Below are a few pictures of some of our classmates celebrating Christmas morning as a child. Today, many of us are the parents setting out toys for our children. Let's hope they look back on their childhood as fondly as we do.

Be sure and ask Melissa Nesbitt why her hair was so short in this Christmas pic of her kneeling next to the classic "Inchworm" riding toy by Hasbro. See some cool pics & the original commercial here, where I borrowed the pic below of the original box.

In this photo is Vicki Ausbrooks Fletcher opening one of her wrapped presents. In the immortal words of Pedro, I must say "I like her bangs."

Um... I'm not sure who this guy is... but I'm glad he finally received some dumbells. Notice on the floor behind him: the game of Boggle and a Rubik's Revenge. Also notice below his right knee: one ugly pullover. Finally, notice the keen foresight... here is a die-hard Rams fan... back when Kurt Warner was only a year younger and the team hadn't left LA yet.

We all have plenty of childhood memories, like the Christmas parties at school. I think it was Mrs. Wood's first grade class that all drew names to exchange gifts with another classmate. I can't remember if Bryan Tygart was the giver or receiver of the nerf football, but it was wrapped without a box in metallic green paper, so we all knew what it was by it's obvious shape.

BTW, that Nerf football remains the "biggest selling football of all time." This wonderful piece of toy trivia comes from a neat guy named Tim Walsh and his book, Timeless Toys - which sets prominently on the coffee table in my home office.

Taken from Timeless Toys, (c) 2005 Tim Walsh

After the new year begins, I'll be posting some trivia questions taken from Tim's book - some of which the answers have already been posted on this blog (remember what the best selling toy is - EVER?) Stay tuned!

On the 8th Day of Christmas... make your wish!

It's simply amazing what you can find on the internet these days. All the images below were taken from a website I recently discovered called WishbookWeb.com. These guys are doing a HUGE service to those of us who love to live in the past. They are in the process of scanning vintage department store catalogs and making them available to the public for online viewing. Ok... maybe I'm the only one who gets excited about that kind of stuff. Well just take a look at some of the pics below and I'll think you'll share my enthusiasm.

Now just think about this... remember looking through those thick Sears Wishbooks every year as you made out your Christmas list? Well, these are the VERY SAME CATALOGS that we used to peruse! Isn't that just crazy?!

Ok, still not excited? Just take a look. Some of these toys are what our classmates asked Santa for over 30 years ago!

Banana seats and flowery baskets. How many of you had one of these waiting beside the Christmas tree?
Here are the dolls that Jeri Suttle and Angela Rogers put on their list.

Phillip Clifford asked Santa for this Snoopy Drive-in Movie Theatre.

Wouldn't you? I would did.

In 1976 we were probably wearing Sesame Street clothes. I'd love to have that red-sleeved shirt with Snuffleupagus on it. Um... for my kids, of course.

Click to enlarge these Sesame Street toys. I actually have the Fisher Price Sesame Street Playset decorating my office at work. Got it for a steal at a yard sale... and they're going for no less than $75 on Ebay.

Any of you gals get a Barbie Swimming Pool?

My sister did. I must admit that I wanted to play with it. Notice the dude sitting under the umbrella... that's not Ken, it's Luke Skywalker (another one of my sister's gifts that I was jealous of).

I have a picture of me with these Batman & Robin dolls one Christmas morning. This was back before they went & messed with the cartoon characters & went all Justice League United.

This is how I'll always remember my Superfriends.

The two ads above mark the beginning of the electronic game era. That's right - you're looking at the forerunners of PSP, Wii and Nintendo DS. I had Merlin along with a basketball, baseball and football electronic game. It literally hurts my stomach to think that I no longer have these. I found a mint-in-box Merlin game today on Ebay for $132! For some reason, my sweet wife didn't share my excitement. So, if any of you are wondering what to get me this year... just sayin'.

And as we started getting older - too old for baby dolls, Barbies and Batman, we all started thinking two words: Hi Fi. We would've loved to have something like the stereo above, while our dads would've been eyeing these:
I hope you enjoyed this 8th day of Christmas. If anything, you learned that it sometimes pays not to throw ANYTHING away... you never know when it'll be a hot item on Ebay.

I'm reposting this from an earlier post, for obvious reasons, and throwing in a few extra bonus pics:

I'm not sure why the Sheridan Headlight featured our class for this picture, but my mom has hung on to this clipping for a loooong time.

THE BOYS AND GIRLS in Mrs. Tolson's kindergarten room rest on their laurels as they admire their beautiful Christmas tree.

Here's my attempt to i.d. everyone:

Front Row L-R: Jeffrey Darnell, Fred Pemberton, Bryan Tygart, Jackie McElroy, Betty Jo Skorcz

Middle Row: Terry Mayberry, Vicki Thompson, Angela Rogers, Lee Shaw, Lynn Childers

Back Row: Vandra Williams, Kim Smith, Aaron Wilson, James Hicks, Jody Wiggins, Jon Paul Anderton, Phillip Clifford

Check out the Christmas craft hanging on the chalkboard & seen above. I remember making this reindeer... with Q-tips for antlers... probably cupcake papers for eyes & lots of construction paper.
I did some digging around and couldn't find many crafts, but I did find a box of old Christmas ornaments from my childhood - many of which were hand-crafted. I'm pretty sure we made or received all of these during our school years. It's possible that one or two were made at church, but I'm pretty sure they all came from school.

1977

1978

The back of this 3 inch tall stocking is mesh, probably revealing the candy treats inside.

1982

These apples look to be a gift from one of our teachers.

Remember these clothespin creations?

I have vague memories of when I made this... but can't remember when. I wanna say it was a cub scout project, now that I think about it. I like the little Q-tip drumsticks.

Christmas letters then…
Letters to Santa…from 1976
by Debra Howard and Robin Walters

As Christmas rolls around once again, letters to Santa begin filling the post office to be sent to the North Pole. Sheridan High School seniors may consider themselves too old to be writing to Santa in 1987, but here are a few of the letters written to the jolly old man in 1976.

These letters are taken from the Sheridan Headlight of December 25, 1976.

Dear Santa Claus,
I’m going to have a very nice Christmas. I want a lot of presents like Barbie clothes, an iron and a bicycle. I have been very good. Bring Nancy and Papa something good for Christmas.
Love,
Laurette (Lankford)

Dear Santa,
My name is Angela Rogers and I am five years old. I have been very good this year. I would like to have a baby doll that crawls and walks or one that kisses, a record player and a watch.
Your friend,
Angela (Rogers)

Dear Santa,
I want a bicycle and a doll and a little kit with lipstick and stuff. That’s all.
Love,
Gina McCool

Dear Santa,
I want an ice Bird, a thing that can make pizza, a piñata, a G. I. Joe, a G. I. Joe suit and a motor cross bike. Just the parts.
Love,
Scott Herron

Dear Santa,
I am good most of the time. I want some Walkie Talkies and Snoopy’s Drive-In Movies. I’ve been a good boy.
Phillip A. Clifford

Dear Santa,
I wish it would be a good Christmas. I want a play Six-million Dollar man doll.
Love,
Kevin Matlock

Dear Santa,
I want a Barbie set, a camper, a Barbie set Hair style and I want a airplane and a baby that tee-tees in her pants and eats real food.
Love,
Jeri Suttle

Dear Santa,
I want a toy it’s little and it’s a little airplane and a little rubber pocket knife remember rubber. And a little gun set and a calendar to put up in my room. A little picture.
Love,
Robert McClung

Dear Santa,
How are you? I would like to have a Barbie Doll, some clothes for it with a suitcase. I would like a Raggedy Ann record player with some records, but I would take whatever you got me. See you at Christmas. Hope you won’t forget me.
Your friend,
Kimberly Derrick

Dear Santa,

I love you Santa. I have been good. My brother has already been to see you. I want to tell Rudolph hi. I wish I could give you a kiss. I want you to bring me a baby bundle, a spirit maker, one of those baby buggys and one of those dolls that you can make music.
I love you Santa,
Andrea Winston

Dear Santa Claus,
I want a doll, play sink, baby bottle, and a record player. I am a big girl and I have been good. I also want a purse some clothes for my doll. I plan to get my mother, daddy and others something. I am getting my mother a paper cutter. I want to get my brother one of those long yellow square things that you can move. What do you call that? I haven’t thought of daddy yet. Well that’s all.
Kim Vailes

DEAR SANTA, ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS…
By Steven Benning, Carmen Hensley, Laurie Revia and Darrin Theiss

December 1987

As Christmas gets closer (there are only SIX shopping days left), one wonders what to buy for others.

For some of us, the problem is letting others know what we want for Christmas.

A recent informal poll of SHS students revealed that, of 75 respondents, 80 percent want a car for Christmas.

Other gifts in order of preference include clothes (66%), jewelry (52%), and money (44%).

Some other gifts mentioned were stereos, waterbeds, cameras, VCR’s, and toys like Puff-a-lumps, Mr. Game Show, Noid dolls, and Gumbys.

The top five gifts a guy would give a girl were kittens, jewelry, perfume, stuffed animals, and fur coats.

The top five gifts a girl would give a guy were a steering wheel and floor mats, Polo, clothes, and a billfold.

Peace on Earth

Tomorrow will begin what I'm hoping will be a fun series of posts called "The 12 Days of Christmas". For 12 consecutive days (including weekends!) we'll enjoy posts that are related in some way to Christmas from the 70's or 80's.

Before we go there, I'd like to take today's post to consider a phrase we hear & read often this time of year:

Peace on Earth

and Good Will Toward Men

Have you ever considered just what that phrase might mean - and specifically the word "peace"? For some, it may be a state of calmness or serenity, for others it may mean simply the absence (or opposite) of war. "Good will toward men"... doesn't that just mean we should all be nice to one another during the holidays (could've saved this man's life)?

This phrase is actually a portion of what the angels said to the shepherds, recorded in Luke's gospel account, as they announced the birth of the Savior:

“Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:14 ESV

Let's consider this angelic declaration in two parts.

First, the angels look to Heaven, i.e., they look to God. They announce that there is "glory [given] to God in the highest (highest place, or the heavens)." Secondly, only after looking unto God above, they consider man below. In other words, if the first half declares praise being given to God in Heaven, the second half describes a promise being given to man on earth.

Looking up: glory(praise) - TO God - IN Heaven
Looking down: peace - TO men - ON Earth

The first part is the purpose, the second part is the plan. Purpose for what? Plan for what? Well, we are hearing God's messengers announcing God's plan to save God's people - all for God's glory. We learn from Matthew chapter one that Jesus came to "save his people from their sins," this is God's plan. And it's being done all for God's glory, that is, for God's fame - or to display His great worth (see John 17:1-5 and Philippians 2:9-11.)

Now, if Christ came to "save" His people, this seems to assume that there are people who need saving, but saving from what? Maybe a better question is "saving from Whom?" This is where the "peace on earth" phrase comes into play. Again there is a presupposition - if "peace" is being promised on earth, we can presume that there is an absence of peace. There is in fact a war going on. But it has nothing to do with Iraq.

The war, my friend, is between us... and God. Consider these passages from the Bible:

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men"

Romans 1:18

"For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son..."

Romans 5:10

"You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?"

James 4:4

It's pretty bad news... because of our inherent sin and rebellion against God, we are His enemies. His wrath is set against us. But here's where the good news begins - Christ - the God-Man, was born to die for God's enemies. He came to bear the wrath of God's anger toward us, on Himself. To put it another way - we are saved BY God, FROM God. Believers are saved by God's holy Son, from God's holy wrath. Amazing isn't it?! Here it is plainly stated in Romans chapter 5:

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God."

Romans 5:8-9 (emphasis added)

When the angels announced the promise of peace on earth toward those with whom God is pleased, this was the news that everyone was waiting for. This news was announced and even anticipated by a people who had no way of dealing with their sin. Though the Jews (the original recipients of the Bible message) performed daily temple sacrifices and rituals that pointed symbolically to what Christ would soon accomplish, these sacrifices could not take away their sin and they couldn't satisfy the wrath of a holy God against such sin.

Christ was given a lowly birth, lived a sinless life, died a sacrifical death, and displayed a death-defeating resurrection all for 2 reasons. First and foremost, to bring glory to the Father, and secondly to bring peace to those of us who will place all our trust (our hope, our confidence, our faith) in Him.

Peace on earth? You bet! You can have peace - here on Earth - with God in Heaven - through His Son Jesus Christ (see Romans 5:1). I can think of no greater Gift to receive than a promise of eternal peace with a glorious God. Do you know this peace? Do you know this Peacemaker, Jesus Christ? I'd have no greater joy than to introduce you to Him.

If you have any questions about anything I've said here, I'd love to address them with you. Just leave a comment below or email me with your thoughts.

May Christ truly be yours this Christmas and always.

School Pics

Sheridan Elementary - Before & After

You've seen the top photo above on an earlier post, but I wanted to try something here. I was at the Sheridan Elementary School recently - which, by the way is no longer the Elementary school - it's now the Freshman Academy. I know, I know! It's just not right.

While I was there I took some pics of the playground equipment which I'll post later. I also took the recent picture above from what I thought was the same angle as the picture above. I got pretty close, and with my handy photo-manipulation program, I was able to do this (click on any photo to enlarge):

Let's start with the original picture, taken in the late 50's or early 60's. The newer building on the left (you're looking at the part which held the offices & nurses station) was built in 1957. The older building on the right was built in the 30's. Now, let's try to move through time about 50 years...

Above you can start to see the trees from the 2008 photo, as well as some of the color from the photo showing through on the building on the left. And, in a sad but telling way, the 1930's building begins to fade.

In the above 2 images, you can see our elementary playground equipment appearing in what was once an empty lot. Most of this equipment still stands today - albeit worn & ragged.

Above, the 1930's building - which held many of our very first school memories - is all but vanished from the scene. An empty, grassy area fills it's footprint.

And now we're back to the recent photo. I guess landscapes are meant to change over time. And I guess that's why we have memories.

Finally, a bit of GIF animation to help further visualize this metamorphosis :

Suggestions for Family Worship

At least several times a week we try to have some type of family worship. (that's right - we don't do family worship every night - I would like to...I would think it to be best...but it's just not a reality right now) You will soon see that when I say "some type", I'm stretching that as thin as I can! :o) Here are just a few ideas - nothing profound - that we have used at some time. We will use some of these some of the time, but not any one of them all of the time. It's pretty informal and sporadic at best.

MacArthur Study Bible-NKJV

First - um...well...we read the Bible. Ingenious, huh? Some evenings we just read a passage of Scripture. In the past we've read through the Gospel of John (it took a while!) and now we've been sloooooowly going through the book of Acts. The length of the passage you read should just depend on your children's age & attention span - and this is a good time for them to practice self-control (and for you to practice discpline when they don't).

After I read, we'll do a bit of a review where I'll just ask some simple questions. Nothing elaborate - no preparation - just some simple questions based on the facts of the story. Narratives like Acts and the Gospels make these questions easy to come up with. BTW, I'm not a not a NKJVO guy...this Bible just happens to be the one we have at the kitchen table.

If you don't know what to do for family worship - READ THE BIBLE. That's the easiest thing you can do - and it's the BEST thing you can do.

Egermeir's Bible Story Book

If we don't read the Bible from a traditional translation, then we'll read a story from Elsie Egermeir's Bible Story Book. Nancy Leigh DeMoss gave this to us as a gift, telling us that it's a "classic". It's a collection of several hundred Bible stories, many with full color pictures, told in story form without losing any of the content. It's very well done and the kids love it. We don't use this alot, because Anita often uses it in the morning to read to the children while they're eating breakfast.



Jesus Freaks: DC Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs - Stories of Those Who Stood for Jesus, the Ultimate Jesus Freaks

Bet you're wondering about this one! I'm not sure why we started reading this, but I'm glad we did. This is the first of several books put out by Voice of the Martyrs and dc Talk. It's like a modern-day Foxe's Book of Martyrs, containing stories of those who were imprisoned, tortured or killed for their unwavering faith in Christ. Some of the stories are only a decade old. Many of the stories I have to edit or simply avoid because of the violence suffered by many of our brothers and sisters.

So why? Why read stuff like this to my children? Why would I tell them the story of Nikolai Khamara, whose pastor was brought before him by Russian authorities in the 70's and ordered to disclose information about their underground church. The authorities threatened to gouge out Khamara's eyes if the pastor didn't talk. After losing his eyes, he proclaimed "Praise the Lord Jesus Christ", just before they cut out his tongue.

Here's why: we live in a country where it costs nothing to become a Christian. I want my children to know what Jesus meant when he said, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matthew 16:24-25. I hope that by knowing that others have died for the Lord, it might help them live for Him.

Ok. Now let's sing!

Hymnal for Worship and Celebration
We have a hymnal nearby for when we want to learn a new hymn. Again, this is not often, and again, Anita sometimes does this during the day with them. But every now and then, we'll try to learn a verse or an entire hymn. A couple of years ago we learned "Take My Life" to this tune (but without the cheesy organ!).

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.

Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

So there you have it. Nothing fancy, just a humble attempt at teaching our children diligently. Hopefully my lower standards :o) have encouraged you to stay persistent in the leading of your family. But, if you're wanting something even more (and I hope we all are!) here's a few other resources:

Family Worship by Don Whitney (or listen to his interviews on FamilyLife Today here)

Rediscovering the Lost Treasure of Family Worship by Jerry Marcellino

Thoughts on Family Worship by James Alexander (excerpts and order link here)

The Duties of Parents by J.C. Ryle

Also, in a category FAR BELOW the men linked above, are two messages I gave at a parenting conference several years ago. You can stream them here, or RIGHT CLICK on the title to download to your computer.

Psalm 78: Raising Children to Hope in God

Evanglizing Your Children Faithfully