Merry Christmas!

I'm two days late - but I hope all had a very merry and blessed Christmas!

And, allow me to share my favorite version of the Christmas story:

[Jesus Christ,] being in very nature God,
      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
 but made himself nothing,
      taking the very nature of a servant,
      being made in human likeness.
 And being found in appearance as a man,
      he humbled himself
      and became obedient to death—
         even death on a cross!
 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
      and gave him the name that is above every name,
 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
      in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
      to the glory of God the Father.

- Phillipians 2:6-11

Merry Christmas!

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

It is my sincere hope that this Christmas, those that don't already know Him might be able to see past the trappings of Christmas - beyond trees and carols and gifts -- and even gatherings of family and friends -- and come to know the person of Christmas, Jesus Christ.

It is He who "made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness; and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!". All of which He did in love so that you and I might be reconciled back to a God, no longer separated by our sin.

That truly is good news that deserves celebration!

Merry Christmas!

How To Ruin a Christmas Special

MSNBC contributor Mary Beth Ellis ruins every Christmas special ever simply by screening them through far left values:

Something about this year has forced me to view favorite childhood Christmas specials through the spectrum of full adulthood. And it makes for an ugly, ugly rainbow.

What was once whimsical becomes fraught with social messages we may have blessedly missed the first time around. Nostalgia excuses us from critiquing the specials on a technical level, but the accumulation of hard-learned life lessons intrudes upon Who-ville and the North Pole: Why were the Peanuts characters so hideously unsupervised? Why can't Frosty the Snowman get over himself? Why are the elves in "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" so in need of hypertension meds?

...

Candidates' Christmas Ads - Part 2

The spoof of Hillary's Christmas "holiday" ad by HotAir. Doesn't add much to the political discourse, but it's fun any how. My favorite is the "Jail pajamas for Norman Hsu".

This one's even lower-brow, but the parodies continue:

Update: And how could I have forgotten to include Huckabee's played backwards?

Candidates' Christmas Ads

...or, in the case of some candidates, "holiday" ads...

Let's begin:

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It would be my preference that candidates who won't give a "straight talk" answer as to whether Jesus is his Lord and Savior" wouldn't draw crosses in their Christmas ads.

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My favorite commentary on this ad comes from Ann Althouse:

I would have thought this was a parody attacking Hillary Clinton, but she's Hillary Clinton, and she approved of this message.

Isn't this like when you get presents from family members and you know they charged it on your credit card?

The left sure is getting hard to parody. And I'd rather not have Hillary use my credit card to buy my gifts... I also can't believe she used my favorite Christmas song... sigh.

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Hmm. Well, at least this one is a little bit better:

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To quote Bryan over at HotAir:

Dark lighting, a Christmas tree that’s all but invisible, indistinct background music, certainly no crosses or overt references to Christmas to be found anywhere in the ad so he won’t generate any conspiracy theories. When he ticks off the poverty stats and asks “Who will speak for them?” let’s just say that a silky millionaire trial lawyer isn’t the first person to come to my mind. The ad’s about as sterile and lame as a Christmas ad can get. It really isn’t a Christmas ad so much as an ad that happens to air around Christmas. It’s a flop.

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Rich Lowry calls it "The Christmas Wedge Ad". I don't particularly care for Huckabee, but this might be the only ad of the bunch that I like. I'm sure the call to run the ad involved a political calculation, but I think Huckabee sincerely means his wish of "Merry Christmas". Shrewd plus sincere - an winning combination?

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Except for the whole "we all have a stake in one another" (sounds way too much like "it takes a village"), this one was pretty good too. Kudos to Obama to include "Merry Christmas" at the danger of angering the secularists.

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I don't think Fred or Mitt have release Christmas ads. Which, I think, for Mitt ("Mormons are Christians too!") is probably a negative.

If you are looking for more though, check out the "White House Christmas Spectacular (HT: HotAir).

Happy Incarnation Remembrance Day

(Or, more conventionally - Merry Christmas!)

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" which means, "God with us."

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

- Matthew 1:18-25



More lightheartedly, celebrate with some gift ideas from Strong Bad:

John McLaughlin - Ready for Christmas

John McLaughlin of The McLaughlin Group is certainly ready for Christmas:



Update: I posted the image prior to actually watching the episode. The episode has a rather comical interchange between McLaughlin and Tony Blankley specifically about the jacket which I thought I'd share:

McLaughlin: I noticed you're staring at my jacket.

Blankley: It's a very handsome jacket. I covet it. (Laughter.)

McLaughlin: You do covet it?

Blankley: I do covet it, yes.

McLaughlin: Last time we raised this subject, you told me it belongs on a horse.

Blankley: Well, nothing wrong with that.

McLaughlin: A stallion, no doubt.

Blankley: Our horses are well-dressed.

Hmm... perhaps the exchange loses something when put in text... Well, if you really care to, give the episode a view (published-for-streaming .asx; published-for-podcasting .mp4) or a listen (published-for-podcasting .mp3). It's their year-end/wrap-up show, and worth checking out even if McLaughlin wasn't wearing a ridiculous jacket.