Gender X 50 for Social Acceptance

I am a dog.  I have always been a dog.  I feel a kinship when I see a dog wag it's tail.  I understand the language of a dog.  In fact, when I go to a park I have this uncontrollable urge to create landmines there.  Though born a male human being.  I feel it is my right to be known and accepted as a canine with entitled rights.  This situation is the world we are headed to.  Welcome to the age of 50 gender types as announced by Facebook.

Let's first do some housekeeping.  First, as a disclaimer for the powers that be I do not and never shall advocate the creation of, or placement thereof, of landmines.  Second, I got rid of my Facebook account in August of 2013.  I find no reason for it and it festers and distracts the mind and body from more productive and active positive uses.  Now that we have that out of the way.....

The above scenario with the dog is not a light-hearted attempt to make fun of this "multi-gender" world.  It is a foresight of what is to come.  This will come to pass and you can mark my words on it.  Is it really any different than the gender outlines on Facebook and elsewhere?  Let's get real here.  Not long ago the United States took a dangerous road by legislating sexual orientation in relation to marriage and family.  That debate and judicial debacle continues today.  Now, when life couldn't get any more confused we have entered an era where legislating the world to fully accept and lock arms with who people "are" isn't enough.  Now, people will be compelled by law to accept and lock arms with who people "think" they are.  This is a grievous path to take.

Gone is the time when people knew they had problems and issues and worked to straighten their lives out in order to find happiness, family and personal industry.  Where has the personal initiative and accountability gone?  Where is the innate drive that we've been given to work out our obstacles instead of gleefully add to them?

I don't care and refuse to give one grain of sand about your own personal problems and doubts.  If you want counseling, advice or just need to bend an ear I'm hear and willing to listen.  If you don't want those things then I really don't need to know them.  Furthermore, I don't need your problems, issues or orientation advertised for me to see.  That, my friends, is called having a prideful heart.  To advertise your situation for the purpose of recognition and/or acceptance is a further testament of an inner confidence issue.  Every Tom, Dick and Harry doesn't need to know that your were born a female yet live your life feeling you are a male.

I'll say this only once and not out of apology.  I am not bashing what people are feeling and definitely not their orientation.  I am, however, against the path we are on where it becomes a fad to come out and express every little feeling you have at the moment and demand that the rest of the world accepts it.  When you head down that road of multi-minority acceptance and be made to believe that the multi-minority is really the majority, and that their voice should be made law, then you have completely broken down the rule of law and order and chaos and anarchy ensues.

These are difficult times.  The confusion is easy to understand.  We are in an ever-growing population with an ever-growing diversity.  Though we have the Internet most of us feel more alone than ever.  We reach and struggle for an identity that we too often feel is out of reach.  In that effort we latch on to every short term fix we can in order to feel not only important but valid as a person being with equal rights and opportunities.  Though we may not show it we become depressed at the core and wallow in that which we feel, not necessarily is right, but rather what we are comfortable doing or feeling.  In my opinion this applies to the "50 genders."

Well, I hate to break the news to you but we all go through this self actualization.  We all come up short in the end.  Yet with all our problems and obstacles we fight through them with the prize of victory ahead.  We admit to our own shortcomings in body, heart and mind.  Instead of wallowing in the mire we reach for the tree branches that we may pull ourselves out with a little help from those around us.

We have reached the core of the problem.  It is the most basic ID card that I never thought would be questioned.  Your birth was not an error.  Even with handicaps and deficiencies you were born according to your spirit and your mission here.  At the core let us first identify our body that we've been given, and acknowledge that we are a son or daughter under the Most High with a design and purpose that, if achieved, will magnify and perfect that body.

If your body is male then your spirit is male.  If your body is female then your spirit is female.  This is basic and not an error.  Live your life in constant correction according to who you were born - a male or female.  You must be resolute in your decisions.  To waiver in your views is to build your house on a sandy foundation.  It will not stand!

In conclusion, I reject and fear this new shade of dark we've entered.  To come to a point where we question our very gender (which there are only two) is a very noticeable dangerous sign that we are headed for trouble in a very cataclysmic way.  

Head of Mormon Church President Thomas Monson Questioned Over Basic Christianity

I believe in unicorns.  Their ability to fly at 30,164 feet is their way of showering humanity with untold blessings.  Will you test and prove these blessings with a little financial support?  With that support I will encourage others to observe the legendary unicorns and their incredibly awesome powers.  Through those powers coupled with the faithfulness of the people devoted followers may find healing in their lives.  Scientifically, the nature of the unicorn cannot be proven.  Yet, it is my belief that when you see a double rainbow in the morning sky it is proof that the great unicorn, Barnaby, is ever watching over us.

Confused?  Well, you should be.  The above claim is no less than what the offended and disaffected are charging President Thomas S. Monson of in their allegations springing up in this month of February in the year of our Lord 2014.  Yesterday I had read that charges of fraud were taking place regarding the doctrine of tithing as taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Today I read that the scope is enlarged to encompass specific teachings including Adam and Eve - Adam and Eve!!?

Let's go back to the first paragraph.  First off, isn't it a matter of my own free choice to believe in someone asserting the powers of the unicorn?  Did you know that there are certain Asian sects that believe God is blue?  Did you know that there are diverse places that regard the cow as sacred?  What about the modern moderate that loves to hug trees and view their own God as only the spirit of the earth and nature?  When we take these into consideration what is so outlandish about the unicorn?  And yes, there are even organizations of tree huggers that solicit funds for their cause which they are lawfully free to do.

No, I do not believe in unicorns and I am not asking for money.  Let's get that out of the way before the "powers that be" find me in contempt or violation.  Again, people being offended... I do, however, believe in the scriptural law of tithing.  I also believe in Adam and Eve as our first mortal parents.  In fact, contrary to several other beliefs I believe Adam and Eve are to be revered for their choices.  They knew that if the law of God was not transgressed the human family couldn't be.  My free choice to study the doctrines of the Church allow me to build a foundation upon which to erect a productive and faithful life.  Living those doctrines either proves or disproves the promises of those doctrines.  It's nothing new - it's called life!  I can choose to take it or leave it without having to call "foul" by being offended.

In the LDS Church the law of tithing is taught.  At the same time, at the heart of all the teachings is the person's liberty and freedom to choose.  You don't have to pay tithing at all, but as taught in order to grow spiritually and temporally that law needs to be observed.  There is no coercion and there is no one at the end of the year coming after you or sending you a bill or invoice for funds to remit.  THAT particular practice does take place in several religious organizations though.

As many know I put out my thoughts in a blog post yesterday after hearing the initial allegation regarding tithing.  I had no plans to continue publishing my thoughts regarding the matter.  However, after hearing that basic Christian tenets such as Adam and Eve are being included in this farce I couldn't resist but to voice out again.  This is bull and accelerates what I predicted in yesterday's post that the Christianity package is soon to be on trial and thus comes the persecution of the Christian regardless of sect or persuasion.

I don't use the word proud but I will say that I am confident in my allegiance to the Latter-day Saint faith.  It is the rock which is built through the power and authority of Jesus the Christ.  I believe that the prophet, seer and revelator Thomas Monson holds all the keys of the Church and stands as the mouthpiece of Jesus Christ to the inhabitants of the world.  I trust in him because all his teachings bring no emphasis to himself but instead to God the Eternal Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.  This separates him from others whom many claim him to be just like.  They won't be named here because they are unworthy to be named in the same publication as the Lord's Anointed.

In finality, I have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Yet, I don't shove down the throats or expect anyone else to subscribe to my beliefs.  As demonstrated above my beliefs are proven by me and have shown to satisfy my progress in this life.  I believe that should be the journey of every human being - to pursue happiness through the liberties of freedom and the agency to choose and to leave this life content in their works...

President Monson the Latest in Alleged Fraud by the Offended

It is sad to see the spiral of human conscience as people retract from personal responsibility seek ire against their neighbor.  The cancer of our species is the relinquishing of our backbone in order to pander and pamper those who claim to be offended and thereby feel entitled to a pacifier.  This post is a quick reaction to rumors that President Thomas S. Monson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been served by the courts of England.
To Be Offended
Apparently, anti-Mormon groups may have successfully turned their farce of charges into a legal action.  Though I don't fear success of this lawsuit, it does announce to the heart and mind the direction we are headed as a civilization.  When was the turning point in our history when someone chooses a different path at some point in their life and all of the sudden became so bitter and hateful as to seek frivolous damages against that organization or entity they once allied with?  Mark my words, this path of slapping a diaper on every person who cries wolf will one day evolve into a people's beliefs being put on trial.

The case of this particular claim is that the LDS Church leadership knowingly preaches the doctrine of tithing which they know is false.  Knowing a principle is false and asking people to pay into tithing constitutes fraud in their minds.  Well, good luck proving that!

It all comes down to people of low worthiness striking back because they now feel naked, exposed, vulnerable, unworthy and thereby feel they can't achieve the heights they once reached for in the Church.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is among the last organizations that holds parameters of worthiness for its members.  These guidelines are set in order for them to progress spiritually and temporally.  These guidelines of worthiness direct the member in paths leading to self reliance, thrift, industry, compassion, love, growing devotion to God through service to others and sacrifice.  Yes, part of spiritual ascension is learning to sacrifice that which we covet the most - money.

Money is not bad or good.  It is neutral and its worth depends on what we use it for.  The Church uses funds to build up the Kingdom of God.  Funds issued from faithful members of the Church are used to erect sacred temples, build and maintain meetinghouses and a variety of other uses.  God knows that these things are necessary in order to grow the influence of Jesus Christ in the lives of an ever growing population.  Unfortunately many people fail to see the purity of the intent of tithing and that it is a law of God set forth in holy scripture.

Qualifications of worthiness are proven even in the former members of the Church many of whom now comprise the core of anti-Mormon groups.  Just consider the fact that there is no other organization in the entire world that has as many individuals and groups who actively seek to destroy it.  Why is this?  It's worthiness, of course!  We all have our pride pricked a little when we fail or find a journey too hard to endure.  Pride is the downfall of all nations, both past and future.  Pride is what we often blanket ourselves with in order to feel comfortable and important.  When that get compromised in the least we strike back as a viper toward its prey.

Again, I don't fear that this case will be successful.  I don't believe we are quite at the point yet where court sponsored witch hunts for Christians will take place.  That time will be soon enough.  Obviously, this post addresses my point that we need to keep our pride in check and move on in life when we think we are being "offended" or downtrodden.  Just because we might give up choose to forsake our beliefs because of our unworthiness, doesn't mean we have to actively seek to destroy that system of faith that has proven to uplift and work for millions of other people around the world.
Update on this story in Day 2
To desire to trash the faith of millions in order to succor the mired heart of the one is a textbook definition of pride in my book.  

Are You Alone in Your Choices

Do you feel lonely?  Often in our daily activities and pursuits many of us feel imposed into a box of desertion.  This happens often in our good deeds.  Yet, it also happens during the wages of sin.  Where does this feeling come from?  Who authors such abandonment of spirit?  It is a big problem which can lead to the disestablishment of the family, skewed lifestyles and even death.  I am not a doctor or even someone schooled in such a field of psychology.  Perhaps this makes me all the more qualified to contemplate the mindset and state of man.

I'd like to break it down into varied areas which this occurs.  Starting with deeds that you enact for the benefit of others.  Serving your fellow man is of utmost quality and is the greatest means of building ones integrity, charity, understanding and pure love.  However, a correct and stable mind is essential in allowing your spirit to reap that light which prevents that isolation and loneliness which may come.  Envy and jealousy is a rampant disease which caps one's own potential and happiness.  You may see others prospering and being productive in their good works.  Unfortunately this may give the false reasoning to endeavor is good works yourself.  Competing with the character and seeming blessings of another man is not good, and all subsequent works that you do will be tainted and stained with your own fingerprints.  It is an eternal truth that your works rooted in envy and jealousy will always leave you bitter and feeling forsaken.  Envy and jealousy will also leave you focusing on your own rewards as you engage in the service of others.

A growing mind, a stable mind, will always strive in good works for the temporal and spiritual well-being of others.  It is to look upon the fatherless, the widow, the homeless and sick and feel in your soul that longing to provide relief.  It is that prompting from that unseen power that brings you into fields of choices (your agency to choose) whereby you may serve.  A proper heart and mind will always strive in a path of selfless service.  When you extend a hand to the downtrodden without thought of self or reward - that is where the blessings flow.

This is the little known silent truth that should resound in the familiar heart of man:

Spending your life in the selfless service of others magnifies and expands your liberties and choices - which ultimately leads to true happiness.

Understand from your reading so far that your happiness and favor in the sight of your own God depends on your intent of service.  For the Christian the following passage from Deuteronomy 6:5 clearly states that your whole being must be turned toward God and his will, not yours.

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

Yes, at times this may leave you feeling rather alone as far as with other men is concerned.  They may scoff, point and even persecute you for your good works.  Yet, your proper service may leave you in your sweet solitude with your own Maker who comforts all hearts.  This is where your integrity is.  This is where your happiness is.  You've exercised selfless service and walked into fields of liberty.  Now, you are truly not alone.  

There is a self-imposed emptiness in sin.  There has only been one perfect Man to walk the earth.  That is by design and equally by design that all other men are flawed and subject to sin and correction.  When we do engage in sin or ill-will against another it is most often done in secret dark erroneous shadows.  We wallow in the prideful nature of deceit and ugly masks.  Your endeavors may offer you the view of success and satisfaction but it is always a far cry from legitimate happiness and fulfillment.  To entice and drag you through the depths of despair is the mission of the adversary and his legions of imps.  That is part of the reason why they were cast down forever disembodied.  Yet, like cowards they will always veil your eyes with the illusion of success but leave you utterly abandoned when the curtain surely falls.

Interestingly, this path does leave you restricted in liberty and your choices continually become few.  This funneled outlook is contrary to the unlimited potential design of the human spirit.  Of course, engaging in sin will leave you utterly alone and feeling forsaken.  The key is at the start of each decision you make.

It is so important to feel inclusive with your fellow man.  We are created not to be alone, yet stand alone when occasion warrants it.  We are a community of beings inclined to progress as a team with a common cause or goal.  The choices we make every moment of the day dictate our place in that journey.  The key to not feeling alone is literally in your choices.  Make healthy choices designed in interaction with others, genuineness of spirit and selfless service.

Don't be afraid to self correct at the first sign of your choices being restricted.  That is a giveaway that you may be under adverse conditions.  Refrain from daily habits that degrade or attempt to degrade your senses.  Always walk in the light of uplifting information and interaction.  Think big in your positive effectiveness in the world.

Last but not least always know that you are a son or daughter of the Most High.  Whatever God you figure that power to be, that enables you as a potential prince or princess, a king or queen.  All based on your choices.  The accountability thereof will be your reward or downfall.  There is no loneliness but what we make.  Know your potential, walk the path and you will find yourself in the company of concourses of angels and friends.

Shenandoah Installs the Pledge of Allegiance

Given the current state of the world it isn't often we have something good and virtuous to report on.  I am pleased and filled with hope as the news crossed my ears that our youth in Shenandoah, the heartland and corn belt of America, are once again saying the Pledge of Allegiance at the High School.  It is my deep desire for the sake of the rising generation that this continues along with the displaying of our national flag.  With gratitude and thanks I humbly offer to the local school board and/or other entities and individuals that made this wise decision for the youth of this community.

Many of us remember the Pledge from our own youth.  We crossed our heart with our right hand and focused on the flag.  We weren't "offended" by any means.  In fact, patriotism aside, most of us enjoyed those few brief moments because it got us out of our seats and "saved" us from school curriculum (jokingly said).  By and large none of us knew the depth of meaning the Pledge of Allegiance was intended to produce in us.  Yet, in a subtle quiet way it did help bond us as one in an identifying way that we were all Americans.

"I pledge of allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Since when did this simple yet powerful few words cause so much heartache and distaste for so many with internal personal problems?  Is it really so difficult to understand that once you strip patriotism and allegiance from the schools it is a sure road to mutual and national distrust.  It also leads to entitlements and complacency.  In essence it strips all personal responsibility and the very spiritual means to prosper and appreciate the United States of America.  

Many of our modern leaders have been raised up by adverse means to lofty positions.  They would have us think that America is substandard and undeserving of the liberties its foundation ensures.  They seek to sway us from those things that have served to cement or unify us as a people on this blessed land.  Most all nations render its citizens under a singular flag.  Curious how we've let ourselves go so far as shrink to minority opinion and look with regret our flag and Pledge that so many have fought and died for.  Such sacrifice on many foreign lands as well as our own for the stars and stripes and the freedoms and liberties which they represent.  

That next phrase identifies the system of government we ascribe to.  It is interesting how the mass of talking heads in the United States render America as a Democracy.  This is incorrect as we are truly a Republic.  I believe this is a key part of the problem that is quietly swept under the rug.

This Republic stands as one nation under God!  I am confident and resolute in saying so.  I relish and give thanks for that assurance and truth.  This phrase doesn't dictate what form of God we are all to believe in.  Instead it just places our gratitude and prosperity at the feet of a God whom we acknowledge as being subject to.  This phrase is crucial!  With proper observance it prevents ill-decisions and most of all unproductive pride.  Any amount of study into nations that have fallen before should bear witness that conditions spiraled unto destruction with the boasting pride of its people caused by the virus of its leaders.

We simply acknowledge that Higher Power for which we owe everything.  Everything from our prosperity to our very lives and property.

The rest of the inspired Pledge characterizes our people as being one and equal in opportunity and liberty.  With so many people today screaming "unfair!" and feel entitled to certain things they fail to see that at the heart of the foundation of this nation we are still bound by basic liberties and freedoms that we can all take part in and benefit from.  Its only when we become "offended" that we feel infringed upon and belittled by those who do prosper in the United States of America.  

"To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else."

This is a quote offered by David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Finally a leader takes the blade of truth to the heart of every American.  Unfortunately, many Americans would take offense to that statement about offense!  Duh!  Anyhow, I believe like quotes are what is needed from our national leaders.  They need to stop pandering to voter blocks and start trusting in God (i.e. the Pledge) in the discharge of their duty to serve the people and protect their freedoms and liberties.  To not do so would be to welcome a destruction the likes of which has never been seen before in the history of the world.  

I am grateful for Francis Bellamy who in 1892 under the inspiration from his Creator formed the Pledge of Allegiance.  I am grateful for a by-and-large God-fearing Congress of the United States who adopted the Pledge of Allegiance in 1942.  I am grateful for the inspiration of God in 1954 to install "under God" into the Pledge.  Again, I am grateful for the powers of the Shenandoah School system and others across the nation for allowing this vital piece of growth back into our schools.  Now, the test shall be to see if we all will maintain this standard or fold in time to political or legal-threatened pressures.

Disturbing Epileptic Grand Mal Seizure and God in Religion

Facing life-marking events that affect not only you but those around you is not always easy.  In fact, I believe they aren't meant to be.  This is true for events which you have no control over your own body.  I've had around seven or eight grand mal seizures in my life.  These seizures have a profound affect on my emotions, outlooks and self perception.  These are tonic-clonic seizures which qualify as a life-marking event.  To exit the 2013 year with a grand "c'est la vie" I marked the occasion with a full blown tonic-clonic grand mal seizure.  Forgive me if that last sentence seemed light-hearted.  If I don't keep laughing at myself then what's the point of it all.

If I were alone for this year-end bang I wouldn't have as much a problem with it.  However, as the stars would have it I was standing at a church pulpit conducting a meeting.  This is the horror which faces me.  I care not what happens to me and my health but the affect this condition has on the people around me runs deep with lasting magnitude.  What were the people thinking?  More importantly, what were all the children thinking?  Even more important, what was my family thinking?  These are questions asked by those of us who suffer with periods of total control loss over one's own body.

I don't have these seizures all the time.  It's interesting, my first encounter with a tonic-clonic seizure occurred during my Army service in 1991.  I was outside the tear gas chamber when I went down.  I remember standing there waiting to be dismissed and next thing I know I had a brief encounter with conscientiousness on the medivac helicopter.  My sergeant looked at me and said, "Son, you had a seizure."  Before I fell unconscious again my last feelings were of utter and complete failure.  That was all I recollect from that helicopter but that one sentence became emboldened in my soul and formed, in large part, who I am today.

After my medical discharge I did, shortly thereafter, have a couple more grand mals that year.  Seizure-free was my dance clear until the end of 1999.  At that point I could have killed myself and others as my episode took place around the juncture of Interstates 80 and 29 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  My senses were roused with the sound of a State Trooper knocking on my window in the ditch on the other side of the interstate facing the opposite direction.  During rush hour I apparently crossed all east-bound lanes, crossed the median and then all the west-bound lanes.  Finally, I wound up in the ditch.  Now only ignorance and arrogance would dictate someone to say there is no God.  Especially when no other accident, let alone any deaths, were spawned by this medical emergency.

Again, living in fear for several years I enjoyed my lack of seizures until January of 2009.  This episode was most grievous thus far because it happened right in front of my impressionable son who didn't know what to do.  It is times like this that make a father feel so lost and worthless when his own blood sees him as anything but a protector and provider for his family.  For the next few years I began to refer to my epileptic seizures as something that occurs every ten years or so.  According to the math this is correct..... until now.

For what purposes do epileptic seizures occur?  One of man's grand purposes in life is to learn, continue to learn and always strive to learn more of everything.  I have always struggled with my self perception and living with that one sentence on the medivac has placed me in a "boxed in" mode from which there is no reprieve.  Instead of loathing over it my life endeavor is to learn from it.  Yet, this last episode takes it to a new level.

Obviously not conscious I can only speculate how much I disturbed that meeting just as a sacred ordinance was beginning.  To go from returning to my chair from the pulpit to waking up on a gurney in ER with blood on my white shirt was not only a shock but also confusing as heck to the senses.  For those questioning the blood it is common during a seizure to repeatedly bite the tongue.  Yes, ouch!

Believe it or not I did learn some lessons from this.  First, I address a symptom which may interest those who suffer from seizures.  I remember from my 2009 and this last episode that prior to the seizure I went through intermittent periods of lethargy.  At least that's what I call it.  It is like a fluctuating curtain of awareness.  For instance at this seizure at the pulpit I remember trying to utter a thought.  It was said, sort of, but the concentration on what was said and how it was said fluctuated in and out.  So for me and others if we experience a span of time from a few minutes to several hours of "in and out" awareness or concentration it may be a sign to seek help or at least remain in safe activity for a while.

As a final thought I believe we all need to remember that mortality is fragile.  These bodies are corruptible and subject to all sorts of ailments.  To question your Creator every time an abnormality strikes is futile and will only serve the undoing of your strength and perseverance to endure to the end.  Instead, take your fragility AND your Creator and live your life in not only learning but also expanding and extending to others.  Teach, share and reach out to others that they may understand.  Reach out because your experience and what you have learned IS something that someone out there needs to hear.  It is part of the grandeur of the design of God's plan for us.  We are obligated to share what we have learned.  We are accountable!

If you suffer from epileptic seizures as I do take it not as an opportunity to cut yourself short of opportunity or self worth.  Know that you are given this challenge tailored to you so that you may learn and then to edify those around you as well.  In whatever ails you it would be wise to accept that we are all ministering angels to one another in compassion and support.  Be grateful for what you have.

I guess I wrote this more for my own self benefit than anyone else's.  Writing is a good way of working out one's own feelings and emotions.  However, if any part of this has served to enlighten your understanding than I am grateful for this.  God bless and remember that charity and compassion never faileth!

Where Art the Star of the Christ?

Opportunities abound to serve our neighbor.  Whether live or in the realms of the dead serving our fellow beings is an eternal commandment.  There is service to be had in funerals.  There is service to be had in holy temples.  There is service while working among your peers.  There is service even on the very streets on which you walk.  One of the plainest evidences of the living Christ in our lives is the very fact that we can still exercise our conscience and choose to serve others.

Our eyes are opened in the book of Matthew 2:2 when the wise men approached king Herod concerning the Christ:

"Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him."

When Jesus Christ was born one of the first lessons we are given is the principle of action.  These men accommodated their belief in the stars, and exercised faith which laid the foundation of their taking action to travel far to see the King of the Jews.  They traveled far and followed a star which served as a beacon, a clarion call to the world that the Christ is born.  We fall short if we fail to ask ourselves if we would take the trek to follow a brilliant star in search of a king.  

Yet, one of the greatest lesson from the birth of the Savior is found in Luke 2:12:

"And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

Why?  Why were the angels so articulate and careful in their words of the environment of the Savior?  A king is normally assumed to be born of temporal signs of nobility with gold, silver, fine linen and concourses of servants standing guard.  Instead, these shepherds in the field had revealed to their senses the humbled circumstances of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.  In this, there is a great lesson to be learned.

Because each of us inherently received the Light of Christ at our commencement into this world we are also given a great promise.  Great blessings are to be received and enjoyed if we but search out the Christ through service to others.  The angels gave us the blueprint for happiness in service and in finding Christ.  They gave us the means by which to search for happiness.  It is in the humbled environment of the world around us that we may find the living Christ in our lives.

When we donate to our local food pantry with no thought of reward do we not receive Christ in our hearts?  When we visit the widow and fatherless do we not share and receive the light of His spirit?  If we go out of our way to find the homeless and destitute that their needs may be succored, should we not assume that the edified feelings in our hearts are the reassurance of the embrace of our eternal Father in Heaven?  Just as the shepherds, when we hear of the babe in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger are not our hearts drawn low yet lifted in rejoice that even the King is born below all men?  God loves all men of all faiths.  His beloved son in the flesh, His firstborn in the Spirit, teaches us even from the birth of Jesus that we are our brother's keeper.  Salvation comes from the efforts to uplift one another in service.

Gold, frankincense and myrrh were offered to the King though only a babe in a lowly manger.  Undoubtedly, even the shepherds who came from their fields offered something as well.  In the eyes of God is the offering of gold any more qualifying for salvation than perhaps the presentation of old sheep's hide which a shepherd may have used to keep warm at night?  I dare say not.

Our service to others need not be planned in a spectacle of great array.  It is in the small things here and there that make the greatest impact on the hearts and minds of men.  It is in the giving of even a sock.  It is in giving a can of soup to the hungry.  It is in visiting the lonely in the rest homes.  Among the greatest modes of service is in the word of mouth.  It is in consoling and reassuring through the spoken word.  It is in true sincerity of conversation.  

In essence we are called and commanded to be ministering angels to each other in our neighbor's time of need.  We are His tools for succoring the poor and downtrodden.  Let this be among the greatest lessons taught by our Lord Jesus Christ even from his humbled birth.  Let us follow the star of Christ by serving our fellow brethren and sisters of the world.