New Year Wish

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Cheers to a new year

and another chance for us

to get it right.
Oprah Winfrey

May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your cardiologist, your gastro-enterologist, your urologist, your proctologist, your podiatrist, your psychiatrist, your plumber and the LHDN.

May your hair, your teeth, your face-lift, your abs and your stocks not fall; and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise.

May New Year's Eve find you seated around the table, together with your beloved family and cherished friends. May you find the food better, the environment quieter, the cost much cheaper, and the pleasure more fulfilling than anything else you might ordinarily do that night.

May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them. May someone love you enough to forgive your faults, be blind to your blemishes, and tell the world about your virtues.

May the telemarketers wait to make their sales calls until you finish dinner, may the commercials on TV not be louder than the program you have been watching, and may your check book and your budget balance - and include generous amounts for charity.

May you remember to say "I love you" at least once a day to your spouse, your child, your parent, your siblings; but not to your secretary, your nurse, your masseuse, your hairdresser or your tennis instructor.

And may we live in a world at peace and with the awareness of God's love in every sunset, every flower's unfolding petals, every baby's smile, every lover's kiss, and every wonderful, astonishing, miraculous beat of our heart.


Sourced from www.greetings-new-year.info 

Active Lifestyle Boosts Brain Structure and Slows Alzheimer’s Disease

Tai chi - Gentle way to breakdown racial barriers

New research highlights the positive influence of an active lifestyle on brain health.

• Researchers found that an active lifestyle can preserve brain structure in older adults.
• Lifestyle factors examined included recreational sports, gardening and yard work, bicycling, dancing and riding an exercise cycle.
• More than 35 million people worldwide have dementia.

Cyrus Raji at the University of California in Los Angeles, and colleagues recently examined how an active lifestyle can influence brain structure in 876 adults, average age 78 years, drawn from the multisite Cardiovascular Health Study. The patients' condition ranged from normal cognition to Alzheimer's dementia.


"We had 20 years of clinical data on this group, including body mass index and lifestyle habits," Dr. Raji said. "We drew our patients from four sites across the country, and we were able to assess energy output in the form of kilocalories per week."

The lifestyle factors examined included recreational sports, gardening and yard work, bicycling, dancing and riding an exercise cycle.

The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a technique called voxel-based morphometry to model the relationships between energy output and gray matter volume.

"Gray matter volume is a key marker of brain health. Larger gray matter volume means a healthier brain. Shrinking volume is seen in Alzheimer's disease, " said Dr Raji.

After controlling for age, head size, cognitive impairment, gender, body mass index, education, study site location and white matter disease, the researchers found a strong association between energy output and gray matter volumes in areas of the brain crucial for cognitive function. Greater caloric expenditure was related to larger gray matter volumes in the frontal, temporal and parietal lobes, including the hippocampus, posterior cingulate and basal ganglia. There was a strong association between high energy output and greater gray matter volume in patients with mild cognitive impairment and AD.

"Gray matter includes neurons that function in cognition and higher order cognitive processes," Dr. Raji said. "The areas of the brain that benefited from an active lifestyle are the ones that consume the most energy and are very sensitive to damage."

Dr. Raji said the positive influence of an active lifestyle on the brain was likely due to improved vascular health.

"Virtually all of the physical activities examined in this study are some variation of aerobic physical activity, which we know from other work can improve cerebral blood flow and strengthen neuronal connections," he said.


# # #

The above story is based on the November 26, 2012 news release by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

The research was presented the same day at at the annual meeting of the RSNA. Gach HM, Carmichael O, Becker JT, Lopez O, Thompson P, Longstreth W, Kuller L, and Kirk Ericson K coauthored the paper.

Prevent a Hangover – Eat Aspargus

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Drinking to ring in the New Year may leave many suffering with the dreaded hangover. According to a 2009 study, the amino acids and minerals found in asparagus extract may alleviate alcohol hangover and protect liver cells against toxins.

Researchers at the Institute of Medical Science and Jeju National University in Korea analyzed the components of young asparagus shoots and leaves to compare their biochemical effects on human and rat liver cells. "The amino acid and mineral contents were found to be much higher in the leaves than the shoots," says lead researcher B.Y. Kim.

Chronic alcohol use causes oxidative stress on the liver as well as unpleasant physical effects associated with a hangover. "Cellular toxicities were significantly alleviated in response to treatment with the extracts of asparagus leaves and shoots," says Kim. "These results provide evidence of how the biological functions of asparagus can help alleviate alcohol hangover and protect liver cells."

Asparagus officinalis is a common vegetable that is widely consumed worldwide and has long been used as an herbal medicine due to its anticancer effects. It also has antifungal, anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties.

###

The above story is based on the December 26, 2012 news release by Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).

The research was published in the Journal of Food Science:

Kim BY, Cui ZG, Lee SR, Kim SJ, Kang HK, Lee YK, Park DB. Effects of Asparagus officinalis extracts on liver cell toxicity and ethanol metabolism. J Food Sci. 2009 Sep;74(7):H204-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2009.01263.x.

Click HERE to read the full article. 

Why Your Pee Smells Funny After Eating Asparagus

Researchers believe that, during digestion, the vegetable's sulfurous amino acids break down into smelly chemical components in all people. And because those components are "volatile," meaning airborne, the odor wafts upward as the urine leaves the body and can be detected as soon as 15 minutes after you eat this spring delicacy.

But only about one-quarter of the population appears to have the special gene that allows them to smell those compounds. So the issue isn't whether or not your pee is smelly; it's whether you're able to smell it. If you smell a funny fragrance in your urine after you eat asparagus, you're not only normal, you have a good nose.

Source: www.webmd.com

Three Men at the Pearly Gates

Three men died on Christmas Eve and were met by Saint Peter at the pearly gates.

'In honor of this holy season' Saint Peter said, 'You must each possess something that symbolizes Christmas to get into heaven.'

The Thai fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on. 'It's a candle', he said.

'You may pass through the pearly gates' Saint Peter said.

The Indon reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He shook them and said, 'They're bells.'

Saint Peter said 'You may pass through the pearly gates'.

The Singaporean started searching desperately through his pockets and finally pulled out a pair of women's panties.

St. Peter looked at the man with a raised eyebrow and asked, 'And just what do those symbolize?'

Then Ah Beng replied, 'These are Carol's.'



And So The Christmas Season Begins......and Gerald Chan nods in agreement.

Back to School : January 2nd 2013

Credits: www.betweentalk.com

BACK TO SCHOOL TIPS

MAKING THE FIRST DAY EASIER

• Remind your child that there are probably a lot of students who are uneasy about the first day of school. Teachers know that students are anxious and will make an extra effort to make sure everyone feels as comfortable as possible.
• Point out the positive aspects of starting school: It will be fun! She'll see old friends and meet new ones. Refresh her positive memories about previous years, when she may have returned home after the first day with high spirits because she had a good time. 
• Find another child in the neighborhood with whom your youngster can walk to school or ride with on the bus.  
• If you feel it is appropriate, drive your child (or walk with her) to school and pick her up on the first day.

BACKPACK SAFETY

• Choose a backpack with wide, padded shoulder straps and a padded back.
• Pack light. Organize the backpack to use all of its compartments. Pack heavier items closest to the center of the back. The backpack should never weigh more than 10 to 20 percent of your child’s body weight. 
• Always use both shoulder straps. Slinging a backpack over one shoulder can strain muscles.
• If your school allows, consider a rolling backpack. This type of backpack may be a good choice for students who must tote a heavy load. Remember that rolling backpacks still must be carried up stairs, and they may be difficult to roll in snow.

TRAVELING TO AND FROM SCHOOL
Review the basic rules with your youngster

School Bus

• If your child’s school bus has lap/shoulder seat belts, make sure your child uses one at all times when in the bus. If your child’s school bus does not have lap/shoulder belts, encourage the school to buy or lease buses with lap/shoulder belts.
• Wait for the bus to stop before approaching it from the curb. 
• Do not move around on the bus. 
• Check to see that no other traffic is coming before crossing the street. 
• Make sure to always remain in clear view of the bus driver. 
• Children should always board and exit the bus at locations that provide safe access to the bus or to the school building.

Car

• All passengers should wear a seat belt and/or an age- and size-appropriate car safety seat or booster seat. 
• Your child should ride in a car safety seat with a harness as long as possible and then ride in a belt-positioning booster seat. Your child is ready for a booster seat when she has reached the top weight or height allowed for her seat, her shoulders are above the top harness slots, or her ears have reached the top of the seat. 
• Your child should ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle's seat belt fits properly (usually when the child reaches about 4' 9" in height and is between 8 to 12 years of age). This means that the child is tall enough to sit against the vehicle seat back with her legs bent at the knees and feet hanging down and the shoulder belt lies across the middle of the chest and shoulder, not the neck or throat; the lap belt is low and snug across the thighs, and not the stomach. 
• All children younger than 13 years of age should ride in the rear seat of vehicles. If you must drive more children than can fit in the rear seat (when carpooling, for example), move the front-seat passenger’s seat as far back as possible and have the child ride in a booster seat if the seat belts do not fit properly without it.
• Remember that many crashes occur while novice teen drivers are going to and from school. You should require seat belt use, limit the number of teen passengers, and do not allow eating, drinking, cell phone conversations or texting to prevent driver distraction. Limit nighttime driving and driving in inclement weather. Familiarize yourself with your state’s graduated driver’s license law and consider the use of a parent-teen driver agreement to facilitate the early driving learning process. For a sample parent-teen driver agreement, see www.healthychildren.org/teendriver

Bike

• Always wear a bicycle helmet, no matter how short or long the ride.
• Ride on the right, in the same direction as auto traffic. 
• Use appropriate hand signals. 
• Respect traffic lights and stop signs. 
• Wear bright color clothing to increase visibility. 
• Know the "rules of the road." http://www.aap.org/family/bicycle.htm 

Walking to School

• Make sure your child's walk to a school is a safe route with well-trained adult crossing guards at every intersection.
• Be realistic about your child's pedestrian skills. Because small children are impulsive and less cautious around traffic, carefully consider whether or not your child is ready to walk to school without adult supervision.
• If your children are young or are walking to a new school, walk with them the first week or until you are sure they know the route and can do it safely.
• Bright colored clothing will make your child more visible to drivers. 
• In neighborhoods with higher levels of traffic, consider starting a “walking school bus,” in which an adult accompanies a group of neighborhood children walking to school.

EATING DURING THE SCHOOL DAY

• Most schools regularly send schedules of cafeteria menus home. With this advance information, you can plan on packing lunch on the days when the main course is one your child prefers not to eat.
• Try to get your child's school to stock healthy choices such as fresh fruit, low-fat dairy products, water and 100 percent fruit juice in the vending machines. 
• Each 12-ounce soft drink contains approximately 10 teaspoons of sugar and 150 calories. Drinking just one can of soda a day increases a child's risk of obesity by 60%. Restrict your child's soft drink consumption.

BULLYING

Bullying is when one child picks on another child repeatedly. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or social. It can happen at school, on the playground, on the school bus, in the neighborhood, or over the Internet.

When Your Child Is Bullied 

Help your child learn how to respond by teaching your child how to: 

• Look the bully in the eye.
• Stand tall and stay calm in a difficult situation.
• Walk away.
• Teach your child how to say in a firm voice.
• "I don't like what you are doing."
• "Please do NOT talk to me like that."
• "Why would you say that?"
• Teach your child when and how to ask for help.
• Encourage your child to make friends with other children.
• Support activities that interest your child.
• Alert school officials to the problems and work with them on solutions.
• Make sure an adult who knows about the bullying can watch out for your child's safety and well-being when you cannot be there.

When Your Child Is the Bully 

• Be sure your child knows that bullying is never OK.
• Set firm and consistent limits on your child's aggressive behavior. 
• Be a positive role mode. Show children they can get what they want without teasing, threatening or hurting someone. 
• Use effective, non-physical discipline, such as loss of privileges.
• Develop practical solutions with the school principal, teachers, counselors, and parents of the children your child has bullied.

When Your Child Is a Bystander

• Tell your child not to cheer on or even quietly watch bullying.
• Encourage your child to tell a trusted adult about the bullying. 
• Help your child support other children who may be bullied. Encourage your child to include these children in activities. 
• Encourage your child to join with others in telling bullies to stop. 

BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL CHILD CARE

• During early and middle childhood, youngsters need supervision. A responsible adult should be available to get them ready and off to school in the morning and watch over them after school until you return home from work.
• Children approaching adolescence (11- and 12-year-olds) should not come home to an empty house in the afternoon unless they show unusual maturity for their age. 
• If alternate adult supervision is not available, parents should make special efforts to supervise their children from a distance. Children should have a set time when they are expected to arrive at home and should check in with a neighbor or with a parent by telephone. 
• If you choose a commercial after-school program, inquire about the training of the staff. There should be a high staff-to-child ratio, and the rooms and the playground should be safe.

DEVELOPING GOOD HOMEWORK AND STUDY HABITS

• Create an environment that is conducive to doing homework. Youngsters need a permanent work space in their bedroom or another part of the home that is quiet, without distractions, and promotes study.
• Schedule ample time for homework. 
• Establish a household rule that the TV set stays off during homework time. 
• Supervise computer and Internet use.
• Be available to answer questions and offer assistance, but never do a child's homework for her. 
• Take steps to help alleviate eye fatigue, neck fatigue and brain fatigue while studying. It may be helpful to close the books for a few minutes, stretch, and take a break periodically when it will not be too disruptive. 
• If your child is struggling with a particular subject, and you aren't able to help her yourself, a tutor can be a good solution. Talk it over with your child's teacher first.

© 2012 - American Academy of Pediatrics

Family Meals Encourage Kids to Eat More Veggies, Fruit

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A new study shows that regular family meals round a table boosts kids’ fruit and vegetable intake, and make it easier for them to reach the recommended five portions a day.

The World Health Organization recommends a daily intake of five 80g portions of fruit and vegetables to promote good health and stave off serious disease and obesity in later life.

The researchers looked at the diets of more than 2,000 London primary school children. Their parents were asked to provide information about how often their families ate meals together.

On average, the children in the study ate about 293g (3.7 portions) of fruits and vegetables per day, but children who sometimes or regularly ate meals with their family consumed the most.

Children who sometimes ate family meals together ate 95g more fruit and vegetables every day than those who never ate together.

But children who always ate family meals together ate an average of 125g more every day.

Other factors also helped. Children whose parents ate fruit and vegetables every day also ate 88g more, on average, than those whose parents rarely or never did so.

Children whose parents always cut up their fruit and vegetables ate around 44g more than those whose parents did not. And intake increased by 5g for every additional type of produce available in the house.

But in the final analysis, those children who always ate family meals together had higher nutrient intake than those whose families sometimes ate together (4.6 portions) and those whose families never did so (3.3 portions).

And these children reached their recommended five a day quota.

“The results from this study illustrate a positive health message for parents, which could improve their own dietary habits and their children’s,” write the authors.

“The key message is for families to eat fruit and vegetables together at a mealtime.”

###

The above story is based on the December 19, 2012 news release by the BMJ Group.

The study has been published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health :

Christian M, Evans C, Hancock N, Nykjaer C, Cade JE. Family meals can help children reach their 5 a day: a cross-sectional survey of children's dietary intake from London primary schools. J Epidemiol Community Health 2012; DOI: 10.1136/jech-2012-201604 

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more about children and healthy eating.   

Malaysia's Education Disaster - time for change

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 “Whether it is in primary, secondary or tertiary education, the rot is clear. Half literate primary school products that cannot write or speak properly in either English or Bahasa and drop out early; secondary students with abysmal standards in Mathematics, Science and other core subjects; tertiary students who are provided with university degrees but in fact are unemployable except in the civil service.

…. This is the result of the politicisation of the educational system….”

Koon Yew Yin in Malaysiakini, December 20, 2012 

Koon Yew Yin, 79 of Ipoh, Perak is a retired Chartered Civil Engineer and one of the founders of IJM Corporation Bhd and Gamuda Bhd. Mr. Koon was a former member of the Board of Engineers for 3 terms and a committee member in SIRIM for the drafting of the Malaysian Standards for Cement and Concrete.  He was Secretary General of the Master Builders Association, Malaysia for 9 years.  He  is also well known for his philanthropic activities benefiting young students and various charitable organizations.

Mr Koon writes profusely on what he sees is wrong in our country. Click HERE for a selection of 44 articles from the library of the Centre for Policy Initiatives. 

A Sacred or Secular Christmas?

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Merry Christmas
of Love, Compassion, Kindness, Forgiveness, Fellowship, and Service to Others

“If it’s December, then it must be time to choose sides in the Christmas wars.”  Thus begins writer Amy Sullivan in a USA Today article titled “Let’s put ‘Christmas’ in its place.”1  Amy goes on to talk about how “One camp worries that the celebration of Christ’s birth has become too commercial and frantic.  Its goal is a simple Christmas season, stripped of consumption and flashing lights and endless holiday parties.”  Others “want shoppers to encounter more nativity scenes and fewer ‘Happy holidays’ banners.”1  And then, on the opposite side of the fence, there are those who want all vestiges of religion stripped from the Christmas season and holiday, focusing only on the secular side of the season.  A good example of the latter is the recent battle in Santa Monica, California, over a “60-year-old Nativity display in Santa Monica’s Palisades Park.”2  For almost 60 years, a coalition of churches have put on a life-size, 14-booth Nativity display in the park.  But in 2009, a local atheist, Damon Vix, applied for and was granted a booth alongside the Nativity display.  In his booth Vix hung a sign quoting Thomas Jefferson that read, “Religions are all alike—founded on fables and mythologies,” and another sign that read, “Happy Solstice.”  Now there is a battle over whether the Nativity scene will be permitted or not.

And so, there you have it: the battle between the sacred and secular Christmas.  On the one side you have those who cite “Jesus is the reason for the season” and want Christmas to be a wholly religious observance with only Nativities and none of the other Christmas decorations or Christmas customs that have become such an integral part of our Christmas observances.  For these, the only proper greeting during the month of December is “Merry Christmas.”  On the other side you have those who focus only on Santa Claus and merry making and prefer the non-religious “Happy Holidays” greeting, what conservative commentator Cal Thomas refers to as the “war on Christmas” that has been going on since the time of King Herod.3

But when you stop to think about it, most Christmas customs and family activities are secular in nature.  For instance, the most popular Christmas movies are for the most part secular: It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story, and Miracle on 34^th Street.  None of them are religious per se.  And the most popular Christmas songs are secular as well: According to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, these are the Top 10 most-performed “Holiday” songs for the first five years of the 21st Century:

1. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) – Mel Tormé, Robert Wells
2. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town – Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie
3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin
4. Winter Wonderland – Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith
5. White Christmas – Irving Berlin
6. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! – Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne
7. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer – Johnny Marks
8. Jingle Bell Rock – Joseph Carleton Beal, James Ross Boothe
9. I’ll Be Home For Christmas – Walter Kent, Kim Gannon, Buck Ram
10. Little Drummer Boy – Katherine K. Davis, Henry V. Onorati, Harry Simeone

You may have noticed that not one of the top nine is the least bit religious in nature. Furthermore, many non-Christians the world over now celebrate Christmas, but void of any real religious beliefs or significance.

And so, any way you look at it, Christmas is a mixed bag.  What do we do with this mixed bag?  How do we decide between the sacred or secular Christmas?  Are we to choose one and reject the other?  If no, how do we find a balance between the two?  As Amy Sullivan notes in that USA Today article, “as a Christian who wants to focus on the spiritual rhythms of Advent and truly commemorate God’s gift of his son to the world, I find that the Christmas season gets in the way.”1

One of the issues with choosing between a purely sacred or purely secular Christmas is such a thing has never been.  As Sullivan notes, “The difficulty for those who understandably want to simplify Christmas or strip the holiday of its secular element is that a purely spiritual Christmas has never existed.”1  Sullivan notes that “early Christians established Christmas by linking it to pre-existing midwinter celebrations.  Many northern cultures coped with winter by looking forward to feasts and merriment marked by lights and greenery that reminded them that the darkness would end and life would begin again.”1  December 25^th was selected to celebrate the birth of Jesus in order to coincide with the winter solstice and the Roman celebration of Saturnalia.  Most of our Christmas decorations (Christmas trees, the Yule log, holly, mistletoe, and the like) are adaptations of ancient pagan customs. Christmas parties harken back to ancient Roman times and reveling during the darkest winter days as a way to help them cope with the dark, winter days and give them hope that the darkness would eventually end and light would return.

But just as many of our “sacred” Christmas practices have their basis in older, pagan or secular practices, some of our secular Christmas customs have their basis in sacred history or myth.  For instance, our secular practice of gift giving can be traced to the gifts the Wise Men are said to have given the baby Jesus.  And Santa Claus grew in part from the fourth century church leader, St. Nicolas, who was known for giving to the poor.

Well, could it be that secular is not necessarily a bad thing?  Could it be that it is okay to find joy in celebrating both the sacred and secular aspects of this Advent-Christmas season?   The truth is, Christmas has never, ever been totally sacred.  Christmas has always been blended with the secular.  But something doesn’t have to be religious in nature for the sacred to be present.  Cannot the sacred show up and be present in the secular?  Is that not what the incarnation means—Emmanuel, God with us in our everyday, secular lives?  The message and good news of Jesus—love, compassion, forgiveness, justice—can permeate all aspects of life, if we let it.  Jesus’ birth brings hope for a better world.  The spirit of Christmas prods us to be better persons than we are the other eleven months, leading us to give more to charity, be kinder to strangers, and more willing to get along with others, such as those cousins with whom we have nothing in common ideologically, politically, or religiously. Such can be done in secular settings as well as sacred.   And secular events can be used to build family bonds.  For instance, going to the Christmas parade, or to a Nutcracker production can be a joyful, family-bonding event.

A story might illustrate the point.  Several years ago, when we were struggling to get a new church off the ground, as the organizing pastor I worked for a Task Force consisting of six persons—three ministers and three elders, or lay leaders, from different congregations.  When Christmas time rolled around, I printed some song booklets of Christmas carols and songs that we used for a sing time, like we do at our 8 o’clock service.  All but a couple of songs in the booklet were religious in nature.  But one of the children of the small, fledgling congregation requested that we include “Jingle Bells.”  So I did.  And you can bet that every Sunday during the Christmas season sing-a-long one of the kids would shout, “Let’s sing ‘Jingle Bells.’”  Well, when it came time for our quarterly meeting with the Task Force to whom I answered, someone let it slip that we included “Jingle Bells” in our Sunday sing-a-long.  And my chief supervisor said, “’Jingle Bells’!  Why, I’ve never heard of ‘Jingle Bells’ being sung in church before!”  Maybe not.  But in that instance a secular song served a sacred purpose of making the children of the congregation feel a part.

So, the question is, Should we be forced to decide between a wholly sacred or wholly secular Christmas?  I don’t think so.  It really has never been either one or the other.  Sacred stories and secular practices have cross pollinated one another for millennia, even since the time of Abraham and Moses.  A very poignant “Family Circus” cartoon appeared this week that speaks well to the point of how the sacred and secular have blended.  The father is reading to the little girl, and the little girl asks, “Did Santa Claus and Jesus go to school together?”4  Many of the religious practices that found their way into Jewish practice and worship were borrowed (or as my seminary Old Testament professor used to say, “baptized”) from pagan practices.  And many early Christian practices were borrowed and baptized from pagan use as well.  Amy Sullivan concludes her USA Today article by saying, “As a society, we need a designated time of the year to celebrate with one another.  We need the outlet of X-mas to give us a burst of festive energy to get through the winter.  And we need fudge and Santa cookies, darn it.”1

So perhaps the criteria we should use in deciding the Christmas practices we embrace should be the motive or purpose which leads us to embrace them and the positive results that flow from them.  Or to put it another way, do our Christmas customs and practices foster greater love, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, fellowship, and service to others? Sacred and secular Christmas traditions—they have overlapped from the very beginning.  So why can’t we celebrate both, as long as we do so in the true Christmas spirit?  Amen.

A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Randy Hammer, December 9, 2012 

1. Amy Sullivan, “Let’s put ‘Christ’-mas in its place,” USA Today, Dec. 5, 2011.
2. Gillian Flaccus, Knoxville News Sentinel, Nov. 22, 2012.
3. Bob Beckel and Cal Thomas, “Holiday Legal Traditions,” USA Today, Nov. 29, 2012
4. Bill Keane, “The Family Circus,” Dec. 7, 2012.