Santa Claus, The Little Drummer Boy, Frosty, Rudolph and Jesus

Merry Christmas! Yes, I said it … Merry Christmas! I know that we live in a world that is no longer celebrating the birth of Christ, we don’t want to offend anyone, so I’m supposed to say “Happy Holiday” to you. But what Holiday are we celebrating?

Most kids can sing you every lyric to Here Comes Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman … but do they know ... Away in a Manger?

Who is telling our children and grandchildren that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of God’s only Son?

When Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem, they went to fulfill a required journey by Rome – to pay their taxes! While there, “the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Luke 2:4-7

The world has so diluted the reality of Christmas, that many families put Jesus in the same category as Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus. To them they are ALL … FICTIONAL CHARACTERS!

Some of our kids really think that a drummer boy showed up at the manger.
Who will tell them that God needed someone to take our place?


In our town, Wal-Mart was displaying Christmas decorations and products for Christmas before October ended. Through all of December, we have FM Stations playing Christmas Music 24 hours a day. Problem is, they are playing all kinds of Holiday music. Frosty is a fun song … but he runs away and melts, the little drummer boy grows up & joins a rock band … then dies from an overdose.

Here’s their story:
Santa gives us toys, ... IF we are good, … IF we are bad, we get coal or switches!

Here’s the REAL Story:
But “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:17

You can deck the Halls with boughs of holly,
but ....
- without JESUS there is NO Celebration,
- without JESUS there is NO Peace!
He is the JOY that God gives to the World.
He is the PEACE that everyman longs for.

There are still real Christmas Songs to sing:
Joy to the World the LORD is Come!
Let Heaven and nature SING!
Oh Holy Night!

Who will tell our kids the TRUTH?
Santa Claus is fun, Frosty is cute, and the Little Drummer Boy and Rudolph have lessons to teach us. Yes, sleigh rides and jingle bells are exciting.

But only JESUS made a way …
NO we must make it very plain: He made the ONLY WAY for us to get to Heaven.

- SIN separates us from a Holy God.
- Religion is man seeking God. There are many religions.
- Jesus came to connect us back to the Father. (God seeking MAN!)

“In the beginning was the Word (JESUS) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” John 1:1-2

"He was in the world, and though the world was made by Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." John 1:10-12

This is a story that MUST be told!
There is NO other way to Heaven.
There is NO other name whereby men can be saved.

The Angel met with Mary and told her the news –
“You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1:31-33

Sugarplum fairies may dance in your head … but that's because there’s too much ambrosia in your tummy! And there will be candy in your stocking because someone wants to keep the Santa legend alive.

But JESUS is no fictional character!
Who will tell our kids HIS STORY?

Don’t let the fun of Christmas overshadow the TRUTH of who He is.

Isaiah the prophet wrote about Him, hundreds of years before His birth.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6


YOU are leaving a memory with every Christmas you celebrate.
What is the story you are telling?
Who do your kids believe in?

Sing the songs that tell the story!
Celebrate the birthday of the KING of KINGS!

And MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!

Bud - Memories of a Big Brother!

The Boughers have once again been asked to deal with the loss of a family member. On Wednesday, November 15th, my oldest brother, Bud passed away, at age 70.

Harry Kenneth Bougher Jr. Oct. 6 1936 – Nov. 15, 2006
We didn’t expect this to happen. (Dad is 92, doing pretty well at a nursing home in Urbandale, Iowa.) We thought that we had Bud for at least 20 more years. We can only rest in the fact that God does all things well.

We Celebrated Bud’s Homecoming in real Iowa Style
We started the funeral with the Iowa Marching Band playing. First it was the drum corps and then the whole band played the Iowa Fight song. This was no regular funeral – the family was all dressed in black …. Black & Gold, Iowa Hawkeye colors! We all marched in behind the casket, little Graham leading the way. Bud would have been proud.

Iowa Hawkeye’s Season Tickets
For the first time ever, Bud & Steve bought season tickets to watch Iowa play football. Bud & Steve took 2 kids every Saturday. 4 Boughers in the same car for a 2 hour trip plus 4 hours at a game. The kids got to go with their Papo (pronounced: Pop – O) and hear him laugh and holler for hours! “AAAAA!” they would holler. (They sat in the “A” section, the crowd was expected to spell out “I-O-W-A”during the game. My 2 brothers would start the “AAAA” at anytime they deemed necessary.)Bud’s last game was the Saturday before he died – Iowa’s last home game of the season. God had a plan! (We all wish the Hawks had played better!)

The Fun - eral
For over 2 hours the people at the funeral heard stories of the love and laughter Bud brought into our lives. Stories of Christmases past, where reindeer hooves were heard on the roof and sleigh bells rang out side the boy’s window – all to help encourage the Santa story. Bud & Steve could have written scenes for Mission Impossible – no prank was too difficult, it had to be done, and it had to be done right. I have no doubt that their shenanigans were developed by observing our Dad!

12 Grand Kids!
Funeral attendees heard the Eternal Hope from everyone of Bud’s 12 grandkids, that one day soon, we’ll have another Bougher Family Celebration, … next time in Heaven. Way to go Nephews & Nieces – Christ in You is the hope of Glory!

Mom always sang at Weddings & Funerals
Mom sang at Bud’s funeral via video tape. (Mom passed away last Christmas.) Somebody found a video of Mom singing “Home Sick for Heaven.” That song/video emptied many boxes of Kleenex. Thanks First A/G for the tape!

Nicknames
We told about Bud’s use of nicknames. He had one for everybody:
Tricky Dickey, Wee Willie, Bo Weave, Anna Banana, Aunt Weiners, Legs, Turkey Lurkey, Hose Nose and Scooby Doo …just to name a few. Hang around the Bougher Boys long enough and you’ll get one!

World Class Belching!
No, we didn’t talk about his unusual habit of belching louder than humanly possible. (It was church after all.) Thanks to many bottles of Pepsi, Bud developed this gift/? to the amusement of some and to the dismay of our mother. I once was with Bud on a trip to the mall. Upon exiting Sears, you enter the main section of the mall – a very echo-ie section of the mall. It was there, that he decided to test just how loud and long he could belch. Then after finishing, a little lady came around from behind a planter, looking at us in disbelief and Bud pointed to me, as if I was the perpetrator of such a loud uncouth sound! Lady, if you’re reading this, it really wasn’t me!

After displaying his gift, Mom would always say, “Bud, I’m waiting!”
That was Mom’s way of trying to teach Bud some manners. Bud was supposed to say, “Excuse me.” And somehow that was supposed to erase that obnoxious sound from our memory. (You can tell it didn’t work.)

Big Brother #1
To a 4 year old kid, there was nothing like hearing the sound of your big brother’s old Ford coming down the driveway. There was a hug at the door and a Peter Paul Mound in his pocket. So much to remember. Catching baseballs, footballs, Whiffle balls, and dodging snow balls. Learning to ride a bike without training wheels! Who needed training wheels? I had a brother on each side of my bike. Learning so much … sometimes learning what NOT to do. (That is one of the advantages of being the youngest.)

Anything that Bud passed down was seen as gold. ‘Cause if Bud wore it or used it …. it was just great. Bud was 16 the day after I was born, Steve was 9, so I didn’t need Bat Man & Robin, I had 2 Big Brothers!

He may not have known just how much influence he would have on his 2 younger brothers. We had flat tops … just like Bud. We keep our cars clean and waxed … just like Bud. We still spit shine our dress shoes, just like Bud!

Bud left a lasting legacy of Love, Laughter & Life. Live life full blast, Love with all your heart, and squeeze some heads along the way!
Bud was our Columbus, … with Steve they were Lewis & Clark. There was no way I was going to fail. Bud believed and taught us all, “I did it … YOU Can Do It” … and so we did!

Can you Belch in Heaven?
If belching is possible in Heaven, there are some lessons going on.
I think that may have been Bud’s signal at the pearly gates …
Beeeee yaaaaaaah ooooahhhh uuuuuuuuhhh aaaahhhhh uuuuuup!
Then he heard, “Bud, I’m waiting!”

The Van Alarm Saga - From The Adventures of Tom & Jan

I thought you might be interested in my Van Alarm Saga.
First, you have to know that this week Jan woke up with a swollen right cheek - it looked like the mumps. So, we've been to the doctor 3 days!

This morning I got up headed to church with plenty of time - Staff meeting at 9:00 AM. I get in the van and I hear that awful click, click, click, of NO battery power. I thought quickly - could not find my jumper cables - so I called AAA and took the Buick to church. Now, I'm 10 minutes behind schedule, still might make it to staff meeting on time. Half way to church the low gas light comes on the Buick - I have to call in and let them know, I'm forced to stop and get gas.

After the AAA guy comes, he gets the car running & tells Jan to take it to Autozone for them to check the battery - good idea. I'm now out of Staff meeting, and I try to call Jan. No answer at home or on her cell phone - she has forgotten to charge her cell, so she is off without a phone. She's been sick remember.

Finally at 11:30 AM I get a call from Jan. She has arrived at Autozone and spent 1 hour waiting for them to charge the battery - which failed. She is now calling to get me to buy a new battery - I finally choose the mid priced version over the phone. Next the phone rings and the guy can't get the alarm to stop. The Van will not run until the alarm is turned off. He has tried all he knows to do. Everytime he hooks up the battery the light, horn and alarm goes off!

They call me for info that I don't have, it's a used van - I even called former users & owners.
(Nobody knows the trouble I seen!)
Still no one knows what to do to shut off the alarm. I start calling alarm dealers in the yellow pages, I'm trying to find my old bosses phone number. I'm trying to find a Dodge dealer in Springfield, Missouri.

When all of a sudden - I come upon Sound Depot, (a Car Alarm Company) - their address is just blocks away from where the van is. I call the guy, and he gives me a couple of things to try - still the alarm is ON. Flash, Flash, Honk, Honk, Whaaa, Whaaa!

Finally the guy from Sound Depot goes to Autozone and finds the problem.

Here is the SECRET Code - WRITE THIS DOWN:
On the key fob is a Lock and Unlock button.
If you push the Unlock button - the alarm goes OFF!

Hurray. I need a nap! Jan still has to go to the doctor today - I think I'll go with her and ask the doctor for some green pills. Anyway, I'm just out about $60.00 plus the $10.00 Jan tipped the guy for helping. Oh ... plus the doctor bill.

Somebody write an editorial, call Rush!
The Hezbollah have started stealing Battery power during the night!
The Al-Queda have taken over the brains of Autozone employees.
And a guy in a low-rider just pulled up and offered to jump my battery.
My wife's doctor is named Dang .... & that "Dang" doctor wont' give me any green pills!
Sorry Mom!

Cruisin' for Christ!
Who knew that this was a mission field? We left Huntsville, on Monday excited about the opportunity to be on a Christian cruise.
“Cruise with a Cause” they called it. Over 2000 Christians on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. It really was a great place, the bars were closed, the casino had no customers, and all of the auditoriums were filled with seminars and Christian concerts. Monday afternoon we left Port Canaveral and headed out into the deep.

On Tuesday, we landed in Freeport, Bahamas, a Christian nation … that still needs Jesus. We infiltrated the schools with assemblies, we witnessed in the streets and that night over 1600 people came to know Jesus at the Sports Complex. Wow!

But the best part was hearing from the staff on the cruise line. We were told the report that the crew had truly noticed a difference in the life and attitudes of these cruisers. They stated that they had never been treated like “PEOPLE” before. And the pizza manager wanted to know more about this Jesus. Get out the Kleenex!

Paul said we are living epistles … people really are reading our lives! Who knew that the mission field was on a boat named Sovereign of the Seas?

We went to the Bahamas to share Christ, but we touched over 52 nations of the world on that cruise line.

Opportunities are always around us. We are not always aware of the eyes looking for a touch, a thank you, or a good morning.

Godly appointments … like the one that sent Jesus out of his way through Samaria. Through his obedience a whole city found God!

We will continue to pray for the people of Freeport, Bahamas. God has connected us with those people, and with the 1000 men & women who serve aboard the Sovereign of the Seas … it’s like a floating city.
God save our ship!