MERRY & BRIGHT... and filed with love and faith

Christmas Singing Flash Mob

CHARLES DURNING: HE DID A LITTLE SIDESTEP

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

 

 

One of my favorite character actors passed away on Christmas Eve. Charles Durning, 89, whose film credits include "The Sting", "Tootsie","Dick Tracy," "Home for the Holidays," "The Muppet Movie," "North Dallas Forty" and "O Brother Where Art Thou?", and my personal favorite : Best Little Whorehouse in Texas", leaves behind more than just a legacy of film and TV roles.   Durning appeared in almost 200 movies, countless television shows and dozens of plays, portraying a range of characters from Shakespearean fools to crooked cops to military veterans and even a priest. He was nominated for two Academy Awards and nine Emmy Awards and won a Tony Award for his performance as Big Daddy in a 1990 Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams’s “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”

 

 But the thing I found most admirable about this man was not his acting career . The fact is,

Durning was a true, blue, WWII hero. According to Yahoo News: Durning was part of the U.S. force that landed at Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion in June 1944. A few days later he was shot in the hip - he said he carried the bullet in his body thereafter - and after six months of recovery was sent to the Battle of the Bulge.

Durning, who was wounded twice more, was captured and was one of the few survivors of the Malmedy massacre when German troops opened fire on dozens of American prisoners. In addition to three Purple Heart medals for his wounds, Durning was presented the Silver Star for valor.

At an observation of the 60th anniversary of D-Day in Washington, Durning told of the terror he felt and carnage he saw when hitting the beach on D-Day. He said he had to jettison his weapon and gear in order to swim ashore and saw mortally wounded comrades offering themselves as human shields.

"I forget a lot of stuff now but I still wake up once in a while and it's still there," he said. "I can't count how many of my buddies are in the cemetery at Normandy."

Before his acting career, Durning worked as a professional ballroom dancer and teacher.
His other jobs included working as a comedian, night watchman, dishwasher, sightseeing guide, bridge painter, bricklayer, plumber’s helper, bartender and cabdriver. At 30, he was delivering telegrams, while appearing in plays where his payment came from the passing of a hat. With all these life experiences, it's no wonder he became such an amazing character actor.

The world has lost a great actor and an outstanding human being. Rest in Peace Charles, you've earned it! 
 


JOY TO THE WORLD... THE LORD IS COME!

LET EARTH RECEIVE HER KING!

Many blessings & love to everyone!  

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

SOUL FOOD

Barbara Ward-Finneran

Miracles occur all around us. It can be as simple as an act of compassion, a kind word, something unexplainable, or as grand as a defining moment filled with light to break up the dark. 

Sometimes it's fostering the power to believe in yourself enough to move forward. 

Look for your miracles. They happen if you hold onto faith and hope. They are all around us... Just believe!

Keep the promises that you make to yourself!

©  All Rights Reserved

WHAT MATTERS

Barbara Ward-Finneran

Being with people you love

The memories that run down your cheeks

The sound of laughter & the feeling of hugs

Giving from the heart

The sparkle in a child's eyes

Making the most of this moment

The gift of the Lord's love and the magic of Christmas

Remembering those who aren't with you

Faith, Hope & Love

Being Jesus to others

Tears because they mean you "feel"

Everyone whose ever meant anything to you

The blessings that you forget to count

Being old enough to know that it's never about the presents under the tree

The stars that break up the darkness

Knowing Jesus is the Light of the World

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL 

AND TO ALL A GOODNIGHT!

THE WORD BECAME FLESH

THE CHRISTMAS STORY

Matthew 1:18-25; Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-20.

The Conception of Jesus Foretold

Mary, a virgin, was living in Galilee of Nazareth and was engaged to be married to Joseph, a Jewish carpenter. An angel visited her and explained to her that she would conceive a son by thepower of the Holy Spirit. She would carry and give birth to this child and she would name him Jesus.

At first Mary was afraid and troubled by the angel's words. Being a virgin, Mary questioned the angel, "How will this be?" The angel explained that the child would be God's own Son and, therefore, "nothing is impossible with God." Humbled and in awe, Mary believed the angel of the Lord and rejoiced in God her Savior.
Surely Mary reflected with wonder on the words found in Isaiah 7:14 foretelling this event, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (NIV)

The Birth of Jesus:

While Mary was still engaged to Joseph, she miraculously became pregnant through the Holy Spirit, as foretold to her by the angel. When Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, he had every right to feel disgraced. He knew the child was not his own, and Mary's apparent unfaithfulness carried a grave social stigma. Joseph not only had the right to divorce Mary, under Jewish law she could be put to death by stoning.

Although Joseph's initial reaction was to break the engagement, the appropriate thing for a righteous man to do, he treated Mary with extreme kindness. He did not want to cause her further shame, so he decided to act quietly. But God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to verify Mary's story and reassure him that his marriage to her was God's will. The angel explained that the child within Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that his name would be Jesus and that he was the Messiah, God with us.

When Joseph woke from his dream, he willingly obeyed God and took Mary home to be his wife, in spite of the public humiliation he would face. Perhaps this noble quality is one of the reasons God chose him to be the Messiah's earthly father.
Joseph too must have wondered in awe as he remembered the words found in Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (NIV)

At that time, Caesar Augustus decreed that a census be taken, and every person in the entire Roman world had to go to his own town to register. Joseph, being of the line of David, was required to go to Bethlehem to register with Mary. While in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Probably due to the census, the inn was too crowded, and Mary gave birth in a crude stable. She wrapped the baby in cloths and placed him in a manger.

The Shepherd's Worship the Savior:

Out in the fields, an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were tending their flocks of sheep by night. The angel announced that the Savior had been born in the town of David. Suddenly a great host of heavenly beings appeared with the angels and began singing praises to God. As the angelic beings departed, the shepherds decided to travel to Bethlehem and see the Christ-child.

There they found Mary, Joseph and the baby, in the stable. After their visit, they began to spread the word about this amazing child and everything the angel had said about him. They went on their way still praising and glorifying God. But Mary kept quiet, treasuring their words and pondering them in her heart. It must have been beyond her ability to grasp, that sleeping in her arms—the tender child she had just borne—was the Savior of the world.

The Magi Bring Gifts:

After Jesus' birth, Herod was king of Judea. At this time wise men (Magi) from the east saw a star, they came in search, knowing the star signified the birth of the king of the Jews. The wise men came to the Jewish rulers in Jerusalem and asked where the Christ was to be born. The rulers explained, "In Bethlehem in Judea," referring to Micah 5:2. Herod secretly met with the Magi and asked them to report back after they had found the child. Herod told the Magi that he too wanted to go and worship the babe. But secretly Herod was plotting to kill the child. So the wise men continued to follow the star in search of the new born king and found Jesus with his mother in Bethlehem. (Most likely Jesus was already two years of age by this time.) They bowed and worshipped him, offering treasures of gold, incense, and myrrh. When they left, they did not return to Herod. They had been warned in a dream of his plot to destroy the child.

O' HOLY NIGHT

Wishing all our readers a very Merry Christmas!
 May the peace, love, and joy of the season be yours!

KEEP OUR SOLDIER'S CANDLE BURNING

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

 

Growing up, I always looked forward to Christmas Eve night, when my father would call us all to the porch and light a candle to place in the window.  The candle was to light the way for the Holy Family and to show that we always had room for them at our house. I love this tradition, but this year, I'd like to change it a little. I'm sure the Holy Family won't mind at all!   I'd like to invite you to join me in keeping a light in the window for our soldiers, still overseas, who won't be able to be with their loved ones this Christmas.

There’s a candle in the window
For our soldier off at war,
Standing constant vigil ’til
His foreign tour is o’er.

The sentinel stands faithfully
Through day and dark of night,
Reminding all who look its way,
To pray for Freedom’s fight.

For safety and for courage,
And for wisdom do we pray;
That God may grant him all these things
As his Comrade day by day.

Now stand, O Candle, bright and tall,
Alert us all, each one,
That the price of freedom is not cheap,
And its battle not yet done.

So light his way and burn for him,
And for his safe returning;
Our love will be the fuel that keeps
Our soldier’s candle burning

BACK TO BEING A REPUBLICRAT!

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

Here I go again- having an opinion that is part Republican and part Democrat.  ( http://delayedreactionlounge.blogspot.com/2011/04/demlicans-or-repubicrats.html)

I nearly gave my husband a heart attack when I said "I agree with President Obama in that there should be a ban on assault weapons (except for police and military) and that no one in the general public should have access to armor piercing bullets! But, even though I'm a registered Republican, this is what I believe. I also agree that there is much to be done in the field of mental health and how we deal with it in this country. I'm hoping that this "task force" appointed by the President, will genuinely address these issues and not just "look into them".
I must also strongly disagree with the arming of teachers. Teachers are already asked to be mother, nurse, psychologist, babysitter, secretary, nutritionist and more. Why would we ask them to take on such an awesome responsibility of being bodyguard and police officer? As a former teacher and assistant principal, I can tell you that teachers are yearning for the days when we were actually allowed to TEACH! Now there is so little actual quality instructional time due to documentation, paperwork, fundraising, school photos, increase of special needs kids in the classroom, differentiated instruction, ... should I go on? Now you want to ask these teachers to carry a gun and learn how to shoot it?  This is insane! Whatever the cost, it would be much more effective to have an armed officer on campus who is thoroughly trained and experienced in dealing with emergency situations.
It was evident , as events unfolded in Sandy Hook Elementary School, that the teachers were well trained in what to do, and were willing to put their lives on the line for their students. How much more could you ask?
Now, here's the Republican in me speaking: We must protect the 2nd amendment and support the right to have a gun to protect ourselves and our loved ones, however, everyone should have to have a background check, take a training course, and people with a history of mental illness should not be able to have access to a gun (theirs or anyone elses.)
Again, it seems to me that there is a common ground for both sides of the table. I don't understand why politics places us at each others' throats! Life is full of compromise or give and take. Why can't we be that way politically?
Well, maybe it won't matter . If the Mayans are correct, we won't be arguing much longer! I'd better get this posted before the end comes and no one gets to read it!
Best Wishes,
Marion

EVEN THE ANGELS WEPT

A day like any other, the sun rose in the sky

No one knew that on this day, the innocent would die.

Waves and kisses, off to school,   just as you’d expect

But on this day of tragedy, even the angels wept.

We mourn the 20 little ones who lost their lives that day,

And for adults who also died, we bow our heads and pray.

We can’t hold back the tears Lord, our sorrow can’t be eased.

Our outrage, shock and anger, just cannot be appeased.

And so our hearts are broken, our eyes are filled with tears,

We need for you to hold us close and calm us from our fears.

We all must learn to strive each day, to help our fellow man,

And stop the violence, hate and strife in anyway we can.

Help for those in mental strife, counseling and care,

Stop the hateful bullying, and teach our kids to share.

Evil men exist, dear Lord, no matter what we do,

But if we work to do these things, we just may save a few.

There is another thing I ask, Please come back to our schools,

So we can teach your law of love, and live the golden rule.

Enlighten all your people - our leaders and all men,

So we may be one nation, strong and “ under God” again.