Timber's Morning Coffee

I am regularly astounded by the things that I see when we get closer and closer to the Holidays. We enter a time when the earth goes dormant, but it would seem that the real crazies come out of hibernation.  It's those Black Friday shoppers. And now, it would seem, that there is a "Black Thanksgiving." Truly, it disgusts me. I see people being very hypocritical. We should be spending Thanksgiving weekend being thankful for what we have and the blessings in our lives, yet we see consumerism on a massive scale. Whatever happened to peace on earth and goodwill toward man? Oh, I think someone dropped it back on aisle 3 where they had to push an old lady out of the way to get the best deal for their already spoiled children. We profess to be thankful for the things that we have, yet we don't appear to be that way when we bang our shopping carts into other people, stab someone over a parking spot and get into a fist fight because someone got the last fireplace mantle be...

Recently, I have been turning toward the Beatitudes. I have looked at them from every direction and wondered why more "Christians" haven't taken to them as a way of life. The one that really struck me today was Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." All my life, I have been a peacemaker. (Well, okay, there was one period of about 5 years where I tried to stir up as much drama with my family as I could. . .but let's not dwell on the past) I don't like it when people fight and I just want to see people get along. I seem to have been born with a highly developed sense of compassion and empathy. I used to (and still do) befriend what my mom lovingly termed, "The Unlovables." These were the kids that got picked on in school because they were different. The kids that had no friends. I was constantly asking questions as to why people were being treated so badly and my heart regularly broke for the...