reports and to my surprise I found this huge office storage at the rear corner. It really looks very durable and very neat. By then I realized that even though I don’t have a desk I’m still working for an office and by that I consider it a dream come true.

In UK, there are companies like Inter County that cater office furniture you need. They specialize in making durable but cost efficient office storage products. One can simply go online and look for the right furniture that suite your needs as well as your budget. They offer a number of shapes, sizes and colors and with a wide selection of matching storage and tables. Their desks are built to last longer compare to any other office furniture in UK. This is the easiest way to purchase those stuffs. So, guys go now and take time to check them out. I’m sure they will provide you what your looking for.