From the desk of … sometimes, From the BlackBerry of … Keith Parnell

The folks at BerryReporter are reporting a leaked date of February 11, 2009 for the T-mobile release of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 (Javelin). I reported here last month the date would be February 18th so that wasn’t far off. I’m ready!

See the Javelin’s spec sheet here.

• Quad-band radios: GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• Wi-Fi b/g with UMA + GPS in one
• OS 4.6.1, featuring Safe Mode start up
• 480 by 360 high-res HVGA+ display
• 512 MHz Processor
• 256 MB onboard flash memory
• Hot-swappable microSD slot - located under the battery door
• 3.2MP camera, includes auto-focus
• Glass cover - one piece glass cover will house the camera and flash, providing a very polished look and feel
• Micro USB charging/syncing port, w/ high speed data
• Dedicated Lock Button - will allow easy access to lock / hold the device when not using a holster
• “Sweet Spot” narrow keypad
• Battery Cover features a new easy to use, latch mechanism

Smartphone BerryReporter, BlackBerry 8900, Curve, EDGE, GPRS, GPS, GSM, Javelin, T-mobile, UMA, USB, Wi-fi

Brandon Savage tagged me with writing seven little-known things about myself and then tagging seven other people to do the same. So here goes …

1. I took 3 years of Latin in high school because I had dreams of going to medical school.
2. The name of my company, JASE, is an acronym from the initials of my two daughters: “Jennifer Annette” and “Sydni Elizabeth”.
3. My first (real) job was during the summer at a landscaping company when I was 15. I got fired half-way through the summer because they found out I wasn’t old enough to work. My first (not real) job was delivering newspapers when I was 14.
4. I quit band near the end of my 6th grade school year just before the spring concert because the concert was on the same night as one of my little league baseball games. Yes, my Dad let me decide! Thanks Pop.
5. I played baseball in college. And for a few years made money playing slow-pitch softball.
6. I’m an Eric Clapton F*R*E*A*K! Clapton. Cream. Derek and the Dominos. John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Yardbirds. Blind Faith. Plastic Ono Band. Delaney, Bonnie & Friends. If it’s Clapton, I can’t get enough.
7. My Dad passed away in 1999 after battling cancer. He is my idol. To most people that know me, that’s not a surprise. But it’s worth mentioning because too many children don’t have role models in their home. I did when I was young. And I’m proud of that fact.

And now, here are the seven people that I tag to do the same.

1. Nicole Blum - blog - twitter - JASEzone
2. Keith Ainsley - blog - twitter - JASEzone
3. Michelle Rogerson - blog - twitter
4. Nick Webb - blog - twitter - JASEzone
5. Rick Whittington - blog - twitter
6. Michael Tefft - blog - twitter
7. Guy Kemp - blog - twitter

Here are the rules:

• Link your original tagger, and list these rules on your blog.
• Share seven facts about yourself in the post - some random, some weird.
• Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter and/or JASEzone.

Time for some fun!

Thoughts band, Blind Faith, blog, Bonnie, Brandon Savage, cancer, college, Cream, Dad, Delaney, Derek and the Dominos, Eric Clapton, Guy Kemp, JASE, John Mayall, Keith Ainsley, landscaping, Latin, little league baseball, medical school, Michael Tefft, Michelle Rogerson, Nick Webb, Nicole Blum, paper boy, Rick Whittington, softball, tag, Twitter, Yardbirds

Where do you do your best work that’s not at your desk?

We all need a change of scenery at some point during the day. Where do you go to research, read, write or work quietly?

The deck outside my office gets plenty of use on pleasant days like today.

Thoughts deck, desk, office, work

The City of Norfolk’s Representatives will be holding a Town Hall Meeting this evening to hear the public’s input on issues that will be discussed and decided upon during the upcoming session. I will be in attendance to hear our Representatives’ thoughts and if necessary provide public input. I invite and encourage you to attend.

Senator Ralph Northam, Delegate Paula Miller, Delegate Lynwood Lewis and Delegate Kenny Alexander will be in attendance.

The Town Hall Meeting is this evening (Monday, January 5, 2009), 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM at the Norfolk Fitness and Wellness Center, 7300 Newport Avenue, Norfolk, VA. Directions to the meeting are here.

The Virginia General Assembly convenes on January 14, 2009 in Richmond, VA.

Community Delegate Kenny Alexander, Delegate Lynwood Lewis, Delegate Paula Miller, Norfolk, Norfolk Fitness and Wellness Center, Richmond, Senator Ralph Northam, Town Hall Meeting, VA, Virginia General Assembly

Google released its Chrome web browser about 3 months ago for public use. Windows users have been able to test, play and report bugs back to Google at their leisure.

No Mac version is available. No Linux version is available.

Honestly though, I believe that’s a smart move on Google’s part. Better to launch on the most popular platform (Windows) so you get the most constructive feedback than to haphazardly not be able to standardize the public testing process. Mac and Linux versions will come later.

So what do you think 3 months later? Yes? No? Shows promise?

Technology Chrome, Google, Linux, Mac, Windows

How much of this is true in business? Does it only take once to become a success? Certainly positive sucess stories can be told by repeat succeeders like Bill Gates, Mark Cuban or even Jason Calacanis.

Here’s a story told by Mark Cuban a few years ago on his Blog Maverick blog.

Success and Motivation - You only have to be right once!
May 30th 2005 1:46AM

In basketball you have to shoot 50pct. If you make an extra 10 shots per hundred, you are an All-Star. In baseball you have to get a hit 30 pct of the time. If you get an extra 10 hits per hundred at bats, you are on the cover of every magazine, lead off every SportsCenter and make the Hall of Fame.

In Business, the odds are a little different. You don’t have to break the Mendoza line (hitting .200). In fact, it doesnt matter how many times you strike out. In business, to be a success, you only have to be right once.

One single solitary time and you are set for life. That’s the beauty of the business world.

I like to tell the story of how I started my first business at age 12, selling garbage bags. No one ever has asked if I was any good or made money at it. I was, and I did…enough to buy some tennis shoes :).

I like to tell the story of how I started up a bar, Motley’s Pub when I wasn’t even of legal drinking age the summer before my senior year at Indiana University. No one really asks me how it turned out. It was great until we got busted for letting a 16-year-old win a wet t-shirt contest (I swear I checked her ID, and it was good!).

No one really asks me about my adventures working for Mellon Bank, or Tronics 2000, or trying to start a business selling powdered milk (it was cheaper by the gallon, and I thought it tasted good). They don’t ask me about working as a bartender at night at Elans when I first got to Dallas, or getting fired from my job at Your Business Software for wanting to close a sale rather than sweeping the floor and opening up the store.

No ever asked me about what it was like when I started MicroSolutions and how I used to count the months I was in business, hoping to outlast my previous endeavors and make this one a success.

With every effort, I learned a lot. With every mistake and failure, not only mine, but of those around me, I learned what not to do. I also got to study the success of those I did business with as well. I had more than a healthy dose of fear, and an unlimited amount of hope, and more importantly, no limit on time and effort.

Fortunately, things turned out well for me with MicroSolutions. I sold it after 7 years and made enough money to take time off and have a whole lot of fun.

Back then I can remember vividly people telling me how lucky I was to sell my business at the right time.

Then when I took that money and started trading technology stocks that were in the areas that MicroSolutions focused on. I remember vividly being told how lucky I was to have expertise in such a hot area, as technology stocks started to trade up.

Of course, no one wanted to comment on how lucky I was to spend time reading software manuals, or Cisco Router manuals, or sitting in my house testing and comparing new technologies, but that’s a topic for another blog post.

The point of all this is that it doesn’t matter how many times you fail. It doesn’t matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and either should you. All you have to do is learn from them and those around you because…

All that matters in business is that you get it right once.

Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are.

Business Bill Gates, business success, Cisco, Elans, Jason Calacanis, Mark Cuban, Mellon Bank, MicroSolutions, motivation, Motley's Pub, Tronics 2000, Your Business Software

Okay, you’ve listed your New Year’s resolutions. You’re serious about them. Now what?

I’ve printed mine and placed them on a side wall in my office so I can see them. They are kind of  hidden behind a monitor that’s not used much so visitors don’t really notice, but I know they are there. And I know they are staring at me.

What about you? How serious are you about setting and accomplishing your ‘09 goals?

Business 2009, goals, new year's resolutions

We all have people in our lives that have looked at us funny when the word T-W-I-T-T-E-R came out of our mouths. And let’s be honest, it feels kind of awkward just to say the word T-W-I-T-T-E-R.

Most proper names in the web 2.0 world are odd, err original. And Twitter fits in that frame.

I started using Twitter almost two years ago. I was very leary at first but now it makes sense to me. The value of my network has grown. My circle is more powerful than ever. And it’s just plain good fun sometimes to connect with friends that I would have never met under any other circumstances.

I ran across this post from Lani Rosalis this week and she reminded me of a video the Common Craft team produced. So I thought I’d share.

Catch me on Twitter here.
Follow our JASE team on Twitter here.

Leave your Twitter name in the comments below.

Social Media Common Craft, JASE, Keith Parnell, Lani Rosalis, my circle, network, Twitter, web 2.0

I hope everyone had a fun and safe (!) New Year’s Eve and January 1^st of 2009. Despite our troubled economy I am excited about the upcoming year.

We have several exciting initiatives on our plate and are underway with integrating social media into almost every aspect of our business and services. Let us show you what we’re doing in 2009. It’s fun. It’s exciting. And we’d love to you have enjoy the ride with us.

Make sure to subscribe to this blog’s RSS feed here so you don’t miss the action. You can also catch me on Twitter and in the JASEzone most anytime to see what’s going on in real-time.

Our JASE blog’s RSS feed is here. And you can follow the whole team in the JASEzone here and on Twitter here.

Thanks to everyone for supporting us in 2008 and we welcome an exciting 2009.

Business, Marketing, Social Media 2008, 2009, blog, JASE, JASEzone, New Year, RSS, Social Media, Twitter

New Year’s resolutions are tough for me because I try to be honest with myself. I try to set goals that are attainable and that I know I can and will achieve. So here goes.

1. I will identify those in my network of influence (on me) that are negative and impress upon me a non-productive demeanor. I will totally eliminate them from my circle.
2. I will attempt to increase the size and more importantly the quality of my network of business partners. I will work my hardest to learn from their experience and offer my participation where appropriate.
3. I will schedule my days and weeks to be more fluid, yet more productive.
4. I will attempt to face-to-face network more than I did in 2008.
5. I will be more cognizant of my personal brand and achieve to sharpen its edges.

Brand, Business 2009, New Year, resolution

This is a follow-up to an earlier post about whether Chief Information Officers should have experienced technology, business or both backgrounds.

I made a statement that our CIO in 2009 must be the go-to person at the C-level conference table for social media topics. It went something like this -

… the role of the CIO, in 2009 we will be adding a specific requirement that satisfies marketing initiative requirements. The CIO must understand and must support social media. Period.

To further elaborate, I believe it is the CIO’s responsibility to be all over social networks for their company, to be knowledgeable in the environment and understand them architecturally. This means experience. This means active participation.

The CIO must know, in enough detail, the relationship between architecture, strategy and innovation. And must be able to establish goals for the IT division that will satisfy marketing on social platforms like JASEzone.

Marketing, Social Media, Technology architecture, business goals, Chief Information, CIO, innovation, IT, Marketing, Social Media, strategy, Technology

Colossians 3:16-17

Let the teaching of Christ live in you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and instruct each other by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.

Here’s a perfect example from Chris Tomlin of such a powerful song - How Great is Our God.

God Chris Tomlin, Christ, God, How Great is Our God, hymn, Jesus, Lord, psalm, spiritual song

This is a tired conversation. It’s gone on for several years now, for as long as the Chief Information Officer title has been hip.

The answer is simple. Why not both?!

I’m not going to hire (or be) a CIO that doesn’t know tech. And I’m not going to hire (or be) a CIO that doesn’t fully understand how to align their division with the business goals of the organization.

To further expand on the role of the CIO, in 2009 we will be adding a specific requirement that satisfies marketing initiative requirements. The CIO must understand and must support social media. Period.

What do you think? Should the CIO shoulder this much expectation?

Business, Marketing, Social Media, Technology business goals, Chief Information Officer, CIO, Marketing, Social Media, techie

This is a very powerful passage with so many great points; it’s almost ashamed to group them together in one message. But here it is. Take the time to read it a couple of times.

Colossians 3:12-15

Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must take allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace.

God Bible, Christ, Colossians, forgiveness, gentleness, God, humility, kindness, love, mercy, patience, peace, perfect harmony

That’s a strong statement. Here it is again, all forms of media will be intangible in 5 years.

That was Steve Rubel’s prediction in the December 1st edition of Advertising Age (print magazine). Steve wagers that, “by January 2014 almost all forms of tangible media will be either in sharp decline or completely extinct in the U.S.”

Tangible media = newspapers, magazines, books, DVDs, boxed software, video games, etc.

He asks that we consider these points:

• The success of Amazon Kindle.
• Random House is making 15k books available online.
• Microsoft’s Xbox is open to user-generated games available online for download.
• Apple setting the tone through its iTunes store with downloadable iPhone and iPod Touch games.
• Netflix offering play-on-demand movies over the Internet.
• Christian Science Monitor closed its print copy and made all content available online regularly.

All forms of media will be intangible in 5 years? Steve makes some good points but not sure I can get behind this. Consider the Pew Research stats we published earlier this week that 35% of surveyed adults still get their news from newspapers. Those same adults are readers of books, readers of Time magazine and Sports Illustrated.

I agree the majority of media and communications are moving online. But not all and completely. Not in 5 years.

Back to Steve’s main point, what does this mean for advertising? It means that online marketing and ad firms like JASE are becoming more popular and in-demand. The expertise is substantially different than owned by conventional ad firms.

Social media and its extremities like gaming, reading and movies online are the focal points of the future and you’ll need a partner firm like JASE to ensure your stability and growth.

Advertising, Marketing, Social Media Advertising, Advertising Age, Amazon Kindle, Apple, book, Christian Science Monitor, DVD, iPhone, iPod Touch, iTunes, JASE, magazine, media, Microsoft, Netflix, newspaper, Pew Research, Random House, Social Media, software, Sports Illustrated, Steve Rubel, video game, Xbox

Steven J. Vaughan-nichols recently tested the newest released versions of Canonical Ubuntu, Red Hat Fedora and Novell openSuse Linux. He wrote about his findings for LinuxWorld here.

This one’s a good read for the Linux-heads. Steven gives recommendations on how the types of users align with which type of Linux. He also touches a bit on OpenOffice 3.0.

Technology Canonical, Fedora, Linux, LinuxWorld, Novell, OpenOffice, openSuse, Red Hat, Steven J. Vaughan-nichols, Ubuntu

An assortment of seemingly crazy state driving laws exists and can be found easily across the Internet. Most of these examples are sourced from newspapers and come from the site www.dumblaws.com.

In California, no vehicle without a driver may exceed 60 miles per hour.

In Florida, if an elephant, goat or alligator is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle.

In Montana, it is illegal to have a sheep in the cab of your truck without a chaperone.

In Oregon, a door on a car may not be left open longer than necessary.

In Tennessee, it is illegal shoot any game other than whales from a moving automobile.

Unknown City - residents of the city have spedometers on their horses, for they can not ride them in excess of ten miles per hour.

Unknown City - It is considered an offense to push a live moose out of a moving airplane.

Unknown City - It is still illegal to bring a donkey or a mule onto a trolley car.

Unknown City - It is illegal for any beautician to hum, whistle, or sing while working on a customer.

Unknown City - It is illegal to lie down on the sidewalk.

Unknown City - It is illegal to spit, except on baseball diamonds.

Community California, Florida, law, Montana, Oregon, Tennessee

Have you ever caught yourself in a conversation with someone that just absolutely has no idea what they’re talking about? And you’re too nice to call them on it.

Have you ever read something that’s been published by a person representing a group that includes you and you can see through the smoke screen of lack-of-knowledge of the topic? And you’re thinking through the whole reading, “I sure hope no one else reads this bunk.”

What an uncomfortable situation!

If you do not know technology, do not talk about it as an expert.
If you do not know sports, do not talk about it as an expert.
If you do not know politics, do not talk about it as an expert. Wait, that one doesn’t count.

Thoughts fake expert

Vestis virum facit.
Clothes make the man.

Ah. That they do!

Brand vacit, vestis, virum

It looks like T-mobile will finally release the BlackBerry Curve 8900 (Javelin) for the United States on February 18, 2009. Both TmoNews and Boy Genius Report have hopped on verifying this date.

I can’t wait! This phone has everything I need which is everything except 3G. And since T-mobile doesn’t service 3G in our area, no need to have a phone with 3G capability.

This is the one smartphone that would make me put down the Pearl.

See the Javelin’s spec sheet here.

• Quad-band radios: GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• Wi-Fi b/g with UMA + GPS in one
• OS 4.6.1, featuring Safe Mode start up
• 480 by 360 high-res HVGA+ display
• 512 MHz Processor
• 256 MB onboard flash memory
• Hot-swappable microSD slot - located under the battery door
• 3.2MP camera, includes auto-focus
• Glass cover - one piece glass cover will house the camera and flash, providing a very polished look and feel
• Micro USB charging/syncing port, w/ high speed data
• Dedicated Lock Button - will allow easy access to lock / hold the device when not using a holster
• “Sweet Spot” narrow keypad
• Battery Cover features a new easy to use, latch mechanism

Smartphone 3G, BlackBerry, Boy Genius Report, Curve 8900, Javelin, Pearl 8100, T-mobile, TmoNews

Who gets the money we pay for gasoline for our vehicles or lawn mowers or 4-wheelers?

I took this picture this morning at a gas station in Rocky Mount, NC on our way back home. I was surprised to learn that the fuel station owners only get 1% of the money we pay them each fill-up.

Knowing this information (not sure why I didn’t already know this) now, I think I have a different perspective on who is responsible for the nasty fluctuations in gas prices we’ve seen over the past 12 months.

1. 58% - Crude oil companies.
2. 17% - Petroleum refinery companies.
3. 15% - Local, State and Federal taxes.
4. 9% - Distribution and Retail companies*.
5. 1% - Store owners.

* 20% of distribution and retail dollars go to credit card companies.

Business 4-wheeler, car, credit card, crude oil, gas prices, gas station, gasoline, lawn mower, NC, petroleum, refinery, Rocky Mount, SUV, tax, truck

There were times in my professional life that I had found myself pushing to be more structured in my schedule than might have been smart. Then I found “social media” a few years ago. Or maybe it found me.

If nothing else, social media and particularly my social networks have taught me that time-of-the-day is not a critical variable for sharing information and gaining knowledge.

Along with (old school) “off-time” knowledge sharing and brainstorming with colleagues, business has accepted that the clock is no longer relevant for conducting business. Period.

Meetings during the evening are commonplace. Conference calls on Sunday with the team and client meetings at Starbucks on Saturday are no longer tabu.

Utilizing the 24-hour clock to my advantage has made me more efficient. And as an entreprenuer that may give me the advantage I need to put me ahead of the next guy.

Business, Social Media business meeting, calendar, entreprenuer, schedule, Social Media, social network, Starbucks

God is good!

Family, God, Holidays Christmas, God

Happy Festivus for the rest of us, my (Seinfeld lovin’) freinds! Sorry I’m a day late with greetings.

For those that do not know the Festivus history, here’s a glimpse into the offbeat holiday.

Festivus is an annual holiday created by writer Dan O’Keefe and introduced into popular culture by his son Daniel, a scriptwriter for the TV show Seinfeld.Although the original Festivus took place in February 1966 as a celebration of the elder O’Keefe’s first date with his future wife, Deborah, many people now celebrate the holiday on December 23, as depicted on the December 18, 1997 Seinfeld episode “The Strike.” According to O’Keefe, the name Festivus “just popped into his head.”

The holiday includes novel practices such as the “Airing of Grievances,” in which each person tells everyone else all the ways they have disappointed him or her over the past year. Also, after the Festivus meal, the “Feats of Strength” are performed, involving wrestling the head of the household to the floor, with the holiday ending only if the head of the household is actually pinned. These conventions originated with the TV episode.

The original holiday featured far more peculiar practices, as detailed in the younger Daniel O’Keefe’s book The Real Festivus, which provides a first-person account of an early version of the Festivus holiday as celebrated by the O’Keefe family, and how O’Keefe amended or replaced details of his father’s invention to create the Seinfeld episode.

Some people, influenced or inspired by Seinfeld, now celebrate the holiday in varying degrees of seriousness; the spread of Festivus in the real world is chronicled in the book Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us.

Holidays Airing of Grievances, Dan O'Keefe, Feats of Strength, Festivus, Jerry Seinfeld

Matthew 1:18 - 2:18

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

    ¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

    ²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

    ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

    ²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

The Magi Visit the Messiah

     ¹ After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

    ³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

    ⁶ ” ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
       are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
       for out of you will come a ruler
       who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

    ⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

    ⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt

    ¹³ When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

    ¹⁴ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, ¹⁵ where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

    ¹⁶ When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. ¹⁷ Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

    ¹⁸ “A voice is heard in Ramah,
       weeping and great mourning,
       Rachel weeping for her children
       and refusing to be comforted,
       because they are no more.”

God, Holidays Bethlehem, birth, Christ, Christmas, David, Egypt, Holy Spirit, Immanuel, Israel, Jerusalem, Jesus, Joseph, Judea, King Herod, Magi, Mary, Messiah, Rachel, Ramah