The Best New Years Eve Ever

These happy people are brothers and sisters in the Lord who we met in La Paz, Mexico when we were living on our boat at Marina Del La Paz.  Martin Gonzalez, 4th from the left with the tie, was kind enough to preach to us on Sunday mornings at a local Baptist church before the real church had their service. 

After sailing our 40’ boat, Flyaway, to Mexico several years ago we became “stuck” on the dock at Marina De La Paz.  (Many cruisers become stuck on the dock but that is another story.)We were blessed to attend a church for cruisers and others who spoke English.  We met "Reggie the Carpenter,"  5th from the left who did some carpentry work on our boat.  His wife and daughter are next to him.  I'm next and then a gentleman I don't recall.  Next is Elaine and I believe Marie.  Don't remember the name of the baby.

About a week before New Years Eve I invited Elaine and another cruising couple along with their grandson over to our boat for New Years Eve to play games.  Suddenly we all were invited to Milton and SuSu's, (another Christian couple who are keeping the English church going),  compound that they had just purchased.  We ordered pizzas and soft drinks and several groups played Mexican Train, Balderdash, and a few other games.  I was fortunate to be in the group with the grandson of the couple from the marina.  He came up with the most creative and outlandish definitions for the words in Balderdash.  I never laughed so much in my life.  He didn't win but in my book he won the contest in creativity.

I had prayed that the couple who sailed down to La Paz with us would meet Milton and SuSu and maybe Milton and SuSu would witness to them and draw them to Jesus.  It happened and the two couples talked that night.  PTL!

As I remember we sang in the New Year with praise songs.  We didn't leave the compound until after all the people in La Paz were finished shooting their guns into the air.

 I'm looking forward to seeing these Christians some day in Paradise.

Don't be deceived

There are many, including Christians, who have been deceived by modern thinking.  Here is an essay revealing what the deceived think.

Modern Thinker’s Creed, by Steve Turner

We believe in Marx, Freud,and Darwin. We believe everything is OK as long as you don’t hurt anyone to the best of your definition of hurt, and to the best of your knowledge.

We believe in sex before, during, and after marriage. We believe in the therapy of sin. We believe that adultery is fun. We believe that sodomy’s OK. We believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything’s getting better despite evidence to the contrary. The evidence must be investigated. And you can prove anything with evidence.

We believe there’s something in horoscopes, UFOs, and bent spoons. Jesus was a good man just like Buddha, Muhammed, and ourselves. He was a good moral teacher though we think His good morals were bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same-at least the one that we read was. They all believe in love and goodness. They only differ on matters of creation, sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.

We believe that after death comes the Nothing. Because when you ask the dead what happens they say nothing. If death is not the end, if the dead have lied, then its compulsory heaven for all excepting perhaps Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Kahn

We believe in Masters and Johnson. What’s selected is average. What’s average is normal. What’s normal is good.

We believe in total disarmament. We believe there are direct links between warfare and bloodshed. Americans should beat their guns into tractors. And the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that man is essentially good. It’s only his behavior that lets him down. This is the fault of society. Society is the fault of conditions. Conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth that is right for him. Reality will adapt accordingly. The universe will readjust. History will alter. We believe that there is no absolute truth excepting the truth that there is no absolute truth.

We believe in the rejection of creeds, And the flowering of individual thought.

If chance be the Father of all flesh, disaster is his rainbow in the sky and when you hear State of Emergency! Sniper Kills Ten! Troops on Rampage! Whites go Looting! Bomb Blasts School! It is but the sound of man worshiping his maker.

Nobody is Perfect

Sometimes we worry that we will become like our parents.  If we have lived with our parents we know that they are not perfect.  But there is a way to avoid becoming like our parents.  In II Corinthians 3:18 it says, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

In Scripture we are told to honor our parents.  This is only possible by loving them, forgiving them, and trusting God to help us do this.  If we keep our eyes on Jesus by praying, studying His Word, and modeling our lives after His, we, by God’s grace, will be more like Him.

Christmas Adam

One Christmas when we had a kitten named Twinkles, she made the front page of the newspaper in her efforts to destroy our Christmas tree.  

Now to Christmas Adam.  My Aunt started the tradition of Christmas Adam.  Adam came before Eve so Christmas Adam comes the night before Christmas Eve.  Her family could not all get together on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day because of various families needing to spend time with in-laws and different churches and services.   She came up with the solution of everyone getting together on December 23.  Our Sunday school class was discussing various family traditions and my husband mentioned that custom.  He thought that getting together on the 23^rd and watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” would be fun for a church fellowship and to reach out to the people in our neighborhood to join us. 

I usually take an exercise class on Sunday night.  I told my teacher that I would not be able to come to class on December 23 as our church had a gathering on Christmas Adam.  I explained the concept to him and he asked, “Does your church do anything special on New Years Adam!?” 

After watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” last year, we watched “A Christmas Story” this year.  Now I’m trying to understand the tradition of people taking their children to see Santa Clause.  My parents never took me to see Santa.  I had no desire to see him.  We tried to take our daughter, when she was small, to see Santa for a photo opportunity, but she didn’t like Santa.  One year she had her picture taken with the Grinch.  She liked her better.  When her little brother came along she was OK with Santa as long as her brother was with her.

Santa, gift giving, carols, family times are all wonderful traditions but do we overdo it?  What would be the balance between secular and scriptural?  These are all things I’m thinking about these days.