THE MEANING OF THE ADVENT WREATH. (Speakers on)

This should have been posted in November, but here it is:
Living Hope

"Most Advent wreaths use three colors – purple, pink, and white. However, some may use blue in place of the purple."
Choral excerpts from Handel's Messiah
....
1st CANDLE – (purple) THE PROPHECY CANDLE or CANDLE OF HOPE  For unto us a child is born
....
2nd CANDLE – (purple) THE BETHLEHEM CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF PREPARATION    Every Valley...- G.F. Handel "Messiah"
....
3rd CANDLE – (pink) THE SHEPHERD CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF JOY
"How Beautiful are the Feet of Them that Bringeth Glad Tidings of Joy."
....
4th CANDLE – (purple) THE ANGEL CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF LOVE Messiah Chorus He shall purify
....
5th CANDLE – (white) “CHRIST CANDLE” – The white candle reminds us that Jesus is the spotless lamb of God, sent to wash away our sins! His birth was for his death, his death was for our birth!  Hallelujah Chorus
....
"When these candles were lit, Scripture and prayer was part of the custom and the family devotion time was a time of instructing the children about Christ’s coming. Later, the custom crossed over different denominational lines and other faith traditions adapted its use. Today, you can find Advent wreathes in many Protestant and Roman Catholic churches."

Why Stand for the Hallelujah Chorus?     "No one knows why King George stood but we do know that people around the world still rise to their feet whenever they hear first notes of the Hallelujah Chorus.
"Originally, Handel wrote The Messiah to be performed at Lent or Easter. Today, however, the Hallelujah Chorus is most popular as a piece of Christmas music."
Then there is this excellent contemporary version of the oratorio, "handel's young Messiah".

J.S. BACH – CHRISTMAS ORATORIO

American Glob  "The video description says this is the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists   in 2009.
"If you like classical Christmas music, you’ll love this."
 

Life in the Free World

British Man Arrested for Making Nelson Mandela Joke

.... "A SHOP boss was arrested and quizzed by police for eight hours for cracking Nelson Mandela jokes on the internet.
Neil Phillips said he was fingerprinted, DNA-swabbed and had his computers seized.
The 44-year-old was held after posting: “My PC takes so long to shut down I’ve decided to call it Nelson Mandela.”
Another read: “Free Mandela – switch the power off.”
But police swooped after a councillor complained over the gags about the former South African leader, who passed away on Thursday, aged 95.

"In case you’re blissfully unaware of British local political terms, “councillors” are the elected representatives of the country’s local governments. Which is to say that the story is this: A private citizen made a bad joke about a deceased foreign leader on a webpage, so a government employee ordered the police to “swoop” and to arrest him. Why? Because he was offended " ...

Malaysia: Church leaders call decision to restrict use of ‘Allah’ to Muslims only ‘repugnant
"10,000 local Iban Christians have been staging a peaceful protest in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, to remind the federal government to honour its commitment to religious freedom. Christians, who constitute 9.2 per cent of a population of 29 million people, feel increasingly apprehensive in a country once a beacon of multi-racial and multi-religious harmony."

apocalypsecakes

Colorado baker faces year in jail for refusing to make cake for gay wedding

Owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Denver faces year in jail for refusing to bake cake for gay wedding.KDVR

" 'According to attorney Nicolle Martin, the owners of a Colorado bakery could face a year in prison for refusing to make a cake for a gay wedding, Jim Hoft reported at the Gateway Pundit Monday.

“ 'The complainants can sue him civilly in the regular courts system or he can potentially be prosecuted by the district attorney for up to twelve months in jail,” ..."

Oh Brother… Lib Media Attacks Megyn Kelly For Saying Jesus and Santa Are White
"They had to do something.
"She’s beautiful, talented, smart, level-headed and too damned popular.
"Yahoo media attacked Megyn Kelly for saying Jesus and Santa were white men… Because they were white men.
"Unbelievable."

The popular news host told viewers of “The Kelly File,” her hit FNC program, “When I saw this headline, I kinda laughed and I said, ‘Oh, this is ridiculous. Yet another person claiming it’s racist to have a white Santa.’ And by the way, for all you kids watching at home, Santa just is white. But this person is maybe just arguing that we should also have a black Santa. But, you know, Santa is what he is, and just so you know, we’re just debating this because someone wrote about it, kids.”

 It’s Offensive… Judge Orders Removal of Mt. Soledad Cross

 

"Leftists Rejoice!
"A federal judge ruled late Thursday the cross atop Mount Soledad must be removed.

"The 29 foot tall cross was erected in 1954 on top of Mount Soledad in La Jolla, California." ...

 

Hunter Yelton case: Girl’s mother says conduct “IS SEXUAL HARASSMENT”  

"We reported on the 6-year old boy who was suspended for “sexual harassment” for kissing a girl in class on the hand and cheek.

"The school has since downgraded the charge, and dropped the “sexual harassment” claim. " ...

"Now the girl’s mother is speaking out, defending the school district. She took to Facebook to insist the conduct was sexual harassment (emphasis added)."

Liberals: “We Need To Start Calling Out Christians For Trying To Exercise ‘Christian Privilege’”…
... "He followed that remark by saying that interpretations of the Bible “ought never threaten the federal government and the way people are ruled by law … an interpretation of the Bible is of little consequence to the guarantee of the Constitution.”...

From the guy who gave the Queen of England a gift of his speeches on DVD...

http://terrellaftermath.com/


Lucianne

The world we are living in

David Horowitz Interview: We Are at War  ... "His first book is now available and it is a book people need to read. I read it yesterday and it clarified who and what Barack Obama is for me. I will no longer say he is incompetent. He is probably the most competent president we have had. He is succeeding in destroying traditional America.

"David Horowitz has published the first book in a series of ten which are aimed at educating conservatives about progressivism and the forces of evil that have been poisoning our culture, our schools, and our government for the last forty years." 

israelhayom

2 Turks arrested at Auschwitz for alleged Nazi salute  "A man and a woman, tourists, both 22, took pictures of each other in front of the gate to the former Nazi death camp under one of the most recognizable signs of the Holocaust, “Arbeit macht frei,” or work will free you, raising their right hands as if performing the Nazi salute. "  May we assume these people had no problem seeing the bodies of the murdered Fogel family in Israel?

North Korean leader's uncle 'executed over corruption'  This man and his wife are said to have been the power behind the throne in NK, and have kept the country unstable for years. Is this all a good thing or not?

... "As news of the purge emerged earlier this week, South Korean President Park Geun-hye warned the North was "carrying out a reign of terror" to reinforce Mr Kim's position.

"She said the volatile relationship between the two countries was likely to become "more unstable" as a result."

White House Press Briefing Erupts With Reporters’ Protests 

"The White House Press Corps is in full-tilt revolt.
"After sending a letter of protest last month signed by 40 major media outlets, at today’s White House Press Briefing with Obama lackey Jay Carney, the press corps went on the attack.

"At press briefings, the press is generally respectful, not stepping over other reporters’ questions or over the press secretary’s responses. But at today’s meeting, they erupted with objections when Jay Carney tried to justify the banning of the press from official presidential functions.....

9 Things You Should Know About The Hobbit

The Gospel Coalition  ..."9. Tolkien denied that his stories were written for children:

That's all sob stuff. No, of course, I didn't... The Hobbit was written in what I should now regard as bad style, as if one were talking to children. There's nothing my children loathed more. They taught me a lesson. Anything that in any way marked out The Hobbit as for children instead of just for people, they disliked-instinctively. I did too, now that I think about it. All this 'I won't tell you any more, you think about it' stuff. Oh no, they loathe it; it's awful. Children aren't a class. They are merely human beings at different stages of maturity. All of them have a human intelligence which even at its lowest is a pretty wonderful thing, and the entire world in front of them. It remains to be seen if they rise above that. 

Pakistani Blogger Calls For Reform In Textbooks: "On What Basis Had I Come To Believe That The Value Of The Life Of A Jew Or Christian Was Less Than That Of A Muslim?"

Atlas Shrugs

"As the Twin Towers came crashing down in New York City on September 11, 2001, an eight-year-old boy remained unmoved some 7,000 miles away in Lahore as the horrifying images unfolded before him. The boy then descended into a mode of celebration upon discovering that the towers were in 'non-Pakistani' territory and that a significant majority of the dead were non-Muslims.  

"This boy was no suicide bomber in the making. He was not the product of an extremist madrassa nor was he the son of a jihad veteran. In fact, this was a boy who was being educated at one of the finest institutions this country had to offer....."

"Proving yet again that the "moderates" (wherever they are hiding) have no theological leg to stand on. I give this brave blogger 24 hours to go underground to escape the requisite death fatwa that is sure to follow.

Pakistani Blogger Calls For Reform In Textbooks: 'Where We Celebrate A War Hero, We Must Also Celebrate A Hero Of Science'; 'On What Basis Had I Come To Believe That The Value Of The Life Of A Jew Or Christian Was Less Than That Of A Muslim?' 'Where We Recall The Sacrifices Of Our Prophet... We Must Also Recall The Sacrifices Of Jesus' MEMRI

 

There's a government-caused death panel in this story somewhere

joshuapundit

By Jim Hoft at The Gateway Pundit   "In August 2013 I became very sick with what I thought was a cold. After a few days I lost vision in my left eye and I checked into the hospital. I soon found out that what I thought was a summer cold was actually Strep bacteria poisoning my blood stream. The bacteria blinded my left eye, ate a hole through my heart, caused five strokes on both sides of my brain and forced the removal of my prosthetic left knee.
....
"Thanks to the excellent insurance I carried I was able to receive life-saving medical treatment at St. Louis University.

"This week I found out I am going to lose my insurance. The company that carried me is leaving the Missouri market. I will have to find something else.

"I am one of the millions who will be looking for new insurance. God willing, I will be able to keep my doctors at St. Louis University. I trust them.  They saved my life.  Please pray for me and the millions of working Americans who are going through this same ordeal."  Sebelius: People Who Lost Plans ‘Thrilled with the Choices Now Available to Them’ Mr. Hoft replied in so many words: yeah. Right.

An Obamacare horror story that hits close to home   "Liberals will blame Jim's insurance company, not Obamacare, for this outrage. They will say the company chose to leave, that nobody forced them.
"But the reality is different. There is no choice available if a company can't make enough money to justify the costs to the shareholders. And the reason they can't make a profit in Missouri is because Obamacare mandates have made offering insurance too expensive.
"We know this scenario - and others like it - is being repeated endlessly across the country. But the administration and their allies on the left and in the media continue to put on happy faces and sell the Obamacare story as a huge success.
"Jim and those in the same situation, have become casualties in a war they didn't want, didn't seek, but are being forced to fight nonetheless."

South Carolina lawmakers fast track bill that would nullify Obamacare in that state

Noisy Room

 

S. Carolina aims to nullify Obamacare  "South Carolina lawmakers have a proposal in their legislative pipeline that would nullify the federal Obamacare law.

"Observers say the state likely will be the first in the nation to exempt citizens and businesses from participation in Obama’s Affordable Care Act."  ...

South Carolina voting on bill to end Obamacare in state   "House Bill 3101, titled the “South Carolina Freedom of Health Care Protection Act,” passed the state House of Representatives last April by a 65-34 vote. The bill now heads to the GOP-controlled Senate with special-order priority, setting up the likelihood that South Carolina will become the first state to exempt citizens and businesses from all participation in the Affordable Care Act."

Remember "Julia", the poster girl of socialist policies? How's "she" doing now?

Ethel C. Fenig   "Do you remember Julia, the Obama 2012 presidential campaign's concept of young women as passive and dependent,  incapable of succeeding on their own, until their knight in shining government armor comes along to rescue them with government programs from conception until death?  The Life of Julia comic pictorial exemplified this ideal world."  More here.

Here's the latest on Julia and her government-aided life; Two excerpts:
....

 

....

Full article

The Stakes in Ukraine

President Obama failed to support those in Iran who opposed that Islamist government, so why would he support the people of the Ukraine? Their government wants to turn its back on alliances with the western democracies
and ally once more with the former Soviet Union and I blame the weakness they see in the West, particularly America.
This cowardly administration is undoing all the finest US foreign policy achievements of the 20th Century.
To quote a song title, "When will America become America?*"  I do not see it under Democrats, particularly Obama. TD
*However this song is about a much different topic than standing by our allies.

In Kiev today, as in Central Europe in 1989, the stakes are freedom and truth.

"Ukraine’s suffering at the hands of a thuggish government and its agents is a powerful reminder that freedom is never free. And that is why it is imperative that the West, led by the United States, support the demands for political and economic reform in Ukraine, and for the reform of Ukraine’s public culture, that are being pressed by those brave men and women who have challenged the power of the powerful with the power of truth."

 

From the Los Angeles Times; Ukraine's drama, Obama's weakness  
... "President Obama's inattention to national security distinguishes him from his predecessors, Republican and Democrat alike, since Franklin D. Roosevelt.
"Unlike them, his first thought every morning seems to be not the international threats facing the United States and its allies; rather, as he said in the 2008 campaign, his aim is to "fundamentally transform" America." ...  More here.

Priorities for U.S. Policy toward Ukraine in the Obama Administration
" 'In essence," Miller clarified, "in exchange for giving up the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world, Ukraine received a solemn commitment from the U.S. that it would support Ukraine against the outside threat of or actual use of political, military, or economic force.' "
....
" 'The future is in the hands of the people of Ukraine," he said, "but we should be ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with a democratic Ukraine as we have in the past.' "

Exactly what do you see in this president's track record to make you feel he will stand up to despots to help out any oppressed people against anyone?

Twenty-nine significant changes made to ObamaCare. So far

 

The Galen Institute  "By our count at the Galen Institute, more than 29 significant changes already have been made to ObamaCare: at least 12 that President Obama has made unilaterally, 15 that Congress has passed and the president has signed, and 2 by the Supreme Court. But even this large number of changes hasn’t stopped the cascade of failures we are seeing today in the implementation of the law."  Full article

More commentary on the ACA from this source.

 The Galen Institute, Inc., is a not-for-profit, free-market research organization devoted exclusively to health policy. It was founded in 1995 by Grace-Marie Turner to promote a more informed public debate over individual freedom, consumer choice, competition, and diversity in the health sector.