A Gift

For first time, Christmas official holiday in Iraq

Iraq’s Christians, a scant minority in this overwhelmingly Muslim country, quietly celebrated Christmas on Thursday with a present from the government, which declared it an official holiday for the first time.

But security worries overshadowed the day for many, particularly in the north where thousands of Christians have fled to escape religious attacks.

Overall security in Iraq has improved markedly in the past year, but a fatal car bombing in Baghdad on Christmas morning was a gruesome reminder that serious problems remain.

[…]

A senior Shiite cleric, Ammar al-Hakim, attended the Mass flanked by bodyguards in a gesture of cooperation with Christians.

[…]

Iraq’s Christians, estimated to number only a few hundred thousand of the country’s 26 million people, have often been the target of attacks by Islamic extremists in Iraq. Tens of thousands have fled; many of those who stayed were isolated in neighborhoods protected by barricades and checkpoints.

And joyous Christmas to you as well!

Officer Tennant, RIP

Updated with two more photos….

“Honour the king” says the Bible. As my way of doing that, I was going to be along the procession route. For various reasons, including our driveway and business, I didn’t make it. But I asked my sister (her business is next to 7-11) to take some pictures for me. Here are two.

Here’s a bit more I wrote on the matter earlier this morning: Faithful Dependability.

(Thanks for the photos, Karen!)

I posted the above early yesterday afternoon (12/19/08 @ 12:28 Pacific).

Here are two additional photos I received from my niece. Thanks, Karina!

Tom Tennant Funeral, Woodburn, Oregon

Tom Tennant Funeral, Woodburn, Oregon

“This is my future.”

Namrata Nayak

I learned about this astounding child from Steve Schippert. Here’s a little bit of what The Anchoress has to say:

Namrata Nayak knows who she is. At 10 years of age, she understands the world in ways many of us never will, no matter how long we tread the stony paths.

[…]

But I will let her speak for herself, because Namrata Nayak does not need anyone to speak for her. Observe her astonishing and heroic witness.

“The world has seen my face destroyed by the fire, now it must come to know my smile full of love and peace…I want to dedicate my life to spreading the Gospel.”

“[W]e forgive the Hindu radicals who attacked us, who burned our homes…They were out of their minds, they do not know the love of Jesus. For this reason, I now want to study so that when I am older I can tell everyone how much Jesus loves us. This is my future.”

And here:
“Christmas is a time to thank the baby Jesus who saved me from the fire and saved my face which was disfigured and wounded…There is so much pain and suffering, and I don’t know how long the special forces will protect us,” she told Asia News. “But Christmas is a time of gratitude. I am afraid that my people will still be attacked, but this is our life. If God has saved me, he can save other Christians too.”

God bless you and keep you and use you even more, Namrata.

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6).

“Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein” (Luke 18:17).

Perilous IE Flaw

Yahoo! News reports:

Microsoft releasing emergency patch for perilous IE flaw

Microsoft will release an emergency patch on Wednesday to fix a perilous software flaw allowing hackers to hijack Internet Explorer browsers and take over computers.

The US software giant said on Tuesday that in response to “the threat to customers” it immediately mobilized security engineering teams worldwide to deliver a software cure “in the unprecedented time of eight days.”

Read it all

Above all, love God!

since November 9, 2005