Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone. As we are all with our family and our friends, I would like everyone to to remember the the people who have nobody to spend Christmas with and have no home. Also, we should remember the gay youth who have been thrown out into the street because they are gay. We should also remember those transgendered people who are consdered to be freaks by many of us, who, like our gay homeless youth, have no other option, but to turn to prostitution or adult films to survive. We should all be grateful this wasn't our lot in life and remember this next time we complain about our nosy neigbors or our crappy cellphone service (myself included). We should remember those who are addicted to drugs or alcohol and have no other outlet because they can't afford healthcare and make too much to be covered by the state and end up wasting their lives away. I could have been one of those people, but for the grace of God, I am still here.
So next time you unwrap a gift that sucks or is cheap or you have absolutely no use for, remember, someone else out there would be happy just to have the company of that person who gave you that gift.
Merry Christmas to all of you. I know you can't always give me your time, your attention or any material gifts, but am glad to have you nonetheless. I grateful to have a roof over my head and food to eat (my mother's cooking is rather delicious, I might add, just ask Lindsay Voitik). I glad to have my hyper-extended family, who I love very much and people who have become part of my family who are not blood relatives.
I am also grateful for my church family, who have welcomed me and made me feel a part of their family (especially for Pastor Adero, who introduced me to the church, and her partner Jan).
I am also grateful for my parents. My mother still thinks there's a chance I turn straight, but we'll let her think that. I am grateful she never turned her back on me and loved me nonetheless.
Most of all, I am grateful for my God. My God who is with me every day and help me and heals me and reminds me that I can do anything, with him and who saved me from myself. He loves me no matter what (even if some of his other believers seem to think otherwise.
Merry Christmas to all of you.

I'm going to leave with a passage from my favorite of the New Testament, the Gospel According to Luke (NLT) Chapter 2 Verses 1-20:

The Birth of Jesus



1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.

6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

The Shepherds and Angels



8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.