Writings and musings on the eccentric beauty of sacrifice. Come journey and write with us. We are resolved to capture something positive in a troubled world and laugh when we can along the way. This, then, is dedicated in Loving Memory to LCpl. Aaron C. Austin, USMC KIA Fallujah, Iraq on April 26, 2004. Rock On...
8 comments:
I love this card for our troops and for their families. God bless them all this special season and the New Year to come.
Send a new one over and over.
Howdy De'on, I certainly miss being able to get around and visit you all over here. Things are slowing down a little but is really the calm before the up coming storm I think. I want to wish you a very special and Merry Christmas.
I think that card is great!
Thanks, Gunz. Merry Christmas and we miss you terribly, but I am so glad you have your girls!
And yes, honey, the storm is probably just starting, but your girls will do fine. I'm just sure of that.
Hold on and visit when you can!
Merry Christmas, God Bless.
I came across this article, and I had never read it before.
ON THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME...by Beverly Philbeck
The 12 days of Christmas are the twelve days between Christmas Day, December 25, the birth of Jesus, and the Epiphany, January 6th, the day Christians celebrate the arrival of the Magi and the revelation of Christ as the light of the world. Despite the cute words and clever jingle, it wasn't until this year that I came across some symbolism behind this song and found it vey interesting. Sit back, sing-a-long and enjoy!
On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me... A partridge in a Pear Tree.
The partridge in a pear tree represents Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whose birthday is celebrated on December 25, better known as the first day of Christmas. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge that feigns injury to decoy predators from her nestlings. The partridge was even willing to die for them.
On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...Two Turtle Doves.
The two turtle doves refer to the Old and New Testaments.
On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me... Three French Hens.
The three french hens stand for faith, hope and love- the three gifts of the Holy Spirit that abide.(1 Corinthians 13)
On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...Four Calling Birds.
The four calling birds represent the four evangelist who wrote the Gospels- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John- and who proclaimed the Good News of God's reconciliation of the world to Himself in Jesus Christ.
On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me... Five Golden Rings.
The five gold rings refer to the first five books of the Old Testament- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me... Six Geese A-Laying.
These are the six days of creation, as the Lord rested on the 7th day.
On the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...Seven Swans A-Swimming.
These are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit- wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.
On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...Eight Maids A Milking.
The eight maids are representative of the eight beatitudes listed in the Sermon on the Mount.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:1-12)
On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me... Nine Ladies Dancing.
The nine ladies dancing represent the fruit of the Holy Spirit which include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.(Galatians 5:22)
On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...Ten Lords A-Leaping,
How about the Ten Commandments? 1) I am the Lord Thy God; thou shalt have no other gods before me; 2) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image; 3) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; 4) Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; 5) honor thy father and mother; 6) Thou shalt not kill; 7) Thou shalt not commit adultery; 8) Thou shalt not steal; 9) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor; 10) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.
On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me... Eleven Pipers Piping.
The eleven pipers refer to the eleven faithful apostles- Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James bar Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas bar James. ( The list does not include Judas Iscariot as he was the one who betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders and the Romans.)
On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me... Twelve Drummers Drumming.
The twelve drummers drumming represent the 12 points of doctrine expressed in the Apostle's Creed: belief in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; that Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary, made man, crucified, died and was buried; arose on the third day; He sits at the right hand of the Father and will come again to judge the living and the dead; and the resurrection body and life everlasting.
So the next time you hear this non-religious sounding song during the holiday season, consider this symbolic meaning behind the origins of your faith.
Remember The Reason For The Season and have a Merry Christmas!
December 2006/ Midland Lifestyles
I love you, Karen. You are so awesome and always take part in everything.
God has given you great talent, wisdom, the spiritual gift of exhortation.
You kept Aaron while I worked when he was young, spoonfed him your homemade potatoe salad, used your earnings on toys and chlothes for him.
When he was older, you talked about music and danced with him, you watched him in the mirror as a teen, smelled the heavy cologne throughout your home and didn't turn your ear away from his loud voice, booming laughter.
You and I both are without children today, yet we so love. We love our Gary, Bonray and Sadie. Me, my Hen, Isaac and Sarah.
And each of us have loved children we didn't give birth to. We have loved them and had our hearts broken by them, and yet, we've never quit loving.
The Greatest of These Is Love.
Thanks for loving me so long, Karen.
And thank you, Jesus.
Karen loved the story behind the song. I vaguely remeber some of the meaning, it is nice to have it refreshed in my spider web brain. Thanks for running by at Christmas, I love seeing you guys. And Karen I have know idea how you bake and cook so much for the holidays. There goes to show you, you had not one second to leave a tip for the week before Christmas. Are you super woman because you had the time to comment. What a woman. I'm blessed to have a sister-in-law like you. God bless you and I hope this year will give you what your heart does for your family and friends.
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