The Prince of Peace

It's so big, so huge, Christmas!  Just think, all over the world tonight we are celebrating the birth of a Baby who is a King!  Don't you ever wish you'd been there?  Aaa yeah, I sure do.  But I wasn't, as a matter of fact I'm here in my home in the 21st century sneezing, coughing, and wheezing, with a horrid cold.  My wonderful husband got on those highways & byways to Sacramento for Christmas Day.  We were both suppose to go, but alas, the cold fairy has been visiting me for several weeks, and suddenly, just as I thought I was getting better, I got worse.  So, went to urgent care, got an antibiotic, came home, and am watching all these great Christmas shows.  Want to share this . . one took place in Jerusalem, Israel.  An hour and a half of taking my breath away!  Me, a Babe who is King, our three kitties, and my thoughts.  Grateful I am.  An awesome husband, lots of children, even more grandchildren, and four great grandchildren, and a terrific new brother!  We have a home, they have homes, we have transpo, they have transpo, we are warm in the cold and cool in the heat, and they are as well.  Things are tight, yes, but we're all managing.  How blessed we are.  Aaah yes.  We are truly blessed.  As I watched the energy build in the square of Jerusalem, and the thousands of people, I thought, "Why doesn't everyone get this?!" The Temple Dome golden in the night light, music, worship, praise, all to the Babe who is King!  How big, how huge!  I earnestly hope & pray that the world gets "it" sooner than later. One of these days I'll be there to see that golden dome in person.  And who knows, maybe then we'll see Him? Blessed Christmas everyone, especially you our dear Benjamin, and a very prosperous New Year!  Shalom!  Aloha!  Bula!  Vive! Peace!  DG, I love you!

    

So . . . here we are with everybody else!

At the Apple Store with a few hundred other people waiting for a One to One class to begin at 5:pm.  This is the 22nd of Dec, a crazy time to be out with all these folks, but looking at it positively, I'm determined to make it through this hour and a half, then a good dinner with my husband, then home.  My email is next before bed, and maybe a new blog.  Most people are smiling - or frowning - I'll be one of the ones that smiles!!  My family is so huge now, I'm unable to think of it as "one" . . .catch you later!

What should I call this??

It used to be called Christmas, a Holyday.  Somehow it's become Xmas, a holiday.  How'd that happen?  How depressing.  What I want to do is celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, Christmas, Christ Mass, even tho' I know He wasn't really born on 12/25.  I will celebrate this Holy Birth as many of my friends and associates will, but how sad it is for those who don't realize the miracle of this in their own lives!  So many BIG problems become very small, and this small Baby becomes so very huge in our lives.  Every good thing is possible if we just let Him do it.  And the other things?  Aaaaa, no matter.  His ArchAngels take care of the "you know what" part of the "other things."  The good things?  The miracle of children, grandchildren, and now great grandchildren.  The miracle of a new rich, wonderful, gifted, relationship with Him. The miracle of a new healthy relationship with a man that He brought my way.  The "other things?"  The only reason I remember those is to witness to others about my miracles. Every day as I read a little, write a little, these important messages from Him become more important in this small Woman's life.  You see, I have a big life, a very big life and so thank You, my Dear, Dear Baby Jesus for coming into my life the way you did almost 3/4th of a century ago!

So - for all of you, I pray you have a wonderful, healthy, so very blessed Holy Christmas, and may your new year be abundantly blessed by Those above . . . you know, the Big Three up there, Father God, Son Jesus (Yeshua) and Holy Spirit who inspires all good and beautiful in our lives.

 . . . and that's the Bird's Word for today.

PS:  Next time I tell you how I got the name Raven!

ps:  DG, I love you!

 

Raven Bird's Word on Sobriety

It occurs to me today to say a few words about my sobriety.  It's been 22 years, 4 months, and 15 days, this day.  I sometimes don't notice this length of time because I know it's quality, not quantity, that really makes the difference.  Staying off of alcohol has been the easy part.  It's all the "substitute" addictions that have been the difficult part.  Nobody told me about those; had to stumble  into and onto them myself.  At the end of the day, I found I'd gone through $250,000 dollars, sold a home I still wanted, sold a yacht I purchased for $50K for $30K, you know, stuff like that.  But also something else happened.  God never left my side.  He pulled me up time after time from self pity, loneliness,  despair, looking for whatever in all the wrong places.  Finally it took going through all that loss to realize an incredible gain.  Some of that gain was self assurance, self respect, self esteem, and self love, a full time job with the USFS, a home, great truck, you know . . all that stuff.  Self love.  I came to know unless I truly love me, I don't "get" the unconditional love part of anything.  I learned that if I don't "take care of myself", I can't care for anyone else, or anything else for that matter.  I learned that when I truly love me, I'm doing what God expects of me, because through me comes His love to others.  I learned that unconditional love is His perfect love is perfectly loving through us to one another. How cool is that?  Wow!   What a concept!  My sobriety today is enriched by being active in a Christ centered recovery program.  CR.  Check it out.  Want to know more?  Ask me about it. 

Another terrific thing that's happened, I reconnected with a very dear American friend from my years in the Fiji Islands after thinking we'd lost each other.  She lives in the State of Washintgton.  This awesome husband of mine has a home in Oregon.  And that's another story for another blog.   

Other than that, life is happening here in this home, and all the places my awesome husband and I reach out to.   My family has grown from four children to 3 living children, 2 step children, 4 grandchildren, 7 step grandchildren, there're two daughters-in-law and 2 sons-in-law, 1 grandson-in-law, step daughter-in-law, step son-in-law, 2 of the step granddaughters are married to our two step grandsons-in-law,  And the most incredible new small person addition to my family is my 5 month old great-grandson!  AND I have a new brother.  Good grief!  Hope I haven't forgotten anyone!  Talk about holyday (holiday) changes.  My 72.11/12ths years of my life have been "not boring" ...  and the one thing I've always asked of God is please make my life "not boring"!  Oh, and by the way, this "awesome husband"?  God also sent him to me.  Check that out!  Cool?  You betcha . . . and that's the bird's word for now . . 

ps:  DG, I love you! 

Raven Bird's Word

Thanksgiving Day!

What a wonderful day it is. It's true that it is different every year, but I finally find I think that's a good thing. There's a saying, "Radicle change brings radicle growth". So, I've decided it's a good way of looking at it. Especially since I'm unable to change the changing of it. And it's God's way, if I believe that He's in control. One of the biggest things I'm grateful for is the posted photo. But I love and enjoy all of my grandchildren, and now my greatgrandson.

Raven Bird's Word

I don't know why we didn't know this, but somehow as all truth does, it's had a very difficult time coming to light.  AND it's still hasn't reached our political people.  WHY?  The book, "Saddam's Secrets:  How an Iraqi General Defied and Survived Saddam Hussein" by Georges Sada, a former air marshall in Saddam Hussein's military and one of his top advisors, states clearly there were WMDs in Iraq in 2002 and 2003.  This book was published in 2006 by Integrity Publishers a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, in Nashville, TN.  a few words from this book:  ( . . by August 2002 Saddam was convinced the Americans were coming . . )  and ( . . smuggling WMDs out of Iraq in 2002 and 2003.  I know the names of officers of the front company SES . . )  and ( . .  Saddam's good fortune, a natural disaster in Syria provided the perfect cover story for moving a large number of those [WMDs] out of the country.) further states ( . . Saddam hid these weapons . . in places no military commander or United Nations weapons inspector would expect to find them.   . . in schools, private homes, banks, business offices, and even on trucks that were kept constantly moving back and forth from one end of the country to the other.  Then to Syria they went as "aid" in airplanes that were reconfigured with the removal all "passenger" accommodations and replaces with false floors and ceilings, etc.  They were loaded with WMDs of all kinds and transported under cover of legitimacy.)  I am a registered Independent.   I did not vote for G.W.Bush.  However, I can't stand to see the real, that is, REAL, truth not be spoken.  There WERE WMDs in Iraq when the TRUTH about them came out through Colin Powell, for whom I have great respect, and several others.  He was sacrificed when for some reason this truth didn't come out.  So, five years later we are appeasing [however] by saying, " Oh yes, they (whoever "they" are) were lying to the American people about Iraq having WMDs," when Iraq DID, in fact, have and were intent on using their WMDs on the Western World.  If we as Americans are insisting on the truth, then for God's sake as well as for our sake, let us tell it and say it.  It absolutely needs to reach the President Elect and his administration.

God bless us all, and God bless America, which was established in His name under His guard. 

Raven

" . . win we must; our motto, in God we trust . . "  FDR 1941, a quote from his father.