Paul’s Blogging

This is just a quick post, so that I can tell my grandchildren some day, that I blogged on a leap year. *Ooo, excitement*

Anyhow, I’ll post a real blog soon. I really appreciate all your comments; I love reading them. I just haven’t had time to reply. But know, I love reading them. :P

I’ll blog about the new laptop. Maybe some pictures of the little SanSan, too.

We’ll see…

Alright, I better hit the sack.

Thanks, Guys…

-Paulie

First I wanted to state, I found it funny that I got quite a few comments saying you knew someone that dropped their phone in the toilet. As if that’s worse than dropping it in the washer. A zapped phone is a zapped phone.

Although, I s’ppose, I’d rather retrieve the zapped phone from the washer than the toilet. I’m allergic to those yellow latex gloves and even more so, to the clear ones. So, yes I guess, I am slightly luckier than your grandma *coughs too*, friend, you, dad’s friend (McLeans), and so on…

All that to say, thanks for the fuzzy comments; they somehow made me feel better. :D

Actually, moving on to point two, I feel quite a bit better about my phone situation, for I now have the king of phones! This is the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition and it’s AWESOME! It’s not only a phone but also has high speed Internet (1.5-mbps) that I’m able to access anywhere I have a regular cell signal. Now all my emails drop down into it. I can IM on both my MSN and YIM. And it has a pretty nice mobile browser, among other things such as:  office programs, games (ha), a REALLY nice media center, Google and Yahoo maps, stereo bluetooth, and a lot more.

I’m really pleased with it. I went back and forth between some of the BlackBerrys and Windows Mobile 6.0 devices. BlackBerry (especially this one) is WAY better. The only thing I think I’d like to see on it would probably be a camera. Nope, no camera. Bummer. But this thing really was made and designed for strict office use (even though it has a fantastic media player - music, movies, pictures, and ring tones) which is perfect for me. The tools on this BlackBerry (BB) have really allowed me to take a lot of my work mobile. So, God has blessed me with another phone AND I didn’t have to put on the gloves and reach on down. Win! Win!

:D

Look this over. It’ll give you a 360 of the BB and the specs.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/controller?item=phoneFirst&action=viewPhoneDetail&selectedPhoneId=3015

This is pretty funny. Check this out, too:

http://www.privateislandoffer.com/?id9=vanity:islandoffer

Here are some cool shots of my new toy:

Hmm, I don’t really understand this one… Ha!

Third point, my Top Comment thing on my sidebar started over since it’s the new year. So, if you’ve always wanted to be top commenter (yeah right), now’s your chance! :P

And my last point in the post. Oh yeah, the New Year!

We really had a great time kicking the New Year off. The Sensenigs, Baughns, and Ryans all came over. The house was pretty packed. Mr. Sensenig is like a master pianist. So after dinner (which was AWESOME - Mom made tostadas), we all went into the living room and sang while Mr. Sensenig played piano. Mr. Sensenig knew how to play just about any song we threw at him. He is excellent.

Here are few videos and pictures:

[STILL WORKING ON UPLOADING THE VIDEOS]
After that, we all prayed the New Year in. It was all a lot of fun. I think we went to bed around 3:30am.

:D

Anyhow, I really have to go. Sorry it took me so long to post.

I will reply to your comments as soon as I get the chance.

-Paulie

(To clarify what I wrote in my earlier post, I do believe it’s fine “to celebrate the birthday of the King“. As a matter of fact, it’s so “fine” that it shouldn’t be bound to “one MAIN day”. It should be celebrated equally any time, any day. Christmas has nothing to do with the birth of Christ. Or, better said, it has just as much to do with Christ as ANY other day.)

Now, on with my post!

Look at these CUTE pictures of my little AnnaSusannaBanana…

Two pretty Christmas sisters. Look at those black shoes.

Look at those legs! Shoes are too big and she drowns in her stockings so there was no point putting those on. Isn’t she a beauty?

My little baby…

They want her but I am *not* giving her up!

Beav, get rid of that grin. No, you cannot hold her!

I love this little sweetie.

Ahhhh, life is good. I noticed that both of them have the SAME exact look on their faces. Scary.

Well, I guess this is the big day.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a large entry prepared. I really wanted to write something on the Christmas songs. You know, the ones that take “Christ” out of “Christmas” (or was Christ ever “in” Christmas?). Such as, “Oh, you better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why, Santa Clause is coming to town. He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been <u>bad or good</u>. So, be good for heaven sake!”

What?! Is Santa “God” or something?! Last I checked, only God can know those things. Now, I can see how some might say “Oh, come on Paul. It’s just a little kids’ song.” YES! It is a kids’ song and THAT is the problem. Starting them off early into a lie…

Should we/they (if not “we” as in Christians, than “they” as in non-believers) be LYING to our/their children?

No really, it is a lie to sing that to them. Even the whole thought of “Santa” is a lie. “Oh, but it’s fun.” Lie = Fun? Hmm…

People tend to replace Christ with Santa instead of using a biblical basis for telling there kids to obey. The kids aren’t taught to obey because it’s right and God said so, but because Santa won’t get them a gift. And again it’s all going back to presents or actually the “GETTING” of them …Selfishness. So the kid obeys for a selfish reason. Christmas (for the kid) is a self-focused day. They are thrown a present every year from day one and after a while they come to expect it. Not because they deserve it but because “Christ was given a gift from the three wise men” or whatever the reason may be.

Telling kids that Santa has the power to know if you were good or not is a lie! It’s not “cute and adorable ’til they find out”. It’s just a lie. Some Christians tie the holiday to Jesus Christ and his birth. That is their reason for celebrating it.

I believe this is wrong.
First off, Christmas was “invented” (for lack of better words) long before Christ. Another thing, why do we celebrate Christmas on the 25th? Why have we converted the holiday to mean Christ’s birth? What does Christ’s birth have anything to do with this day in the middle of Winter?

Look what I have quoted below:

Its seems that no one really ever gives a thought to the idea of the date December twenty-fifth as the day of Christmas. If you look at our evidence as to Christ’s birth you will read from the bible, ” And there where in the same country shepherds abiding in a field, keeping watch over their flock by night,” In the dead of winter seems most unlikely.

That the date actually goes back to Rome with a festival called Saturnalia. It was a time of revelry, celebration, eating and drinking. It was at once a solstice observance and a harvest festival. On the Julian calendar it was proclaimed in 46 c.e., that the Saturnalia would fall on December twenty- fifth.

The early Christians found a birthday celebration of a religious figure strange or blasphemous. The only people who celebrated birthdays were the pagans in Rome. Holidays where declared for the birthday of Ceasars and for the gods. Gift giving at a birthday is a wholly pagan concept and the early church banned it. Slowly the idea of giving alms to the poor and to the church for Christ birth is mentioned in the tenth century. By the eleventh century, families privately gave a token to their servants and expected nothing from them

…

Despite Christianity’s adaptation and absorption of the feasts, symbols, and customs of the pagan past, the evergreens were still perceived as taboo for the early church elders. In 575 AD, church laws forbade the custom of garlanding houses with the laurel greenery. Records from the 15^th century writers in Italy and Germany note the use of hanging flowers, branches, and garlands of fir. The eight-century English missionary St. Boniface, also known as Wynfrith of Crediton, took the gospel to these Germanic druids. His tale is that one Christmas Eve he cut down the people’s sacrificial oak. In its place a young fir tree instantly sprang up. By this miracle the pagans were converted.

It’s true to say that “we don’t celebrate Christmas for those reasons, Paul”. “We have changed it and are celebrating it for our own reasons.” And that is fine! But don’t say “I celebrate Christmas because it’s a Christian holiday.” If you’re going to celebrate Christmas, celebrate it because it’s fun and it’s a tradition. But it doesn’t tie to Christ and for us to tie this holiday to Christ seems like just an excuse to celebrate Christmas “for a better reason”.

That’s my point.

Today, like any other day, is an excellent day to worship God and to be thankful for the coming of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Just look around. Google it. Find out for yourself how Christmas began and how Christ was “attached” to it.

I’m not saying “don’t celebrate Christmas”. I’m saying, don’t attach Christ to it more than you would any other day.

We should call it Santamas. At least then we’d know it for what it was. Haha!

I’m sorta tired right now. So I can’t remember everything I was thinking of writing. Chances are, I’ll edit this a few times as I remember what I wanted to add to it.

;)

If you think this entry was “hum-bugg”, just wait for next Christmas. I have a feeling it’ll be a whopper.

:P

Celebrate Christ’s birth everyday!

-Paulie

P.S. I’m REALLY sorry I haven’t answered your comments. I’ve had very little time.