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Some sects of the church do not observe Christmas at all. Probably the most well know modern church that refuses to celebrate this holiday is the Jehovah Witnesses. It may surprise many people to learn that most of the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony also banned this holiday. If approached without bias, an honest study of the origins of this holiday might not cancel all your Christmases but you would be certain of one thing, it is a man made mandate and nothing less. The advent is of God but the celebration of it, is of man.

I believe that the birth of Jesus Christ was the most important single event to happen on this old earth since it began. But I can’t prove to myself or anyone else that Christmas is a God given mandate. I don’t like the middle of the road stance on anything, I have always thought it is a cowards hiding place. I choose not to fight Christmas but to preach the Christ of Christmas. I abhor all that Christmas has become but I also know that it has a momentum that makes the speed of light look pokey. Suffice it to say that all the peripheral Christmas excesses and nonsense notwithstanding, I am glad for a season where at least some people are considering the birth of the Savior.

I don’t have an active battle going against Christmas but I cannot help raising at least one question. Where does Hollywood come into the picture? After feeding us sex, violence, crime, witchcraft, debauch and mayhem all year long how do they suddenly qualify for telling us the true meaning of Christmas?

The Christmas specials are like a black hole sucking in every ones attention from November first, to the dropping of the ball on Times Square. The Grinch, Little House on the Prairie, Charlie Brown, The Christmas Shoes, Scrooge and Marley, Robbie the Reindeer, Rudolph the Reindeer, Bambi the Reindeer (whoops), this is some of the specials fare and lest I forget, isn’t some network still playing John Denver’s Christmas specials?

Sure, some of them are ok and might be moderately entertaining, but the question still begs to be answered, how does Hollywood presume to tell us the true meaning of Christmas. Perhaps I should say, how do they even know the true meaning of Christmas. Do directors and producers take an October sabbatical to holy places, or secret themselves away and study the bible for a few weeks prior to the season? Not likely.

Almost everyone knows the biblical account of the birth of Christ. If you are one of those who somehow missed it just pick up a bible and read the entire second chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Remember you will only be reading the beginning of the story. If I were Paul Harvey I would urge you to take a break after which I would advise you to read “the rest of the story.” Jesus also lived a sinless life, preached the words of life, gave up his life and now offers you life. The rest of the story is what the full meaning of Christmas actually is. If taking a verse or passage out of context is truly only a pretext, then all of the meaning of Christmas dribble Hollywood serves up is just a pretext, regardless of how quaint or entertaining it may seem. The story of Christ’s humble birth is only the beginning and it is not supposed to end with television specials. It must end only with”the rest of the story.”

Let me end with a “meaning of Christmas” thought that was given to me by the late Dr. Eathan Henry of New Orleans, Louisiana, a teacher in The Union Baptist Seminary. He said that “we are prone to think of the fullest meaning of Christmas as being a babe in a manger. Even though this is true, and even though the baby was the Christ child and promised Messiah of the scripture it still leaves something to be desired. When we consider that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself 1Corinthians 5:19 then the picture is significantly altered. It is not just a babe in a manger but it isGod in a baby.”

You can’t get any closer to the true meaning of Christmas than this, and if should you choose to ponder this wonderful truth let me say to you with all sincerityMerry Christmas.

Rev Bresciani has written many articles over the past thirty years in such periodicals as Guideposts and Catholic Digest. He is the author of two books available on Amazon.com, Alibris, Barnes and Noble and many other places. Rev Bresciani wrote “Hook Line and Sinker or what has Your Church Been Teaching You,” publisher, PublishAmerica of Baltimore MD. He also wrote a book published by Xulon Press entitled “An American Prophet and His Message, Questions and Answers on the Second Coming of Christ.” His book is now being heralded as the clearest book on the subject of the second coming of Christ since Hal Lindsey’s “Late Great Planet Earth” Rev Bresciani’s website is,

http://americanprophet.org

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If you’ve got children like mine, getting them out the dooron time and with all their belongings, especially their shoescan be a daily challenge. My kids are visual-spatial. They’ve got a wonderful sense of space and direction; they’re the kids who can tell you exactly where within that five-level, very dark parking garage you’ve parked your car. But when it comes to any sense of time, forget it! So, it seems we’re always running late. Running late equates to leaving without everything they need, probably nine times out of ten!

After an extensive run of homeschooling, my youngest son, Matt, returned to a very carefully chosen private school for the gifted that just happened to be 52 miles awayone direction. We actually had to leave the house at 6:30 am for an 8:10 start to his day. Matt started mid-year, which meant January, and we live in Colorado. You can see where I’m going with this, right? There’s a saying in Colorado: “If you don’t like the weather, just wait another 15 minutes.” And another: “Shorts and a parka and you’re ready for anything.” There were days when the weather between home and school was from entirely different seasons! So being prepared and ready to go was an extra challenge in our household and meant having clothing and gearand shoesfor nearly any weather event.

One day, about half way on our route, Matt calls out to me, “Mom. Where are my shoes?!” Scowling, both hands gripping the wheel, I respond, “On your feetright?!” Nope. A quick dash through a Target store that opened 10 minutes before class started and he was barely even late. Guess where Matt keeps his shoes these days? Yup. One pair in the car and one pair in the house. And today, we’re only a mile away from the school.

So, I’ve been working on some tips, and soliciting some from other parents, to help kids like mine get out the door, on time and fully prepared. I hope one or two work for you and your “timeless” children.
Here’s one a mom from New Zealand sent me: She and her son sat down together and agreed on the chores that needed to be completed each morning, and in what order. Then, they color-coded those chores: Blue (1) Eat breakfast, Red (2) Get dressed, Yellow (3) Brush teeth, and so on. Each morning, she would hand her son his set of cards, each with Velcro tabs, which he would take with him to each task and stick them to the dresser, mirror, etc., wherever the chore had taken place. He quickly learned the morning routine and was able to complete the chores, without distraction, in time for them to leave for school each day. You could play with this idea and create two sets of cards, each numbered, then place the #1 card next to what you want your child to do (perhaps, on the hairbrush, next to the bar of soap, or under the toothbrush). Then your child would search for the numbered cards, in a row, completing the obvious task in order, then “turn in” the two sets of cards indicating all the chores were complete! Perhaps a timer could be implemented and the whole thing could be a game?

Assure your children that whatever they were longing to do instead of getting in the car will be there for them when they return. Also effective, although militaristic sounding, are one word commands: “Shoes-Car-Please” convey all the instructions they need. Not much decoding is required! One mom wrote, as quoted in Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual-Spatial Learner, by Dr. Linda Silverman, that she condensed her bedtime instructions to: JamBruWash for pajamas, brush your teeth and wash your face! There are certainly a number of daily routines that could be made more fun if they were given in silly codes or clues. Remember, humor engages the right hemisphere! Get your kids into the act thinking up clever ways to make their own requests.

Getting a visual-spatial child out the door can be a daily challenge. There are so many distracting and more entertaining options available. One technique that works, at least some of the time, is to create a mental picture of the consequences of not getting to your destination on time. For example, suppose you are running late to an afternoon sports practice. You could create the following picture for your child: “If we are late for your practice, that will upset the coach and possibly delay or interrupt the start of practice for all the other kids who arrived on time. How do think your coach will feel? How will the other kids feel?” If they can envision the experience and understand the consequences of not arriving on time, you may actually stand a chance of getting out the door–and, possibly even with their shoes!

Alexandra “Allie” Golon is Director of the Visual-Spatial Resource and Marketing Director for the Gifted Development Center, both subsidiaries of the Institute for the Study of Advanced Development, in Denver, Colorado. As a founding member of the Visual-Spatial Resource Access Team, a former G/T teacher, and parent to two gifted visual-spatial learners, Allie brings a wealth of experience to her books, Raising Topsy-Turvy Kids: Successfully Parenting Your Visual-Spatial Child and, If You Could See the Way I Think: A Handbook for Visual-Spatial Kids. Her latest release, The Visual-Spatial Classroom: Differentiation Strategies that Engage Every Learner, is a rich source for classroom strategies that will help every student succeed, regardless of preferred learning style. Allie has been invited to present on teaching and parenting visual-spatial learners at state, national and international venues. She has appeared on talk radio programs and in various print media. For more information, please visit the Visual-Spatial Resource at http://www.visualspatial.org

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New Balance is still holding their own in the competitive world of sport shoes. They are a company that has a strong belief in recognizing the right size, shape and width of your foot. They brag about having 26 different types of foot models to choose from, which they refer to as lasts. These lasts are also designed with the consideration of the type of activity you may be looking to wear these shoes for. Another smart move, on their part, was to seriously consider the kid running shoes market as well. Their selection of kid running shoes is vast.

When shopping for mens, womens or childrens New Balance Running Shoes you can easily organize your needs or fit into a convenient abbreviation system by looking at their information page on fit, and activity type. They consider heel width, instep height, toe box height, forefoot height and the activity. They organize it by categorizing shoes with abbreviations such as SL-1 and SL-2. Sl is the abbreviation for Straight Last. Check out the information. They categories many other types of fits with individual considerations for womens running shoes, mens running shoes and kid running shoes. The kids runners are also referred to as JL representing junior and KC for soccer, to name a few.

The information provided for kid running shoes, as well as womens runners and mens running shoes all speak the to performance and support for a superior stability. They have various levels of cushioning, lightweight and support designs which was created for comfort, as well as practicality. They may also speak to flexibility and medical posts if applicable. All in all, I find they aim to please. If you were to go to a populated area of your city and looked down, you will see many testimonials of New Balance successes walking by. I hope you enjoy many accomplishments and perhaps a laugh or two while wearing your new New Balance shoes.

Niki Aubertin is a successful business woman and is the creative writer of http://www.buytherightrunningshoes.com/new-balance.html for http://www.buytherightrunningshoes.com/

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