CatHouse Chat

New Year's Eve message from Kat

"Joy to the World" and the "Hallelujah Chorus" are not JUST Christmas songs... They are reminders that, just as Christ was born in a manger, 2000 years ago, He will return...

So..  What are you going to do about it?

Have a listen, and at least tell me how my voice is! ;-)

Best blessings for a joyous, safe, and prosperous New Year to all my friends and readers. May God show Himself mighty in your life, and may you give Him the glory and rejoice in His generosity!

2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become NEW!" (emphasis mine)

(Crossposted to Wide Awakes Radio)

The King is coming!

Joy to the world, the Lord is come,
Let Earth receive her King!

Hallelujah!
The kingdom of this world is become
the Kingdom of our Lord
and of His Christ!!

Wait... Waitwaitwait!

Kat! Chrismas is over! Why are you still singing Christmas songs?

Well... Because these aren't really "Christmas" songs - and because they have a very important message for us, particularly for this last day of 2006.

Please tune in to Sunday Thoughts with Kat on Wide Awakes Radio, today at 4:30pm ET, 1:30pm PT, for an important reminder of coming events - and what our top prioity ought to be for the next year, and every year after.

(Crossposted to Wide Awakes Radio)

Hilarious!

Go over and pick your favorite Very Funny Ad!

An unpleasant duty

As moderator of the Old Dominion Blog Alliance group on Yahoo, it is my duty to post an account of this recent sordid affair concerning "Alex Davis"/"John Maxfield"/"General Grievous' Dog" (or at least one of his incarnations).

It came to our attention about two days ago, December 28th, that one of the ODBA's newest members, currently under a firestorm of criticism from both ("all"?) sides, was not as he had represented himself to be.

I e-mailed Alex on Thursday off-list and requested that he give me and/or the list some sort of accounting for his reasoning for this deception, and got a flip reply. A similar request, posted on the list, was treated in a like manner. Yesterday morning, at about 8:30, I sent another private request and simultaneously posted it to the list. I gave him until noon to present some sort of defense for this subterfuge, and received no reply until about 11:20am.

At that time, Alex e-mailed me a contact to call, and added no commentary of his own. I did a basic check of this person's credentials to satisfy myself, and then called to see if we could settle the matter.

I did NOT get a defense of Alex. Alex got called a "pawn."

I DID get a discussion about the "strategy" behind much of the brouhaha, much of which *I* thought was spurious and not pertinent to the topic of Alex's guile.

Nevertheless, I posted an update to the list, asking again for any input in Alex's favor. I got none.

The ODBA has been embarrassed by this blogger's falsehoods and misrepresentation of himself. We have egg on our faces by pointing out hypocracy in others, when it was in our own ranks.

And therefore, lacking any offered defense or rationale for this deception, Alex, who was admitted to the ODBA as "John Maxfield" and blogs at "Journal of the Common Man," and at "General Grievous' Dog," has been banned from the group and taken off the blogroll.

Lest any should crow that this validates Waldo's reasoning behind taking General Grievous' Dog off his aggregator - I beg to differ. In this instance they are two completely different issues, and Waldo is well aware that I, for one, still disagree with him in his logic.

I am sorry this happened, and offer my personal apologies to the members of the ODBA who had to witness and participate - however peripherally - in this uproar.

The subject - like the comments - is now closed.

Good riddance to bad rubbish

Saddam Hussein (or, as I prefer, "SoDamn Insane" - thanks, Misha) is scheduled to meet his Maker tonight.

The Iraqis tried and convicted him, his appeal was denied, and his sentence will be, er... executed.

I'm gritting my teeth, but I'm going to be obedient to my Lord and Savior and pray that Saddam turns to Christ in true faith and trust for salvation before his punishment is meted out. I know that the love and grace and forgiveness offered by the God of all Creation, the One True God, is more than enough to cover the sins of this wicked man. I pray that His offer is accepted, before it's too late.

And may God have mercy upon his soul.

UPDATE: Via my friend, Raven, who got it here, and they got it from here (obviously, I have some holes in my RSS feed subscriptions....)

Technorati Tags: Saddam Hussein, execution, Iraq

Scrappleface hits it out of the park!

In a rare - but welcome! - instance of seriousness, Scott Ott, editor of the satire site, Scrappleface, responds to an e-mail:

The victims of Katrina are not really the victims of Katrina herself. The tragedy began long before the hurricane hit.

Natural disasters have always happened and always will. While,
mercifully, they don’t occur every day in every place, they are common
enough that we ought to have an expectation that bad things can and
will happen. We need to cultivate the inner resources in ourselves, our
children and our neighborhoods to cope with the inevitable. When we
cede that power and responsibility to the federal government, we
surrender a part of what makes us human and leave ourselves more
vulnerable to the tempest.

[...]

Our state-run schools and spoon-fed media have conditioned us to
look to government. They’ve also trained us to take offense at any
expression of love that doesn’t result in government intervention and
redistribution of taxpayer dollars. ‘Compassion’ has been redefined as
‘entitlement’ and thus stripped of its power and utility.

The devastating impact of this mindset is the apparent withering of
the individual spirit and of community cooperation which have been the
hallmarks of this great nation.

But all is not yet lost, and perhaps not so much is lost as we have been led to believe.

These are just two little excerpts, and yet the whole piece sings of the beauty and durability and perseverance of the human spirit.

Please go read the whole thing!

(HT to my beloved blog-brother, Kender)

The ODBA Father chimes in

Thanks, Chad.

Can we "disagree without being disagreeable"? I don't know.

But I'm trying.

What is immensely frustrating to me, as you may have gathered from my previous post, is the insinuation by some that because I disagree with their tactics I am somehow a "traitor to the cause," so to speak. I'm not. It's simply that their ways are not my ways, and I am not going to change that aspect of myself simply to please them.

I rather like this one...

My fellow (?!) Lady of the Cotillion, Caltechgirl, put me on to this. It took me a couple of tries with various versions of my name, but this is the one I like best:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Grace Lady Romeocat the Harmonious of Middle Witchampton Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Note the "Harmonious."

After the past couple of days (and likely the next few as well) of turmoil, people who think I'm totally wrong on this issue might remember that I do have claws... Although my preference is for harmony.

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Don't ask me to be what I'm not, and don't insist that I resort to tactics I find... distasteful.

On GG Dog, "censoring," and DITTO, Shaun!

Well, it looks like General Grievous' Dog, who's post added a torch to a rather heated political discussion in the Virginia blogosphere and turned it to a different topic altogether, has shut down.

That's quite disappointing to me, since I was one of the ones who went to bat for him with Waldo. Now, I hope that I was quite clear (and if I wasn't, let me be so now) that my objection to GGD's removal from the Virginia Blog Aggregator (now, Waldo's Virginia Political Blogroll) was because I strongly disagreed with Waldo's reasoning in doing so, and not his right to do so. That aggregator had always been Waldo's baby: he gave and maintained it as a gift to the whole of the Virginia political blogosphere, no matter their political persuasion.

And so, I'm feeling rather self-centered and feeling a bit ticked-off that after all that effort [rolling eyes at self] - GGD pulls the plug. Yeah, I said I was self-centered - deal with it ;-) Nevertheless, it's irritating.

My ODBA blog-brother, Shaun Kenney, posts today about this and a tangental issue - "Apologia pro Waldo Jacquith," - which is an excellent read and brings up excellent points. There is one issue he mentions which ("that"?) I am trying to research and resolve, but until all the facts are in and decisions are made, I will leave that to your speculation.

Nevertheless, go over and read Shaun's post for some solid reasoning and insight.

UPDATE: *sigh* Well, obviously ONE thing is now beyond speculation: GG Dog and "John Maxfield" of Journal of the Common Man are one and the same. I had my suspicions, but didn't mention them to anyone - and I see others had similar thoughts, so I'm hardly unique.

Now, the Richmond Democrat has supposedly "outed" this blogger on some possible false claims "John Maxfield" has apparently made (yes, I'm covering my rear - I don't know all the pertinent facts yet!), and states

Here is what I propose: since the principal victims of this fraud were the Republican bloggers who lost access to "Virginia Political Blogs" and have been embarassed [sic] by their association with this person, I propose to let the main Republican bloggers' association to take care of this situation from this point onwards. The vaunted "Old Dominion Bloggers Alliance," which counts "John Maxfield" as a member, should investigate this matter amongst themselves and take whatever actions they deem necessary to prevent another troll from penetrating their ranks and embarassing them so completely. If they discover anything that requires the involvement of his parents or the authorities, let them take that step.

To which I reply, we're checking. And that's all I have to say for now.

On "Muddling through"

But we "muddle through." As I've gotten older, I've become ever more convinced that one of the keys to happiness is enjoying the "muddling," and being cognizant of your blessings while doing so.

Yes.

Go read it ALL.

Ellison: Muslim Activism As Part Of Allah's Plan

[Hat-tip to Jihadi Du Jour]

From this source, on December 25, 2006:

Speaking in Dearborn, Mich., late Sunday night, the first Muslim elected to Congress told a cheering crowd of Muslims they should remain steadfast in their faith and push for justice.

"You can't back down, you can't chicken out, you can't be afraid, you got to have faith in Allah, and you got to stand up and be a real Muslim," Detroit native Keith Ellison said to loud applause.

"Allahu akbar" — God is great — was the reply of many in the crowd....

Ellison said in Dearborn that Muslims can help teach America about justice and equal protection, suggesting that Muslim activists may be part of God's plan. He spoke at the annual convention of two Muslim groups, the Muslim American Society and the Islamic Circle of North America....

Those who found fault with policital activism from evangelical Christians, who often mention "God's plan," remain noticeably silent when it comes to criticizing Ellison's remarks.

The above-cited article also made mention of Virgil Goode, Congressman from Virginia's 5th District:

...Rep. Virgil Goode, a Republican from Virginia, said in a letter to constituents this month that the election of Ellison and other Muslims poses a danger to the country.

Ellison, mouthpiece of CAIR, is doing his part to Islamify the United States.  Virgil Goode is one of the few political voices to speak out against that Islamification.

When Ellison takes office, will we hear cries of "Allahu Akbar!" on the floor of our Congress or from the Congressional gallery?

Welcome, Immanuel...!

The turkey has been cooked and devoured, family has come and gone, the dishes are being washed, and now comes the quiet time of Christmas. Hospitality has been joyously offered and gratefully welcomed, Christmas classics have been re-played on the TV, music has echoed through the house, and friends and family have met and relished stimulating conversation and plentiful food. The house has been cleaned, the gifts have been opened, and I am enjoying the satisfaction of a successful Christmas dinner....

And the Reason for the season has been waiting for the thanks He is due for His humble kindness in coming to us two thousand years ago.

"God with us" - "Immanuel" - "Mighty God" - "Everlasting Father" - Prince of Peace"

Father... Savior... Spirit... Thank You for Your grace and mercy. Thank You for coming down to dwell with Your people as one of us. Thank You for showing us how You want us to live. Thank You for Your sacrifice for our sins. Thank You for Your deep, abiding, eternal love for Your children.

Welcome to the world, Lord! Let Your Spirit kindle anew in our hearts. Let Your Son rise in and revive the hardened hearts of those who do not know You. Let Your love and grace and mercy be known and embraced throughout the earth...

And let the Light of the World return to His people and establish His kingdom here on earth.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear. Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go. Refrain O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave. Refrain O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight. Refrain O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery. Refrain O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe. Refrain O come, Thou Root of Jesse's tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call. Refrain O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace. Rejoice, Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

God has come to this world. He has lived with us, and He has borne our sorrows and our sins...

Immanuel - "God with us."

Rejoice! He has come!

Overreact, much?

Waldo. You know I adore you, and I find you charming and gracious... Generally.

But this is really over the top.

You accuse General Grievous' Dog of "political pornography" for posting this (read the comments, folks), and remove him from the VA Political Blogs aggregator because of your disgust. Well, OK, fine, that aggregator is your baby, you can do what you like with it - but just because you don't like the image of an atrocity-in-fact is no reason to attempt to censor him.

Dog is posting a REAL image of what the REAL enemy does and and example of the enemy's REAL agenda of destroying our nation and culture. It ain't pretty. Of course, neither are the images of the burned bodies of those contracters, hanging from that bridge... Or how about those actual videos of people getting their heads chopped off by those insane jihadi monsters?

Do I agree with the letter that Rep. Goode sent out? You know, the one which precipitated all this? Not precisely - I think he ought to have been wise enough to have phrased it differently. But I'll tell you what I told my fairly non-political husband when he brought this up: this letter tells me that Virgil Goode is very much aware of, and determined to do all he can against the REAL enemies who - according to their own statements and PR! - want to kill us, and make us submit to *spit* Islam *spit* and shari'a law.

Really, sweetie, just how much tolerance and kindness do you think you'll get from them?

So. It ain't much, but Dog's going on my blogroll, and will be proudly displayed when I go back to my pre-holiday template.

It comes but once a year...

... and it is now up at Adam's Blog! It's

The Carnival of Christmas!

Go.. Read, enjoy, and join us in celebration of this wonderful and holy season!

Technorati Tags: Carnival of Christmas, Christmas

Tag, I'm it...

So... I've been tagged by Raven with a Christmas meme (hey, girlfriend, you just did it 'cause I haven't been posting, right? LOL). Cool! I haven't really been tagged with a meme recently, and this is nice and simple...

Three things I'd like for Christmas:

• for my car
• for myself
• but mostly, and most importantly, that my family and friends are able to live in health and joy in an America that has remembered her foundations and has rededicated herself to being the "shining city on the hill"

Three things I DON'T want for Christmas:

• for our troops to come home anything less than utterly victorious
• for either these guys or these guys to have any sucesses this year
• for this man to give up his vision for a terror-free world... I've been worried.

Oh, gosh, now who to tag...? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

1. David
2. Random Yak
3. Adam
4. Red Queen
5. Rant'n Raven

Classic Christmas? *I'll* give you CLASSIC!

               
 

This clip is from a 1977 Christmas special hosted by Bing Crosby. He and David Bowie were an unusual combination, but - oh! - they melded so beautifully! I have enjoyed Bing's voice for a long time, and I also loved a lot of Bowie's work (what the heck is he doing these days, anyway?), and this song has long been a favorite. So, please enjoy this little bit of Classic Christmas, and say thank you to the Beloved Husband for sending this link to me!

***YES!!!***

"You'll be in my heart..."

The men and women of our military are the best, the brightest, the BRAVEST, and they are in my heart. They are in my soul. They are in my prayers.

How I wish I were able to pray over and hug and thank each one personally - they are true heroes, fighting against opression with honor and valor... Even when their civilian authority falters in their courage and perseverance.

I ask our military to remember this:

A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation."

And also, this:

"The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace."

God bless our men and women in uniform!

(HT to Beth at Blue Star Chronicles... Thanks, sister!)

Shine on us, Lord

Lord, let Your light,
Light of Your face
Shine on us
Lord, let Your light,
Light of your face
Shine on Us
That we may be saved
That we may have life
To find our way
In the darkest night
Let Your light shine on us

Father, let the Light of the World, Your beloved Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ shine in our hearts. Let His light be kindled in each lost and sinful soul, and may the warmth of His glory dwell in Your people. As He came to us in a stable so many years ago, let Him come now through the Holy Spirit in us. Let us shine Your light before all men, that they may see our good deeds and glorify You!

Lord, let Your grace
Grace from Your hand
Fall on us
Lord,let Your grace
Grace from Your hand
Fall on us
That we may be saved
That we may have life
To find our way
In the darkest night
Let Your grace fall on us

Father, give us each day Your grace to live and be faithful to You. Help us abide in this boundless grace and manifest it to each person You bring to us. Conform us to the image of Your Son, so we may bring glory to You and sing Your praises throughout the world.

Lord, let Your love
Love with no end
Come over us
Lord, let Your love
Love with no end
Come over us
That we may be saved
That we may have life
To find our way
In the darkest night
Let Your love come over us

Dear Father, let us remember the love You showed us when You gave us Your wonderful Son. Let us remember His life among us, showing us who You are and how very much You love us. Let us remember the infinite love of Jesus, who gave Himself up to the Cross for the love of His church. Help us radiate that sacrificial love in our own lives. Set us apart and sanctify us to Your service so all the world may marvel and praise Your holy name.

Let Your light shine on us

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. [...]

That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-4, 9-14, NKJV)

(Submitted to the Carnival of Christmas and the Christmas Alliance)

Technorati Tags: Christmas, Christ, Carnival of Christmas, Christmas Alliance, music, scripture

One Wise Girl knows...

Thanks to taking the time to really read the articles offered for this week's Virginia Blog Carnival, I went back over to Kilo's place, where One Wise Girl has posted a wonderful recipe for Waldorf Astoria Cake... But more importantly, she also found this video of "Mary, Did you Know?"

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that youve delivered
Will soon deliver you Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Did you know
That your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little boy
Youve kissed the face of god Mary, did you know? The blind will see
The deaf will hear
And the dead will live again The praises of the lamb Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is lord of all creation?
Did you know
That your baby boy will one day rules the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heavens perfect lamb?
This sleeping child youre holding
Is the great I AM

The Jesus you see in most of the shots in the last half of the video is played by Bruce Marchiano, from The Visual Bible: Matthew, which I cannot recommend enough. Mr. Marchiano plays a Jesus of joy and love and laughter and passion...

The delight in his eyes and the grief in his face as he acts out the words and deeds of Christ is riveting, so if you don't have this (and there are other, less expensive editions), I would strongly urge you to get it for your Christmas present to yourself and your family.

(Submitted to the Carnival of Christmas and the Christmas Alliance)

Technorati Tags: Christmas, music, Matthew, Bible, Bruce Marchiano, Virginia Blog Carnival

There's a Rose in Bethlehem...

...With a beauty quite divine
Perfect in this world of sin
On this silent, holy night

So begins the title track of Selah's Christmas album, Rose of Bethlehem. I've enjoyed this group's beautiful, harmonic singing, especially since they add tunes and rhythms unfamiliar to American ears. Their songs are also theologically sound, and remind me of the Great God I love and serve.

This song continues

There's a fragrance much like hope
That it sends upon the wind
Reaching out to every soul
From a lowly manger's crib

Chorus:
Oh, Rose of Bethlehem
How lovely, pure and sweet
Born to glorify the Father
Born to wear the thorns for me

There's a Rose in Bethlehem
Colored red like mercy's blood
Tis the flower of our faith
Tis the blossom of God's love

Though its bloom is fresh with youth
Surely what will be He knows
For a tear of morning dew
Is rolling down the Rose

Chorus

There's a Rose in Bethlehem
With a beauty quite divine
Perfect in this world of sin
On this silent, holy night

Two thousand years ago, Christ came softly and graciously into this tired and sin-cursed world. His pure and perfect beauty, the beauty of God made flesh, shines out through the centuries to all the world. The glory He gave to His Father in His faithful life and in the thorns He wore at His death, the hope and salvation He won for His children must ever be at the forefront of our minds.

Remember, although He was born to live among us - "Immanuel," God dwelling with us - He was also born to die for us. And so during this wonderous season, let us lift our minds and voices and spirits to praise and glorify the God who came to give us abundant life...

... His life.

"Glory to God in the Highest,
And on Earth,
Peace,
Goodwill to men..."

(Linked at the Carnival of Christmas and at the Christmas Alliance.)

Technorati Tags: Christmas, Christ, Carnival of Christmas, Christmas Alliance, Selah, Rose of Bethlehem, music

An awesome Virginia Blog Carnival!

Well, although Alton has been a little quite (er.. QUIET!!! That's what I meant) the past few weeks, you can tell that he hasn't lost his touch. This week's Virginia Blog Carnival is up and running at I'm Not Emeril, and Alton (gee, no surprise!) has done a fantastic job.

Alton, you did a wonderful job rounding up, discussing, and offering nice teasers for each submission, and I cannot thank you enough! So, I'm asking all my readers (you know you're out there, LOL) to make sure you stop by and enjoy all the excellent writing.

Next week, j's notes will be hosting, and the theme will be Christmas - Christmas traditions, Christmas memories, Christmas food, Christmas pictures... You name it! So make sure that you get some holiday posts ready to send to the Carnival Submit page, or to vablogcarnival -at- gmail -dot- com for the last Virginia Blog Carnival of 2006.

Technorati Tags: Virginia Blog Carnival

I love my life!

As I sit here in the living room writing this, the Christmas tree's lights are off, the house's heat system is quietly blowing warm air, and I'm watching deer browse in my front yard, not 20 yards away. The sky is clear, and brightens a little with each typed word, the cats are stretching themselves awake, and my child and husband lie in our bed with the soft morning light guilding their peaceful faces.

My poor little Munchkin will be staying home from school today: she woke up at 4:30, not feeling too well, so we invited her to climb in with us. After a few twitches and wriggles, she fell back to sleep, cradled between Mom and Dad. When I woke at 7, I reached over and touched her face, which was fairly warm, and made the decision to let her sleep.

And then, I watched her sleep. I watched the curve of her cheek reflect the dawn, and gave thanks to our Maker that He has given me this treasured gift. As I left the bed to start my coffee, I looked at the two of them, husband and daughter, slumbering quietly together, and gave thanks yet again.

God has, indeed, blessed me greatly.

And I love my life!

BarneyCam 2006 is up!

Barney and Mrs. Beasley get ready for the Christmas Extravaganza at the White House - make sure you go see!

And - and I won't tell you who it is - I see a friend of the CatHouse in the video! Admittedly, it's only a glimpse, but how cool is that...?

(HT on the video to the brilliant Lady Cassandra)

Technorati Tags: Barney Cam, Christmas, White House, Mrs. Beasley

The Carnival of the Mundane is up...

... and the Yak has graciously given me pride of place! How kind of him, considering it's the first time I've ever submitted anything to this particular Carnival.

So, for a lovely slice of real life, go on over to the Random Yak, and see what other mundane things he's rounded up!

Sing we now of Christmas

From Michael W. Smith's album, Christmas Collection (it was originally on Christmastime), comes this lovely song. He has a boys' choir singing it, and the harmony and beauty are wonderful!

Sing we now of Christmas
Sing we all Noel
Of the Lord and Savior
We the tidings tell
Sing we Noel
For Christ our Lord is born
Sing we Noel
For Christ our Lord is born
Angels from on high
May shepherds come and see
He's born in Bethlehem
A blessed family
Glory to God
For Christ our King is born
Glory to God
For Christ our King is born
Sing we now of Christmas
Sing we all Noel
Sing we now of Christmas
Sing we all Noel
Sing we all Noel

This medly, "Sing We Now of Christmas/O Come, O Come, Emmanuel/Emmanuel," is joyous and triumphant, and finishes with the simple anthem:

Emmanuel, emmanuel
Emmanuel, emmanuel
Wonderful counselor
Lord of life, lord of all
He is the prince of peace,
Mighty god, holy one
Emmanuel, emmanuel

"Emmanuel" - "God with us!" I love the indescribable miracle of Christmas: that God Himself would come down and dwell with us, teach us, heal us... and eventually die for us. But the glory of Christmas, paired with the redemption of Easter, is the purpose for which Christ came...

... And I thank Him for it every day!

"Even so, come Lord Jesus! Maranatha!"

(Linked to the Christmas Alliance, and the Carnival of Christmas II - make sure YOU send your submissions in!)

Technorati Tags: Christmas, Christ, carols, music, Carnival of Christmas, Christmas Alliance

"Don't play us for chumps..."

Thanks to my VA blog-brother, Jerry Fuhrman, I get a YouTube video that's a SCREAM!!

Technorati Tags: Imams, Dennis Miller, airlines, advice, humor

*DO* we remember the lessons of Pearl Harbor?

The Union Leader publishes an editorial that doesn't think so:

THE JAPANESE attack on Pearl Harbor 65 years ago today was supposed to teach America the importance of remaining vigilant and of never underestimating real and potential enemies. The lesson did not stick.

After the Great War, isolationists sharply reduced American defenses. If only we didn't have so many weapons, we would be safe. No one would see us as a threat. Instead, our weakness invited attack.

At the end of the Cold War, President Clinton ushered in a new dismantling of the military. During his time in office he shrank the U.S. military by nearly 40 percent, according to analyses by the Heritage Foundation.

When the United States was again hit with a massive surprise attack, it had a weakened military not capable of the massive response needed. After seeing our retreat in Vietnam and Somalia, those who attacked us believed that we did not have the resolve to fight back.

Go read the whole thing...

(Thanks to my buddy, Raven, for the heads-up on this)

Technorati : Iraq war, Pearl harbor, war on terror

I love the NY Post!

Oh, hooray for the New York Post! They've got this fantastic front page up, and you simply MUST go read the article, as well!

The Iraq Study Group report delivered to President Bush yesterday contains 79 separate recommendations - but not one that explains how American forces can defeat the terrorist insurgents, only ways to bring the troops home.

Declaring the situation "grave and deteriorating," the high-powered commission proposed the United States talk directly to terror abettors Iran and Syria to get their cooperation, and commit to removing U.S. combat troops in early 2008.

"Surrender Monkeys," indeed!

Technorati : Iraq Study Group, New York Post, appeasment, surrender monkeys

Oh, heck - did I screw up???

Uh-oh... I may have made a mistake loading the quilt... I have no idea how; I'm more than usually paranoid about stuff likt that. However, I loaded the quilt along its short side, rather than its long side...

... I may have to take it off and add more backing ('cause I sure as HECK ain't gonna rip out all the stuff I quilted already!!!!)... Which means a bulky mass on my regular sewing machine, and then on my ironing board, and then also to reload on the big quilting machine.

I.

Am.

SO.

Screwed!!!!!

But, the bright side to this is a) my sister in law will love what I've done, and b) she won't mind the additional backing, and c) I *do* have some fabric of my own that will blend just fine.

[banging head on wall - I seem to be doing that a lot recently]

Nevertheless -

AAARRRRGGGHHH!!!!

Technorati : mistake, quilting, quilts

Pearl Harbor Day, Virginia Blog Carnival, and other housekeeping stuff

First of all, as always, my very deep gratitude goes out to the men and women who served so bravely and honorably in World War II. Today is the 65th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor - the most devastating attack on the United States until September 11, 2001. Japan woke the sleeping giant, and America responded with courage and perseverance.

Now, of course, even after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan is one of our good friends. After the hellfire we rained down upon Japan, we came in and helped them rebuild, and then we left - and that's actually what we want to happen in Iraq. I hope and pray that the America of today will look back and remember the lessons our parents and grandparents learned in World War II.

Thank you, veterans! Thank you so much!

Secondly, the Virginia Blog Carnival will be hosted next week (December 11th) by Alton, of I'm Not Emeril fame. Alton has been rather quiet, lately, because he's had a lot on his plate. But now, he's diving back into the thick of things again. So, make sure you send in your submissions to the Virginia Blog Carnival, either at the submissions page, or to vablogcarnival -at- gmail -dot- com by Sunday evening.

Oh! And make sure you stop by Alton's place and congratulate his daughter on becoming a sheriff's deputy! I pray that God blesses her with safety and honorable service.

Finally, this is probably all I'm going to be posting today. I've had a quilt from my sister-in-law loaded onto my quilting machine for months, now, and I really need to stop procrastinating and QUILT the darn thing (I'm sure she'd appreciate it, anyway, LOL). If I'm very, very good, I'll be able to get it done before I need to pick up the Munchkin from school... but that means I've gotta "git!" right now!

    Technorati : December 7th, Pearl Harbor, Virginia Blog Carnival, quilting

Insanity on parade...

(UPDATE: Ms Underestimated chimes in with a reminder of where we've seen Nzinga before, as well as the Fox video of his H&C interview... But does anyone have the video of Kambon's remarks from CSPAN?)

(UPDATE to the UPDATE: Ms. U has the CSPAN video linked at the bottom of her post now. THANK YOU!!!!)

Last night, Hannity &Colmes had on Minister Hashim Nzinga, from the New Black Panthers, to discuss the remarks of former North Carolina State University professor Kamau Kambon.

Former professor Kambon addressed a panel at Howard University Law School on October 14th, 2006, during which he said (I would try to link to the CSPAN video, but cannot open it up):

Addressing a panel on "Hurricane Katrina Media Coverage," broadcast in its entirety on C-SPAN, Kambon told the audience that white people "have retina scans, they have what they call racial profiling, DNA banks, and they're monitoring our people to try to prevent the one person from coming up with the one idea. And the one idea is, how we are going to exterminate white people because that in my estimation is the only conclusion I have come to. We have to exterminate white people off the face of the planet to solve this problem."

Kambon's solution received slight applause in the room, to which he responded, "I don't care whether you clap or not, but I'm saying to you that we need to solve this problem because they are going to kill us."

...

Prior to his call for genocide against white people, Kambon, who owns Blacknificent Books in Raleigh, told the panel that "we are at war." He said that white people had set up an "international plantation" for blacks, which made "every white person on earth a plantation master." He said that, "You're either supporting white people in their process of death, or you're for African liberation."

He stressed one point in particular. "White people want to kill us. I want you to understand that. They want to kill you," he said. "They want to kill you because that is part of their plan."

Kambon closed his remarks by urging participants and C-SPAN viewers to "get very serious and not be diverted from coming up with a solution to the problem, and the problem on the planet is white people."

Oh, really? If that were true, wouldn't you be target number one? How is it that you're still walking around, free to vomit such irrational delusions? This is America, bub - we ain't perfect, but we're a whole lot better than YOU think, that's for sure.

At any rate, Mr. Nzinga apparently agreed to appear on Hannity & Colmes simply to agree with former professor Kambon.

SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: Last night, we brought you this story of former North Carolina State University professor Kamau Kambon, who made those comments at a forum on media coverage of Hurricane Katrina last year. It has caused so much outrage that we thought we'd try to bring you a closer look tonight.

Joining us now from the New Black Panther Party is Minister Hashim Nzinga is with us. Are you going to support this?

HASHIM NZINGA, NEW BLACK PANTHER PARTY: I'm going to say this. It's a shame that you go back to 2005 and pull up these words and then bring on the grandson of slaves and ask me if I'm going to support this.

HANNITY: Are you?

NZINGA: I feel that you should have played that this man was a professor at two colleges. In 1999, he got a citizen of the year award.

HANNITY: I don't want his resume. I don't care about his resume. He just talked about exterminating. The only conclusion I can draw is we need to exterminate white people. I asked you a simple yes or no question. Do you support this garbage, yes or no?

NZINGA: Well, here I am on your show right now. You set me up for extermination. You always bring us up for the FBI profile so later we can be exterminated. White people set people up for extermination and carry it out.

And it goes on like that throughout the whole transcript. I only read the transcript, because actually watching this psychotic paranoia (yeah, yeah, I'm not a pshrink - it's my opinion, OK?) would definitely make me ill. Even Alan Colmes jumped on this guy to ask him to give a simple yes-or-no answer, and Mr. Nzinga couldn't. Or wouldn't.

Think about it. All Mr. Nzinga had to do was say, "No, we don't support the extermination of white people. But you must realize the oppression that... [yadda, yadda, insert further moonbattery here]" He would have answered the question (and I know I'm makeing a charitable assumption - which is apparently wrong - that he doesn't want to kill all white people), and then gotten to focus on how "white people want to kill black people."

[banging head on concrete wall]

How the heck do nutcases like this ever get a following?!

*sigh*

Paging Jim Jones... Jim Jones, to the courtesy phone... David Koresh, you have a phone call from Mr. Nzinga...

Technorati Tags: New Black Panthers, Hashim Nzinga, Kamau Kambon, Hannity and Colmes, FoxNews, genocide

No choice? I don't think so...

I posted "Islam's not for me!" yesterday, and today a friend of mine stopped by and asked if I really thought that I was free enough to have a choice. Here is what I replied:   

"Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world."   

I belong to the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, who will one day cast this satanic "god" into the eternal pit of fire - and he won't need to exert the least amount of effort to do so.   

My Lord and Savior is the Creator of all, the Lord God Almighty, the Lord my Provider, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.   

Allah? ***pfft!*** A little Johnny-Come-Lately upstart with delusions of grandeur.

To follow up on that still more, here's a quote from Isaiah that tells it like it is:   

Have you not known?
      Have you not heard?
      Has it not been told you from the beginning?
      Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
      And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
      Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
      And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
He brings the princes to nothing;
      He makes the judges of the earth useless.
Scarcely shall they be planted,
      Scarcely shall they be sown,
      Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
      When He will also blow on them,
      And they will wither,
      And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.   

“ To whom then will you liken Me,
       Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
  Lift up your eyes on high,
       And see who has created these things,
      Who brings out their host by number;
       He calls them all by name,
       By the greatness of His might
       And the strength of His power;
       Not one is missing.

And here's another relevant passage, from the book of Revelation:   

Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Or to put it another way:   

The Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo, his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.

So gird up your loins, take strength from your Lord and Savior, and sing with the Psalmist:   

Whenever I am afraid,
         I will trust in You.
In God (I will praise His word),
         In God I have put my trust;
         I will not fear.
         What can flesh do to me?
         
All day they twist my words;
         All their thoughts are against me for evil.
They gather together,
         They hide, they mark my steps,
         When they lie in wait for my life.
Shall they escape by iniquity?
         In anger cast down the peoples, O God!      

   

You number my wanderings;
         Put my tears into Your bottle;
         Are they not in Your book?
When I cry out to You,
         Then my enemies will turn back;
         This I know, because God is for me.
In God (I will praise His word),
         In the LORD (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
         I will not be afraid.
          What can man do to me?

Tags: faith, Christianity, fear, courage, Islam, allah

It's a Newsboys morning, I guess...

I have loved this song since it came out on the Newsboys' album, Adoration... Here's a video on their website.

It's the song of the redeemed
Rising from the African plain
It's the song of the forgiven
Drowning out the Amazon rain
The song of Asian believers
Filled with God's holy fire
It's every tribe, every tongue, every nation
A love song born of a grateful choir

It's all God's children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
It's all God's children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns

Let it rise about the four winds
Caught up in the heavenly sound
Let praises echo from the towers of cathedrals
To the faithful gathered underground
Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creation
Some were meant to persist
Of all the bells rung from a thousand steeples
None rings truer than this

And all the powers of darkness
Tremble at what they've just heard
'Cause all the powers of darkness
Can't drown out a single word

When all God's children sing out
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
All God's people singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns

    Technorati : Christian, Newsboys, music

"Shine" by the Newsboys

I have always loved this song by the Newsboys - it's upbeat, it's motivational, and it just rocks!

I heard it on K-LOVE this morning as I was returning from dropping the Darling Munchkin off at school, and it made me think of my friend, Raven, and the conversation we had online last night.

So, Raven - here's one for you!

dull as dirt
you can´t assert the kind of light
that might persuade
a strict dictator to retire
fire the army
teach the poor origami
the truth is in
the proof is when
you hear your heart start asking,
"What´s my motivation?"


and try as you may, there isn´t a way
to explain the kind of change
that would make an Eskimo renounce fur
that would make a vegetarian barbecue hamster
unless you can trace this about-face
to a certain sign...

Chorus
shine
make ´em wonder what you´ve got
make ´em wish that they were not
on the outside looking bored
shine
let it shine before all men
let´em see good works, and then
let ´em glorify the Lord

out of the shaker and onto the plate
it isn´t Karma
it sure ain´t fate
that would make a Deadhead sell his van
that would make a schizophrenic turn in his crayons
Oprah freaks
and science seeks a rationale
that shall excuse
this strange behavior

when you let it shine
you will inspire
the kind of entire turnaround
that would make a bouncer take ballet
(even bouncers who are unhappy)
but out of the glare
with nowhere to turn
you ain´t gonna learn it on "What´s My Line?"

Chorus
shine
make ´em wonder what you´ve got
make ´em wish that they were not
on the outside looking bored
shine
let it shine before all men
let´em see good works, and then
let ´em glorify the Lord

SHINE!!!!

Technorati : Christian, Newsboys, Shine, music

Which Reindeer am I?

You Are Blitzen

Always in good spirits, you're the reindeer who loves to party down with Santa. Why You're Naughty: You're always blitzed on Christmas Eve, while flying! Why You're Nice: You mix up a mean eggnog martini.

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

HT to CalTech Girl - who is Vixen... and a fellow Cotillionette. Now, why is it, do you suppose, that the Tiara Media seems to be made up of such wild and craZy women? LOLOL

    Technorati : Christmas quiz, blogthings, fun, quiz, reindeer

New Virginia Blog Carnival info

I made a mistake (not enough coffee) when scheduling a hosting date for the next Virginia Blog Carnival with Jason Kenney - next week, he'll be in the middle of exams, and so prefers to host on Monday the 18th of December. I'd like to emphasize the theme for that week:

Special Holiday Edition for Christmas/New Year... Looking for recipes, holiday traditions and memories, historical celebrations and the like. This edition will be the last one for 2006, and will resume 08Jan07. Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year as well!

Please make sure you try to participate in that one, so we can show how well and festively Virginia celebrates the holidays!

At any rate, that means that next week's Carnival is open for hosting... Do I have any takers? If you'd like to host next week - or sometime next year! - please e-mail me at romeokat -at- gmail -dot- com, and I'll be happy to schedule you. You can check out the Carnival page, under "Future Hosts" to see the Carnivals which are already scheduled. If you don't see a date, I can add it very quickly, but they're set up through the end of February, at least.

Thank you!

Technorati Tags: Virginia Blog Carnival, Virginia, Carnival, Christmas, politics, carnival hosting

UPS just delivered...

... The Importance of Being Earnest, a movie adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play - which is hysterical!!

If you haven't seen this movie, you ought to - it's full of mistaken identities, confuzzled bemusement, and lots of laughs!

You know, Amazon is really an awesome place to shop...

Technorati Tags: movies, humor, entertainment

Sneak peek at Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

               
 

Oh, how cool! I was quite hesitant about the Harry Potter series when it came out. But when I read the books and saw the first two movies, I got hooked! Not so hooked that I'll be there on opening night (hey, I'm not stupid!), but I *will* see this moving when it comes out. Make sure you check out the video on Google Video, since I can't really display it large enough to see properly. (Hey, TypePad! We need floating main column widths in your pre-done templates, please!) So... When is it supposed to come out, anyway?

"Islam's not for me!"

Nope. It's not.

(HT to the always awesome Beth)

Carnival of Christmas II and the Christmas Alliance

Do you love Christmas? Do you revel in the joys of the season and rejoice in celebrating the birth of our Savior?Well, then, there are many opportunities for you to participate and focus on this blessed season.

First off you should remember to link to Adam's Blog, on this post, whenever you blog about Christmas. Make sure you read his guidelines, though - these are all supposed to be positive, Christmas-loving posts (in other words, the ACLU need not link). Here they are:

1) The post should be about Christmas. While I respect those who celebrate other holidays, it can become a big jumble if you throw everything in. People are welcome to start a "Carnival of Haunakah" or a "Carnival of Kwanzaa" and I'll be happy to link to them from here. In fact, I'm actively looking for a Jewish blogger to host a Carnival of Haunakah, so if you're interested e-mail me

2) Posts do not have to be explicitly Christian, but needs to be respectul of Christianity.

3) Posts should not contain objectionable or immoral content.

4) Posts should be made in a Spirit of Christmas cheer. The Christmas Carnival is a "no cynicism" zone.

5) No Bashing political opponents. (What part of Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men don't you understand?)

6) Deadline: You have until Midnight MDT on December 22rd to send your Carnival Submissions.

7) Linkbacks are appreciated but not required. (For it is more blessed to give than to receive.)

8) All Blogs are welcome to participate regardless of political affiliation.

9) I'm not setting an arbitrary limit on posts this year, but I will ask you to designate a favorite post in case we get too many submissions, we'll only post one person.

So, make sure you send something in and make this a wonderful celebration of Christmas!

Then, buzz on over to the Random Yak, who is collecting posts for the Christmas Alliance, 2006. Trackback to that post, and the Yak - darling creature that he is - will hardlink your submissions in the body of his post. As he does that, we'll have a "library" of sorts of all the Christmassy goodness for this year - a central clearing house, so to speak. He, too, has rules, however:

1. Christmas Alliance? What is the Christmas Alliance?

Wow. You've been out of the loop, haven't you. Well, to put it in a nutshell, some of us like Christmas. A lot. (And when I say "a lot," I mean a whole lot.) We like the religious basis. We like the celebration. We like tinsel. (WOO!) We like any excuse to celebrate Jesus and to be nice to others, and the fact that we can do it in the presence of decorated trees and cookies doesn't hurt.

The Christmas Alliance is a group of blogs and bloggers who stand for, promote and celebrate Christmas. if you're pro-Christmas, you're welcome here.

2. So you hate other holidays? What about Kwanzaa? You hate Kwanzaa, don't you!

No. We don't hate Kwanzaa. We like Christmas. The fact that I like chocolate-chip cookies makes no statement about my feelings for other cookies. The fact is, I like chocolate chip. I also like Christmas. If you don't, or if you like something else, you're welcome to start your own blog. It's a big Internet. Go away now.

3. I like Christmas. Can I Play Too?

Yep. Hope you do. Send me a link or an email (Randomyak (at) gmail.com) letting me know you want in. That's it. You can display the blogroll or not display it, as you wish. All we really ask is at least one positive, pro-Christmas post between now and December 25, linked and tracked back to the Christmas Alliance HQ Homepage. Extra points if it deals with tinsel. We'd also very much appreciate you submitting the post to the Carnival of Christmas, hosted by Adam of Adam's Blog.

Make sure you read them all, if only for some giggles (the Yak is a funny guy...).

It's that wonderful, joyous, holy time of year - let's celebrate it with proper enthusiasm!!

 

Ah, the joys of parenting...

I love the Munchkin, I really do. That love runs rampant all over this blog when I talk about her. In fact, she's the BEST thing since even before sliced bread...

... But that doesn't mean she's the perfect kid (almost, but not quite, LOL)...

So, I thought I'd give y'all a little glimpse of her play room:

That was before. I nearly went nuts. Last night, the Beloved Husband sat in her room with her (he didn't help, he just reminded her to GET BACK TO WORK!), and this is the result:

Yes, this is a little slice of my life. I love it, I wouldn't trade it for anyone else's life... but it isn't the stuff of starlight and dreams, now, is it? LOLOLOL

Yanno, I ought to submit this to the Carnival of the Mundane...

Virginia Blog Carnival - preparing for Christmas (UPDATED)

(UPDATED at the bottom!)

Here we are, finally, with the Virginia Blog Carnival for this week. I've got quite a few entries, mainly because I poked around my RSS feed and added quite a few that caught my interest. I'm bouncing between "do-it-yourself," and the Blog Carnival's formats, so please forgive any awkwardness you may encounter. Also, if I didn't send a trackback, let me know (if you HAVE them, that is) and I'll fix it ASAP.

So, on to the show!

Always on Watch writes about the beautiful and moving Wreaths Across America posted at Always On Watch. The picture has been cruising aroung the 'sphere, and I'm giving this pride-of-place because it is a reminder we all need.

On another somber note, Craig, over at Craig's Musings, has a terrible story to tell: Robbed at gunpoint in my own driveway! Thank God no one was hurt, but Craig said the robber threatened his daughter. How awful! Please make sure you stop by and offer what support you can, and keep Craig and his family in your prayers.

Doug Mataconis, in One Man's Private Duty posted at Below The Beltway, returns to the wreaths at Arlington. Paired with AOW's post, this is a powerful reminder of the love and respect we owe to those who have served this country in honor and valor.

Douglas T presents Be negative posted at Thoughts on Design. Douglas is a blogger with whome I'm unfamiliar, but he's obviously got an experienced eye for composition and art.

Roci, of Rocinante's Burdens, presents War of words, discussing the Iraqi "civil war" - is it, or isn't it, and are we properly defining terms? He also adds a post from last year about the Santa myth.

Adam presents Innovative Reforms, decrying the paucity (ooo, I'm using up all my 25 cent words!) of new ideas when confronted by a deadlock of opposing views. Adam writes at Sophistpundit.

Rick Sincere presents Seasonal Silliness, about the insanity of Fairfax County regulating charity casseroles!

Kilo presents Chad Dotson takes Court to School, a very cool entry that talks about actually taking the courtroom to the school. Now, that's innovation! And, Kilo's co-blogger, Wise Girl, submits Christmas Traditions, which is exactly the kind of post that this blessed season calls for! They are, of course, blogging at Kilo Sparks It Up!!!

The Mason Conservative notes the article by George Will On Senator Temper-Tantrum, and the reaction to what many perceive to be Senator-elect Webb's rudeness. Perhaps the Democrat(ic) party didn't get such a good deal after all...

Romance at The Homestead.... is a lovely post by SWAC Girl! It's full of beautiful pictures, and how wonderful to see another long-time happily married couple. I'll hit 25 years in 5 more, and I'm blessed with an awesome husband, too. Guys (well, and gals as well), take note of how to romance your love!

Xrlq rips into Dennis Prager, Christianist Judeochristianist Idiotarian at damnum absque injuria. I haven't read or seen the full context of what Mr. Prager said, but from what I have seen, he deserves a smack-down! Xrlq has a follow up here.

Ward Smythe posts Preparing for the Messiah: The first Sunday of Advent, which takes us through the liturgy for the day. Lots of beautiful readings in Scripture, and a welcome reminder of this blessed season.

Jon Henke explains the Social Security problem without the hyperbole typical of both sides. When you read this with Sophistipundit's entry, above, you should have several new points to consider on the topic.

Finally, Bwana at Renaissance Ruminations offers some free advice to the Virginia GOP in view of what he observed at the Advance this weekend. I think they ought to listen...

Well, I hope you enjoyed this Carnival. Next week, we will be over at Jason Kenney's blog (UPDATE: I goofed! Jason will be hosting on December 18th, so next week is free - please contact me if you're interesting in hosting romeokat -at- gmail -dot- com)... and maybe he'll be able to sneak a picture in of his new niece, if her Daddy says it's all right. My congratulations go out to the Kenneys on this beautiful (yes, ALL babies are beautiful - and this one has a lovely and charming Mom and Dad!) and precious new life.

So, make sure you get those posts ready - especially the ones celebrating Christmas - and send them in via the submit post link, or to vablogcarnival -at- gmail -dot- com.

Technorati tags: Virginia, politics, Christmas, Carnival, Virginia Blog Carnival

Virginia Blog Carnival up later today

I've got some errands to do this morning, and then I'm going over to a friend's place to ride, so the VBC will be up this afternoon. I've been prowling though my RSS feedreader and have sent in several articles from other blogs that I thought might be interesting... but you still have time to submit!

Please send a link to your post to the Virginia Blog Carnival e-mail: vablogcarnival -at- gmail -dot- com. I'll be rounding things up and sending trackback pings (when available) around 5pm.

Technorati tags: Virginia Blog Carnival, Virginia

50 foods meme

Well, the Yak started it, and then Adam chimed in, so I figure I'll jump on the boat, too!

Apparently the BBC has a list of 50 foods you should eat before you die. The ones I've had are bolded -

• Fresh fish
• Lobster (mmmm! Lobster!)
• Steak (medium rare, with lots of fresh cracked pepper!)
• Thai food
• Chinese food (dim sum in Hong Kong... Really!)
• Ice cream (d'uh! Coldstone For Coffee Lovers Only - zowie!)
• Pizza (d'uh again!)
• Crab
• Curry
• Prawns
• Moreton Bay Bugs
• Clam chowder
• Barbecues
• Pancakes
• Pasta
• Mussels
• Cheesecake
• Lamb
• Cream tea
• Alligator
• Oysters
• Kangaroo
• Chocolate (oh, please! I'm a woman!)
• Sandwiches
• Greek food (tzat tiki! baklava!)
• Burgers (hello? American, here!)
• Mexican food
• Squid
• American diner breakfast (Denny's waffles!)
• Salmon
• Venison (but not for several years. We're in hunting territory, though, so that may change soon...)
• Guinea pig
• Shark
• Sushi (*MY* fav food!)
• Paella (but I don't like to eat it as much as I enjoy cooking it)
• Barramundi
• Reindeer
• Kebab
• Scallops
• Australian meat pie
• Mango
• Durian fruit
• Octopus
• Ribs
• Roast beef (roast prime rib - YUMMAY!)
• Tapas (the Beloved Husband's first tour was in southern Spain - mmMMMMmmmm!)
• Jerk chicken/pork
• Haggis (1980 - in Edinburgh. Really.)
• Caviar (too salty, generally. But I've had it.)
• Cornish Pastry

I've only missed 12 out of 50. Not bad...

UPDATE: Ah! Well, I should have known that David was the real culprit... So here are the rules of the Meme Game: "Copy the text below into a plain text editor, remove any comments I've appended, then paste the list into a post, BOLDING items you have eaten. Then, changing the Random Yak's meme game a bit, link to this post and the Random Yak's post. If you find this somewhere else, add their post in linkage, as well. Oh, cut it off after you've reached four blogs or so back."

1. Third World County
2. Random Yak
3. Adam's Blog
4. CatHouse Chat
5. (your blog permalink here)

Thanksgiving prepares us for the Greatest Gift of all

Now that December is here, the theme for Sunday Thoughts with Kat on Wide Awakes Radio will be the gratitude we owe to God to the glorious gift He gave us in Christ Jesus.

Today, I spoke about the gift of Christ's humble birth - the modesty and simplicity of His coming.

I start with some of the lyrics from "Manger Throne," from City on a Hill: It's Christmastime, sung by Mac Powell of Third Day (one of my favorite Christian groups - southern rock glorifying Christ!):

What kind of King would leave His throne
in Heaven to make this earth His home?
While men seek fame and great renown,
in lowliness our King comes down.

Chorus:
Jesus, Jesus, precious Lord,
How we thank You that You've come!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Lord,
A manger throne for God's own Son!

You left the sound of angels' praise
to come for men with unkind ways
and [bowed] this baby's helplessness (????) [this one didn't make sense when I was transcribing it]
the power of nations is laid to rest

Chorus

What kind of King would come so small
from glory to a humble stall?
That dirty manger is my heart, too
I'll make it a royal throne for You!

Chorus

My heart is a throne for God's own Son!

And here's what I said today (mp3 download).

UPDATE: Added to the Christmas Alliance 2006 homepage, as well as to Adam's Blog's Carnival of Christmas II post...

"Quilts from Aunt Kat" rides again...

Well, this past week, I was bitten by the quilting bug again, and I decided to sew my collection of bright kids' prints strips together. This is the first step so I can make baby quilts that give adults headaches! Here's a sample of a finished quilt (although the outer border is quite tame for my tastes - I had to use up some fabric...)

Nevertheless, you can get an idea from looking at the center just what kind of craziness I put into a baby quilt.

To start, I generally gather dozens of fat quarters (18" x 22" for those non-quilters) from my collection of BRIGHT BRIGHT fabrics, and cut them into 2 1/2 inch strips (so, they measure 2 1/2 x 22 inches, roughly). I generally spread this over several months and built up a stash of these strips, but sometimes I go crazy and do it over a couple of days.

Hey! If I don't use up fabric, I can't buy more, right? Heh.

(Now, this is a very photo rich post, and quite long, so I'm going to put the rest of it below the fold...)

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Stew

I don't know what it was, but this morning I just needed to cook! I had been planning on cooking my Spicy Squash Soup, but I didn't feel like dealing with leeks and zucchini for some reason. I did, however, want to use the squash (which was cracked from where I'd dropped it on the floor yesterday), and I also had some canned chickpeas (yum!) that looked good.

So, this is what I came up with:

• 3 cups raw butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 3 cups chopped onion
• 2 tsp. (each) minced garlic and fresh ginger
• 1 TB sweet curry powder
• 2 cups diced sweet potato
• 2 cups diced carrots (for these last two, I used prepackaged items from WalMart. So? I can be lazy, too!)
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 boxes of Swanson's Chicken Broth, or the equivilent. If you want to use vegetable broth and make this vegan, that would work, too - but this is what I had in my pantry
• 2 TB peanut or vegetable oil
• salt and (freshly ground!) pepper to taste

All right - start the oil heating over medium high heat in a 6 qt. stockpot (I always like to use a bigger pot, because I always seem to need that extra room, LOL), and then add the onions, garlic, ginger and curry powder. Sauté these ingredients, stirring fairly frequently, for about 5 minutes. The onions should wilt a bit, and the curry should be very aromatic - I go by when you need to start scraping the bottom of the pan a little bit.

Now add the rest of the veggies and stir to coat them with the spiced onions (oooo! That reminds me: I need to make my Spiced Pecans!). Let them cook for a few minutes (or not), and then add the chickpeas and broth. Please feel free to adjust the amount of broth - the amount I gave will make a fairly thick stew, but you may prefer a more soup-like consistency.

Bring this all up to a boil, cover and then cook on low heat for 30 minutes.

That's where I am at this moment, so it may need a little more cooking time, I'm not sure. I'm also thinking of seeding and chopping some tomatoes (got some I need to use up - so much for those bacon-tomato-cheese melt sandwiches...) to add - 2 cups maybe? - and also finishing with some fresh chopped cilantro.

Oh, and be careful with the salt and pepper. I haven't added any yet, and will probably use it only sparingly as part of the finish. I generally don't use much salt, anyway, especially when I'm using other spices. Remember, you can always add more, but you can't take it out if you've put too much!

I'll check back later and tell you how it worked out.

UPDATE: (at 40 minutes) Yep. I added the tomatoes, plus about 1/2 teaspoon of salt, some pepper, and a little more curry, since it seemed a little bland. I would suggest also doubling the amount of garlic and ginger, but it's a little late for me to do that. I should have peeled the tomatoes as well, but settled for seeding and chopping them: if necessary, I'll only have small slivers of tomato skin to pick out when I eat the stew. And, actually, it's more like a soup...

Technorati Tags: cooking, stew, vegetables, squash, sweet potatoes, recipe

A glorious evening

Sprawling on the floor, enjoying the fire and snuggling the Munchkin - AND watching "the Making of the Lord of the Rings". It's the super-duper special edition, and I cannot TELL you how much I love all 25 or so hours of it!

UPDATE (while I clean up the garbage that a moblog post adds) And LOOK at that face on the Munchkin! "Daddy, Daddy, don't take a picture of me!" LOLOLOL Me, of course, I have the glazed look of "Leave me alone; I want to watch this!" on my face...

Sunday's child

I was going through my RSS feedreader (Bloglines - it ain't perfect, but it suits me), and saw Patterico's post about his daughter, who was inquiring on what day she was born. Thanks to one of his commenters, he reprinted the lovely little poem

Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go.
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child born on the Sabbath Day,
Is fair and wise and good and gay.

The Darling Munchkin was born on a Sunday, at 10:30 or so in the evening. I'm sure you'll forgive my slight imprecision about the time - I was rather exhausted, and had one or two drugs (YAY DRUGS! *snicker*) running through my system when she made her appearance.

But, yes, she is fair and wise and good. She's gay, too - in the original sense, of course! - and is usually cheerful and sweet.

God is very good to me: not only am I married to the Best Husband in the Universe, but God has also given me this special treasure. Her Hawaiian name (not on her birth certificate, but she does use it when we're in Hawaii, LOL), "Noelani" means "beautiful gift from Heaven," and it suits her to a "T."

Thanks, Father! You do good work!

How shocking! - And, how MARVELLOUS!

That first, simple throne never ceases to amaze me.

How is it that God, the Creator of all, would humble Himself to this degree and be born in a stable? How could He possibly - no matter how much He loves us - deign to come down amid the muck and stench, and live among us? Why should He even bother to lay aside His infinite glory and come to us as a little baby?

Infant holy, infant lowly,
for his bed a cattle stall;
oxen lowing, little knowing,
Christ the babe is Lord of all.
Swift are winging angels singing,
noels ringing, tidings bringing:
Christ the babe is Lord of all.

"Christ the babe is Lord of all..."

This Lord of all left the halls of glory where His will was carried out without contest, and descended to earth. The Bible says that He "dwelt among us." He lived with us, He felt our hurts, lived our life, obeyed the Law, and submitted Himself to our scorn and ridicule.

He knew what was in store... and He came anyway.

He had no obligation to come... and He came anyway.

He knew the pain... and He came anyway!

He is Jesus "... who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2, NKJV)

Who is this King of Glory, who offered Himself so gently, so kindly? What great love He must have for us, that He would do this shocking, marvellous thing!

Linked at Adam's Blog for the second annual Carnival of Christmas. And are you going to join in and submit a post, too? And to read all my Christmas-related posts, please go here.

UPDATE: Added to the Christmas Alliance 2006 homepage...

Technorati Tags: Christ, Christmas, Carnival of Christmas