Just when you thought it was safe, it is after all Thanksgiving
morning, and you would be free from telemarketers, but alas, that was
not the case. It was 10:14 a.m. when the phone rang.  I saw "Whitehouse"
on the caller I.D.  That will get your adrenalin flowing, since hey, I
do not know anyone in the Whitehouse and I am about ready to get all
puffed up and feeling extra special when I looked at my phone more
closely and to my disbelief the call was not from Washington D.C.--it
was from Whitehouse, Tennessee.  Thought I, like so many others that
want those 15 minutes of fame (I would have settled for 5 minutes), the
story I could have told our girls and the grandkids about "Grammy" and
that call from the President.  Boy, was I ever dreaming, but we all
have a dream, don't we?
      Still trying to recover from Thanksgiving.  That's what happens
when you over do a good thing by eating too much.  Glad there's a
month to go before the Christmas feast.  Would be nice if we have a
"White Christmas."  There I go, dreaming again.  Growing up we just
about always had snow on the ground at Christmas time.  Daddy would
cut down a tree and we loved to decorate it with sparkling lights
a-glowing, some tinsel, and ornaments dangling.  The wood-burning
stove was such a blessing to keep us warm and the fact that we were
together well, nothing could top that as your family means everything
to you.  Of course, the true meaning of Christmas is our Savior, Jesus
Christ's birthday.  The greatest gift given to mankind from God was
Jesus, His only begotten Son, the One that gave His life on the cross
for us to be able to be forgiven of our sins.  Do you ever think about
the torture, the humiliation, and the ridicule that Jesus went through
because He loved us all so very much?  I find it hard to understand
that kind of unconditional love.  As each Christmas approaches,
Jesus's birthday engulfs my thoughts as I wish Him a Happy Birthday
and thank Him for saving my soul.  This year at Christmas when you are
gathered together with family and friends praise and honor Jesus for
what He is continually doing for you every day and the many blessings
in your life that only He can send your way.  Parents it is so
important that you tell your kids about Jesus--no other story more
important to be told.  They won't know about Jesus if they are not
taught about this wonderful Savior.  If we hold Jesus as number one in
our life, then our kids and grandkids will do the same.
      Let's keep praying for the following people:  Cecile Ferrell,
Mary Melton, Sepal Pedigo, Tony Neal, Gracie Bratcher, Joe Gunter,
Rose Watts, Alene Ferrell, Charlie Mai Daniel and the families of Bill
Pack, James Ed Rice and the people of Israel.
      Some birthdays of note to let you know about for the month of
December:  Wanda Byford 7th, Joy Hullett 8th, Roman Reed 11th, Carol
Gunter 13th, Paul Stanley 22nd, Mark Fults 25th, and of course our
Savior, Jesus Christ 25th.  Wedding anniversaries are Ray and Joann
Braswell 21st and Rex and Sepal Pedigo 22nd.  Congratulations to all
of you!
      Friends stopping by our house this week were Russell Taylor and
Rick and Beverly Hubler.
      It has been a cold week for us here on the mountain.  The
weather will get somewhat warmer on Thursday and Friday with rain
chances ramping up.  Hopefully, it will be some beneficial rain coming
our way.  Sure hope that forecast holds up as we need the rain to
maybe help out with the severe drought we have been experiencing.
      Received my first Christmas card today from a friend of mine,
Nancy Clement of Manchester.  She sure got a head start on me.  Today
is the 27th of November and I can't remember ever getting a Christmas
card this early.  I imagine there won't be as many Christmas cards
mailed since the cost of a stamp is 66 cents.  I heard on TV stamps
are to go up once again in January to 68 cents.  The post office is
reportedly in debt to the tune of 6.8 billion dollars.
      If you have any news for the column, just give me a call at
615-563-4429.  Have a great day!
      Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.  Colossians 3:13