If it doesn't count for Christ, it doesn't count.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

The Other Side of "Those Banners"

OK.  I usually don't blog so soon after a posting.  Some things need to be set right, though, and I'm gonna try to do that. Yesterday's blog did not include the name of the particular town I was talking about.  I'm quite sure most of my readers know which one it is.  But, it's not about this city only.  It's about what is going on in communities all across our nation and the world.

I may have gotten something wrong, though, as it pertains to "our town", and I certainly want to put the other side out there for you.  It is not my goal to engage in misinformation, particularly when it leaves someone else open to criticism that they don't deserve.


About "those banners" (you can read about them in my previous post), I had a nice conversation with the mayor on the phone earlier.  I had stated that a conscious decision was made to leave "Merry Christmas" out of the mix of greetings that are on the banners.  Maybe I misunderstood, but that is what I heard from the source.  Again . . . maybe I misunderstood.  What I have now been told is that in all of the selection process, presentation to the businesses who sponsored them (whatever form that took), ordering the banners, etc. nobody noticed that there were no "Merry Christmas" banners.  Not that it has to make me happy or satisfied, but I am both happy and satisfied with the mayor's explanation.    

Next year, we will see some "Merry Christmas's" around town along with these same banners.  That's great.  Like I said, I have no problem with "Happy Holidays' and "Season's Greetings", we just should not leave "Christmas" out of Christmas!

So, apparently some other folks have been calling the city since this story was reported on a local tv station, with a little added controversy that really isn't there.  Nobody seems to know how the tv station got in on this, by the way.  I certainly don't, but, I'm thinkin' it was made to look like I was the instigator on that. In any case, I'm sorry that such a weight has fallen upon someone who does not deserve to bear it.

I have not changed my stance.  And I still believe that this is a matter of great importance not only to our community but to the "whole entire world"!  I just don't want incorrect information to be out there.  Somebody, somewhere along the line should have taken notice that the city's Christmas decorations didn't say anything about Christmas, but no single person should have to bear the brunt of responsibility for that. (This is not to say that such an oversight does not carry some responsibility somewhere.)

I am reminded, again, of something I wrote about last month following the election and a very important vote.  (See "issues with issues")  As we celebrate the birth of Jesus and contemplate all that He brought to us and restored us to, let's remember that one of His greatest desires for all of us who believe is that we be One.  Satan can so easily take our disagreements and the way we handle our disagreements to create division and resentment among us.  In our attempts to honor Christ we can actually do just the opposite, especially when we find that our self-guided words and deeds divide us from others in the Body.  Let's all remember to seek and accept the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the way we handle disagreements among ourselves.  Always approach one another in the love given to us by Jesus Himself.  We will be tempted to make it about us and our agenda, but let's strive to keep it about Him and His Kingdom.  That's another reason that it is so important not only to keep Christ in Christmas, but in everyday 24 hours-a-day life.
              
So, hopefully, with that, I can quote the great Forrest Gump and declare, "That's all I have to say about that."

“ Glory to God in the highest, 
      And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Have a Merry and Blessed Christmas,

Dennis

PS  On another bit of misinformation; the tv station's website states that I am a resident of the particular town in question.  Easy mistake to make. But, I feel compelled to state that I am not a resident of the town. If my left throwing arm was any good, I could just about throw a rock across the city limits from my house.  We moved here a few years ago thinking that our neighborhood would be included in the city's incorporation.  Years of legal effort and money - most before we ever moved - went down the drain when a judge ruled against our petition.  My mail comes from the city, and I spend a lot of time and money in the city.  I am a supporter of the city..  Since the day we moved, I have automatically told people that this is where I live.  I do say "at" rather than "in".  If this disqualifies me from commenting on this matter, so be it.  I've been called an idiot, a cry baby, a zealot, etc.  Whatever else I am, I'm an honest one.    

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