the Centrist

Marilyn with Grandson Chris

Dear Friends and Family:

Happpy New Year. May the Lord bring joy, peace, and love to you and your family in the upcoming year … bless you all. After prayer requests and updates, enjoy the Lighter Side at the end (three of them). But first perhaps some facts you didn’t know about the burial cloths of Jesus. Please continue to pray for these requests … last, but most importantly, a special birthday greeting to the most special wife, mother, and friend in the world. Happy Birthday Marilyn.

From Davenport Richard
Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin?
Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection? The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed
over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed separate from the grave clothes.
Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, ‘They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him!’

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn’t go in.
Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head
was folded up and lying to the side.
Was that important? Absolutely!
In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.
When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it.

Tim and Sue (Marilyn’s brother and sister-in-law) in Celebration Florida

The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.
Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, ‘I’m done’. But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because………. The folded napkin meant, ‘I’m coming back!’
And He is Coming Back!

Book Report:
Recently I re-read “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel.
Strobel was not only a skeptic of Christianity, but also an investigative journalist.
He applied all of the tools of hard journalism against the claim that Jesus was God, resurrected, etc. After he exhaustively researched
the Gospels, he became a believer. I highly recommend this book and author. He breaks the book into three parts:
Part One: Who Is This Jesus;
Part Two: How Reliable Is the Information About Christ?
Part Three: Can a Dead man Come Back to Life
Read, enjoy, and believe…

Updates and Prayer Requests…

Update on Lois, she is ready to ‘go home’ …
Monday AM … Lois took a turn for the worse last night. She is fighting double pneumonia and last night they couldn’t get her comfortable. It does not sound good. Please pray that God’s will be done without any more pain and suffering. Melissa
Tuesday AM … After my visit with Lois tonight (Monday) I do believe it was the last one. She was very weak, spoke a little but is about as close to death as I have seen. Pray that God will take her gently. Gail is in serious pain with a pinched nerve in her back. So, prayers all around would be helpful. Peace to you all and make sure to hug the ones you love tonight … Melissa

No update from Fredonia Patti on friend Carol who has a large mass in her breast which biopsy showed to be cancer, continue to pray for her friend Vinny who has lost all his hair plus his beard. He is feeling extremely tired but hanging in, he is now on Radiation Therapy. He has faith that God will get him thru continue to pray for him.

Graydon B is home and JoAnne is still able to drive, although she has her shoulder in a brace (she did break her collar bone). When JoAnne leaves the house for necessities Graydon must have somebody stay with him. Please keep them in prayer. No new update.
Ester B home and doing well …
Niece Rhonda continues to improve, but she still has some head pain, please keep praying.
Niece Jennifer who has RSD (same disease as Marilyn – Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy) went through pain clinic at Rochester Strong Memorial Pain Center and is now undergoing new treatment … she is improving

Brother Les is about the same. Valarie never complains, bless her, but the burden is heavy. Please keep them both in prayer. A change in the bathroom (to fully handicapped) will be a major help and should be done any time now.
Transplants: Good Friend Keith – liver, Brother Pat – liver; Good Friend Jim – kidney … please keep praying for their well being
Please continue to pray for Vinny a close friend of Fredonia Patti’s – metastatic cancer (see above update)
Continue to pray for Scott’s maternal grandfather Bob (Lou Gerig’s Disease). He took a turn for the worst and both his grandmother and uncle were unable to attend the wedding.
Deedee C’s mother, elderly and weak
My friend and personal physician Dr Hal P. continue to pray as you know he has developed metastatic bone cancer, pray for healing and comfort. He is presently going through chemo. This is his second bout with cancer – no new word.
Continue to pray for our niece Rhonda for headaches and eye problems and sister Jane for MS
Cousins Janet and Karen for strength MS
Unity for our family
Tolerance, Christ’s Love, and Understanding for our families, friends, and enemies

Newlyweds: Son Rand and wife Erin, niece Cassy and husband Tom, niece Julia and Steve, and grandson Scott and Chelsa for long happy and prosperous relationships centered on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Bonnie Erbie (author accusing Christians of being knuckle draggers), prayer for salvation.
Pray for wisdom and spiritual guidance in rearing children for our family as well as the renewal of the nuclear family; pray that marriage stays as one man, one woman, but rights are extended to same gender unions.
Pray for our troops each evening at 9:00 pm. every night … pray that America wakes up to evil before it is to late.
Nephews John and Ryan – Ryan in Iraq and John in Virginia (both in the Navy)and grandson Scott who is a Marine
Prayer partners Bill, John, and Ron … for continued blessings
Please continue to pray for health issues for five of our nieces, sister Jane, and Marilyn.
Pastors: Dan, John, Tom, Lyell, Steve D, Ben, Estes, Whittikers, Neil, and Steve T for their ministries, ease of stress, and courage to spread the gospel; wisdom for all leadership at Yates, Greater Toledo 1st Baptist, Clermont Baptist

the Lighter Side
Jamestown Patti on Kids Answers to Teachers…
____________________________________________
TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it’s H to O.
__________________________________
TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn’t have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
__________________________________________
TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I’m a lot closer to the ground than you are.
_______________________________________
TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ‘I.’
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie….. Always say, ‘I am.’
MILLIE: All right… ‘I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.’
_______________________________
TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father’s cherry tree, but also admitted it.
Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn’t punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.
______________________________________
TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don’t have to, my Mom is a good cook.
______________________________
TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on ‘My Dog’ is exactly the same as your brother’s. Did you copy his?
CLYDE : No, sir. It’s the same dog.
__________________________________
TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher

More from Jamestwon Patti … On woman’s Issues …
1. A friend of mine confused her Valium with her birth control pills… she has 14 kids but doesn’t really care.
2. One of life’s mysteries is how a 2-pound box of chocolates can make a woman gain 5 lbs.
3. My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely.
4. The best way to forget your troubles is to wear tight shoes.
5. The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don’t know what you are doing, someone else does.
6. The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends.
7. Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today.
8. Sometimes I think I understand everything, and then I regain consciousness.
9. I gave up jogging for my health when my thighs kept rubbing together and setting fire to my spandex shorts.
10. Amazing! You hang something in your closet for a while and it shrinks 2 sizes!

11. Skinny people irritate me! Especially when they say things like…’You know sometimes I forget to eat!’ …..Now I’ve forgotten my address, my mother’s maiden name and my keys, but I have never forgotten to eat. You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat!
12. The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing and then they marry him.
13. I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That’s my idea of a perfect day!
Note from Norma
Some trivia for your enjoyment.
Stewardesses’ is the longest word typed with only the left hand.
And ‘lollipop’ is the longest word typed with your right hand.
(Bet you tried this out mentally, didn’t you?)
No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.
‘ Dreamt’ is the only English word that ends in the letters ‘mt’. (Are you doubting this?)
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
The sentence: ‘The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog’ uses every letter of the alphabet.
(Now, you KNOW you’re going to try this out for accuracy, right?)

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,
Love
Dr B