Bolt challenges Turnbull on gay marriage statement. Rhiannon admits she was trained by neo-Stalinists. Why our intelligence service targeted the activity of a significant political player. Why is the media hiding the demonstrated effectiveness of boat people policy?
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Happy birthday and many happy returns Milan Limbu, Ramsen Oraham and Icweekly Show. Born on the same day, across the years ..
- 1009 – Emperor Go-Suzaku of Japan (d. 1045)
- 1546 – Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer and chemist (d. 1601)
- 1896 – Jimmy Doolittle, American aviator and general (d. 1993)
- 1946 – Michael Ovitz, American talent agent, co-founded Creative Artists Agency
- 1954 – Steven MacLean, Canadian astronaut, former President of the Canadian Space Agency
- 1970 – Anna Maria Jopek, Polish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1973 – Thuy Trang, Vietnamese-American actress (d. 2001)
- 1994 – Joshua Dionisio, Filipino actor
Matches
- 557 – Constantinople is severely damaged by an earthquake.
- 835 – Sweet Dew Incident: Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty conspires to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot is foiled.
- 1542 – Princess Mary Stuart becomes Mary, Queen of Scots.
- 1782 – The Montgolfier brothers' first balloon lifts off on its first test flight.
- 1812 – The French invasion of Russia comes to an end as the remnants of the Grande Armée are expelled from Russia.
- 1900 – Quantum mechanics: Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law.
- 1903 – The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
- 1909 – New South Wales Premier Charles Wade signs the Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909, formally completing the transfer of State land to the Commonwealth to create the Australian Capital Territory.
- 1911 – Roald Amundsen's team, comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, becomes the first to reach the South Pole.
- 1918 – Friedrich Karl von Hessen, a German prince elected by the Parliament of Finland to become King Väinö I, renounces the Finnish throne.
- 1962 – NASA's Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus.
- 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: Over 200 of East Pakistan's intellectuals are executed by the Pakistan Army and their local allies. (The date is commemorated in Bangladesh as Martyred Intellectuals Day.)
- 2012 – Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: Twenty-eight people, including the gunman, are killed in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.
Despatches
- 1460 – Guarino da Verona, Italian scholar (b. 1370)
- 1799 – George Washington, American general and politician, 1st President of the United States (b. 1732)
POLL BELIEVED
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 14, 2013 (5:29pm)
The ABC’s Barrie Cassidy turns to that most dependable of sources, the online poll:
A recent online poll on ABC funding in the Fairfax media drew 21,145 respondents. Of that, 72 per cent agreed the ABC was an excellent and essential service that deserved more money. Another 12 per cent ticked the box that suggested the ABC did good work, and that funding was about right.Even allowing for a disproportionate number of ABC backers reading the Fairfax newspapers, they are exceptional figures.
And also completely reliable. Let’s see what a trustworthy BlairPoll reveals:
Thank you for voting!
Total Votes: 275
OBAMA DID TELL THE TRUTH, JUST ON A DIFFERENT DAY
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 14, 2013 (4:52pm)
PolitiFact rates Barack Obama’s honesty in 2008:
“No. 1, let me just repeat, if you’ve got a health care plan that you like, you can keep it,” Obama said. “All I’m going to do is help you to lower the premiums on it. You’ll still have choice of doctor.”Obama is accurately describing his health care plan here … people who want to keep their current insurance should be able to do that under Obama’s plan. His description of his plan is accurate, and we rate his statement True.
PolitiFact rates Barack Obama’s honesty in 2013:
It was a catchy political pitch and a chance to calm nerves about his dramatic and complicated plan to bring historic change to America’s health insurance system.“If you like your health care plan, you can keep it,” President Barack Obama said – many times – of his landmark new law.But the promise was impossible to keep.So this fall, as cancellation letters were going out to approximately 4 million Americans, the public realized Obama’s breezy assurances were wrong …For all of these reasons, PolitiFact has named “If you like your health care plan, you can keep it,” the Lie of the Year for 2013.
Or, as the New York Times might put it, the Clear Misspeaking of the Year or the Incorrect Promise of the Year. ViaIowahawk, who celebrates “revolutionary Politi’fact’ science: conclusively writing the results of an experiment before it even happens.” Further from the Washington Examiner:
In an October 2008 column – just before the election – PolitiFact actually rated Obama’s promise as “true.” It said at the time: “Obama is accurately describing his health care plan here. He advocates a program that seeks to build on the current system, rather than dismantling it and starting over.”In other words, it rated him on the basis of whether he was accurately stating his own campaign promise, a hurdle no politician could fail to clear.
Meanwhile the blunders continue. As Esquire famously asked of a previous president, why is this man laughing?
DOORS OPEN, FACTORIES CLOSED
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 14, 2013 (3:12pm)
Among the problems faced by last century’s car designers was “that bugbear of all motorists – the door.”
Happily, Holden engineers were able to meet this awesome technological challenge. Further on Holden’s early days
AL LIED, POLE UNFRIED
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 14, 2013 (2:38pm)
Al Gore predicted the North Polar Ice Cap would be completely ice free in five years.
SCAM LANGUAGE
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 14, 2013 (2:07pm)
What’s the sign language symbol for “hilarious fraud”? Thamsanqa Dyantyi demonstrates:
Mr Dyantyi presumably also knows the symbols for “convicted thief” and “accused murderer”.
Mr Dyantyi presumably also knows the symbols for “convicted thief” and “accused murderer”.
POLITENESS MONEY
Tim Blair – Friday, December 13, 2013 (4:25pm)
Attention, note writers:
Our client, a large Government organisation, is seeking expressions of interest from experienced writers to support a small team on a casual term basis. A requirement for this position is that you must be an Australian Citizen.In this position you will provide support to an engagement team through writing notes to those who have participated in sessions and meetings, thanking them for their contributions.
Seems simple enough. But check out the qualifications:
To be considered for this position, you will be an experienced writer with a capacity in writing, editing and proofreading text. You will be able to demonstrate perseverance, a good grasp of narrative, awareness of audience and the demonstrated ability to develop strong working relationships with a variety of stakeholders.
And also the ability to write: “Thank you for your contribution to this session and/or meeting.”
(Via Ganesh)
JOE BLAMED
Tim Blair – Friday, December 13, 2013 (4:06pm)
Former Fairfax business editor Ian Porter:
The question that needs to be answered after the government effectively forced General Motors to abandon car manufacturing in Australia is a simple one: why did Treasurer Joe Hockey do it?
It’s just possible that one or two other factors were involved in Holden’s decision. Speaking of which, here’s Bill Leak today:
UPDATE. Peter Switzer:
UPDATE. Peter Switzer:
The greatest piece of drama acted out on TV was the Academy Award performance by the Opposition Deputy Leader, Tanya Plibersek, as she reacted to the Holden decision. If you arrived here from Mars on Wednesday, you’d now believe that Joe Hockey chased the company out of the country.Plibersek’s pathos-ridden effort made me recall if she was so tearfully outspoken when Mitsubishi and Ford pulled up stumps under Labor.She wasn’t.
UPDATE II. Doug Cameron is sad.
High Court uses slippery slope argument to defend same sex marriage. Where is Malcolm Turnbull now?
Andrew Bolt December 14 2013 (9:29am)
The High Court this
week endorsed the “slippery slope” argument used by opponents of
same-sex marriage - and unwisely sneered at by the likes of Malcolm
Turnbull.
In this case the argument is simple: once you insist that two gays should be free to marry each other on the grounds that they are consenting adults then you cannot logically oppose three consenting adults from marrying, either. Agree to same sex marriage and you must agree to polygamy, too.
It turns out i was wrong only in one detail - one that actually underlines my point. The High Court says we already legally endorse polygamy for many purposes, so we cannot logically oppose same sex marriage. This is indeed the “slippery slope” argument - backed by our Highest Court, albeit with a different agenda in mind.
The High Court, in over-ruling the ACT’s same sex marriage laws, noted the classic definition of marriage:
But it said our law already recognised for many purposes, polygamous marriages (contracted overseas, although we also have traditional Aboriginal polygamous unions):
Malcolm Turnbull once mocked warnings of the slippery slope when they came from opponents of same-sex marriage. His original article attacking my own warnings is no longer on-line, but here is some of my response to Turnbull at the time:
Weaken that glue and we all will pay.
Turnbull’s once claimed judges would treat the slippery slope argument with contempt. Now that judges in fact use the slippery slope argument to defend same sex marriage, will he now revise his stand?
(Thanks to reader Ganesh.)
===In this case the argument is simple: once you insist that two gays should be free to marry each other on the grounds that they are consenting adults then you cannot logically oppose three consenting adults from marrying, either. Agree to same sex marriage and you must agree to polygamy, too.
It turns out i was wrong only in one detail - one that actually underlines my point. The High Court says we already legally endorse polygamy for many purposes, so we cannot logically oppose same sex marriage. This is indeed the “slippery slope” argument - backed by our Highest Court, albeit with a different agenda in mind.
The High Court, in over-ruling the ACT’s same sex marriage laws, noted the classic definition of marriage:
Reference might also have been made (and now commonly is made) to the earlier decision of Lord Penzance in Hyde v Hyde and Woodmansee and the statement[9] that “marriage, as understood in Christendom, may for this purpose be defined as the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others”.
But it said our law already recognised for many purposes, polygamous marriages (contracted overseas, although we also have traditional Aboriginal polygamous unions):
Second, statements made in cases like Hyde v Hyde, suggesting that a potentially polygamous marriage could never be recognised in English law, were later qualified by both judge-made law and statute to the point where in both England and Australia the law now recognises polygamous marriages for many purposes[46].(My bold throughout.) That is exactly the slippery slope argument, used here to justify in advance a future decision by the federal parliament to redefine marriage. To justify more “complex” definitions that “must be recognised”.
Once it is accepted that “marriage” can include polygamous marriages, it becomes evident that the juristic concept of “marriage” cannot be confined to a union having the characteristics described in Hyde v Hyde and other nineteenth century cases. Rather, “marriage” is to be understood in s 51(xxi) of the Constitution as referring to a consensual union formed between natural persons in accordance with legally prescribed requirements which is not only a union the law recognises as intended to endure and be terminable only in accordance with law but also a union to which the law accords a status affecting and defining mutual rights and obligations.
It is not now possible (if it ever was) to confine attention to jurisdictions whose law of marriage provides only for unions between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life. Marriage law is and must be recognised now to be more complex.
Malcolm Turnbull once mocked warnings of the slippery slope when they came from opponents of same-sex marriage. His original article attacking my own warnings is no longer on-line, but here is some of my response to Turnbull at the time:
First (Turnbull) says the “slippery slope” argument against same-sex marriage is nonsense, but without explaining why - other than to assert that unnamed judges would treat it with contempt… Turnbull also fails to explain on which grounds those judges would dismiss the slippery slope argument. Is it simply on a matter of law or through a superior understanding of how humans behave once taboos are broken? I’m not sure Turnbull knows himself.Turnbull back then claimed what the High Court this week implicitly rejected by declaring polygamy was already for many purposes already recognised under our law:
The truth is that we do not need to go far at all to see how slippery the slippery slope can be. For instance, abortion was once - and on a strictly legalistic reading of the law in Victoria still is - limited to those cases in which a woman’s physical or mental health is endangered by her pregnancy. Now the restriction is so broadly interpreted that abortion is available to virtually any adult woman who simply wishes it, even when (in states such as Victoria) the child to be aborted is healthy and just weeks from birth. Australian ethicists, building on the work of Peter Singer, now argue even for the post-birth killing of babies by mothers who no longer want them…
As these and other examples show. once a traditional social taboo is lifted, it is very difficult to get people to agree on where the new limits should be set. And, exhausted by disagreement, we sometimes fail to agree on any limits, or none we’re prepared to defend.
Anyway, says Turnbull, “there is no demand, no lobby, no support, no constituency for legalising polygamy under the Marriage Act”, so where’s the slippery slope?The High Court, no doubt inadvertently, this week validated an important objection to same sex marriage - that it opens the door to endless redefinitions of marriage that will turn an important communal custom, freighted by tradition with responsibilities, into little more than highly individualistic arrangements with little moral power. This could be a disaster given that marriage serves one important role above any other: it glues parents together in the combination that is most likely to produce well-socialised children.
I am astonished that someone to the Left of the Liberal Party should be so blind to the desires of some of Muslim citizens, who argue that polygamy - unlike same sex marriage - is licensed by the Koran. Calls for the recognition of polygamy have been made by Sheikh Khalil Chami of the Islamic Welfare Centre in Lakemba and Keysar Trad of the Islamic Friendship Association. Australia’s then Mufti, Sheik Fehmi Naji el-Imam, said polygamy was an issue for the Australian National Council of Imams to discuss, and Yasser Soliman, one of the Muslim advisers handpicked by then prime minister John Howard argued: “I don’t think it should be discussed in terms of any threat to the Australian way of life.”
Turnbull says we’d resist polygamy because of our “view of the equality of men and women”, but defenders of polygamy would not just question Turnbull’s judgment or opinion, but would use against him some of the very arguments used to back same-sex marriage: as in, by what right does he deny three adults the freedom to live together in marriage, should that be their wish? Aren’t Islamic values and ideal of equality to be treated as second class? Why is he imposing his values on others? Why is polygamy a threat to his own marriage?
Weaken that glue and we all will pay.
Turnbull’s once claimed judges would treat the slippery slope argument with contempt. Now that judges in fact use the slippery slope argument to defend same sex marriage, will he now revise his stand?
(Thanks to reader Ganesh.)
Rhiannon admits a brutal Communist regime schooled her
Andrew Bolt December 14 2013 (9:14am)
The ABC wins an
admission from a Greens Senator that she was educated - as a guest - by a
Communist regime long infamous for its brutality and oppression:
===James Carleton: Tell me, you did study – correct me if I’m wrong – in Russia? The International Lenin School for around 6 months or so, when you were a member of the Socialist Party? Is that correct?Gerard Henderson:
Lee Rhiannon: Yes. Yes. I’ve always been very open about my work and I’ve studied in many countries – political economy, Marxism.
Hold it there. How frightfully interesting. Caught on the hop, Senator Rhiannon admitted that she had studied at the International Lenin School in Moscow at the time when the communist neo-Stalinist (to use Mark Aarons’ term) dictator Leonid Brezhnev ran the Soviet Union. The year was 1977 and Rhiannon (born in 1951) was in her mid 20s....
But the point is that Lee O’Gorman (as she then was) undertook a course at the International Lenin School – which was an exclusive institution in Moscow which trained willing comrades for political action and which was controlled and funded by a totalitarian communist regime which locked up dissidents in psychiatric institutions and was overly anti-Semitic. The Greens Senator did not break with the pro-Moscow communists until 1990 – when she was close to 40 years of age....
MWD is astounded, absolutely astounded, that few members of the Canberra Press Gallery – outside the News Corp stable, where Christian Kerr has done considerable research – have focused on what Lee Rhiannon did between the ages of 18 and 39. Yet there has been excessive focus on David Marr’s unproven (and now revised) claim that Tony Abbott punched a wall at Sydney University when still a teenager. See MWD passim.
And then there is the matter of double standards. Imagine what ABC journalists would say if Cardinal George Pell confessed on RN Drivethat he studied at, say, the International Mussolini School in Rome financed by the French National Front. Just imagine.
Why we spied on a harmless Indonesian housewife to the horror of our media Left
Andrew Bolt December 14 2013 (7:31am)
Naive reporters - or
worse - pretended there was no reason for us to monitor the phone of the
Indonesian president’s wife, thus justifying their otherwise baseless
claim that our spying was such an outrage that it had to be exposed
despite the damage it would cause and the drownings it would lead to.
A typical example, from Crikey’s Bernard Keane:
You have to despair at the stupidity of so much media today, so often made manifest by the cynicism of the idiot who trusts nothing but the ignorance he takes for his superior intellect. Who trusts his own uniformed prejudices about the considered professional judgment of our intelligence agencies and the politicians overseeing them.
The truth:
===A typical example, from Crikey’s Bernard Keane:
The Australian Signals Directorate, as it’s now called (formerly the DSD), has sailed serenely through the trashing of our relations with Indonesia, and the damage inflicted on a new government that had nothing to do with its actions, with little attention. Its errors of judgement in taking so grievously offensive a step as spying on the Indonesian President’s wife merely because it could, rather than for any particular intelligence value....It was as if the reporters were sexists who really believed President Yudhoyono’s wife just did the ironing and cooking as she waited meekly each night for her husband to come home.
You have to despair at the stupidity of so much media today, so often made manifest by the cynicism of the idiot who trusts nothing but the ignorance he takes for his superior intellect. Who trusts his own uniformed prejudices about the considered professional judgment of our intelligence agencies and the politicians overseeing them.
The truth:
AUSTRALIAN intelligence agencies targeted the mobile phone of Indonesia’s first lady in 2009 because she had become the single most influential adviser to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and was thought to be hatching a presidential succession plan for her eldest son.
The decision to target Kristiani Herawati’s phone was not done on a whim but was part of a deliberate and calculated strategy to learn more about the shifting balance of power inside Jakarta’s ruling elite.
Who is hiding the non-boats?
Andrew Bolt December 14 2013 (7:03am)
Labor and its media mates accused the Abbott Government of not informing the public of boat arrivals:
===Bill Shorten accused the Coalition of ”hiding the boats”....But when the Abbott Government slows boat arrivals this past week to just one, carrying just three people, it is the media which shows almost zero interest in informing the public.
Primordial Yosemite
Shot just after the sun went down and before the valley turned dark. The steam was churning off of El Capitan all day long and was still going as fog started rising from the valley floor. The air seemed thick and full of movement. The day was over.
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13 years ago today, George W. Bush was declared the President.
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4 her
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Marinel Pretzles
At Balmoral Beach.
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Sitting on the balcony not sure whether to keep my cardigan on or off, lol. #sydney #weather#confusing #breezy #view #blue #sky
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Stephanie Ann
A muslim, a socialist, and a communist walk into a bar. The bartender says hello Mr. President.===
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/erskineville-couple-make-asylumseeker-statement-with-christmas-island-lights-display-20131213-2zd63.html
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Ferrari 1962
My other car - ed
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Chris Poole
The other night Max made individual summer puddings with brioche, and then made "brioche icecream" with all the off cuts. Note the candied rose petals that he dried all night in front of the open oven, after we stole roses from some unsuspecting neighbour, with me driving the getaway car, the day before.
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US Campaign for Burma
Who of our fellow activists are in the Milwaukee area?Tomorrow, December 14, from 12:30-7:00pm there will be a conference hosting a slew of speakers discussing various topics regarding the Rohingya in Burma, from citizenship rights to international bodies' responsibility to act and protect.
An exciting opportunity to learn an enormous amount of information on this ongoing crisis and persecution. We hope to see you there!
http://www.uscampaignforburma.org/component/rsevents/event/36-stop-the-genocide-restore-the-rohingyas-citizenship-rights-in-myanmar-burma.html?Itemid=101
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Aristotle plagiarised my wife - ed===
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Samuel Reshevsky, age 8, defeating several chess masters at once in France, 1920.
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Aprille Love
Thanks to all my beautiful girls! Chandra VidarYvonne Amores Annabel Gotfried Claire ParkerVanessa Anne Melanie McDowall
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http://www.dvb.no/dvb-video/more-land-fenced-off-at-latpadaung-locals-devastated-burma-myanmar/35247
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All-New Today: Brianna, 25, claims she was raped 10 years ago and that her mother coerced her into sharing her story with the national media — creating backlash from her peers. Can they fix their fractured relationship? And, best-selling author Mitch Albom offers advice for living a life without regret.
http://bit.ly/DRP121313 #DrPhil
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Emma Watson
"I was always a very serious child... So I was the right child to get cast: I loved the responsibility."-Emma on getting cast as Hermione Granger at age 9
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On the 5th day of ObamaCare, Democrats gave to me…five million cancelled plans, Four-Oh-Four errors, fewer physicians, two times the cost and a nightmare for my family. http://bit.ly/1jX1s02
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"Forgive them, for they know not what they do." -Jesus
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"We're not left or right, we're individuals!" *Snigger*
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/mark-scott-must-step-up-and-rid-abc-of-its-green-hue/story-fnkqo7i5-1226782717544#mm-register
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Pastor Rick Warren
Those God uses most, Satan attacks most.
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Want to get healthy, feel better, and honor God with your body? (Romans 12:1)
TODAY watch @DocAmen, @MarkHymanMD, @DrOz and me as we explain THE DANIEL PLAN: GLORIFYING GOD BY KEEPING YOUR BODY HEALTHY today on The Dr. Oz Show. Tell your friends!
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Want to get healthy, feel better, and honor God with your body? (Romans 12:1)
TODAY watch @DocAmen, @MarkHymanMD, @DrOz and me as we explain THE DANIEL PLAN: GLORIFYING GOD BY KEEPING YOUR BODY HEALTHY today on The Dr. Oz Show. Tell your friends!
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Michelle Malkin
Truth-boom! Brit Hume crushes Obamacare with one question, devastating answer ==>http://twitchy.com/2013/
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San Francisco Sunrise
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For the first time in recent history, it has snowed in Cairo!
With freezing temperatures across Egypt, New Cairo, Alexandria, and parts of the Sinai all witnessed snow fall this morning and yesterday.
[Photo from Madinaty, New Cairo via @i3atf)
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Current Gallery on all Photographs
Please click on below link:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/307958525882739/photos/
Jewellery & Gemstone Gallery
Colour your world with gemstones !
A Gallery of Jewellery, Diamond News,Gems & Gemology promoted bywww.diamondimports.com.au
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John LaMantia Reminds me of my favorite kicked out of band story from local friends - leader kicked out guitar player by calling him on the phone while everyone else in band was in room with leader calling: " Hey Paul, yeah its Sean, you're out"
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Aprille Love
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4 her
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Look my love, a gift! Such a remarkable thing! Chocolate? Jelly Beans? It is too well wrapped for me to peep .. who taught patience? - ed
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Actress Orla Brady plays Tasha Lem in this year's Christmas special, #TheTimeoftheDoctor (less than 2 weeks to go!). In this interview she talks costume, playing a "galactic nun" and being reunited with Peter Capaldi.
Read Orla's full interview here: http://bbc.in/
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Are you in a custody battle? Click here for Dr. Phil’s advice! http://bit.ly/
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Steven Moffat promises that #TheTimeoftheDoctorwill contain "elements from every series of Matt’s Doctor, which will come to a head in this special. Things that we've laid down for years are going to be paid off." Geronimo!
Read the whole interview on doctorwho.tv:http://bbc.in/
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Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו
Jerusalem of white gold.
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Michelle Malkin
‘I literally LOL’d!’ What was Jimmy Fallon’s Furious FLOTUS, funeral selfie prediction? ==>http://twitchy.com/2013/
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David Bowles
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Landfillharmonic
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Fogged in at the Gate
The fog lifted momentarily... just long enough to get this image. The Golden Gate bridge seemed to be floating as the billowy glowing mist rose up and down for those few brief moments before drifting back in over the hill of Battery Spencer on this warm autumn evening. — at Golden Gate Bridge.
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http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/20307589/plastic-surgeon-dad-gives-daughters-boob-jobs/
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His mentor .. like Dr Frankenstein - ed
Jason FoNg I like it how the Commies just don't whack someone. They go all out to destroy his legacy and erase every trace of him from history. A bit like what Rudd Mark II did to Gillard really.
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Zaya Toma
At the Canley Heights town centre Christmas celebration. Wonderful performance by three young girls from Canley Heights public school. About to hand out lollies to everyone so come down!!
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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
Are you feeling broken hearted today?
Life can be difficult at times but we need to lean the word of God and the comfort and encouragement it can provide. The Bible verses for a broken heart are a clear call from God to cast your burden upon Him and trust in Him.No matter what you are passing through,be it single for a long time! or financial problem to meet up with Children Christmas wears? Is it loneliness of the heart? Is it unfaithfulness from your spouse? Whatever it is,there is a solution.Psalm 34:18 says,The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
God knows all about your inner pain.Tell Him you do not know how to pray.Your cry for help will not be in vain.God will give you strength when weary.And when everything seems to go wrong,Lift your hand and reach out to Him.He will make your heavy heart strong.Look up to God, He holds the key,and knows what is best for you and me.
Only He can make heartaches cease and fill a heavy heart with peace.The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him and I am helped.Psalm 28:7.God bless you.
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PRAY ALONG..
Father, I come to You today with thanksgiving in my heart and a mouth full of praise. I bless You because You are worthy. Thank You for redeeming my life from the pit. Thank You for leading me in the way everlasting as I keep my heart and mind on You today in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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God’s will for us unfolds each and every day as we obey Him and serve Him with a thankful heart. When you wake up every morning with an attitude of praise and thanksgiving, you just took a step toward your destiny — you are walking in the will of God. When you go throughout your day thanking God that His hand of blessing is upon you, thanking Him for ordering your steps, thanking Him for a new day, you are taking another step in His will.The Scripture says,“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”(1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV).
So,Keep praising, keep believing and keep thanking Him because that’s what will keep you moving forward. Submit every area of your heart to Him and walk forward in His will for your life.God bless you.
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JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I APPRECIATE YOU HIGHLY AS YEAR COMES TO AN END.
Yesterday I was going through my old messages and I said to myself,am i doing enough?.I receive gifts and presents all the time. Perhaps it is just me, but as the years go by you worry less about the gifts and more about the people you will share your special moments with. As I read through the messages and comments from all of you, I felt so humbled. I remembered this passage in the Scripture.Matthew 19:29 And every one that has forsaken houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundred times, and will inherit everlasting life.
There were times when I felt like my very pieces of my heart had been taken out. Today though I look at how much more the Lord has added to me and I do not remember the things I had to give up any longer.As I read every message I was touched so deeply. You know, as a leader I love to pour out. More than making people happy, I want my Heavenly Father to be happy with me. It was an overwhelming joy though to read those messages and comments and to feel the appreciation from you.
To see the lives I touched and the people that knew me, even though we have never met face-to-face. I looked around and I saw that God had indeed given back to me a family that was dear to my heart. I might not know you face-to-face, but as we have traveled together over the months and years through Facebook, I realize that our paths have been intertwined.
Together we are making an impact in the world. Together we are shining as a City on a Hill. For someone that usually never runs out of words... I find it hard to try and find the exact words to express what a blessing you are in my life. So I will only say that I wish above all else that you will prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers. I pray that you will come to know Jesus face-to-face and have every part of your heart fully healed. I pray that you can see your value in the eyes of your Heavenly Father.
I pray that every promise that God has given you will be fulfilled and that every ache of your heart is transformed into rejoicing. I pray that you would know how precious you are to the Lord and how much potential you have to succeed. I pray that you know you have a place and that you are destined to walk in His power.
I pray that you will see that you are a signet ring on the right hand of the Lord and a treasure beyond compare. May Jesus truly reveal Himself to you today.A big Amen.
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PRAY ALONG.
Father in heaven,I thank You for Your faithfulness in my life. Thank You for choosing me. Thank You for delighting in me. I invite You to renew my heart and mind to the good plans You have for me. Today I open my heart and mind to You so that I can see the greatness of what You want to do in my life. Use me for Your glory. Thank You for Your favor. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
=
Greatness of His Favor.
The Scripture says,“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us...raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus”(Ephesians 2:4–7, NKJ)
Oftentimes, people set their focus on what God has done in the past — how He parted the Red Sea, or stopped the sun for Joshua, or fed thousands of people with just a little boy’s small lunch. Yes, God has performed many amazing miracles throughout history, and it’s important that we give Him praise and glory. But at the same time, we also have to look forward to what God wants to do in our lives today. In this verse, Paul says that “in the ages to come” God would do things that far supersede anything He’s ever done before. I believe that the “ages to come” that He’s talking about is this day and time we’re living in right now. God wants to outdo Himself in our generation.Dare to dream big! Dare to keep a God-sized vision in front of you! Dare to take hold of every blessing that the Lord has in store for you.You are blessed.
=
Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.O Lord teach me to seek you,and reveal yourself to me when I seek you.
For I cannot seek you unless you first teach me,nor find you unless you first reveal yourself to me.Always, always, in spite of weakness, falls, and shortcomings of every kind, Jesus, help me and never forsake me.
Amen.
===
12/12/2013
Pollard and an American Jewish Renaissance By CAROLINE B. GLICK
Every day Pollard remains in prison is an attack on the freedom and security of the American Jewish community.
http://carolineglick.com/
===
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4089/jordan-tarek-khoury-jihad
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http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=6649&r=1
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http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1213/jihad_fundraising.php3#.UqsUOEhIv5M.facebook
===<We must never forget for when we do we trivialize man's inhumanity to his fellow man.>
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/pruden121313#.Uqw_eKWLNa9
===its 'no kids o'clock', time to watch this! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansel_&_Gretel:_Witch_Hunters
en.wikipedia.org
======
We welcome #FirozOsman and dedicate this graphic to him, lest he forget:
===
===
http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/12/12/mda-blasts-media-politicians-over-dangerously-misleading-story-about-rejection-of-blood-from-ethiopian-mk/
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http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/30#.UqxA5KWLNa9
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http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.co.il/2013/12/blood-donations-necessary-precautions.html
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- 835 – In the Sweet Dew Incident,Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynastyconspired to kill the powerful eunuchsof the Tang court, but the plot was foiled.
- 1819 – Alabama was admitted as the 22nd U.S. state, after the statehood of present-day Northern Alabama was delayed for several years by the lack of a coastline untilMobile was captured from Spain during the War of 1812.
- 1911 – Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team became the first people to reach the South Pole(pictured).
- 1963 – The dam holding the Baldwin Hills Reservoir in Los Angeles failed, releasing a flood that destroyed 277 homes.
- 1999 – Torrential rains caused flash floods in Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state's infrastructure.
Events[edit]
- 557 – Constantinople is severely damaged by an earthquake.
- 835 – Sweet Dew Incident: Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty conspires to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot is foiled.
- 1287 – St. Lucia's flood: The Zuiderzee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses, killing over 50,000 people.
- 1542 – Princess Mary Stuart becomes Mary, Queen of Scots.
- 1751 – The Theresian Military Academy is founded as the first military academy in the world.
- 1782 – The Montgolfier brothers' first balloon lifts off on its first test flight.
- 1812 – The French invasion of Russia comes to an end as the remnants of the Grande Armée are expelled from Russia.
- 1814 – War of 1812: The Royal Navy seizes control of Lake Borgne, Louisiana.
- 1819 – Alabama becomes the 22nd U.S. state.
- 1836 – The Toledo War unofficially ends.
- 1896 – The Glasgow Underground Railway is opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company.
- 1900 – Quantum mechanics: Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law.
- 1902 – The Commercial Pacific Cable Company lays the first Pacific telegraph cable, from San Francisco to Honolulu.
- 1903 – The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
- 1907 – The schooner Thomas W. Lawson runs aground and founders near the Hellweather's Reef within the Isles of Scilly in a gale. The pilot and 15 seamen die.
- 1909 – New South Wales Premier Charles Wade signs the Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909, formally completing the transfer of State land to the Commonwealth to create the Australian Capital Territory.
- 1911 – Roald Amundsen's team, comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, becomes the first to reach the South Pole.
- 1913 – Haruna, the fourth and last Kongō-class ship, launches, eventually becoming one of the Japanese workhorses during World War Iand World War II.
- 1914 – Lisandro de la Torre and others found the Democratic Progressive Party (Partido Demócrata Progresista, PDP) at the Hotel Savoy,Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- 1918 – Friedrich Karl von Hessen, a German prince elected by the Parliament of Finland to become King Väinö I, renounces the Finnish throne.
- 1918 – Portuguese President Sidónio Pais is assassinated.
- 1939 – Winter War: The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations for invading Finland.
- 1941 – World War II: Japan signs a treaty of alliance with Thailand.
- 1946 – The United Nations General Assembly votes to establish its headquarters in New York, New York.
- 1955 – Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Ceylon, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania andSpain join the United Nations.
- 1958 – The 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition becomes the first to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility.
- 1961 – Tanganyika joins the United Nations.
- 1962 – NASA's Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus.
- 1963 – The dam containing the Baldwin Hills Reservoir bursts, killing five people and damaging hundreds of homes in Los Angeles, California.
- 1964 – American Civil Rights Movement: Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States – The Supreme Court of the United States rules thatCongress can use the Constitution's Commerce Clause to fight discrimination.
- 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: Over 200 of East Pakistan's intellectuals are executed by the Pakistan Army and their local allies. (The date is commemorated in Bangladesh as Martyred Intellectuals Day.)
- 1972 – Apollo program: Eugene Cernan is the last person to walk on the moon, after he and Harrison Schmitt complete the third and finalextra-vehicular activity (EVA) of the Apollo 17 mission.
- 1981 – Arab–Israeli conflict: Israel's Knesset ratifies the Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli law to the occupied Golan Heights.
- 1983 – The third Congress of the Communist Youth of Greece starts.
- 1988 – The ET3 television network is launched in Thessaloniki, Greece.
- 1992 – War in Abkhazia: Siege of Tkvarcheli – A helicopter carrying evacuees from Tkvarcheli is shot down, resulting in at least 52 deaths, including 25 children. The incident catalyses more concerted Russian military intervention on behalf of Abkhazia.
- 1994 – Construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River.
- 1995 – Yugoslav Wars: The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris by the leaders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- 1999 – Torrential rains cause flash floods in Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state's infrastructure.
- 2003 – Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt.
- 2004 – The Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, is formally inaugurated near Millau, France.
- 2008 – Muntadhar al-Zaidi throws his shoes at then-U.S. President George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq.
- 2012 – Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: Twenty-eight people, including the gunman, are killed in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.
Births[edit]
- 1009 – Emperor Go-Suzaku of Japan (d. 1045)
- 1546 – Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer and chemist (d. 1601)
- 1607 – János Kemény, Hungarian aristocrat and writer, Prince of Transylvania (d. 1662)
- 1625 – Barthélemy d'Herbelot, French Orientalist (d. 1695)
- 1631 – Anne Conway, Viscountess Conway, English philosopher (d. 1679)
- 1640 – Aphra Behn, English playwright and author (d. 1689)
- 1678 – Daniel Neal, English historian (d. 1743)
- 1720 – Justus Möser, German jurist and social theorist (d. 1794)
- 1730 – Capel Bond, English organist and composer (d. 1790)
- 1738 – Jan Antonín Koželuh, Bohemian composer (d. 1814)
- 1775 – Philander Chase, American bishop and educator, founded Kenyon College (d. 1852)
- 1775 – Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, Scottish admiral and adventurer (d. 1860)
- 1784 – Princess Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily, Italian wife of Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias (d. 1806)
- 1787 – Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, Austrian wife of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1816)
- 1791 – Charles Wolfe, Irish poet (d. 1823)
- 1794 – Erastus Corning, American businessman and politician (d. 1872)
- 1816 – Abraham Hochmuth, Hungarian rabbi (d. 1889)
- 1824 – Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, French painter (d. 1898)
- 1852 – Daniel De Leon, American journalist, politician, and Marxist theoretician, developed De Leonism (d. 1914)
- 1853 – Errico Malatesta, Italian anarchist (d. 1932)
- 1866 – Roger Fry, English painter and critic (d. 1934)
- 1870 – Karl Renner, Austrian politician, 4th President of Austria (d. 1950)
- 1881 – Katherine MacDonald, American actress and producer (d. 1956)
- 1881 – Howard Valentine, American sprinter (d. 1932)
- 1883 – Manolis Kalomiris, Greek composer (d. 1962)
- 1883 – Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist, developed aikido (d. 1969)
- 1884 – Jane Cowl, American actress and playwright (d. 1950)
- 1887 – Xul Solar, Argentine painter and sculptor (d. 1963)
- 1895 – George VI of the United Kingdom (d. 1952)
- 1895 – Paul Éluard, French poet (d. 1952)
- 1896 – Jimmy Doolittle, American aviator and general (d. 1993)
- 1897 – Kurt Schuschnigg, Austrian politician, 15th Federal Chancellor of Austria (d. 1977)
- 1897 – Margaret Chase Smith, American politician, Senator from Maine (d. 1995)
- 1901 – Paul of Greece (d. 1964)
- 1902 – Frances Bavier, American actress (d. 1989)
- 1908 – Morey Amsterdam, American comedian and actor (d. 1996)
- 1908 – Claude Davey, Welsh rugby player (d. 2001)
- 1908 – Mária Szepes, Hungarian author (d. 2007)
- 1909 – Edward Tatum, American geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
- 1911 – Spike Jones, American comedian, musician and bandleader (d. 1965)
- 1911 – Hans von Ohain, German-American engineer (d. 1998)
- 1913 – Dan Dailey, American actor (d. 1978)
- 1914 – Karl Carstens, German politician, 5th President of the Federal Republic of Germany (d. 1992)
- 1914 – Attila Petschauer, Hungarian fencer (d. 1943)
- 1914 – Nam Phuong, Vietnamese wife of Emperor Bảo Đại (d. 1963)
- 1914 – Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichordist (d. 2003)
- 1915 – Rashid Behbudov, Soviet Azerbaijani singer (d. 1989)
- 1916 – Shirley Jackson, American author (d. 1965)
- 1917 – C.-H. Hermansson, Swedish politician and author, former leader of the Left Party – the Communists
- 1917 – Elyse Knox, American actress and fashion designer (d. 2012)
- 1917 – June Taylor, American choreographer (d. 2004)
- 1918 – James Thomas Aubrey, Jr., American television and film executive, president of CBS (d. 1994)
- 1918 – Radu Beligan, Romanian actor
- 1918 – B. K. S. Iyengar, Indian yoga instructor and author, founded Iyengar Yoga
- 1920 – Clark Terry, American trumpet player
- 1922 – Nikolay Basov, Soviet physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2001)
- 1922 – Don Hewitt, American television producer, created 60 Minutes (d. 2009)
- 1922 – Junior J. Spurrier, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1984)
- 1923 – Gerard Reve, Dutch author (d. 2006)
- 1924 – Raj Kapoor, Indian actor (d. 1988)
- 1925 – Sam Jones, American baseball player (d. 1971)
- 1927 – Richard Cassilly, American tenor (d. 1998)
- 1927 – Koos Rietkerk, Dutch politician (d. 1986)
- 1931 – Jon Elia, Pakistani scholar, poet, and philosopher (d. 2002)
- 1931 – Vladimir-Georg Karassev-Orgussaar, Estonian director
- 1932 – Abbe Lane, American singer and actress
- 1932 – Epifanie Norocel, Romanian archbishop (d. 2013)
- 1932 – Charlie Rich, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
- 1934 – Shyam Benegal, Indian director and screenwriter
- 1935 – Lewis Arquette, American actor, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2001)
- 1935 – Lee Remick, American actress (d. 1991)
- 1935 – Arvo Valton, Estonian writer
- 1938 – Leonardo Boff, Brazilian theologian and author
- 1938 – Hal Williams, American actor
- 1939 – Ernie Davis, American football player (d. 1963)
- 1940 – Lex Gold, Scottish footballer and administrator
- 1941 – Karan Armstrong, American soprano
- 1941 – Ellen Willis, American journalist (d. 2006)
- 1943 – Emmett Tyrrell, American journalist, author, and publisher, founded The American Spectator
- 1946 – Jane Birkin, English-French actress and singer
- 1946 – Patty Duke, American actress
- 1946 – Ruth Fuchs, German javelin thrower and politician
- 1946 – Michael Ovitz, American talent agent, co-founded Creative Artists Agency
- 1946 – Stan Smith, American tennis player
- 1946 – Joyce Vincent Wilson, American singer (Tony Orlando and Dawn)
- 1947 – Christopher Parkening, American guitarist
- 1947 – Dilma Rousseff, Brazilian politician and economist, 36th President of Brazil
- 1947 – Linda Sutton, English painter
- 1948 – Kim Beazley, Australian politician and diplomat, Ambassador to the United States
- 1948 – Boudewijn Büch, Dutch poet and television host (d. 2002)
- 1948 – Peeter Kreitzberg, Estonian politician and pedagogue, Minister of Culture and Education (d. 2011)
- 1948 – Dee Wallace, American actress
- 1948 – Peter Thorup, Danish guitarist, singer, composer and record producer (d. 2007)
- 1949 – Bill Buckner, American baseball player
- 1949 – Cliff Williams, English bass player and singer (AC/DC, Home and Bandit)
- 1951 – Jan Timman, Dutch chess player
- 1951 – Paul Zaloom, American actor and puppeteer
- 1952 – Germain Houde, Canadian actor
- 1952 – John Lurie, American actor, saxophonist, painter, director, and producer (The Lounge Lizards)
- 1953 – Vijay Amritraj, Indian tennis player and sports commentator
- 1953 – Wade Davis, Canadian anthropologist, author, and photographer
- 1953 – René Eespere, Estonian composer
- 1953 – Vangelis Meimarakis, Greek lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament
- 1953 – Mikael Odenberg, Swedish politician, 29th Minister for Defence
- 1954 – James Horan, American actor
- 1954 – Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver (d. 1993)
- 1954 – Steven MacLean, Canadian astronaut, former President of the Canadian Space Agency
- 1956 – Linda Fabiani, Scottish politician
- 1956 – Hanni Wenzel, German skier
- 1958 – Mike Scott, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Waterboys)
- 1958 – Spider Stacy, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Pogues)
- 1958 – François Zocchetto, French politician, Senator for Mayenne
- 1959 – Bob Paris, American-Canadian bodybuilder and actor
- 1959 – Jorge Vaca, Mexican boxer
- 1960 – Don Franklin, American actor
- 1960 – Chris Waddle, English footballer
- 1961 – Patrik Sundström, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1962 – Ginger Lynn, American model and actress
- 1963 – Greg Abbott, English footballer and manager
- 1963 – Cynthia Gibb, American actress
- 1963 – Vytautas Juozapaitis, Lithuanian opera singer
- 1963 – Michael Moloney, American interior designer and television personality
- 1963 – Alice Ripley American actress
- 1963 – Mario Yamasaki, Brazilian-American mixed martial arts referee
- 1964 – Rebecca Gibney, Australian actress
- 1965 – Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, Kuwaiti alleged terrorist
- 1965 – Craig Biggio, American baseball player
- 1965 – Ken Hill, American baseball player
- 1965 – Ted Raimi, American actor
- 1965 – Aljoša Asanović, Croatian footballer
- 1966 – Fabrizio Giovanardi, Italian race car driver
- 1966 – Anthony Mason, American basketball player
- 1966 – Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Danish politician, 41st Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1966 – Bill Ranford, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966 – Tim Sköld, Swedish bass player (Shotgun Messiah, Doctor Midnight & The Mercy Cult, MDFMK, KMFDM, and ohGr)
- 1967 – Ewa Białołęcka, Polish author
- 1968 – Kelley Armstrong, Canadian author
- 1968 – Noelle Beck, American actress
- 1969 – Scott Hatteberg, American baseball player
- 1969 – Archie Kao, American actor
- 1969 – Natascha McElhone, English actress
- 1969 – Arthur Numan, Dutch footballer
- 1970 – Nadine Garner, Australian actress
- 1970 – Anna Maria Jopek, Polish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1970 – Beth Orton, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1971 – Brian Gay, American golfer
- 1971 – Tia Texada, American actress and singer
- 1971 – Michaela Watkins, American actress
- 1972 – Eric Anderson, American actor
- 1972 – Miranda Hart, English comedian and actress
- 1972 – Marcus Jensen, American baseball player
- 1973 – Pat Burke, Irish basketball player
- 1973 – Tomasz Radzinski, Polish-Canadian soccer player
- 1973 – Saulius Štombergas, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
- 1973 – Thuy Trang, Vietnamese-American actress (d. 2001)
- 1974 – Billy Koch, American baseball player
- 1975 – Justin Furstenfeld, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Blue October and The Last Wish)
- 1975 – KaDee Strickland, American actress
- 1976 – Tammy Blanchard, American actress
- 1976 – Leland Chapman, American bounty hunter
- 1976 – Sebastien Chaule, French-German rugby player
- 1976 – André Couto, Portuguese race car driver
- 1976 – Santiago Ezquerro, Spanish footballer
- 1977 – Brain Damage, American wrestler (d. 2012)
- 1977 – Jamie Peacock, English rugby player
- 1978 – Dean Brogan, Australian footballer
- 1978 – Zdeněk Pospěch, Czech footballer
- 1978 – Patty Schnyder, Swiss tennis player
- 1978 – Radu Sîrbu, Moldovan singer and producer (O-Zone)
- 1978 – Kim St-Pierre, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Jean-Alain Boumsong, French footballer
- 1979 – Andrei Makrov, Estonian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Michael Owen, English footballer
- 1979 – Sophie Monk, Australian singer-songwriter and actress (Bardot)
- 1980 – Gordon Greer, Scottish footballer
- 1980 – Tata Young, Thai singer and actress
- 1980 – Didier Zokora, Ivorian footballer
- 1981 – Amber Chia, Malaysian model and actress
- 1981 – Émilie Heymans, Canadian diver
- 1981 – Rebecca Jarvis, American journalist
- 1981 – Johnny Jeter, American professional wrestler
- 1981 – Liam Lawrence, Irish footballer
- 1981 – Shaun Marcum, American baseball player
- 1982 – Josh Fields, American baseball player
- 1982 – Steve Sidwell, English footballer
- 1982 – Anthony Way, English singer and actor
- 1984 – Chris Brunt, Irish footballer
- 1984 – Rana Daggubati, Indian actor and producer
- 1984 – Krissy Lynn, American porn actress
- 1984 – Ed Rainsford, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1984 – Jackson Rathbone, Singaporean-American actor and singer (100 Monkeys)
- 1985 – Jakub Błaszczykowski, Polish footballer
- 1985 – Julio Pimentel, Dominican baseball player
- 1985 – Paul Rabil, American lacrosse player
- 1985 – Tom Smith, English-Welsh rugby player
- 1985 – Nonami Takizawa, Japanese actress and singer
- 1986 – Jang Jae-Ho, South Korean gamer
- 1987 – Kenneth Medwood, American-Belizean hurdler
- 1987 – Aletta Ocean, Hungarian pornographic actress
- 1988 – Vanessa Hudgens, American actress and singer
- 1988 – Nicolas Batum, French basketball player
- 1988 – Hayato Sakamoto, Japanese baseball player
- 1989 – Onew, South Korean singer, dancer, and actor (Shinee)
- 1989 – Pedro Roberto Silva Botelho, Brazilian footballer
- 1992 – Ryo Miyaichi, Japanese footballer
- 1994 – Joshua Dionisio, Filipino actor
Deaths[edit]
- 1460 – Guarino da Verona, Italian scholar (b. 1370)
- 1510 – Friedrich of Saxony, German nobleman and soldier, 36th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (b. 1473)
- 1542 – James V of Scotland (b. 1512)
- 1553 – Hanibal Lucić, Croatian poet and playwright (b. 1485)
- 1591 – John of the Cross, Spanish priest and saint (b. 1542)
- 1624 – Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, English politician, Lord High Admiral (b. 1536)
- 1651 – Pierre Dupuy, French scholar (b. 1582)
- 1713 – Thomas Rymer, English historian (b. 1641)
- 1715 – Thomas Tenison, English priest, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1636)
- 1735 – Thomas Tanner, English antiquary and prelate, Bishop of St Asaph (b. 1674)
- 1741 – Charles Rollin, French historian (b. 1661)
- 1788 – Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German composer (b. 1714)
- 1788 – Charles III of Spain (b. 1716)
- 1799 – George Washington, American general and politician, 1st President of the United States (b. 1732)
- 1831 – Martin Baum, American businessman and politician, 5th Mayor of Cincinnati (b. 1765)
- 1838 – Jean-Olivier Chénier, Canadian physician (b. 1806)
- 1860 – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1784)
- 1861 – Albert, Prince Consort, German husband of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (b. 1819)
- 1865 – Johan Georg Forchhammer, Danish geologist (b. 1794)
- 1873 – Louis Agassiz, Swiss-American zoologist and geologist (b. 1807)
- 1878 – Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, British wife of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse (b. 1843)
- 1902 – Julia Grant, American wife of Ulysses S. Grant, First Lady of the United States (b. 1826)
- 1912 – Belgrave Edward Sutton Ninnis, English lieutenant and explorer (b. 1887)
- 1920 – George Gipp, American football player (b. 1895)
- 1927 – Julian Sochocki, Russian mathematician (b. 1842)
- 1935 – Stanley G. Weinbaum, American author (b. 1902)
- 1937 – Fabián de la Rosa, Filipino painter (b. 1869)
- 1940 – Anton Korošec, Slovenian-Yugoslav politician, 10th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1872)
- 1943 – John Harvey Kellogg, American physician (Battle Creek Sanitarium) and businessman, co-invented corn flakes (b. 1852)
- 1947 – Stanley Baldwin, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1867)
- 1947 – Edward Higgins, English-American evangelist, 3rd General of the Salvation Army (b. 1864)
- 1953 – Marjorie Rawlings, American author (b. 1896)
- 1954 – Emil Rausch, German swimmer (b. 1883)
- 1956 – Juho Kusti Paasikivi, Finnish politician, 7th President of Finland (b. 1870)
- 1957 – Fred Chapman, American baseball player (b. 1872)
- 1963 – Otto Fickeisen, German rower (b. 1879)
- 1963 – Dinah Washington, American singer (b. 1924)
- 1964 – William Bendix, American actor (b. 1906)
- 1966 – Shailendra, Indian songwriter (b. 1923)
- 1970 – Franz Schlegelberger, German Nazi politician, Acting Reich Minister of Justice (b. 1876)
- 1971 – Mufazzal Haider Chaudhury, Bangladeshi writer (b. 1926)
- 1971 – Munier Choudhury, Bangladeshi writer and dissident (b. 1925)
- 1971 – Shahidullah Kaiser, Bangladeshi journalist (b. 1927)
- 1971 – Selina Parvin, Bangladeshi journalist (b. 1931)
- 1971 – Dick Tiger, Nigerian boxer (b. 1929)
- 1974 – Walter Lippmann, American journalist (b. 1889)
- 1975 – Arthur Treacher, English actor (b. 1894)
- 1978 – Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish diplomat and historian, co-founded the College of Europe (b. 1886)
- 1980 – Elston Howard, American baseball player (b. 1929)
- 1984 – Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
- 1985 – Catherine Doherty, Russian-Canadian social worker and servant of God, founded the Madonna House Apostolate (b. 1896)
- 1985 – Roger Maris, American baseball player (b. 1934)
- 1989 – Ants Eskola, Estonian actor and singer (b. 1908)
- 1989 – Jock Mahoney, American actor and stuntman (b. 1919)
- 1989 – Andrei Sakharov, Soviet physicist and dissident, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1921)
- 1990 – Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss author and playwright (b. 1921)
- 1991 – Robert Eddison, English actor (b. 1908)
- 1993 – Jeff Alm, American football player (b. 1968)
- 1993 – Myrna Loy, American actress (b. 1905)
- 1994 – Orval Faubus, American politician, 36th Governor of Arkansas (b. 1910)
- 1995 – G. C. Edmondson, Aerican science fiction author (b. 1922)
- 1996 – Gaston Miron, Canadian poet (b. 1928)
- 1997 – Stubby Kaye, American comic actor (b. 1918)
- 1997 – Emily Cheney Neville, American author (b. 1919)
- 1997 – Kurt Winter, Canadian guitarist and songwriter (The Guess Who) (b. 1946)
- 1998 – Norman Fell, American actor (b. 1924)
- 1998 – A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., American judge and civil rights activist (b. 1928)
- 1998 – Annette Strauss, American philanthropist and politician, Mayor of Dallas (b. 1924)
- 1999 – Gré Brouwenstijn, Dutch opera singer (b. 1915)
- 2001 – W. G. Sebald, German academic and author (b. 1944)
- 2003 – Jeanne Crain, American actress (b. 1925)
- 2003 – Blas Ople, Filipino journalist and politician, 21st President of the Senate of the Philippines (b. 1927)
- 2003 – Frank Sheeran, American labor union official and alleged murderer (b. 1920)
- 2004 – Rod Kanehl, American baseball player (b. 1934)
- 2004 – Fernando Poe, Jr., Filipino actor and politician (b. 1939)
- 2005 – Trevanian, American author and scholar (b. 1931)
- 2006 – Anton Balasingham, Sri Lankan strategist and negotiator (b. 1938)
- 2006 – Ahmet Ertegun, Turkish-American composer and producer, co-founded Atlantic Records (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Mike Evans, American actor (b. 1949)
- 2009 – Alan A'Court, English footballer (b. 1934)
- 2010 – Timothy Davlin, American politician, Mayor of Springfield, Illinois (b. 1957)
- 2010 – Neva Patterson, American actress (b. 1920)
- 2010 – Dale Roberts, English footballer (b. 1986)
- 2011 – Joe Simon, American writer and illustrator (b. 1913)
- 2011 – Billie Jo Spears, American singer (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Donnie Andrews, American criminal and anti-crime advocate (b. 1954)
- 2012 – Alida Chelli, Italian actress and singer (b. 1943)
- 2012 – John Graham, British general (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Klaus Köste, East German gymnast (b. 1943)
- 2012 – Edward Jones, American politician (b. 1950)
- 2012 – Kenneth Kendall, Indian-English journalist (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Hazel McIsaac, Canadian politician (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Victoria Leigh Soto, American educator (b. 1985)
Holidays and observances[edit]
- Alabama Day (Alabama)
- Christian Feast Day:
- Day of the Martyred Intellectuals (Bangladesh)
- Monkey Day
“When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”” Matthew 2:4-6 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
"Salt without prescribing how much."
Ezra 7:22
Ezra 7:22
Salt was used in every offering made by fire unto the Lord, and from its preserving and purifying properties it was the grateful emblem of divine grace in the soul. It is worthy of our attentive regard that, when Artaxerxes gave salt to Ezra the priest, he set no limit to the quantity, and we may be quite certain that when the King of kings distributes grace among his royal priesthood, the supply is not cut short by him. Often are we straitened in ourselves, but never in the Lord. He who chooses to gather much manna will find that he may have as much as he desires. There is no such famine in Jerusalem that the citizens should eat their bread by weight and drink their water by measure. Some things in the economy of grace are measured; for instance our vinegar and gall are given us with such exactness that we never have a single drop too much, but of the salt of grace no stint is made, "Ask what thou wilt and it shall be given unto thee." Parents need to lock up the fruit cupboard, and the sweet jars, but there is no need to keep the salt-box under lock and key, for few children will eat too greedily from that. A man may have too much money, or too much honour, but he cannot have too much grace. When Jeshurun waxed fat in the flesh, he kicked against God, but there is no fear of a man's becoming too full of grace: a plethora of grace is impossible. More wealth brings more care, but more grace brings more joy. Increased wisdom is increased sorrow, but abundance of the Spirit is fulness of joy. Believer, go to the throne for a large supply of heavenly salt. It will season thine afflictions, which are unsavoury without salt; it will preserve thy heart which corrupts if salt be absent, and it will kill thy sins even as salt kills reptiles. Thou needest much; seek much, and have much.
Evening
"I will make thy windows of agates."
Isaiah 54:12
Isaiah 54:12
The church is most instructively symbolized by a building erected by heavenly power, and designed by divine skill. Such a spiritual house must not be dark, for the Israelites had light in their dwellings; there must therefore be windows to let the light in and to allow the inhabitants to gaze abroad. These windows are precious as agates: the ways in which the church beholds her Lord and heaven, and spiritual truth in general, are to be had in the highest esteem. Agates are not the most transparent of gems, they are but semi-pellucid at the best:
"Our knowledge of that life is small,
Our eye of faith is dim."
Faith is one of these precious agate windows, but alas! it is often so misty and beclouded, that we see but darkly, and mistake much that we do see. Yet if we cannot gaze through windows of diamonds and know even as we are known, it is a glorious thing to behold the altogether lovely One, even though the glass be hazy as the agate. Experience is another of these dim but precious windows, yielding to us a subdued religious light, in which we see the sufferings of the Man of Sorrows, through our own afflictions. Our weak eyes could not endure windows of transparent glass to let in the Master's glory, but when they are dimmed with weeping, the beams of the Sun of Righteousness are tempered, and shine through the windows of agate with a soft radiance inexpressibly soothing to tempted souls. Sanctification, as it conforms us to our Lord, is another agate window. Only as we become heavenly can we comprehend heavenly things. The pure in heart see a pure God. Those who are like Jesus see him as he is. Because we are so little like him, the window is but agate; because we are somewhat like him, it is agate. We thank God for what we have, and long for more. When shall we see God and Jesus, and heaven and truth, face to face?
===Today's reading: Hosea 12-14, Revelation 4 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Hosea 12-14
1 Ephraim feeds on the wind;
he pursues the east wind all day
and multiplies lies and violence.
He makes a treaty with Assyria
and sends olive oil to Egypt.
2 The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah;
he will punish Jacob according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;
as a man he struggled with God.
4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel
and talked with him there—
5 the LORD God Almighty,
the LORD is his name!
6 But you must return to your God;
maintain love and justice,
and wait for your God always.
he pursues the east wind all day
and multiplies lies and violence.
He makes a treaty with Assyria
and sends olive oil to Egypt.
2 The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah;
he will punish Jacob according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;
as a man he struggled with God.
4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel
and talked with him there—
5 the LORD God Almighty,
the LORD is his name!
6 But you must return to your God;
maintain love and justice,
and wait for your God always.
7 The merchant uses dishonest scales
and loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim boasts,
“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.
With all my wealth they will not find in me
any iniquity or sin....”
and loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim boasts,
“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.
With all my wealth they will not find in me
any iniquity or sin....”
Today's New Testament reading: Revelation 4
The Throne in Heaven
1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal....
Manasseh, Manasses[Mānăs’seh,Mānăs’sēs]—causing forgetfulness.
- The elder son of Joseph, who was born in Egypt and was half Hebrew and half Egyptian. He was the founder of a tribe (Gen. 41:51; Num. 1:10 ). Manasseh and his brother Ephraim were Jacob’s Gentile descendants, since both were children of an Egyptian mother. Ephraim means “the multitude of nations,” or “the fulness of the Gentiles,” and was prophetic of Christ as the Saviour of the world. The tribe of Manasseh produced two out of the four Old Testament men whose faith has been thought worthy of notice in the New Testament—Gideon and Jephthah (Heb. 11:32).
- The grandfather of Jonathan who, with his sons, became a priest to the tribe of Dan when they set up a graven image in Laish ( Judg. 18:30). Perhaps Moses should be read for Manasseh in the verse.
- The son of Hezekiah and father of Amon, king of Judah, who succeeded his father when he was only twelve years of age (2 Kings 20:21; 21).
The Man Whose Policy Was Wrong
Manasseh, the prodigal king of the Old Testament, was overwhelmed by Assyrian forces and in the twenty-third year of his reign was taken as a prisoner to Babylon where he lingered for twelve years. During these years he turned to God and was restored to freedom and his kingdom. For the next twenty years left to him, he sought to undo the wrong of the past. His long reign of fifty-five years, the longest in Jewish history, closed not inauspiciously. He died a penitent, and left a son who followed his father in his sins but not in his repentance.
Gathering together what we can of Manasseh’s life, it would seem that he was a man of policy:
His policy of idolatry . How he hated the first two commandments of Sinai, and reversed the reforms of his father! How exceedingly bold he was in his idolatry!
His policy of immorality. Idolatry and immorality go together, thus in rejecting God there came the worship of the Syrian Venus. This action let loose a flood of iniquity over the land of Judah.
His policy of persecution. Manasseh allowed nothing to stand in the way of license and open evil. Martyrdom became the cost of service. Idolatry was set up under the pain of death.
His policy of destruction . As far as he could, Manasseh destroyed the Word of God. Every copy found was consigned to the flames. God’s truth testified too plainly against the sins of king and people. So complete was this destruction of the Word of God that when Josiah, Manasseh’s grandson, came to the throne, a copy of it was found in the Temple.
But Manasseh’s eyes were opened to his sinful condition and he sobbed out the misery of his helpless and craven soul. Theoccasion of his repentance was affliction. In the prison-house of Babylon he prayed. As to the characterof his repentance, he besought the Lord and humbled himself before the God of his fathers and prayed unto Him. Penniless and penitent, his cry for mercy came from a broken heart, and God graciously received this prodigal king. Alas, however, he stopped short of being out-and-out for God! He allowed the high places of idolatry to remain. It will not be possible to doubt God’s grace in heaven in the ages to come if we can but catch a glimpse of Manasseh—godly-reared, apostate, idolatrous, devilish, stricken, humbled, repentant Manasseh!
4. One of the family of Hashum who had married a foreign wife ( Ezra 10:33).
5. One of the family of Pahath-moab who had done the same (Ezra 10:30).
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What we say and do really matters during this special season - as I found out when I was a skeptical newspaper reporter
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SOUL
My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. -Luke 2:46-47
One of the worst things that can happen to a person is to live with a shrunken understanding of God, a shrunken soul. This is the perfect reason to take Christmas seriously, as our best hope for our minds and hearts to be enlarged with God's greatness.
Mary's response to the message that she would bear the savior was a remarkable song of praise, sometimes known as the Magnificat (Luke 2:46-55). It begins, "My soul magnifies the Lord," which means that because God's announcement opened her heart him in a way that she couldn't have imagined, her soul was beginning to grasp the bigness of God.
I remember the first time I looked through a telescope at the open sky on a cold winter evening. When I pointed it at the half-lit moon, I was stunned as it came into focus-to see mountains and plains, unlike the picture books I was used to, but the real thing in real time. An ethereal, bright disk hanging in the sky was now a real place to me. The telescope magnified its reality. The moon didn't increase, but my comprehension of it did.
Sometimes human beings look at God as if he were a distant point of light. But when we take his word into consideration, and if we accept it by faith, our perspective changes drastically. We see that we are living in a greater reality, with a greater God than we had imagined, and with greater possibilities in our future.
Mary knew her life would never be the same-not just her life, but the lives of countless others-because of what God was going to do. This stretched her soul, and it can stretch ours.
Prayer for today:
Lord, this Christmas, give me a larger vision of who you are. May you be magnified in my soul, and may others see that you are the focus of my celebration.
For the month of December, we’re giving all of our “Everything New” readers a taste of Mel’s Christmas devotional, “Christmas Joy”. Click here to subscribe to this email devotional, which will run the month of December. Or acquire the entire devotional as an e-book, compatible with your Mac, PC, iPad, iPhone, Kindle or Android. All previous posts in this series are available at The Brook Network.
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SOUL
My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. -Luke 2:46-47
One of the worst things that can happen to a person is to live with a shrunken understanding of God, a shrunken soul. This is the perfect reason to take Christmas seriously, as our best hope for our minds and hearts to be enlarged with God's greatness.
Mary's response to the message that she would bear the savior was a remarkable song of praise, sometimes known as the Magnificat (Luke 2:46-55). It begins, "My soul magnifies the Lord," which means that because God's announcement opened her heart him in a way that she couldn't have imagined, her soul was beginning to grasp the bigness of God.
I remember the first time I looked through a telescope at the open sky on a cold winter evening. When I pointed it at the half-lit moon, I was stunned as it came into focus-to see mountains and plains, unlike the picture books I was used to, but the real thing in real time. An ethereal, bright disk hanging in the sky was now a real place to me. The telescope magnified its reality. The moon didn't increase, but my comprehension of it did.
Sometimes human beings look at God as if he were a distant point of light. But when we take his word into consideration, and if we accept it by faith, our perspective changes drastically. We see that we are living in a greater reality, with a greater God than we had imagined, and with greater possibilities in our future.
Mary knew her life would never be the same-not just her life, but the lives of countless others-because of what God was going to do. This stretched her soul, and it can stretch ours.
Prayer for today:
Lord, this Christmas, give me a larger vision of who you are. May you be magnified in my soul, and may others see that you are the focus of my celebration.
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