The Three Wise Men

Three wise men visited baby Jesus.

1 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking,  2 "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We have seen his star as it arose, and we have come to worship him."  3 Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, as was all of Jerusalem.  4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law. "Where did the prophets say the Messiah would be born?" he asked them.  5 "In Bethlehem," they said, "for this is what the prophet wrote:  6 'O Bethlehem of Judah, you are not just a lowly village in Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.' "  7 Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come see him. At this meeting he learned the exact time when they first saw the star.  8 Then he told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!"  9 After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.  10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!  11 They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  12 But when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

--Matthew 2:1-12 New Living Translation

Can you imagine a star being created in your honor?  That's just what happened when Jesus was born.  

Now imagine being sent on what could only be described, by humans, as a fool's errand.

The star was so awesome that the Maji, priestly astrologers, were entranced by it.  They followed the star until it lead them to the baby Jesus.  The wise men knew that the baby was special.

The three wise men didn't come empty-handed.  They came with gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh, which would later come in handy.  These items would provide the finances needed for Mary and Joseph to protect, and care for, Jesus.  You see, God, the Father, thought ahead to what His only begotten Son would be needing while here on earth.

It is my firm belief that God sent the three wise men for a specific reason.  I believe God wanted three knowledgeable and respected men, from distant lands, to witness the coming of Jesus.  After all, what would compel three learned men to travel a long distance to visit a baby?  The child, who was born, would be the king of the Jews.

Even a prophet of old knew that a king would be arriving someday.  He foretold of it in the scriptures.  King Herod was deeply upset by this because, in his mind, he was the only ruler of the land which surrounded him.  Men like that are greedy with power and control and aim to keep it at all costs. 

I, for one, am very happy that the baby Jesus was born.  To me, He grew up to become the King of all kings.  I bow down to Him, even though He is not here on earth.  The Holy Spirit of God is here to counsel us, while Jesus is away.  Jesus is currently sitting at the right hand of God.

Thanks for reading this blog entry about the wise men who visited the baby Jesus.  I appreciate you taking the time to read it.

 How about you, my beloved readers?  As Christians, do you understand the idea of Jesus Christ being visited by three wise men?  If you are a Christ-believer, are you willing to share this message with others?  Are you bold enough to remind others about the true meaning of CHRISTmas?  I encourage you to read different versions of Matthew 2:1-12 to understand what the Bible says about the baby Jesus' visit with the three wise men.    May the only true God of all gods bless us, my dear friends, with His wisdom and peace.  In Jesus' name.  Amen!  

This has been an entry for the Spiritual Sundays series. 

To compile this mini- bible study, I visited: http://www.biblestudytools.com/

 

How to Make Trail Mix

Trail mix in festive glass container

With the holidays upon us, it's easy to overeat.  That's why it's a good idea to come up with a plan to avoid overeating.  Creating an easy, quick snack is vital.  I know that trail mix is such a snack.

Ingredients for my trail mix

Ingredients for my trail mix:

Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips

Holiday Milk Chocolate M&M's

Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

Diamond brand Walnuts

Marshmallows (not pictured above)

Rice Chex cereal

Trail Mix in quart size baggie

I used a quart size bag to fill up the ingredients for my trail mix.  I add from a half to a full cup of some of the ingredients.  There is no right or wrong way to do this.  Since I wanted more of the Rice Chex in my mix, I put a cup of that in the bag.

Back view of glass container full of trail mix

I'm a visual person so I added lots of color to my trail mix.  I had green and red with the M&M's.  I added white marshmallows.  I added both types of chips for a variety of flavor.  Really, any simple, dry ingredients can be added into the trail mix.  

To be honest, I considered adding Life Cinnamon cereal, too.  The crunchiness of the walnuts and Chex cereal was a nice contrast to the softness of the chips and the marshmallows.  Yesterday, I found out during the Nate Berkus show, that walnuts are good at taking pain away.  I tested out the theory, and some of my pain went away after eating only a few halves of walnuts.  

I made my trail mix, and it was successful with my two youngest.  They watched me as I put it together.  Then, they dug in, eating some of each ingredient.  Of course, they were partial to some ingredients more than others, but that's the beauty of such a snack.  You get to pick at what you like most.

Well, thanks for reading this entry about how to make trail mix.  

I hope you liked it.

How about you, my readers?  Have you ever eaten trail mix?  Have you ever made it?  What would you add or subtract from this trail mix?  I would consider adding circular pretzels in the future.  Either way, trail mix is a wonderful snack to eat at home or even during a trip in a car.

This has been a Saturday Spreads entry.  I hope you liked it.

The Case for Learning About Strategies

My husband's latest creation--a trailer (not finished).

Here's the case for knowing about strategies--you can build useable stuff.  Take, for example, the trailer above.  My hubby had been putting this off for far too long.  After playing the Fluidity game on our Wii, he started to create it.  In one day, he had assembled most of this trailer together.  

Hubby stands over the pieces he eventually welded together.

I am very proud of my hubby.  I've seen him in action.  Before he begins any project, he either sees a manual (if it is provided) or he calculates a plan in his mind.  He puts his fingers around his chin and stares at the pieces before diving in.  In effect, he's just like a little kid with a bunch of Legos in his hands.

Hubby used the right combination for leveling the trailer.

There are real life applications to strategizing.

What do you do when you need money?  You make a trailer.  Why?  Well, to transport metal that you find in your home.  When we are in a financial bind, my hubby knows how to make a little money.  That's strategy at work.

My husband builds trailers that he can sell when we are low in cash.

You can see the goal--we needed money.  You see the plan--my hubby planned how to make money.  He built a trailer, which can someday transport metal.  The salvage yard pays good money for scrap metal.  Presto!  We have potential to make money (more than once) after he finishes building it.

Mini-strategy is how to add safety lights to trailer.

Please understand this: my husband is in his late forties.  He is like a kid in many ways.  He likes playing games of all kinds.  He doesn't always have time for it, but he is willing to play with our children.  He has played Connect 4, Monopoly, and other Wii games with the children.

Our children need to be equipped for life.

For this week, I have been concentrating on talking about strategy.  I think it's important to think about this topic.  I have seen too many teens who go floundering about, not knowing what to do in life.  Questions about how to solve life problems come up very often in life.  It's not always easy making decisions.

I thank you for indulging me in this topic.  It's too important not to address.  I think our children need to learn the what-if-this-then-that game in life.  As my sister has mentioned in recent conversations, we need to have a firm foundation to build upon. Providing opportunities to strategize, during play, is a wonderful way for our children to learn about how to create a plan to achieve goals later in life.

Thanks so much for reading this entry about my case for learning about strategies.

If you enjoyed this entry, please share it with others.
I would appreciate that very much.

How about you, my readers?  Have you witnessed successful evidence of strategy at work?  If so, would you use those episodes for inspiration and/or lessons to teach about strategy? I would encourage allowing children to create buildings with Legos.  It could be a wonderful chance for children to showcase their strategic skills.

May God bless you all with His wisdom and peace.

This entry is part of the Family Fun Fridays series.

Teaching Strategy With Board Games

Board games are great for strategies.

What is strategy?  Why should we know about the concept of strategies?  Who benefits from strategies?  Why should one know how to strategize?  These are important questions.  

According to Wikipedia, strategy is defined as: 

"a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal."

It is important for children to learn about strategies.  It is one of the most crucial of thinking skills necessary for our children to handle day to day problems.  I think being able to use plans to reach goals is a skill that can be taught indirectly.  That's why parents and teachers should provide materials, including games, for children to learn "while on the job."

This Tuesday, I blogged about Fluidity for the Wii gaming system.  Simple games like Connect 4 are easy enough for a six year-old.  Even using blocks and Legos allow a young child to figure out how to construct a house; the child gets to use their brain to accomplish a goal.

  

I believe board games are beneficial.

There is the Monopoly board game.  In the game, the player has to figure out how to buy all properties of one given color.  There are different levels of goals in Monopoly.  One always goes for the gold--the blue--because it yields the most money.  The possible plans to achieve the goal are endless.

How should one go about it?  Shall she buy all the properties she comes across?  Or shall she hold onto the money until she lands on the desired colors?  No matter what the plan, the goal is the same--to end up with the most money over all the opponents.

The implications are big!

Taking the time to provide games and other materials for our children is essential.  If a child can succeed at play, then he/she can succeed in other areas of life; that is what Steve Jobs, the creative genius of Apple products, used to say.  This child is better able to manage real money.  He can reach goals related to careers and jobs.  In short, he is equipped to handle the difficult, challenging situations in life, and that is what I desire for my own children.

 

Thanks for viewing this entry about using board games to teach strategy.  I hope I've given an idea of what can be used in the home school to teach strategy.

How about you, my readers?  For those of you who home school, what are you using to teach strategies?  Do you use board games?  I would recommend providing a pile of board games.  Children can learn how to plan for goals on their own.  We, as parents and teachers, don't always have to teach everything, including making goals, directly.  

 

I pray that God helps us all, whether we are homeschooling or are thinking of home schooling.  May God bless us all with His wisdom and peace, as we teach our children.

This has been an entry for Thorough Thursdays.  If you liked it, please consider sharing it with your friends and family.

Life According to My Integrity: My Contemplation of Verse 51 of the Tao Te Ching

Dr. Dyer's book is Change your Thoughts--Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao.


 Today, I am focusing on verse 51 of the Tao Te Ching, particularly these portions:

The Way connects all living beings to their Source.

It springs into existence,

unconscious, perfect, free;

takes on a physical body;

lets circumstances complete it.

Therefore all beings honor the Way

and value its virtue...

The Tao gives them life.

Virtue nourishes and nurtures them,

rears and shelters and protects them.

The Tao produces but does not possess;

the Tao gives without expecting;

the Tao fosters growth without ruling.

This is called hidden virtue.

Can a person parent (rear, shelter, foster growth) without a heavy hand?  Can a person be a friend without being overbearing?  Can a child live peaceably with his own parents?  Can a leader rule without compromising his beliefs?  

What is virtue?  What is integrity?  What laws govern the individual person?  What regulations reside in the mind beyond those of the government?  How do we govern ourselves?

These are important questions to consider.  In order for me to be the best ME that I can be, I must reflect on how I want to be treated.  A very important question to consider is: Do I want to be respected?  In other words, "How do I want to be treated?"

I learned in my earlier years to read the body language of a person.  I learned how to listen to the voice inflections of people.  If I hear someone raise their voice and lean forward, I take notice.  That causes me to walk away.  I don't engage with such belligerent individuals.

My mother was taught the Golden Rule: 

Do unto others as you would have done unto you.

Several people have told me, after hearing of such events, that I have every right to be rude to such individuals.  That's not how I was raised.  I never saw my mother answer every rude treatment with rudeness.  No.   That's not how I want to be treated.  Therefore, I expect to be treated kindly.

Walking away has long been my coping mechanism, or part of my self-preservation, as a beloved family member has called it.  I have hoped that it would be enough to counter such ill-treatment.  It hasn't worked.  That's why I am changing my strategy.  I now know that I have to use the inner protector in me to call out the bad treatment; only then, can I experience harmony in my home.

I remember that Oprah often mentioned the need for people to feel validated.  When victims of a crime step forward, they want vindication.  They want their voices to be heard.  When a group rises to announce the injustice of something, like with the Civil Rights Movement, the hope is that society would take notice that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity.  Isn't that what we all want?

And what of virtue or integrity?  What is my internal judge, as The Newsboys (a Christian group) has sung, saying to me when I deal daily with my fellow man?  How am I treating others?  What is the judge inside of me saying about how I should conduct myself toward others?

The way I treat others is how others will treat me.

I know these are a lot of questions, but they must be asked.  It is important to know what kind of treatment we want from others.  After all, what we give out, is what we get back.  It's like the saying, "What comes around, goes around." 

Some like to put it this way: What I give out to the universe will come back to me.  

This is not to say that if I treat person A in a negative way, I will get the same treatment from person A.  No.  It means that person B may treat me in that same negative way.  The next time I deal with ANYONE, this blog entry should be a reminder that the way I treat one person, will influence the way I am treated by someone else within this universe.

In case someone believes this isn't true, I challenge you all to do something.  Pay it forward.  If you receive an unexpected blessing from someone, pass it on.  If someone gives you something you can use, give a friend or a family member something they can use.  Don't just give something that the receiver won't use; give something from the heart.

In the future, I will keep to my integrity, which I learned from my own mother.  I hope I honor her memory with it.  I live with the idea that if my mother would handle others with dignity, I should do the same.  I want her to be proud of my actions and thoughts.  Hopefully, I will be a good example to my own children.

Thanks for reading this entry about my living out loud according to my integrity.  

I appreciate you taking the time to read it.  

My dear readers, I'd like for y'all to answer the above questions and these: Are you treating your family and friends with dignity?  Or are you merely using them?  Do you want to be used?  Or would you like to be considered a blessing to those around you?  I would rather be considered a blessing than a burden to those around me.  I pray that I am indeed blessing you all, my dear readers.

I pray that we all would seek wisdom from the Source of everything--Our Heavenly Father, God.  I pray that we would ask God for His help to experience a deep, loving relationship with Him.

May God bless you, my beloveds, with His wisdom and peace, in Jesus' name.  Amen!

This has been an entry for Wisdom Wednesdays.

I am currently drawing inspiration from Dr. Wayne W. Dyer's book and the 81 verses of the Chinese wisdom book the Tao Te Ching.