“I'm for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, tranquilizers, or a bottle of Jack Daniels. But to me religion is a deeply personal thing in which man and God go it alone together, without the witch doctor in the middle.”

“I'm supposed to have a Ph.D. on the subject of women. But the truth is I've flunked more often than not. I'm very fond of women; I admire them. But, like all men, I don't understand them.”

“A man doesn't know what happiness is until he's married. By then it's too late”

“Whatever else has been said about me personally is unimportant. When I sing, I believe. I'm honest.”

“If you don't know the guy on the other side of the world, love him anyway because he's just like you. He has the same dreams, the same hopes and fears. It's one world, pal. We're all neighbors.”

“The best revenge is massive success.”

“For years I've nursed a secret desire to spend the Fourth of July in a double hammock with a swingin' redheaded broad ... but I could never find me a double hammock.”

“Fear is the enemy of logic”

“The big lesson in life, baby, is never be scared of anyone or anything”

"You only live once, and the way I live, once is enough.”

"I'm gonna live till I die."

“And now the end is near
And so I face the final curtain,
I’ll state my case of which I’m certain.
I’ve lived a life that’s full, I traveled each and ev’ry highway,
And more, much more than this. I did it my way.”

~Frank Sinatra

Kissing under the mistletoe might not seem so romantic to those who know one possible origin of this word. According to some authorities, mistletoe derives from the Old English world mistiltan; tan means “twig” and mistily means “dung”. It seems that in olden times people thought mistletoe twigs sprang from bird droppings. Another theory is that mistily means “bird-lime” and refers to a sticky substance used to catch birds that was made by boiling mistletoe twigs. Mistletoe, long known to be poisonous, was used in connection with human sacrifices by the Druids, which is why the early Christian church forbade its use in church decoration. Kissing under the mistletoe is an English custom dating back to the early seventeenth century. Few people know that each kiss requires the plucking of a berry from the mistletoe and that the kissing is finished when the last berry is picked. The berries should not be eaten – they are poisonous.

A common laborer from a hick town for a father, a peasant girl in her teens for a mother, and rumors about his legitimacy buzzing through the village grape vine. Surrounded by livestock and visited by shepherds, His coming was amazingly commonplace, and most of His company was not royal by any standards. Strange way for the Son of God to make an entrance, don’t you think?

He could have come with trumpets and earthquakes and fire… He could have commanded respect and demanded recognition, but he came quietly, and a silent sign in the sky marked his birth so that those who wished could seek and find Him.



And they did find Him. They still do…. Wise men and poor men, brilliant men and hard working men, eloquent and socially stunted men, sinners and saints and even outcasts. They find Him when they look.


For the last few years, I’ve had misfits in my manger. I set up a nativity scene at Christmas, and I also have plush “Misfit” toys from Rudolph’s Island of Unwanted Toys (I love that island!). Whenever I’d turn my back, the girls would stuff the misfits into the manger and put Santa on the roof. At first it REALLY bugged me (I’m sure that’s why they kept doing it), because it seemed a little bit sacrilegious to me. I’d take the misfits out and put Joseph and Balthazar back where they belonged, and it was all good until the next time.



I was listening to music this morning and doing some sleepy Christmas reflecting, and it hit me right up-side the head… the misfits DO belong in the manger. Jesus spent time with tax collectors and prostitutes… God put a lot of energy into a man who tormented His people… Joseph’s brothers actually sold him, but heaven favored him… crazy stuff. It goes on and on. Maybe I’m a misfit in the manger, too. Walking right in with all of my baggage, not inclined to be afraid, even in the presence of God… how strange is that? We can still find Him when we look. Now, though, in contrast to His quiet birth, life, death, and even a fairly unassuming resurrection, he rips the roof off of the planet to give a full view of heaven to anyone who wants to see… and welcomes those who seek Him, still.

Have a beautiful Christmas. May your blessings be more to hold in heart than hand. I wish you all peace and hope and joy and love… and pie, of course.

I've had the MOST FUN this week!

I went to the post office on Tuesday, and there were two packages from a company in New Jersey. I didn't order anything, so I didn't know what they were, but when I set them down in my car, one of them clucked at me!!! (Insant YAY!)

When I made it home and opened the packages, there were TWO Chicken Fling-shots. These are soooo neat! You pull them back and when you let them go, they cluck and fly across the room like a giant rubber band. (And I measured... they really DO fly up to 50 feet!)

Thank you so much, Squash and Biggie and Marc, for the gifts. I don't know what I did to deserve friends like you, but if I ever figure it out I'll write a book, because EVERYONE needs people like you in their lives... think how much fun the world would be!

Thank you.