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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Video

Happy or Joyful Christmas?

I love Christmas! I love everything about it. I love the decorations, the gifts, the food, the fun, the time with family, the laughter, the cooking. I love it all! For me, Christmas is a precious time of the year. Yet it occurs to me that Christmas is not a happy time for everyone. Many are alone, having to do without necessities (let alone luxuries), missing a loved one for the first time, or not in a place within themselves to celebrate anything. For some, Christmas is a struggle.

I know that my enjoyment is temporal. It doesn’t last forever. A time will come when the festivities will come to an end, the decorations will be put away, the food will eventually diminish and we will return home from spending precious time with our families. My happiness will dwindle with the ending of the festivities.

Yet, the joy of Christmas is free for us all and is eternal. It’s the joy of the knowledge that God Himself entered our world to meet with us and to save us. He came to us as a baby – vulnerable, shamed by the gossip surrounding His very existence, His life under threat by those who feared for their position in life. Our God came down to this and was born into the dirt and squalour of a stable. He wasn’t born into a clean, safe environment. His first hours were hours of dirt, mess and fear. He entered our dirty, messy, fearful world to save us from the grip of the enemy. He came because He loves us and wants to draw us back to Himself.

This is the Christmas joy we can all celebrate. This isn’t temporal, it’s eternal. It will last forever. My prayer this Christmas time is that we all find that joy – a joy that deepens as we look to our Saviour and celebrate all that He has done for us. If you’re struggling with Christmas this year, I pray this unfathomable joy will be your strength. For those of us who have much to enjoy, I pray that you won’t lost sight of the deep joy that surpasses our understanding.

Prayer: What can we say to our Saviour who came to this earth to save us? Thank You does not seem enough but it’s all we have. Help us, Lord, to know the joy that is ours for free and is eternal, and help us not to lose sight of this truth as we celebrate your birth. We especially pray for those who are struggling this Christmas time. May You give each one of us the only gift that matters this year: may Your love penetrate our hearts in a deep and precious way. Amen.

Christmas Around the World

The Origins of Popular Christmas Traditions

Dating back to Rome in 330 AD, the Christian holiday of Christmas is one of the oldest and most powerful celebrations in human history. Originally celebrated as a simple mass, Christmas has come to replace a number of other holidays in many countries, and a large number of traditions have become a cherished part of the family Christmas celebration.

Why December 25?

From the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass," Christmas is the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus. What's interesting about this is that Jesus was not born on December 25 as many assume. Actually, no one is sure when Jesus was born as the exact date is not mentioned in the Bible. December 25th is just a date picked by the Catholic church to eclipse the festivities of a rival pagan festival, Saturnalia.

Mistletoe and Holly 

Two hundred years before the birth of Christ, Druids decorated their homes with mistletoe to celebrate the coming of winter. They believed the plant had special healing powers for everything from female infertility to poison. Scandinavians also considered the mistletoe to be a special plant, associating it with their goddess of love, Frigga. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe probably derived from this belief. Because of the pagan origins of mistletoe, the early church banned its use in Christmas celebrations, suggesting holly as an appropriate substitute. Holly's sharply pointed leaves were to symbolize the thorns in Christ's crown and the red berries drops of his blood. 

Poinsettias 

Native to Mexico, poinsettias were named after America's first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett, who brought the plants to America in 1828. The Mexicans in the eighteenth century thought the plants were symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem. Thus the Poinsettia became associated with the Christmas season. The actual flower of the poinsettia is the small, yellow cluster found surrounded by bright, colored leaves often mistaken for petals. 

O Christmas Tree 

One of the most recognizable images of the Christmas season, the Christmas Tree originated in Germany, possibly as early as 700 AD. The Christmas tree as we know it is most commonly credited to Martin Luther, who in 1530 was moved by the sight of stars shining though the forest of firs near his home that he apparently cut a small one and brought it indoors. He then placed lit candles in its boughs as a salute to the star of Bethlehem. By the 1800s, the Christmas tree custom was widespread throughout many parts of Europe, and was brought to America by the Pennsylvania German immigrants in the 1820's. In 1880, Woolworths sold the first manufactured Christmas tree ornaments, and the first electrically lighted Christmas tree appeared in 1882. 

Santa Claus - St. Nicholas 

The original Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, was born in Turkey during the 4th century. He devoted his life to Christianity and his reputation for generosity and kindness gave rise to legends of the miracles he performed for the poor and unhappy. Devotion to the legendary St. Nicholas spread throughout Europe during the Middle Ages and he became the patron saint of Sicily, Russia, Greece, charitable fraternities and guilds, sailors and children. After the Reformation, the legend of St. Nicholas all but disappeared in all Protestant countries of Europe except Holland, where Dutch children would place their wooden shoes by the hearth in hopes that they would be filled with a treat. The Dutch knew St. Nicholas as Sinterklaas, which eventually became corrupted in Anglican to Santa Claus. In 1822, Clement C. Moore composed his famous poem, "A Visit from St. Nick" (later published as "The Night Before Christmas"), and is credited with creating the modern image of Santa Claus as a jolly fat man in a red suit. 

Obama's Stunning Snub

GETTYSBURG – He almost was not asked to speak.

In October 1863, President Abraham Lincoln received the same plain envelope that was sent to hundreds of people, requesting attendance at a dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery here.

 

Col. Clark E. Carr, a confidante of several U.S. presidents and a member of the commission that organized the event, later admitted that commissioners scrambled to send a more personal invitation after Lincoln indicated he would attend.

Asking Lincoln to deliver a “few appropriate thoughts,” Carr said, was “an afterthought.”

You see, the dedication’s real headliner was Edward Everett. A former secretary of state, U.S. senator, Massachusetts governor and Harvard president whose nationwide tour helped to save Mount Vernon as a national shrine, Everett was considered the great orator of his time.

When Lincoln arrived, Gettysburg remained raw from the horrific battle that raged here for three days just five months earlier. More than 70,000 Confederate troops engaged 83,000 Federal troops around this crossroads town; the battle claimed more than 50,000 souls and 3,000 horses, and it changed the course of the war in the Union’s favor.

The bones of dead horses still were strewn over surrounding farmlands; vultures hovered over the landscape, and unburied coffins stood stacked in town.

Lincoln had plenty of justifiable, honorable reasons to beg off from the ceremony: His ten-year-old son, Tad, lay sick with a fever in the White House; the war was going poorly out West; he was locked in a budget showdown with Congress, and his re-election bid looked grim against a general he fired for incompetence a year earlier.

Yet he came to a place underscored with death, tasked with making sense of it all with “a few appropriate thoughts” that gave meaning to the losses and the unbearable sacrifices.

On a brisk, cloudless November day, he stood on the temporary wooden stage after a two-hour speech by Everett who, by all accounts, enthralled the crowd with his pontificating skills.

“Four score and seven years ago,” he began in a squeaky, hard-to-hear voice before a crowd that had gathered from Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and elsewhere.

Three minutes and 270 words later, he sat down, convinced that he missed his mark.

He was wrong.

In nine days, this town will commemorate the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s speech with a ceremony at the same Soldiers' National Cemetery featuring the U.S. Marine Band, Governor Tom Corbett, and a reading of the Gettysburg Address.

One person who will not be among those honoring Lincoln is President Barack Obama.

The White House gave no reason why the president would not attend.

According to the National Park Service, Obama has never visited the battlefield as president.

In 2008, Barack Obama rolled out his presidential campaign in Springfield, Ill., where Lincoln announced his own presidential candidacy. Throughout that year’s campaign, Obama’s staff embraced similarities between the two men as part of his persona; he allowed them to encourage lofty comparisons – and, after he won the election, he recreated Lincoln’s 1861 train trip to Washington as part of his own inaugural spectacle.

He even took the oath of office on Lincoln’s Bible – twice.

Lincoln brought the country to a revival at an unlikely time with his address. He gave new meaning to the definition of sacrifice in service to the country, for the purpose of the preserving the country.

Lincoln was asked to speak here only as an afterthought. The request for Obama to speak has been sought for more than a year.

It would be an occasion for him to honor a crucial time in our past, to create a historical bridge to today.

His dismissal of the request shows a man so detached from the duty of history, from the men who served in the White House before him, that it is unspeakable in its audacity.

Ask almost any person in this historic town; even his most ardent supporters here are stunned.

Obama long ago veered away from any affinity he may have believed he had with Lincoln, which gives credibility to the criticism that his connection to Lincoln was always a political calculation rather than a true bond.

Latest Health News

Mental Attitude: Children With Behavioral Problems More at Risk for Health Problems Later in Life.
A study involving 4,000 participants found that children with behavioral problems had higher levels of C-reactive protein and Interleukin 6 in their blood, both of which are signs of inflammation. These levels can be an early warning sign of chronic or inflammatory conditions later in life such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.
Psychoneuroendocrinology, September 2013

Health Alert: A Mother’s Words.
According to researchers, mothers who are overly critical and over-involved in their daughter's lives can cause lasting negative effects on their daughter's eating attitudes and social skills. The study's lead author, Dr. Analise Arroyo, found that young women whose mothers engage in what she calls "family expressed emotion" (an extraordinarily harmful pattern of criticism, over-involvement, excessive attention, and emotional reactivity) tended to have poorer social and relationship skills. Dr. Arroyo added, "In turn, poor social and relationship skills were related to the daughters' higher levels of psychological distress and disordered eating attitudes.”
National Communication Association, September 2013

Diet: Fish Oil Prevents Alcohol-Related Dementia.
Research on rats suggests that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil could prevent alcohol-related dementia. When brain cells were exposed to the combination of fish oil and alcohol, researchers noted 95% less neuroinflammation and neuronal death in the brain cells, compared to brain cells that were only exposed to alcohol. Researchers say this study shows that fish oil has the potential to help preserve brain integrity in alcohol abusers; however, they recommend the best way to protect the brain is to stop drinking or cut down to moderate amounts of alcohol.
Loyola University Health System, September 2013

Exercise: Exercise Linked to Reduced Depression.
A recent review of 35 trials involving 1,356 individuals diagnosed with depression revealed that patients who engaged in exercise experienced a moderate decrease in depression symptoms. Researchers discovered that exercising proved as effective a treatment for depression as psychological therapy or taking antidepressants.
The Cochrane Library, September 2013

Chiropractic: Child with Headaches Responds to Adjustments.
This case study involved an eight-year-old boy with a complaint of daily headaches for three years. The child reported a significant decrease in headache frequency after one chiropractic treatment. The frequency of his headaches decreased to once per month after four adjustments. Since headaches are a common complaint in children, chiropractic treatment warrants further investigation.
Journal of Neuromusculoskeletal System, 2002

Wellness/Prevention: Prevent Ear Infections with Vitamin D?
Researchers have found children who supplemented their daily diet with 1000 IU of vitamin D3 experienced fewer ear infections and were less likely to have associated complications.
ICAAC, September 2013

Have you ever thought, what are the rubber tubes stretched across the road?

Thunder In The Smokies Update

Tickets still available for today's final day of the event.

http://www.handlebarcorral.com/Event_Tickets.htm

Rain or Shine Event!

No pets. No coolers. We have plenty of animals and beer.

(Service animals are allowed.)

All bikes and ages welcome. No public camping at the rally.

$20 weekend pass age 13+, $8 weekend pass age 5-12

Live Streaming | MyFox8

Huge 110th Celebration, Benefit Ride, Amazing Offers!

Huge 110th Celebration, Benefit Ride, Amazing Offers!

What do I believe in?

"What do I believe in?"

I Believe

I believe that most people are inherently good.
I believe, when given a chance, most people will do the right thing.
I believe that most Americans will do anything for their families.
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I believe in God the Father Almighty, the maker of the Heavens and Earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
I believe that he died and on the third day of his death he became alive again so he could wash away the sins with his blood for all who trust and believe in him.
I believe you can have eternal life in Heaven.

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I believe that opportunity is usually disguised as hard work. 
I believe that the free enterprise system is a gift from God. 
I believe that the ability to forgive and forget will set you free. 
I believe that the harder you work, the luckier you get.
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I believe in Liberty.

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I believe in choosing to be happy. 
I believe in accepting responsibility for everything that happens to me. 
I believe that every challenge or obstacle is an opportunity to become a better person. 
I believe that life can be tough, but at the end of the day, life is what you make of it.
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I believe in my Family.

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I believe that evil exists.
I believe in demons and the devil. That they are the reason that evil and sin exist. 
I believe it is my responsibility to protect all that is good from all that is bad. 
I believe in preparing for the worst while expecting the best. 
I believe in the natural-born and inalienable right to self protection. 

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I believe in myself.
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I believe that a gun cannot be good or bad. It is simply a thing. A tool.
I believe that some people cannot be trusted with any type of instrument that can cause harm to anyone or themselves. 
I believe that the founders of our Country used these tools we call guns to liberate themselves from tyranny.

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I believe in being peaceful and avoiding conflicts at all costs.
I believe in fighting as if the lives of my family depend on it...because they do!
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I believe in the power of prayer.
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This is what I believe.

E.S. Ray

Boston Brakes, No Skidmarks in the Sky

“BOSTON BRAKES” Assassination Technique Becomes Big “Problem Solver”

Boston Brakes, No Skidmarks in the Sky

Roy’s Folks: Bird Carver

Old Story but great Roy's Folks

Ruger to open plant in Mayodan, create 450 jobs

Posted on: 9:39 am, August 13, 2013, by Fox8 Ryan Sullivan, updated on: 12:23pm, August 13, 2013

MAYODAN, N.C. — Gov. Pat McCrory on Tuesday officially announced Sturm, Ruger & Co. will open a manufacturing plant in Rockingham County.

The gun manufacturer is expected to make an investment of $26 million and create at least 450 jobs by 2017 when its third U.S. manufacturing facility opens in Mayodan, McCrory said.

Ruger announced in July it had chosen the old, more than 200,000-square-foot Unifi plant off Cardwell Road to house its first major expansion in more than 25 years. The site has been empty for at least six years.

Despite Ruger’s announcement, Graham Pervier, President of Economic Development and Tourism for the Rockingham County Partnership, told FOX8′s Carter Coyle, the final decision was “…subject to successful negotiations of state and local incentives.”

Compensation will vary by position, but the average annual salary will exceed $45,000, plus benefits.

The average annual salary in Rockingham County is $33,000.

Read More @ Fox8 News

NC scores three No. 1 movies so far in 2013

WILMINGTON, N.C. — Wilmington has spawned a record high of three No. 1 hits at the box office this year,according to The Star News of Wilmington.

“The Conjuring,” ”Iron Man 3″ and “Safe Haven” all we're No. 1 at the box office for a time.

“Iron Man 3,” and “The Conjuring,” earned about $174.2 million and $42 million during their opening weekends, respectively. “Safe Haven” earned around $21.5 million in its first few days in theaters.

Since “Iron Man” kicked off the summer movie season, it has scored more than $1.2 billion in global ticket sales.

“We’re the Millers,” a comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis, is being released this week and was also filmed in Wilmington.

The comedy is projected to gross about $22 million domestically in its opening weekend.

“We’re the Millers” is described as a raunchy comedy about a drug dealer who creates a fake family to move a shipment of marijuana from the U.S. to Mexico.

Source: The Star News of Wilmington

UNCSA named one of the ‘Best Film Schools of 2013′

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The University of North Carolina School of the Arts Film School has been named one of the “Best Film Schools of 2013,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

UNCSA is ranked #12 and is joined by the likes of Columbia, Northwestern and NYU.

The report takes into account alumni work, tuition and strength of facility.

UNCSA was the first state supported school of the arts in the country.

Camp Carefree in need of volunteers

STOKESDALE, N.C. — Camp Carefree, which provides a one week camping experience for children suffering from chronic illness, is looking for volunteers.

The organization is in need of male volunteers who are interested in serving as camp counselors. Volunteers must be 18 and provide their own transportation. Previous camp experience is not required.

The camp is also in need of donations including paper plates, cups, plastic utensils, sunscreen, toilet paper, individually wrapped snacks and chips, bottled waters, juice boxes, large and extra-large latex-free gloves, household bug repellent, all-purpose cleaning products, wet wipes, garbage bags, pool toys and life jackets.

To find out more visit the Camp Carefree website or call (336) 856-1591.

CAROLINA SCIQUARIUM VIDEO

Watch Tuesday, July 9, 2013 on PBS. See more from NC Now.

"Safe Haven" Pictures

"Safe Haven" Pictures, a set by movienetworkpr on Flickr.

Ran across some great pictures from the movie "SAFE HAVEN"..


Safe Haven, Relativity Media, Ray Publishing

More People Federal Government Food Aid Than Number of Private Sector Workers

The number of Americans receiving subsidized food assistance from the federal government has risen to 101 million, representing roughly a third of the U.S. population.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that a total of 101,000,000 people currently participate in at least one of the 15 food programs offered by the agency, at a cost of $114 billion in fiscal year 2012.
That means the number of Americans receiving food assistance has surpassed the number of full-time private sector workers in the U.S.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were 97,180,000 full-time private sector workers in 2012.

The population of the U.S. is 316.2 million people, meaning nearly a third of Americans receive food aid from the government.

Of the 101 million receiving food benefits, a record 47 million Americans participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps. The USDA describes SNAP as the “largest program in the domestic hunger safety net.”
The USDA says the number of Americans on food stamps is a “historically high figure that has risen with the economic downturn.”

SNAP has a monthly average of 46.7 million participants, or 22.5 million households. Food stamps alone had a budget of $88.6 billion in FY 2012.

The USDA also offers nutrition assistance for pregnant women, school children and seniors.
The National School Lunch program provides 32 million students with low-cost or no-cost meals daily; 10.6 million participate in the School Breakfast Program; and 8.9 million receive benefits from the Woman, Infants and Children (WIC) program each month, the latter designed for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, as well as children younger than 5 years old.

In addition, 3.3 million children at day care centers receive snacks through the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

There’s also a Special Milk Program for schools and a Summer Food Service Program, through which 2.3 million children received aid in July 2011 during summer vacation.
At farmer’s markets, 864,000 seniors receive benefits to purchase food and 1.9 million women and children use coupons from the program.

A “potential for overlap” exists with the many food programs offered by the USDA, allowing participants to have more than their daily food needs subsidized completely by the federal government.
According to a July 3 audit by the Inspector General, the USDA’s Food Nutrition Service (FNS) “may be duplicating its efforts by providing participants total benefits in excess of 100 percent of daily nutritional needs when households and/or individuals participate in more than one FNS program simultaneously.”

Food assistance programs are designed to be a “safety net,” the IG said.
“With the growing rate of food insecurity among U.S. households and significant pressures on the Federal budget, it is important to understand how food assistance programs complement one another as a safety net, and how services from these 15 individual programs may be inefficient, due to overlap and duplication,” the audit said.

The number of Americans receiving subsidized food assistance from the federal government has risen to 101 million, representing roughly a third of the U.S. population.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that a total of 101,000,000 people currently participate in at least one of the 15 food programs offered by the agency, at a cost of $114 billion in fiscal year 2012.
That means the number of Americans receiving food assistance has surpassed the number of full-time private sector workers in the U.S.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were 97,180,000 full-time private sector workers in 2012.

The population of the U.S. is 316.2 million people, meaning nearly a third of Americans receive food aid from the government.


Of the 101 million receiving food benefits, a record 47 million Americans participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps. The USDA describes SNAP as the “largest program in the domestic hunger safety net.”
The USDA says the number of Americans on food stamps is a “historically high figure that has risen with the economic downturn.”

SNAP has a monthly average of 46.7 million participants, or 22.5 million households. Food stamps alone had a budget of $88.6 billion in FY 2012.

The USDA also offers nutrition assistance for pregnant women, school children and seniors.

The National School Lunch program provides 32 million students with low-cost or no-cost meals daily; 10.6 million participate in the School Breakfast Program; and 8.9 million receive benefits from the Woman, Infants and Children (WIC) program each month, the latter designed for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, as well as children younger than 5 years old.

In addition, 3.3 million children at day care centers receive snacks through the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

There’s also a Special Milk Program for schools and a Summer Food Service Program, through which 2.3 million children received aid in July 2011 during summer vacation.

At farmer’s markets, 864,000 seniors receive benefits to purchase food and 1.9 million women and children use coupons from the program.

A “potential for overlap” exists with the many food programs offered by the USDA, allowing participants to have more than their daily food needs subsidized completely by the federal government.
According to a July 3 audit by the Inspector General, the USDA’s Food Nutrition Service (FNS) “may be duplicating its efforts by providing participants total benefits in excess of 100 percent of daily nutritional needs when households and/or individuals participate in more than one FNS program simultaneously.”

Food assistance programs are designed to be a “safety net,” the IG said.
“With the growing rate of food insecurity among U.S. households and significant pressures on the Federal budget, it is important to understand how food assistance programs complement one another as a safety net, and how services from these 15 individual programs may be inefficient, due to overlap and duplication,” the audit said.

Ride For Relay 2013

Ride For Relay 2013, a set on Flickr.

JayBird Ride for Relay Pictures!