The Christmas Story

The story of the Birth of Christ Jesus (from the book of Luke in the Holy Bible)

"About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was the governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David's hometown, for the census. As a descendant of David he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancee, who was pregnant.

While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped Him in a blanket and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the hostel.

There were shepherds camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."

At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises: "Glory to God in the heavenly heights; Peace to all men and women on earth who please Him."

As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the shepherds talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the shepherds were impressed.

Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The shepherds returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!"  (Luke 2:1-20).

It was a simple scene that first Christmas – a rough room, a young couple and nothing but a feeding trough to put the child in. It was probably quite cold and with family far away there was little help. Not exactly the Hallmark moment we like to show in Christmas pageants. And yet this rustic scene marked the greatest event in the history of mankind.

God's Son became human and came to earth to save us. God had promised to send a Messiah, one who would save His people. He could have easily burst on the scene as a full grown man, a seven foot warrior with fiery eyes and arms of steel. This was what many people were looking for, but it wasn't how God did it. He arrived in the arms of a young girl. He was, as another of our authors put it, "a very small package, wrapped in rags, given from the heart of God. The perfect gift."

God gave His only Son to die in our place so that we, in all our brokenness, could know forgiveness. He came so that we could know what love feels like, real love – love that never leaves, love that never disappoints, love that is never betrayed. He sent His Son into a corrupted world to bring us hope.

Here is a link to more Christmas Stories
 http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestorysummaries/p/christmasstory.htm

Who controls the South African Government

AFRICA: The African continent is home to the second largest source of strategic minerals. Russia is the other source, and it now controls both pools of minerals via its numerous client states in Africa: 

Angola, Mozambique, Nigeria, the Congo, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Libya, and many others.

 Russia indirectly controls almost all African governments by having established a dependency on Soviet-era military hardware--even those that currently play as if they are in the UN’s sloppy orbit. None of the African states are capable of governing themselves with stability anymore and thus are constantly susceptible to control or conquest. The Sudan is the sole African nation so far drifting into the Chinese sphere of influence as China desperately seeks to secure more exclusive contracts for oil--one of China’s biggest strategic weaknesses. 

The kingpin of the Russia’s African strategy, however, focuses on southern Africa.

South Africa’s ruling ANC Party has always been a not-so-secret Communist Trojan horse in that country and will eventually turn over all of South Africa’s resources and strategic geographical advantage to Russia. 

The horn of southern Africa is one of the world’s strategic choke points.

WRITTEN BY Joel M. Skousen - December 23, 2004

 http://www.worldaffairsbrief.com/

Tsotsi Jacob Zuma

 The president of South Africa Jacob Zuma. A man on a mission to destroy this beautiful country.

All the tax money is gone, and the South African Revenue services may raise taxes to fund the losses. People are under pressure to pay up or face the wrath of the revenue services. Judgments, auction of assets and loss of homes can be pretty scary for some people, who do not have any protection.
Let us all pray that the #ZumaMustFall march organized for tomorrow will be successful.

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OPINION - RECALL PRESIDENT ZUMA: EE General Secretary Tshepo Motsepe with 5 reasons why President Jacob Zuma must be recalled.
"The South African Presidency should be a site to advance the struggle for social equality, for the righting of historic crimes against black people, for jobs, houses, healthcare and education, for human rights globally and at home. This struggle can no longer be lead by a person as compromised, divisive and ineffective as President Jacob Zuma. He must be recalled by the ANC." READ THE ARTICLE - HERE IS THE LINK
 http://groundup.org.za/article/recall-president-zuma_3601#sthash.hcpY0uu9.dpuf

South Africa’s Zuma Manifests the Arrogance of Power

The president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, manifests the arrogance of power, and citizens are rallying to campaign for his ouster. It is clear that Zuma and his advisers have no clue about the crucial importance of stability and symbolism within the government. The economy of South Africa has a battered image, and its creditworthiness is almost at junk status because of the country’s infrastructure concerns. The high debt, balance of payment deficits, and general government inefficiency in all provinces are examples of how the economy has declined rapidly.

It would be unfortunate for any reasonable South African to expect investors, whether locally or foreign, to invest in a country where the head of state acts irresponsibly and where the government consistently attacks institutions such as the public protector and the judiciary, which exist to safeguard the democracy. South Africa is a country in which state-owned enterprises are turned into milk-cows, ministers turn swimming pools into fire pools, the government turns national key points into family landing spaces, and the list goes on and on. The problem with all this negative action is that it does not guarantee future political stability to any investor, and therefore, any hope of a return of investment is diminished.

The Central Finance Ministry needs stability, which would be an encouraging sign for both local and foreign investors, as it would ensure the taxes are safe. The removal of Finance Minister Nene specifically targets the incumbent and is of utmost concern. President Zuma fails dismally at understanding the power of symbolism, as demonstrated by the serial blunders and omissions made in the past. Among some of the more serious mistakes are the South African Airways, the National Prosecuting Authority, the police force, and the Broadcasting Corporation. Friends of the president, such as the Guptas and premiers of several provinces in South Africa, have the freedom to act without limits or restrictions and without repercussion. Zuma could redeem the situation and the reputation of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party if these friends, who embarrass investing and ordinary people of South Africa, were removed. This would create a symbolism that would restore confidence.

Zuma is not seeing the bigger, global picture, and only sees the small ANC world of cronies and challenges, which ignites a negative symbolism. Minister Nene tried to curb state spending, and this was clearly not what Zuma wanted. Zuma is betraying the country for a personal agenda. It is the first time that a minister of finance did not finish a full term, and the removal is a demonstration of anger and rejection. Zuma hates a minister who points out mismanagement of funds; especially if there is an implication for the presidency and the Zulu King.

Zuma, who deploys the cabinet ministers, is ultimately accountable for their poor management and performance. Zuma is so elementary and completely unintellectual that decisions made are not in the best interest of the people of South Africa. Zuma is a liability, and his lack of formal qualifications impedes the ability to see things in a more intelligent and or dynamic way.

It was the Polokwane Conference that started the point of an economic meltdown, resulting in catastrophic leadership in the country. Is South Africa at a point of no return? Members of the ANC do not understand the crucial importance of symbolism, and electing Zuma for the second term was suicidal. History repeats itself; first as a tragedy, then as farce.

The current corrupt, criminal, bourgeoisie, and lying nepotist snouts in the ANC are incompetent loyalists of Zuma. The ANC use workers’ hard-earned taxes for lavish lifestyles, all the while preaching delivery and consideration to the people of South Africa. They love communists and carousing with the world’s finest, while at the same time entertaining the Hamas terrorist enemies of the West. The ANC acolytes have built a cult around Zuma, conflating the party and the state.

Despite the massive challenges posed by Zuma and the corrupt cadres, it is heartwarming to see South Africans from all occupations agreeing on the failings of Zuma. Together, people are taking action and calling for the fall of Zuma. South Africans are acquainted with what Zuma is doing and realize that although the president understands the consequences, he does not care. Zuma has three more years in office and intends to make every moment count. The motivation Zuma has is to take care of the ANC cadres, and the impact on the country is completely irrelevant.

It is an aggressive, threatening move, yet the ANC respects the decision of President Zuma to appoint a new minister of finance. The ANC will always respect Zuma, even if the decisions are detrimental to the stability of South Africa. It is an aggressive abuse of power by Zuma, who is sending a negative message to the people of South Africa.


PUBLISHED ON THE GUARDIAN LV TODAY - HERE IS THE LINK

 http://guardianlv.com/2015/12/south-africas-zuma-manifests-the-arrogance-of-power/

CHRISTMAS COFFEE GIFT BASKET

Sharing another Christmas story ..............

The holidays are fast approaching and chances are you are going to be in need of either a beautiful hostess gift or a holiday gift for someone that seems to have everything.  Many people also need gifts for people like their doctors’ offices, mail carriers or office gift exchanges, and it is always difficult to find a gift that doesn’t look cheap while you don’t spend a lot of money.

An excellent alternative to finding one gift is to put together a gift basket with a theme.  There are several different ideas that you can put into use, the most popular and easy being a pasta gift basket which would include noodles, sauce, cheeses and if you want to get more in depth you can add an apron, cookbook, and wine.

My personal favorite for the holiday season is a coffee gift basket.  Just about everyone drinks coffee at some time, and especially during the cold winter season.  A coffee gift basket can be very inexpensive to put together, or if you want a higher end gift, it is perfect as well.  For a less expensive option, you can purchase sample sizes of several different coffee blends at just about any specialty coffee store.  These sizes generally brew one pot and are the perfect size for a smaller coffee gift basket.  I would not recommend purchasing grocery store coffee for a gift basket as it does not seem the most appropriate.  Again, if you would like to save some money and go a less expensive route than sample sizes are much more appropriate.

Besides just including coffee in a coffee gift basket, you can also include items like coffee mugs, coffee flavorings, chocolate stirrers and other coffee related items.  Also, considerable additions are food items that go well with coffee.  If you are a baker, then some biscotti or cookies are a fantastic thing to include.  Even if you don’t bake, you can purchase these from a bakery and include them for the recipient to enjoy.  Chocolates are always an excellent addition to any gift basket, so adding them to a coffee gift basket is a wonderful idea.  Books, ornaments and even blankets are other fantastic ideas to include, depending upon how much money you would like to spend.

If you are having a hard time finding an appropriate gift for that hard to buy for person, then a themed gift basket is a great starting point.  Particularly, a coffee gift basket would be appreciated by just about anyone on your list!