A Dog Name Lucky

By Dan Samaria
Publisher/GCC
Dec. 28, 2009

Do you know what “Joylogy” means? It is the study of caring, sharing, and listening and Sacrifice.

This was written by Mr. Jeineke in 1975

We would like to know what you think: dan@youngchronicle.com

What is a Joyologist? A joyologist then would be one who studies joy logy. Frankly our world could use a great many joyologists whose mission in life is to actively research the effects of discussing and sharing joy.

The research could branch out into how joy affects our careers, family lives, and friendships. The very act of doing the active research should spread jubilation throughout the world and bring about positive results. What a fun job!

All one needs to start with is to share the words joyism, joy logy, and joyologis with others. Use the words daily and make them a part of the world’s vocabulary.

The upcoming year is going to challenge us all. Here is something we need to think, this is from an unknown reader. It is called: A Dog Name Lucky

 

 

By Unknown

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog, Lucky. Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy.

Inevitably someone would forget and something would come up missing Mary or Jim would go to Lucky’s toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky’s favorite toys.

Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease…she was just sure it was fatal. She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders.

The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her…what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim he was Mary’s dog through and through.

If I die Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won’t understand that I didn’t want to leave him. The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully but the dog just drooped, whining and miserable. But finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital.

When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn’t even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap.

Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn’t come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second she couldn’t understand what was wrong. She couldn’t move her head and her body felt heavy and hot.

Panic soon gave way to laughter though when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, in every treasure Lucky owned!

While she had slept the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement and back bringing his beloved mistress his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love.

Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every night.

It’s been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

Live everyday to the fullest…because every day is a blessing from God!

 

Source: Joyology

God’s Gift to the World: A Boy who Paints Like an Old Pro

By Patrick Barkham
Dec. 28, 2009

His pictures cost upwards of £900, there are 680 people on a waiting list to buy them, and his second exhibition sold out in 14 minutes. Patrick Barkham meets the gifted artist Kieron Williamson, aged seven.

Kieron Williamson kneels on the wooden bench in his small kitchen, takes a pastel from the box by his side and rubs it on to a piece of paper.

“Have you got a picture in your head of what you’re going to do?” asks his mother, Michelle.

“Yep,” Kieron nods. “A snow scene.”

Because it is winter at the moment, I ask.

“Yep.”

Do you know how you want it to come out?

“Yep.”

And does it come out how you want it to?

“Sometimes it does.”

Like many great artists, small boys are not often renowned for their loquaciousness. While Kieron Williamson is a very normal seven-year-old who uses his words sparingly, what slowly emerges on the small rectangle of paper in his kitchen is extraordinarily eloquent.

This month, Kieron’s second exhibition in a gallery in his home town of Holt, Norfolk, sold out in 14 minutes. The sale of 16 new paintings swelled his bank account by £18,200.

There are now 680 people on a waiting list for a Kieron original. Art lovers have driven from London to buy his work. Agents buzz around the town. People offer to buy his schoolbooks.

The starting price for a simple pastel picture like the one Kieron is sketching? £900.

Kieron lives with his dad Keith, a former electrician, his mum, who is training to be a nutritionist, and Billie-Jo, his little sister, in a small flat overlooking a petrol station.

When I arrive on a Saturday afternoon, Kieron and Keith are out. When Kieron returns in football socks and shorts, I assume he has been playing football. But no, he has been replenishing his stock of pastels in Holt, a chichi little place where even the chip shop has grainy portraits for sale on its walls.

From Jan Lievens to Millais, there have been plenty of precocious geniuses in the art world. Excitable press coverage has compared Kieron to Picasso, who painted his first canvas, The Picador, aged eight.

“We don’t know who Picasso is really,” says Keith.

“I know who Picasso is,” interrupts Kieron. “I don’t want to become Picasso.”

Who would he like to become? “Monet or Edward Seago,” he says.

These days, however, we are often suspicious of child prodigies. We wonder if it is all their own work, or whether their pushy parents have hot-housed them.

People who don’t know the Williamsons might think Kieron is being cleverly marketed, particularly when they hear that Keith is now an art dealer.

The truth is far more innocent. Two years ago, a serious accident had forced Keith to stop work and turn his hobby – collecting art – into an occupation. The accident also stopped Keith racing around outside with his son.

Confined to a flat with no garden, surrounded by paintings and, like any small boy, probably influenced by his dad, Kieron decided to take up drawing. Now, father and son are learning about art together.

Kieron is rubbing yellows and greys together for his sky. “There’s some trees going straight across and then there’s a lake through the centre,” he explains. Is this picture something you have seen or is it in your imagination?

“I saw it on the computer and every time I do the picture it changes.” he says, handling his pastels expertly.

Keith ducks into the kitchen and explains that Kieron finds pictures he likes on the internet. Rather than an exact copy, however, he creates his own version.

This winter scene is imagined from an image of the Norfolk Broads in summer.

At first, Kieron’s art was pretty much like any other five-year-old’s. But he quickly progressed and was soon asking questions that his parents couldn’t answer. “Kieron wanted to know the technicalities of art and how to put a painting together,” says Michelle. Hearing of Kieron’s promise, one local artist, Carol Ann Pennington, offered him some tips.

Since then, he has had lessons with other Norfolk-based painters, including Brian Ryder and his favourite, Tony Garner.

Garner, a professional artist, has taught more than 1,000 adults over the last few decades and Kieron, he says, is head and shoulders above everyone. “He doesn’t say very much, he doesn’t ask very much, he just looks.

He’s a very visual learner. If I did a picture with most students, they will copy it but Kieron is different. He will copy it and then he will Kieronise it,” he says.

“It might be a bit naive at the moment but there’s a lovely freshness about what he does. The confidence that this little chap has got – he just doesn’t see any danger.”

Garner says his parents have been brilliant at shielding Kieron from the business side and the pressure this invariably brings. Keith and Michelle are extremely proud, and protective, and perhaps slightly in awe of their son. They insist that Kieron only paints when he wants to.

“We judge ourselves every day, wondering whether we are making the right choices,” says Michelle. “Kieron is such a strong character you wouldn’t get him to do anything he didn’t want to do anyway.

\It’s a hobby. Some could argue he’s got such a talent, why aren’t we doing more for him in terms of touring galleries every weekend. We are a family and we’ve got Billie-Jo to consider; you’ve got to strike a balance.”

With all the people wanting paintings, I ask Kieron if he feels he has to do them. He says no.

So you only paint when you want to? “Yep.”

Do you have days when you feel you don’t want to paint?

“Yep.”

So you only do it when you’re in the mood?

“Yep.”

How many paintings or drawings do you do each week? One or two? “About six.”

Is he a perfectionist? “You’ve got a bit of an artist’s temperament, haven’t you?” says Michelle, softly, as Kieron continues wielding his pastels. “You get really frustrated if it doesn’t work out.

You punched a hole in the canvas once, didn’t you?”

That was rare. Sometimes, however, Kieron will produce “what we classify as a bag of trosh,” says Michelle. “He’s just got to go through the motions. It’s almost as if it’s a release.

It’s difficult to explain – it’s the process that he enjoys, because there are days when he is not really focused on his work but he just enjoys doing it.”

Sometimes, when they have taken Kieron out on painting trips in the countryside, the little boy has had other ideas: he has gone off and played in the mud or a stream. He is still allowed to be seven years old.

What do his school friends think? Are they impressed? “Yep.” A few ^­ moments later, Kieron pauses.

“I am also top of the class in maths, English, geography and science,” he says carefully, rubbing the sky in his picture.

Kieron explains he is sticking to landscapes for now but plans to paint a portrait of his 98-year-old nan when she turns 100. What does he think about people spending so much money on his paintings? “Really good.” Would he like to be a professional painter? “Yep.”

So he doesn’t want to be a footballer when he is older? “I want to be a footballer and a painter.”

Kieron enjoys playing football and, like his dad, supports Leeds United (“I haven’t ever pushed him into it,” says Keith quickly).

What other things does Kieron like doing? “You played on the Xbox but then you got bored of it didn’t you?” says Keith.

“You said I could have it out when Christmas comes,” says Kieron.

“You can have it out in the holidays,” promises Michelle. “He’s a bit all-or-nothing with whatever he does, like the artwork.

You have to pull the reins in a bit because otherwise he’d be up all night.”

What would his parents say if Kieron turned around and told them he was not going to paint any more? “Leave him to it. As long as he’s happy. At the end of the day, he’s at his happiest painting,” says Keith.

“It’s entirely his choice,” says Michelle. “We don’t know what’s around the corner. Kieron might decide to put his boxes away and football might take over and that would be entirely his choice.

We’re feeling slightly under pressure at the moment because there is such a waiting list of people wanting Kieron’s work, but I’m inclined to tell them to wait, really.”

I doubt many artists could paint or draw while answering questions and being photographed but Kieron carries on. When he finishes, we lean over to look.

“Not bad. That’s nice,” says Keith, who can’t watch Kieron at work; I wonder if it is because he is worried about his son making a mistake but Keith says he just prefers to see the finished article.

“Is it as good as the one I did this morning or better?” asks Kieron.

“What do you think?” replies Keith. “It’s got a nice glow on it, hasn’t it?”

Kieron nods.

I would love one of his pictures but, I tell Kieron, he is already too expensive for me. “I can price one down for you,” he says, as quick as a flash.

No, no, I couldn’t, I say, worried I would be exploiting a little boy who is eager to please. I thank him for his time and hand him my business card. And Kieron trots into his bedroom, comes out with his business card and says thank you back.

 
Kieron’s tips for landscape painting

1 “Go on holiday to where you really want to go, and be inspired.”

2 “Start with acrylics, then watercolours, then pastels and then oils”

3 When you set out to do a landscape, “start with the sky first, top to bottom.”

4 “When you do distance, it’s lighter, and when you do foreground it comes darker.”

5 “If you’re doing a figure in the winter, do a brown head, leave a small gap, do a blue jacket and brown legs. Then with the gap get a red pastel and do a flick of red so it looks like a scarf.”

6 “Keep on painting.”

 

Source: Guardian

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Save Power with These Green Tips

by Emily Busch
Dec.26, 2009

It’s easy to protect the planet! These tips help save energy. So get green and give the tips a try. Make sure to ask your parents before trying any of these tips!

Keep those fans buzzing in summer instead of turning on the air conditioner?

Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones. They last up to ten times longer and can use a quarter of the energy.

Plug electronics into a power strip and flip off the switch when the gadgets aren’t in use. (Make sure this won’t mess up clocks and recordings.)

Commit to turning off your computer before bed each night and before you go out for the day. Also set the computer’s sleep mode for when the computer is idle for just a little while. By doing these two simple acts, you will use about 85% less energy each day.

Switch off the light every time you leave a room.

Set the thermostat to no lower than 78°F in the summer and no higher than 68°F in the winter.

Place your desk next to a window and use natural light instead of a lamp.

Close your curtains to keep out daytime summer heat or keep in nighttime winter warmth.

Turn off the TV or video game console and play outside.

Ask Mom or Dad to turn off the car instead of letting it idle while you’re waiting.

Ride a bike or walk instead of using the car.

Carpool.

 

Source: Kids National Geographic

 

Editor’s Note: Play outside instead of using electricity. Photograph by Lori Adamski/Sport/Jupiterimages

We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Easy to Make Creamy Corn Casserole

By Mindy
Dec. 26, 2009

Description

 
Hi! I chose this because my family loves it, also me and my husband always eat it too. It has been in our family for a long time too!

Please enjoy it! Thanks for your interest in my recipe!

 

Ingredients

JIFFY CORNBREAD MIX (PLAIN WITH NO SEASONS)
BUTTER OF CHOICE
SWEET CREAM STYLE CORN
MEDIUM CHEDDAR CHEESE
LARGE EGG
SALT AND PEPPER

 

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Get a medium mixing bowl and all of your ingredients I listed.

First, pour the JIFFY MIX in the bowl. Next, mix the WET INGREDIENTS, STICK OF MELTED BUTTER, SWEET CREAM STYLE CORN, EGG. Pour your cup of cheddar cheese in the bowl with the JIFFY MIX.

Then add the WET INGREDIENTS to the bowl, add SALT AND PEPPER and mix well until all the dry JIFFY MIX is wet. Spray the bottom of an oven safe dish and pour in.

Cook for approximately 45 minutes until golden brown on top. Putting cheddar cheese on top is optional and to your own liking.
Prep Time: 15 Min
Cook Time: 1 Hr 5 Min
Total Time: 1 Hr 20 Min
Servings: 6

Source: Eversave

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to hear of your favorite recipe. dan@youngchronicle.com

Easy to Make Deviled Eggs

By Anne Coleman
Dec. 26, 2009

A mainstay at picnics or holiday get-togethers, the deviled egg can be dressed up or down and fits almost any budget.

Adjust the mustard to your own preferred spiciness level and add almost any herb or spice to the top at service time.

 

Hands-On Time: 10 minutes
Ready In: 30 minutes (including cooking time for eggs)
Yield: Serves 12

 

Ingredients
6 large eggs – hard boiled and peeled
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
Salt to taste
Paprika if desired

 

Directions

1. Cut each egg in half lengthwise and remove yolks to a bowl.
2. Mash yolks well and blend with mayo, mustard and salt.
3. Fill whites with yolk mixture using a spoon, a pastry bag or a plastic bag with the corner snipped off.
4. Sprinkle with Paprika, if desired and refrigerate, covered, until serving time.

 

Source: Family

 

Editor’s Note; We would like to hear from you and share your favorite recipe. dan@youngchronicle.com

A Special Christmas Gift

By Unknown
Dec. 25, 2009

Late one Christmas Eve, I sank back, tired but content, into my easy chair. The kids were in bed, the gifts were wrapped, the milk and cookies waited by the fireplace for Santa.

As I sat back admiring the tree with its decorations, I couldn’t help feeling that something important was missing. It wasn’t long before the tiny twinkling tree lights lulled me to sleep.

I don’t know how long I slept, but all of a sudden I knew that I wasn’t alone. I opened my eyes, and you can imagine my surprise when I saw Santa Claus himself standing next to my Christmas tree.

He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot just as the poem described him, but he was not the “jolly old elf” of Christmas legend. The man who stood before me looked sad and disappointed, and there were tears in his eyes.

“Santa, what’s wrong?” I asked, “Why are you crying?”

“It’s the children,” Santa replied sadly.

“But Santa, the children love you,” I said.

“Oh, I know they love me, and they love the gifts I bring them,” Santa said, “but the children of today seem to have somehow missed out on the true spirit of Christmas.

It’s not their fault. It’s just that the adults, many of them not having been taught themselves, have forgotten to teach the children.”

“Teach them what?” I asked.

Santa’s kind old face became soft, more gentle. His eyes began to shine with something more than tears. He spoke softly. “Teach the children the true meaning of Christmas.

Teach them that the part of Christmas we can see, hear, and touch is much more than meets the eye.

Teach them the symbolism behind the customs and traditions of Christmas which we now observe.

Teach them what it is they truly represent.”

Santa reached into his bag and pulled out a tiny Christmas tree and set it on my mantle. “Teach them about the Christmas tree. Green is the second color of Christmas. The stately evergreen, with its unchanging color, represents the hope of eternal life in Jesus.

Its needles point heavenward as a reminder that mankind’s thoughts should turn heavenward as well.”

Santa reached into his bag again and pulled out a shiny star and placed it at the top of the small tree. “The star was the heavenly sign of promise.

God promised a Savior for the world and the star was the sign of the fulfillment of that promise on the night that Jesus Christ was born.

Teach the children that God always fulfills His promises, and that wise men still seek Him.”

“Red,” said Santa, “is the first color of Christmas.” “He pulled forth a red ornament for the tiny tree. Red is deep, intense, vivid. It is the color of the life-giving blood that flows through our veins.

It is the symbol of God’s greatest gift. Teach the children that Christ gave his life and shed his blood for them that they might have eternal life.

When they see the color red, it should remind them of that most wonderful gift.”

Santa found a silver bell in his pack and placed it on the tree. “Just as lost sheep are guided to safety by the sound of the bell, it continues to ring today for all to be guided to the fold.

Teach the children to follow the true Shepherd, who gave His life for the sheep.”

Santa placed a candle on the mantle and lit it. The soft glow from its one tiny flame brightened the room. “The glow of the candle represents how people can show their thanks for the gift of God’s son that Christmas Eve long ago.

Teach the children to follow in Christ’s foot steps…to go about doing good.

Teach them to let their light so shine before people that all may see it and glorify God.

This is what is symbolized when the twinkle lights shine on the tree like hundreds of bright, shining candles, each of them representing one of God’s precious children, their light shining for all to see.”

Again Santa reached into his bag and this time he brought forth a tiny red and white striped cane. As he hung it on the tree he spoke softly. “The candy cane is a stick of hard white candy.

White to symbolize the virgin birth and sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock the foundation of the church, and the firmness of God’s promises.

The candy cane is in the form of a “J” to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth. It also represents the Good Shepherd’s crook, which He uses to reach down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray.

The original candy cane had three small red stripes, which are the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed, and a large red stripe that represents the shed blood of Jesus, so that we can have the promise of eternal life.

“Teach these things to the children.”

Santa brought out a beautiful wreath made of fresh, fragrant greenery tied with a bright red bow. “The bow reminds us of the bond of perfection, which is love. The wreath embodies all the good things about Christmas for those with eyes to see and hearts to understand.

It contains the colors of red and green and the heaven-turned needles of the evergreen.

The bow tells the story of good will towards all and its color reminds us of Christ’s sacrifice. Even its very shape is symbolic, representing eternity and the eternal nature of Christ’s love.

It is a circle, without beginning and without end. These are the things you must teach the children.”

I asked, “But where does that leave you, Santa?”

The tears gone now from his eyes, a smile broke over Santa’s face. “Why bless you, my dear,” he laughed, “I’m only a symbol myself. I represent the spirit of family fun and the joy of giving and receiving.

If the children are taught these other things, there is no danger that I’ll ever be forgotten.”

“I think I’m beginning to understand.”

“That’s why I came,” said Santa. “You’re an adult. If you don’t teach the children these things, then who will?”

Source: Neloo

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

For America and the World

By Jeffery S. Colter
GCC/Staff
Dec. 25, 2009

Greetings to all of you, and I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.  I hope in some way your lives are blessed during this festive time we all partake as Americans.

I want to first thank every one of you for your prayers and encouraging messages concerning the prayer request I sent out almost two weeks ago. 

Because of God’s mercies and faithfulness that request was answered.  The bank notified us a few days ago that they are willing to refinance our home so we can stay.  Again, on behalf of my wife and I, our many thanks.

As you know many have come upon hard financial times; unemployment, the loss of earnings and savings, perhaps even the loss of a home or the threat of losing a home.  Some have even had the recent loss of loved ones. 

After my last weekly FOOD FOR THOUGHT message I received an email from a friend telling me that because of the loss of their spouse due to cancer they did not know if they could believe in God the same way I do. 

This person said they have become more cynical, and believes God does turn a blind eye to suffering and hardship; that God does give us more than we can bear contrary to what Scripture says.

My heart sank.  I had no words.  No advice.  My mind wandered for two days seeking God’s guidance in how to answer my friend’s email.  After much thought and prayer I finally was able to sit down and write to this person. 

 

This is what I wrote back:

 

Dear (anonymous)

First of all, I want to give you my sincere, heartfelt condolences for the loss of your spouse. That is something that no one can understand unless one has gone through it themselves. You will be in my prayers.

From what you say I sense a great deal of hurt and perhaps anger towards God which is legitimate and proper.

I will not offer any platitudes, clichés, or try to preach to you, I promise. But I do want you to consider just a couple points which I want to say as words of encouragement and “food for thought”.

It is easy and natural to be cynical about God and not understand the relationship God has with us when something of this magnitude happens in our lives.

So I hope I am able to explain myself in such a way that will not be offensive or preachy.

There is a difference between God allowing things to happen and causing things to happen. This dichotomy is confusing because if God is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent, why would He not stop tragedies from happening?

Why would He not intervene when asked to do so? If He knows something is going to happen before it happens why does He stand back and allow it? These questions, my friend, have been asked through the ages by great theological scholars and people like you and I.

The answer simply is, I don’t know. And if anyone does claim to know the answers they are fooling themselves. To know the mind of God is impossible.

We can catch glimpses of it and understand His relationship to man by reading Scripture, but there are always going to be more questions than answers.

Even as a Christian, which I am, I ask these questions often. I ask the questions you ask, “What possible good can come from this?”; “Plan?

What the hell kind of plan is this you promised me, God?”; “Why would You hurt me like this?” Often times there is simply no answer. But this doesn’t mean God doesn’t hear us.

It doesn’t mean God turns a blind eye to man’s suffering. What it means is we live in a fallen world as a fallen race. Because of man’s fall there will always be sorrow, suffering, hardship, pain, and yes, even disease and death.

Life simply sucks at times with no explanation why.

I want you to know this, my friend. It is okay to be angry towards God. He can take it, and He won’t love you any less. I don’t know your religious background, but if you have a Bible read the book of Job.

This is a man who was wealthy and blessed with a family. Yet, God allowed it all to be taken away and Job was not only angry towards God but he cursed God for his loss.

At the end Job was blessed more than he had before. Job asked the same questions I mentioned. The same questions you may be asking now.

It is okay to be a cynic. You can even give up on believing in God. But God will never give up on you. God has never given up on any of us.

That is why we celebrate Christmas. Next to Easter it is the greatest example of God’s love for us and how He wants us to come to Him just as we are, cynic or not.

God bless you, and I hope somehow these were words of encouragement and I hope we can continue to correspond. 

May God give you peace and strength during these difficult times.

Sincerely,

Jeff

 

What is amazing about Christmas to me is that God Himself actually came to us.  God in the flesh as the Son of Man, the Prince of Peace, the Alpha and Omega, the Great I Am. 

We all search and desire peace, especially in hard times such as these we face in our nation.  I am here to tell you that there will never be true peace until we understand our relationship with the Almighty and His divine plan for each of our lives.

You see, peace is really an abstract and subjective term.  True peace comes from the Prince of Peace, the baby born in a manger, and that is how God desires us to come to Him, just as He came to us, as a baby. 

When we are open and humble, realizing the magnificent gifts He has given us at birth as described in Scripture and the Declaration of Independence then we can begin the journey to know and understand Him who created us.

First, life; formed in our mother’s womb by God’s very hand, He laid out the days of our lives even before our birth. We are made in God’s image and are His most precious and awesome creation. 

Second, liberty; the gift God has given us as free agents with free will to decide our own destinies. 

As we do not want man or government to force their will upon us, we can choose to live our lives as God intended or go our own way. God does not force His will upon us. 

Third and last, pursuit of happiness; the fact that each of us is unique and have been blessed by God with certain gifts, talents and abilities to be productive and creative for the good of our communities, nation, and most of all, for His Kingdom.

My friends, do not ever think that God does not hear your cry or think you do not matter to Him. 

He hears the cries of all.  That is why on this day that we call Christmas we can celebrate the answer to all of mankind’s cries.

Thank you.  God bless you all this Christmas. 

May God give you and your families that special peace that is eternal and life changing.

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

America’s Hope: Valrico’s Zach Bonner, 12, Chosen Most Inspiring

By Chandra Broadwater
Times Staff Writer
Dec. 25, 2009 

 

VALRICO — Sully didn’t have a thing on this 12-year-old.

And those post-election protesters in Iran? Forget it.

Zach Bonner, a Valrico boy known for his money-raising treks for homeless kids, is the most inspiring person of 2009, according to Belief net.

The inspirational Web site announced Bonner as the 10th annual award winner Wednesday.

The blue-eyed red-head got more votes than protesters against the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and even Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger — the pilot who safely landed a US Airways plane in the Hudson River.

“We were real excited to find out we were the recipients of the award,” Bonner said, his hands folded on a conference table in front of him. His day was packed with interviews.

And he had already been featured in USA Today.

“It’s an honor,” he said. “But all of the nominees were impressive and they all deserved it.”

It’s the dedication to his nonprofit group, the Little Red Wagon Foundation that got the editors at the site. Not to mention his age, said Laurie Sue Brockway, Belief net’s Family and Inspiration editor.

Other nominees included actor Michael J. Fox, and the couple who danced down the aisle at their wedding to Chris Brown’s Forever.

Last year’s winner was Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University known for The Last Lecture.

“What he does is very impressive, and it would be impressive if he won it as an adult,” Brockway said. “But he’s done it at 12, and what he’s done has touched our hearts in a very profound way.”

It all started when he was 6, Zach explained.

That’s when Hurricane Charley tore through Florida. He went up and down the streets of his neighborhood hauling his red Radio Flyer wagon to collect food and water.

That day would be the first of many days of service. Not long after, he began his foundation and his fight for homeless children.

Since then, he’s won several awards and walked thousands of miles to raise money for his cause. Last year, he walked about 1,200 miles to Washington, D.C.

In April, he will head to Los Angeles for a 2,300-mile trek.

Yes, all those miles make his feet sore. But usually after a few days, Zach said his body gets used to the “misery.”

“It’s not exactly misery, but you know what I mean,” he said. “It’s hard. But it’s worth it.”

Between cramped schedules — in January he will have only one day off — he attends classes online through the Hillsborough Virtual School.

Like many other 12-year-olds, he also likes to spend as much time in the pool as possible.

Zach lives with his mother, Laurie Bonner, who works in real estate from home. His father “is not in the picture,” she said.

Zach doesn’t think much of what he’s accomplished in his short life. Shrugging his shoulders, he guesses that he simply likes helping people.

His mother thinks her son just found something he enjoyed.

“Or maybe,” she said, “he was just supposed to do this.”

 

Source: Tampa Bay  Little Red Wagon Foundation

Editor’s Note: Zach Bonner, center, says he was excited to win, “but all of the nominees were impressive and they all deserved it.”

He’s shown during a planning meeting for an event where kids will simulate being homeless to raise funds and awareness.

Chandra Broadwater can be reached at cbroadwater@sptimes.com or (813) 661-2454.

We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

True Meaning of Christmas

By Scott Williamson
Dec. 25, 2009

I have been blessed to have some great people in my life, but the one who made the most significant impact was my dad. This will be the 8th Christmas without Dad; he passed away Nov. 9, 2002.

I would like to say it gets easier each year but that’s simply not true. If anything, it gets harder. As I grow older, the more I realize the significance of the values my dad taught me, and the more I wish he was here to see me instilling the same values in my children.

Growing up, I guess you could say my family was on the more than fortunate side. We always had a nice warm home, we never went to bed hungry, we knew we were loved and come Christmas time the base of tree was always stacked high with presents.

My memories of childhood Christmases are not filled with gifts. The memories I truly cherish involve getting the family together to laugh, play and most importantly celebrate the birth of our savior.

My dad’s most joyful time at Christmas wasn’t watching us opening gifts. Nor was it the gifts he received. His joy came when all of us gathered around while he read Luke 2:1-21, “The Christmas Story.”

This Christmas Karen, the kids and I will be heading to her parents’ house. I’m looking forward to all of us being together to laugh, play and watch the kids’ faces as they rip through wrapping paper to see their gifts.

But, what I am looking forward to the most is Karen’s dad (Papa as he’s affectionately known) gathering all of us around his recliner and opening his Bible to Luke chapter 2 and reading us “The Christmas Story”.

As Papa retells that amazing scripture, I can close my eyes and hear my dad reading the same holy words. I can again feel the joy it brought him to read the miraculous story of the birth of our savior to us kids.

This past year has brought tough economic times and the stockings may not be as full, but do not let the worldly view of Christmas take away your joy or your happiness.

Instead, take the time to gather around with your family and friends and rediscover what Christmas is truly all about. Take a few minutes and read Luke’s Christmas Story to your loved ones.

In case your Bible isn’t handy (and in honor of my Dad), here it is:

Luke 2:1-21 NKJV

1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.

3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,

5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14 “ Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”

16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.

18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

21 And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

Merry Christmas

 

Source: Fayette Daily News

Editor’s Note: We would like to hear what your think Christmas means to you and your family. dan@youngchronicle.com

God’s Gift of Time

By Beverly Beckham
and Grandparents.com
Dec. 25, 2009

The letter arrived a few weeks before Christmas, when my children were young. “Give Time to family and friends,” it said. “Time is the ideal gift.”

The letter was referring to Time the magazine, of course, not the real thing.

But what if you could give time, I wondered. What if you could wrap it in silver and tie it with a red satin bow and present it to the people you love?

Fantasy. Pure conjecture. Yet wonderful to consider.

I imagined collecting time, packing years in a box for a daughter then 14, who, when she looked in a mirror, saw all that she thought was wrong with her. Time would give her a peek into the future, of the woman she would become — bright and witty and beautiful.

I fantasized about saving time for my son, collecting his boyhood and packing it away so that when he was a man and encumbered by a man’s responsibilities, he would be able to live again those days when life’s biggest problem was where to play baseball.

I dreamed of freezing time for my youngest child, stopping the days from marching past, not for her sake but for mine. I didn’t want her to ever outgrow my lap.

To give time for Christmas. Would that we could. I’d relive this time:

“Want to skip school today? Go to the beach?”

My older kids say, “No! Are you crazy? It’s December. It’s too cold for the beach.”

But the youngest runs upstairs to get her shovel and mittens. We search for sea glass and chase seagulls. “I wish I could fly,” she whispers dreamily.

“But you might fly away and not come back,” I say, hugging her.

“No, Mommy,” she says, hugging back. “I would never leave you.”

She did leave me, of course. That’s what children do.

This child who climbed on my lap has two children now. My son is a 40-year-old man with two children of his own. The then 14-year-old is a beautiful woman with a daughter of her own.

And my husband and I are now doting, over-the-moon, let-me-tell-you-about-my-grandchildren grandparents.

Give Time, the letter said.

My grandchildren are 6 and 5 and 2 and nine months and I think that now, this time, is so perfect that there’s no wishing it backward or forward.

I’d wrap it in silver and tie it with a red satin bow if I could. To enjoy it now but save it for another Christmas, too.

For this is the real gift of time — that it passes but it also stays. That we can go back. That we never really lose what is gone.

Source: Grand Parents

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

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