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Cybersalt News

Oh look, the first Chicken Thursday of 2022 - Happy New Year!

I had intended to send a new year mailing out sooner than this, but simply ran out of energy and emotional gas on the weekend. In my Christmas Eve mailing you will remember that I referenced the medical masks that my dear sister, Melissa, sewed for us with "great love." At that time, I did not tell you she was scheduled for brain surgery later this month. Sadly, she suffered a complication and passed away following emergency surgery on December 28th. This is a picture of us together for the last time together - in this life, that is.

So Grandma Cybersalt and I ended the old year feeling very sad and have begun the new one in that same state. That said, we did enjoy the company and distraction of our son and his family being with us December 31 through January 2nd. We are as OK as one would expect as we continue to navigate these early days of grief, which includes not flying home to be with my parents and other family members, due to COVID health concerns.

Today's video share is one I watched a month or so ago and saved because I thought it would be inspiring for the start of a new year. It's a beautiful story.  I must say that my favorite part is the exuberant clap right near the end. You'll know it when you see it.
Click here to watch the video.

Enjoy the rest of today's mailing

~ Pastor Tim

As a concierge at a posh resort, I was often asked about the ski facilities. One day a couple who had just checked in after a long flight came by and asked me where the lift was.

"Go down the hill," I told them, "out the door, past the pool, 200 yards down the block, and you'll see it on your right."

Their tired faces suddenly looked even more exhausted, until the man behind them spoke up. "These folks are from England," he said. "I think they're looking for the elevator."

"I may not be that funny or athletic or good-looking or smart or talented ... I forgot where I was going with this..."

"Be a Billionaire!"

and Help

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Don't cut through the wheat field Granny! You're going against the grain.

"There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in."

- Desmond Tutu

This is a story about a little girl who, on the way home from church, turned to her mother and said, "Mommy, the Preacher's sermon this morning confused me."

The mother said, "Oh! Why is that?"

The girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true?"

"Yes, that's true," the mother replied.

"He also said that God lives within us. Is that true, too?"

Again the mother replied, "Yes."

"Well," said the girl. "If God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn't He show through?"

Featured Illustrations are items well suited for illustrating or inspiring a point in a sermon, speech, or devotional. Funny, moving, or perhaps even graphic, the point of them is the point you make with them.

The Cybersalt Digest is a ministry of Pastor Tim and Cybersalt.

Click here to view this edition online!  

Cybersalt News

Oh look, the last Chicken Thursday of 2021!

Before moving to Vancouver Island, 25 years ago, I was somewhat of a railfan. But with no regular trains around here I've put that interest on the back burner for my own sanity. However, from time to time, I do indulge myself to some train stuff on YouTube. Today's video share is of a fascinating railroad crossing.
Click here to watch it.

This is the last mailing of 2021. Thank you for being a part of it!

May God bless you all richly in 2022 and give you peace.

~ Pastor Tim

Dec 25
My dearest darling Edward,
What a wonderful surprise has just greeted me! That sweet partridge, in that lovely little pear-tree; what an enchanting, romantic, poetic present! Bless you, and thank you.

Your deeply loving,
Emily

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Dec. 26
Beloved Edward,
The two turtle-doves arrived this morning, and are cooing away in the pear-tree as I write. I'm so touched and grateful!

With undying love, as always,
Emily

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Dec. 27
My darling Edward,
You do think of the most original presents! Who ever thought of sending anybody three French hens? Do they really come all the way from France? It's a pity we have no chicken coops, but I expect we'll find some. Anyway, thank-you so much; they're lovely.

Your devoted,
Emily

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Dec. 28
Dearest Edward,
What a surprise! Four calling birds arrived this morning. They are very sweet, even if they do call rather loudly - they make telephoning almost impossible - but I expect they'll calm down when they get used to their new home. Anyway, I'm very grateful, of course I am.

Love from Emily

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Dec. 29
Dearest Edward,
The mailman has just delivered five most beautiful gold rings, one for each finger, and all fitting perfectly! A really lovely present! Lovelier, in a way, than birds, which do take rather a lot of looking after. The four that arrived yesterday are still making a terrible row, and I'm afraid none of us got much sleep last night. Mother says she wants to use the rings to "wring" their necks. Mother has such a sense of humour. This time she's only joking, I think, but I do know what she means.
Still, I love the rings.

Bless you,
Emily

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Dec. 30
Dear Edward,
Whatever I expected to find when I opened the front door this morning, it certainly wasn't six socking great geese laying eggs all over the porch.  Frankly, I rather hoped that you had stopped sending me birds. We have no room for them, and they've already ruined the croquet lawn. I know you meant well, but let's call a halt, shall we?

Love,
Emily

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Dec. 31
Edward,
I thought I said NO MORE BIRDS. This morning I woke up to find no more than seven swans, all trying to get into our tiny goldfish pond. I'd rather not think what's happened to the goldfish. The whole house seems to be full of birds, to say nothing of what they leave behind them, so please, please, stop!

Your Emily

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Jan 1
Frankly, I prefer the birds. What am I to do with eight milkmaids? And their cows! Is this some kind of a joke? If so, I'm afraid I don't find it very amusing.

Emily

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Jan. 2
Look here, Edward,
This has gone far enough. You say you're sending me nine ladies dancing. All I can say is, judging from the way they dance, they're certainly not ladies.  The village just isn't accustomed to seeing a regiment of shameless viragos, with nothing on but their lipstick, cavorting round the green, and it's Mother and I who get the blame. If you value our friendship, which I do (less and less), kindly stop this ridiculous behaviour at once!

Emily

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Jan 3
As I write this letter, ten disgusting old men are prancing up and down all over what used to be the garden, before the geese and the swans and the cows got at it. And several of them, I have just noticed, are taking inexcusable liberties with the milkmaids. Meanwhile the neighbours are trying to have us evicted. I shall never speak to you again.

Emily

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Jan 4
This is the last straw! You know I detest bagpipes! The place has now become something between a menagerie and a madhouse, and a man from the council has just declared it unfit for habitation. At least Mother has been spared this last outrage; they took her away yesterday afternoon in an ambulance to a home for the bewildered. I hope you're satisfied.

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Jan 5
Sir,
Our client, Miss Emily Wilbraham, instructs me to inform you that with the arrival on her premises at 7:30 this morning of the entire percussion section of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and several of their friends, she has no course left open to her but to seek an injunction to prevent you importuning her further. I am making arrangements for the return of much assorted livestock.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
G. Creep
Attorney at law

I think I'll just put an "Out of Order" sticker on my forehead and call it a day.

"Be a Billionaire!"

and Help

Refugees and

Persecuted Christians

Right before the clock strikes midnight on December 31, make sure you raise your left leg. that way you will start the year off on the right foot!

"Celebrate endings - for they precede new beginnings."

- Jonathan Huie

A few days after Christmas, my six-year-old son and I were talking. He asked, "Mom, is there a Santa Claus?"

"Well, what do you think?" I asked him.

He replied, "Well, my PlayStation that I got and my gift from Santa were wrapped in the same kind of wrapping paper."

He thought for a minute and said, "I'll tell you what ... you and Dad can go on buying me presents and let's just forget we ever had this talk!"

Featured Illustrations are items well suited for illustrating or inspiring a point in a sermon, speech, or devotional. Funny, moving, or perhaps even graphic, the point of them is the point you make with them.

The Cybersalt Digest is a ministry of Pastor Tim and Cybersalt.

Click here to view this edition online!  

Cybersalt News

Oh look, Chicken Thursday! OK, today's mailing is very late, but it is still Thursday on the left coast of Canada.

Every year I try to send out a separate mailing for Christmas Eve, and I intended to do so again this year, but after celebrating an early Christmas with a couple of our kids and their families, Grandma Cybersalt and I were just too tuckered out to put together our regular mailing on time. So I am combining today's mailing with a Christmas Eve mailing - which will actually work much better for all of you keeners living in the earlier time zones.

You may recognize this picture of us in our Christmas masks from last year. These were sewn with great love by my younger sister, Melissa. I mention "great love" because Melissa suffers terribly with rheumatoid arthritis. Even though sewing helps to distract her from the pain she lives with, it's still not easy for her. And so last year, when we received them as a surprise in the mail, I quietly thought, "So much work for something we will be wearing for only a few weeks."

Fast forward one year and here we are wearing them again.

We are all tired of COVID and everything brought with it, taken from us, and what has changed seemingly forever. The pandemic continues to make what used to be simple harder, and what was already hard even more so. In so may ways we thought it would be over by now, or at least easier. But it's not.

We sing a song at our church that speaks to the wearying experience of being disappointed that the change and deliverance we want has not yet come to our lives. It sings of the reality that God will once again do the delivering work in our lives that he has done in the past. It may not be happening as fast as we thought or expected, but it will happen some day.

That is why we celebrate even the hardest of Christmases! We remember that the "back then" good work of God's deliverance, born of a virgin in Bethlehem, is like what He is going to do in the "not yet" of our lives, until all His plans and promises are fulfilled. Remember, God sent a great Savior because our need was great. And where our need IS still great, He can and will deliver for sure.

So whomever you are, wherever you are, and however you are, put your trust in the Jesus of Christmas because He will not fail you.

Today's video share is the song I mentioned above.
Click here to watch it.

From Susan and I, a Merry and Blessed Christmas to you all.

~ Pastor Tim

'Twas the nocturnal segment of the diurnal period preceding the annual yuletide celebration, and throughout our place of residence, kinetic activity was not in evidence among the possessors of this potential, including that species of domestic rodent known as Mus Musculus.  Hosiery was meticulously suspended from the forward edge of the wood-burning caloric apparatus, pursuant to our anticipatory pleasure regarding in imminent visitation from an eccentric philanthropist among whose folkloric appellations is the honorific title of St.  Nicholas.

The prepubescent siblings, comfortably ensconced in their respective accommodations of repose, were experiencing subconscious visual hallucinations of variegated fruit confections moving rhythmically through their cerebrums.  My conjugal partner and I, attired in our nocturnal head coverings, were about to take slumberous advantage of the hibernal darkness when upon the arenaceous exterior portion of the grounds there ascended such a cacophony of dissonance that I felt compelled to arise with alacrity from my place of repose for the purpose of ascertaining the precise source thereof.

Hastening to the casement, I forthwith opened the barriers sealing this fenestration, noticing thereupon that the lunar brilliance without reflected as it was on the surface of a recent crystalline precipitation might be said to rival that of the solar aeridian itself -- thus permitting my incredulous optical sensory organs to behold a miniature airborne runnered conveyance drawn by eight diminutive specimens of the genus Rangifer, piloted by a miniscule, aged chauffer so ebullient and nimble that it became instantly apparent to me that he was indeed our anticipated caller.  With his ungulate motive power travelling at what may possibly have been more vertiginous velocity than patriotic alar predators, he vociferated loudly, expelled breath musically through contracted labia, and addressed each of the octet by his or her respective cognomen -- "Now Dasher, now Dancer...et al.  -- guiding them to the uppermost exterior level of our abode, through which structure I could readily distinguish the concatenations of each of the thirty-two cloven pedal extremities.

As I retracted my cranium from its erstwhile location and was performing a 180 degree pivot, our distinguished visitant achieved, with utmost celerity and via a downward leap, entry by way of the smoke passage.  He was clad entirely in animal pelts soiled by the the ebony residue from the oxidations of carboniferous fuels which had accumulated on the walls thereof.  His resemblance to a street vendor I attributed largely to the plethora of assorted playthings which he bore dorsally in a commodious cloth receptacle.

His orbs were scintillant with reflected luminosity, while his submaxillary dermal indentations gave every evidence of engaging amiability.  The capillaries of his molar regions and nasal appurtenance were engorged with blood which suffused the subcutaneous layers, the former approximating the coloration of Albion's floral emblem, the latter that of the Prunus avium, or sweet cherry.  His amusing sub and supra-labials resembled nothing so much as a common loop knot, and their ambient hirsute facial adornment appeared like small, tabular and columnar crystals of frozen water.

Clenched firmly between his incisors was a smoking piece whose gray fumes, forming a tenuous ellipse about his occiput, were suggestive of a decorative seasonal circlet of holly.  His visage was wider than it was high, and when he waxed audibly mirthful, his corpulent abdominal region undulated in the manner of pectinated fruit syrup in a hemispherical container.  He was, in short, neither more nor less than an obese, jocund, multigenarian gnome, the optical perception of whom rendered me visibly frolicsome despite every effort to refrain from so being.  By rapidly lowering and then elevating one eyelid and rotating his head slightly to one side, he indicated that trepidation on my part was groundless.

Without utterance and without dispatch, he commenced filling the afore-mentioned hosiery with articles of merchandise extracted from his afore-mentioned hosiery with articles of merchandise extracted from his afore-mentioned previously dorsally transported cloth receptacle.  Upon completion of this task, he executed an abrupt about-face, placed a single manual digit in lateral juxtaposition to his olfactory organ, inclined his cranium forward in a gesture of leave-taking, and forthwith effected his egress by renegotiating (in reverse) the smoke passage.  he then propelled himself in a short vector onto his conveyance, directed a musical expulsion of air through his contracted oral sphincter to the antlered quadrupeds of burden, and proceeded to soar aloft in a movement hitherto observable chiefly among the seed-bearing portions of a common weed.  But I overheard his parting exclamation, audible immediately prior to his vehiculation beyond the limits of visibility: "Ecstatic yuletide to the planetary constituency, and to that selfsame assemblage, my sincerest wishes for a salubriously beneficial and gratifyingly pleasurable period between sunset and dawn!"

Don't be worried about your smartphone or TV spying on you ... your vacuum cleaner has been collecting dirt on you for years.

"Be a Billionaire!"

and Help

Refugees and

Persecuted Christians

What did Adam say the day before Christmas?

Tomorrow is Christmas, Eve!

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

- Luke 2:10-12

In a remote village in Central America the word got out among the peoples of the region that one of the American missionaries that had served this country for many years was about to return to the US to live our the remaining years of her life.

The nationals desired to honor her for her years of service with a public time of appreciation. News of the event went to all parts of the country in which the missionary was known to the people. One very old and very poor man walked to the ceremony over mountainous terrain for 4 days to bring his gift to the missionary.

The gift consisted of 2 coconuts, but it was all the man had. The missionary recognized the man as coming from the remote village in the mountains.

"Brother, I cannot believe that you would walk so far to present me with this gift," said the missionary to the man.

His response?

"Long walk part of gift."

Featured Illustrations are items well suited for illustrating or inspiring a point in a sermon, speech, or devotional. Funny, moving, or perhaps even graphic, the point of them is the point you make with them.

Rev. James Snyder, God's Penman, writes . . . . 

Everybody has their own definition of what naughty is. So my great concern is why we allow this man called Santa Claus from the North Pole to determine who is naughty or nice?

For some reason, I got on Santa’s naughty list this year. You might ask, “How do you know that you’re on his naughty list?”

The answer to that is very simple, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage said to me this past week, “I think you’re on Santa’s naughty list this year.”

I don’t know how she knew that, but I never question what she knows or doesn’t know. So if she says I’m on Santa’s naughty list, I am for sure on Santa’s naughty list.

The Cybersalt Digest is a ministry of Pastor Tim and Cybersalt.

Click here to view this edition online!  

Cybersalt News

Sunday greetings everyone.

Last year Christmas had barely passed when I realized I had hardly listened to any Christmas music while I worked or played. I remembered that this year and have been intentionally flooding my days and nights with Christmas music. One of the gems I have found is a concert by Sting.

Now, I am sure this performance is not everyone's cup of tea. It's not all Christmas music, and it's not even all Christian music. But I think it's inspiring and beautiful, so I am sharing it as this today's video share. With all music, including Christian, Christmas music, discernment is a gift to be opened regularly all year round!

Click Here to Watch "Sting: A Winter's Night... Live from Durham Cathedral" the Video

Enjoy the rest of today's mailing!

~ Pastor Tim

Here is "Cambodian Christmas" by a New Zealander in Cambodia. Thanks to Janice Reid for this version of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas."

'Twas the night before Christmas,
Right here in Phnom Penh
And the beasties were snoring
Tucked up in their dens

The missos were wrapping
Up presents galore
And sharing Yuletide stories
And other folklore

Their mammies and daddies
Were here for the hols,
Right over from Stateside
With presents and dolls

Or Aussie, or England
They came from everywhere
To look for Saint Nick...
If he knew his way here

The stockings were hung
On the aircons with care
And the ants went and found them
And built nests in there

Then suddenly, suddenly
Through the dark night
The dogs started howling
And yelping with fright

Then down the old roadway
The potholes they missed
Those carabao plodding
So laden with gifts

The driver was laughing
And honking and such
As he pulled up outside
And gave the bell a touch

We piled out the door
And opened the gate
And there was the stranger
A tall four-foot-eight

And then he smiled greatly
And gave a nice "wai"
And said, "I am Santa.
Chum reap soar! Hi!"

His face it was shiny
All covered with sweat
But his t-shirt was brighter
Than house-paint all red

He climbed from his ox-cart
And came in the house
And scared, as he did so,
A rat and a mouse

A smile he did give us
And some of those gifts
And we gave him back
Fried bananas and grits

Now Santa, he said
"I have much to do here
To teach all these Khmer
No effort to spare

To celebrate Christmas
To remember the Son
Who is really The Gift
from the Three in the One

Then off he did go
That Santa so merry
To call through the darkness
His message so cheery

And his carabao snorted
As they plodded away
With the leader's nose shining
Turning night into day

And Santa did call
As he rounded the bend
"Merry Christmas to all,
And a life without end!"

Translations:

Phnom Penh: capital city of Cambodia

Beasties: animals (a Down Under term!)

Missos: missionaries

Carabao: water-buffalo

Wai: a polite way of greeting (equivalent to a handshake) by holding hands together in prayer position in front of your face. Done with a small bow for added politeness

Chum reap soar: Cambodian greeting, "Hello."

Fried bananas: common snack, very tasty!

Khmer: Cambodians

Having plans sounds like a good idea until you have to put on clothes and leave the house.

"Be a Billionaire!"

and Help

Refugees and

Persecuted Christians

Today in the Arthritis Pool Exercise Class, a 90-year-old lady said, "I'm flying to Chicago for Christmas, and they will probably charge me extra for being an 'old bag'!"

"Some Christmas tree ornaments do more than glitter and glow, they represent a gift of love given a long time ago."

- Tom Baker

I looked for Christmas everywhere,
Through snow-filled skies and winter's air.
I hunted in the likely places ---
The festive shops, the children's faces.

I searched for Christmas day and night,
In sprigs of holly, candlelight;
In gifts gay-wrapped and friendly greeting,
Yet found it not, and time was fleeting.

And then --- with a sudden start ---
I thought to search within my heart.

And there --- not lost, but warm and waking ---
Was Christmas, mine just for the taking!

- "The Search" by Emily Templeton

Featured Illustrations are items well suited for illustrating or inspiring a point in a sermon, speech, or devotional. Funny, moving, or perhaps even graphic, the point of them is the point you make with them.

Rev. James Snyder, God's Penman, writes . . . . 

I’ve had sort of a grudge with old Mr. Santa Claus. I was introduced to Santa Claus by my parents, who informed me that he was the one that brought all of my Christmas presents on Christmas day. And I believe my parents.

I remember on Christmas Eve we had to go to bed early to give Santa Claus time to deliver our presents under the tree. It was hard to sleep that early on Christmas Eve knowing that Santa was coming with Christmas presents. Finally, we did fall asleep only to wake up Christmas day with the tree filled with our Christmas presents.

I did not know the real identity of Santa Claus until many years later.

The Cybersalt Digest is a ministry of Pastor Tim and Cybersalt.