Jesus Christ is The Reason for the Season!

18) Now the Birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

19) Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

20) But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

21) And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall Save His people from their sins.

22) Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

23) Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

24) Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

25) And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called His name JESUS.

I) NOW when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2) Saying, 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.

3) When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4) And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5) And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6) And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

7) Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

8) And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

9) When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

10) When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

II) And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Love Always, YSIC \o/

Kristi Ann

http://kristiann1.com

Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln.

Remember always that he was the greatest president of the 19th Century, and literally saved the young Union from being inexorably torn in two.  Abraham was a great politician.  He was a decent, just, humble man, and in the most virtuous sense he was also a great politician.  He used the power of his political skill and rhetoric to appeal to a nation, the Union in its entirety, to address the problem of slavery in a way that best preserved the natural rights of all men.  He was not like the extreme abolitionist, John Brown, who murdered for the cause.  He was not a slave holder who defended the practice as essential.  

He was not a racist who saw Whites as superior to Blacks.  But he was a great politician who had to appeal to the extremes on both sides; the abolitionists on one side, the slave states on the other. And he had to find common ground so that the Union could be preserved. For, without the United States of America, her Declaration of Independence and its statement of Natural Rights, and the Constitution with its Bill of Rights, slavery would not be eradicated.  It would continue to exist in some form within and without the Union indefinitely.  

Abraham Lincoln used his expert political skill to maneuver sentiment and popular opinion.  He used his debate skills to trap Stephen Douglas and others dedicated to the protection and perpetuation slavery to expose their hypocrisy, and turn their Constitutional arguments against them.  Lincoln spoke to a deeply divided America. Racism, superstition, fear, and economic necessity impelled the slave states to fight to the death for the practice upon which they based their culture.  Ideology, human freedom, and Christian love impelled those who sought the immediate and unconditional abolition of all slavery.  Only when he was unsuccessful in the political realm to heal the rent Union, did Lincoln resort to military action, and with the force of war, called the secessionist states back home.  He hated the Civil War. Lincoln's skill as Commander in Chief did not match that of his political skill. Yet he persisted, in the name of freedom, and in the name of the indispensable Union, he persisted.  He, at first, refrained from using the full force of the Union against the Southern states.  And it was not until Ulysses S. Grant became the Commanding General of the Union Army, that victory over secession, and victory over the practice of slavery became possible.

Abraham Lincoln was a great politician, and a reluctant Commander in Chief.  His love of all people is unquestionable.  And he knew that for America, and the rest of the world to have a "Last, best hope," that the Union must preserved and its Constitution along with it.  Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln.  Your memory and legacy blesses us still.

America's Birthday - Celebrate! Our Pledge of Allegiance and The American's Creed.

I pledge 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.