let me be clear - MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

My best friend Steph sent this to me today, and I LOVED it so much I just had to share...

*Twas right before Christmas*

*When all through our land,*

*Not a Christian was praying*

*Nor taking a stand.*

*See the PC Police had taken away,*

*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*

*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*

*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*

*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*

* December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.*

*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*

*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*

*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*

*Something was changing, something quite odd! *

*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*

*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*

*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*

* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*

*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*

*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*

*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*

*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*

*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*

*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*

*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*

*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*

*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*

* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*

*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*

*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*

*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*

*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*

*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*

*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,

not Happy Holiday !*

Please, all Christians join together and

wish everyone you meet

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christ is The Reason for the Christ-mas Season!

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I get so fed up sometimes with all this politically correct b.s.! If you believe something - then TELL people! If they don't believe it, then they don't have to LISTEN! how hard is that?!? I have experienced one extreme to the other of this "christmas as a mainstream holiday" thing, and both sides piss me off!

On the one hand I've heard Christian mothers bemoaning and actually CRYING because their children "go to public school and are exposed to Kwanzaa, Hanukah, etc." - and to this I say - SO WHAT?!? I personally want my daughter to be exposed to other people's beliefs and cultures so that she understands that not everyone believes the way we do. I would hope that we as Christians are raising our children to be tolerant of other's beliefs, while at the same time, maintaining and sharing our own! So if Ryleigh is in a classroom where the children are learning about other holiday traditions in other faiths, then I would hope she would talk about Christmas as our celebration of Jesus being born so that he could die to save us. Simple fix, right?! No crying in public about my poor child being exposed to the heathens, I just teach her what we believe and why, and raise her to know that she has the freedom to talk about CHRISTMAS just as loudly as any other person talks about their holiday!

And as for Santa Claus - what is the harm in children believing in a little magic? I don't think God really cares if my daughter believes there is a jolly old man who laughs deeply and brings her surprise presents once a year (granted she's scraed to death of him this year)! I mean COME ON! My daughter will know the difference between God and Santa Claus, and believing in Santa does not negate the reality of God! I have long ago discovered that every gift that Santa Claus ever brought me was bought by my parents. But ya know what?! I still talk to a real and living God daily. Hmmm!

The other end of the spectrum is all the wishy washy folks out there who believe you have to say "Happy Holidays" to people in order not to offend them! Uh, sorry, I believe "Merry Christmas" sums up what I want to say! It's not like I'm running up to people screaming "DO YOU BELIEVE IN JESUS? IF SO MERRY CHRISTMAS, IF NOT - YOU'RE GOING TO HELL!!!" I am simply expressing to you my own reason for joy in the holiday I celebrate! So get over it!!!!!

Yup, that's my soapbox rant for today! lol! and if you read this whole thing all the way through, you must be pretty bored right now! well, I am gonna go take advantage of nap time to bake Ryan's b-day cake for tmrw and make Roo some hairbows!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL ...AND TO RYLEIGH A LONG NAP!