The Ghost of Christmas Past

We finally gathered everyone in the house together so we could decorate the Christmas tree. The poor neglected tree has just been gathering dust downstairs for a couple of weeks. Schedules were just too hectic. Bah, humbug.

With the proclamation of "Tonight is the Night- NO matter what," the gala event took place last night. Let the Spirit fill us.

The TV was turned off and the classical Christmas hymns was turned on and enveloped us all in a sense of peace. The dogs posed for their Christmas photo, complete with reindeer atlers and a Santa hat. The family laughed, but more importantly, we laughed together. The little one found the 12 Days of Christmas book and alternated between singing and reading it aloud to the rest of us.

Lovingly, we looked at each ornament. Memories of long ago Christmases flew through the air. Here's the one from our first Christmas as man and wife, here's one from Baby's First Christmas, here's one my mama gave me when I bought my first house, and on and on.

The lump in my throat expanded with each ornament and soon the tears fell. So many Christmases have gone by. So many memories came alive. And for a time last night, my beloved mama and papa were in the room with me as my mind placed some of these same ornaments on the trees of my childhood.

I have so many favorite ornaments. Two memories that came to the surface last night included ornaments my mama had given me.

One is an American Flag with a 1991 date on it. My mom bought that ornament in memory of my dad, an American soldier. She wanted to honor my father's memory and wanted me to remember the service my dad gave to his country. At the time, I was kinda humbug about the ornament, but now the American Flag ornament is always in a place of prominence as I think about my dad and his commitment to our country.

The other ornament which caught my attention last night was a small gold church. When my mom gave it to me so many years ago, she made a statement. Not only did she make a statement, I can still clearly recall her face, her voice and her love as she made it. "I love this church with its steeple. I love having the church on a tree. After all, Jesus Christ and His Church are the only reason we have Christmas."

Rest in peace, my loving parents. May I always remember their love of God, home and country. May I continue to teach my children the same values.

ShopFaithfully.com Launches Virtual Shopping Mall That Helps Churches and Christian Charities Raise Contributions

Note: What can I say? I think this concept is inspired and just plain wonderful!!

/PRNewswire/ -- ShopFaithfully.com announced today that it has released the latest on-line "virtual mall" for people who want to support their Church or favorite Christian Charity. During these tough economic times, this site is the answer to a challenge that Churches and Christian Charities continue to experience as direct donations significantly decrease, while individuals see their savings and investment portfolios severely affected by the troubled financial markets. ShopFaithfully.com provides a solution for Christian shoppers to give contributions in addition to their normal tithing.

Working with leading on-line retailers like Wal-Mart, Buy.com, Family Christian Stores, ToysRus.com, Office Depot, Overstock.com, and iTunes, ShopFaithfully.com has created an environment of giving through shopper's everyday on-line purchases. ShopFaithfully.com gives back a percentage of every qualified purchase directly to the shopper's chosen Church or Christian Charity. Shoppers do not have to make a direct donation and pricing is the same or better than if they went directly to the retailers. This provides the shoppers a one-stop shop opportunity that can save consumers time and money in a very charitable way.

Shoppers can allocate their donations to one of the Christian Charitable Partners, or they can submit their own Church or Christian Charity to be added. The site's most popular feature is the capability to submit a Church or Christian Charity for approval. The submittal can be made by the Church, the Christian Charity, or the shopper. Once approved, shoppers can then select that Charitable organization as their charity of choice. Up to 20% of every qualified purchase they make will be donated directly to their chosen charity. This provides an additional revenue stream that supplements their organization's tithes, offerings, donations, and fundraising programs.

Since shoppers are using the web more than ever to do their everyday shopping and to look for gift ideas, ShopFaithfully.com has partnered with hundreds of leading on-line retailers offering over 10 million products to choose from. In an anticipation of strong support by the Christian Community, ShopFaithfully.com has increased the site's capacity and has prepared a migration path that will support future growth. With an estimated 50 million on-line Christian Shoppers and $240 billion spent through on-line shopping annually, ShopFaithfully.com hopes to reach $8 million annually in donations to Churches and Christian Charities within the next 3-5 years.

Is Barack Obama Mocking the Bible and by extension, Christianity?