Was Jesus Christ born on December 25? Dr Taylor Marshall says “Yes, Christ was born on the historical day of December 25 in the year 1BC. Dr Taylor Marshall explains using the Church Fathers and the Gospel of Saint Luke.
This is a sample class from my online Catholic Curriculum “Early Church Fathers History” offered by the New Saint Thomas Institute. You can join for a limited time today for 47/month (and receive 7 more Courses thrown in) at:
This is a sample class from my online Catholic Curriculum “Early Church Fathers History” offered by the New Saint Thomas Institute. You can join for a limited time today for 47/month (and receive 7 more Courses thrown in) at:
If you are already a student Member of New Saint Thomas Institute, you already have full access to this course. I look forward to seeing you inside the New Saint Thomas Institute!
Every year I assemble a Top 10 Manly Gifts for Your Husband, Father, or Man in your Life. It’s immensely popular and throughout the year I meet men all over the country who say to me: “Hey thanks for recommending X on your list, ‘Top 10 Manly Christmas gifts’. My wife got it for me and I love it.”
The goal is to list gifts that he likes, but may not think of or ask for himself. If you need something interesting, different, and approved, check out this list.
Nota bene: In years past, I have recycled some of the most popular gifts, like this here Swiss Army Knife that is perfect for men, but especially for young or teenaged boys. If your son or husband doesn’t have a Swiss Army, get this one for him ASAP. He’ll love it and use it all Christmas morning to open boxes and gifts for everyone.
This year I wanted to change it up with 2 rules:
I have to own/use it.
It’s never been on a previous Top List before.
So here we go:
10. Amazon Echo or Show
I purchased an Echo for Joy and thought it was so cool I also got a Show for the kitchen counter. With just her voice, she can call up recipes, measurements, news, etc. But a guy can use it to call up weather, movie times,weather, his calendar appointments for the day, and any sport results or sport times coming up in future.
You can also fact check on it. For example, the other night we were debating how many people died in World War I. So I just said, “Alexa, how many people died in World War I?” and she answered: “17 million people died in World War I including 7 million civilians and 10 million military personnel.” How cool is that? We use it often and it’s great gift.
The Amazon Echo has no screen just sound (You can play music on it and it sounds GREAT).
The Amazon Show has a screen that shows images and text of what you ask or request.
9. Whisky Ice Ball Mold
I love scotch and I love the gigantic sphere ice cubes. My father got me these molds and they are easy to use and work great.
They are the #1 Bestseller on Amazon for this type of thing and they are the best. The “cool” thing about these large ice balls is that it melts slower than normal ice so you’re drink is cool but NOT watered down. It’s amazing. Get him some whisky ice ball molds for his stocking for only 9.99 by clicking here.
8. The Roku Premier
I love our Roku. I canceled cable which saves a lot of money. The Roku allows us to watch Amazon Prime content or Netflix. Get rid of cable. Get rid of ads. The Roku plugs into your TV or into your Receiver and streams content.
I used to think you needed heavy weights and weights only, but these bands proved me wrong. I like to stretch with them and to place them under my feet and then do arm exercises.
They stretch and work the muscles well and you can do various muscle groups and angles that you could NEVER do with traditional weights. It’s a great addition to any work out routine. If your guy doesn’t lift, these are a threatening introduction. You will be sore but in a good way. Get the mixed pack for 29.95 – you’ll need different resistance levels for various exercises.
6. Wool Gloves
I’ve worn a pair of these for decades. They are rough and tough but they actually dress up pretty nice with a blazer or peacoat in the winter. You’ll get compliments on them.
Sweatshirts and even sweaters are just okay. This pullover is stylish and tough. I’ve been wearing one of these for…decades (am I that old?). Patagonia is a great brand and it’s not going to fray or rip. They are for great skiing, camping, sitting by the fire, or for taking out the trash. I like the one depicted below:
This is the record player that my family got me 2 years ago. It’s great. We’ve had so much fun with it, from listening our parents old LPs, to searching out and buying new music on vinyl.
The secret to great hair is pomade. Remember George Clooney in Oh Brother Where Art Thou? His hair was legit because his pomade was legit:
Most guys think this is stuff for Presidents or movie stars in the 1950s. Um, yeah? What’s wrong with that? It’s awesome. This is a cheap gift but it makes your hair awesome. Just a dab will do ya! Get the Pomade by Crew (it’s in my hair now) for $34.
2. Nest Learning Thermostat 3rd Generation (Works with Amazon Alexa)
We got one in the summer and it’s AMAZING. We save tons of money on electric and heating and we are more comfortable. It actually senses when you are in the house and over time adjusts the power usage and temps to be most comfortable and save money. So if you leave the house every Tuesday for 5 hours at noon, it learns that and adjusts which save a lot of cash. It also looks super cool on your wall:
It hooks up to your mobile devices and phones. And remember how I recommend Amazon Show or Echo above – this thermastat can be voice controlled via Alexa. It’s a game changer. Start your smart home with Alexa. I had a lot of fun setting it up and watching it adjust and save money week after week (it keeps track of usage and shows you much you’re saving.)
Don’t be scared by the $244 price tag. I promise you’ll save that much easy in your first year using it. Get a Nest Thermostat here.
1. A Grown Man’s Victornox Slicing Knife
If you could just get one gift, get him this one. I know he needs a nice carving knife, because I also know that most men use the old knives that their wives use every day – the ones that your uncle gave you on your wedding day. However, every man needs to learn how to age and prepare meat and this is STEP ONE: A NICE SLICING KNIFE.
My father has a PhD in meat science so he’s passed on some education to me, and this knife is awesome:
It has over 1,000 5 star reviews. Rave reviews.
It’s made by Victornox (the people who make the Swiss Army Knife).
It’s #1 Bestseller in Carving Knives.
There are better knives but for the price ($43), this is a steal.
So there it is. If you’re a man and you like this list, subtly forward to this to your loved ones or slyly share it on Facebook. If you’re shopping for the men in your life, any of these are great gifts and I stand by the as someone who proudly uses all of them.
If your father or son loves battle, war stories, Roman history, gladiatorial games, and saints’ stories, please get him a copy of the first book in the Trilogy: Sword and Serpent by clicking here or the image below.
It’s time for the 2016 Manly Christmas Gift Guide!
For the 7th year in a row, I am featuring the Top Ten Manly Christmas Gifts for Men – stuff that men want but don’t ask for.
* If you received this post by email, you’ll want to click “Always Display Images” in your email client so that you can see the manly gift images.
Every year you’ve come to expect it, and every year I get ready for angry liberals complaining about my advocacy for pocket knives, guns, scotch, pipes, and leather.
After doing this list for 7 years, I now get stopped by wives who say, “Thanks for your annual Men’s Christmas Gift Guide. My husband loved the thermos and knife that you recommended.” Recently, a Catholic dad related to me, “My wife followed your Christmas manly gift guide. Thanks for recommending the scotch decanter. I love it.” 2 year ago we even caused Amazon to sell out of pocket Douay Rheims Bibles.
Like last year I have an improved list with more information on knives and how a lady can choose the right knife for the men in her life.
Men, it’s not bad taste to forward this post to your wife’s email account.
When your man gets back to work after Christmas and someone asks, “So what did you get for Christmas?” let him say something more than “Oh you know, a couple of new shirts and a tie.”
Top Ten Manly Christmas Gifts for Men (drumroll…)
Below is a guide for Manly Christmas Gifts: your husband, brother, or grandpa. Seriously, you can’t wrong with the following ten gifts. They’re all winners. So here we go:
Here are 10 Heresies related to the birth of Christ at Christmas. Just like counterfeit money, it’s best to know the real thing so that you can spot the fake bills. It’s the same way with your faith in Christ.
So here are 10 theological counterfeits. Print them out and memorize them:
Universalism teaches that Christ was born in Bethlehem to save all humans and all demons. Origen allegedly taught this doctrine. But the Nicene Creed reads “for us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven. Christ was born to redeem only humans.
Ebionism teaches that Joseph is the natural father of Jesus. The Nicene Creed refutes this with:”conceived of the Holy Spirit.”
Arianism teaches that Jesus not fully God, but only the first and best creature of God. On the contrary, the Catholic Church teaches that Christ if fully God and fully man.
Docetism teaches that Jesus only appeared to have a real physical body. On the contrary, the Catholic Church teaches that Christ is fully God and fully man. As Christ says, “Hand and see, for a spirit has not flesh and bones.”
Valentinianism taught that Holy Spirit deposited the Christ Child in her womb and that Mary was the a surrogate mother, but not truly Christ’s genetic mother. The Apostle Paul refutes this when he writes, “God sent His Son, made of a woman.”
Apollinarianism wrongly teaches that Christ did not have a human soul. They taught that the divine nature replaced the soul of Christ. This is false because Christ in the Gospels says, “Now my soul is troubled.”
Nestorianism teaches that Jesus is two “persons” – Jesus the human son of Mary and Jesus the divine Son of God. On the contrary, the Catholic Church teaches that Christ is one person with two natures: divine nature and human nature.
Monophysitism teaches that Jesus is fully God but not fully man. The Catholic Church teaches that Christ has two natures: divine nature and human nature.
Monothelitism teaches that Jesus has only one will. The Catholic Church teaches that Christ has two wills: a divine will and a human will belonging to His human soul.
Iconoclasm teaches that images are idolatrous. On the contrary, the Catholic Church defends the use of Christian (not pagan) images since Christ became visible through the incarnation.
Do you want to learn more about Catholic Theology and how to share and defend it? If so, please join the New Saint Thomas Institute. Enrollment for 2015 is open for a limited time: newsaintthomas.com.
Christmas is not a Merry season for everyone. Some people experience sadness or depression at Christmas as they reflect upon lost spouses, family members, friends, and opportunities.
Here’s a reflection on my own struggle during Christmas in year’s past and how I worked through it:
Question: Have you struggled with the Christmas blues or depression at Christmas before? Please share your story. You can leave a comment by clicking here.
And here are my five fun Christmas videos to get you in a cheerful mood:
To see the Top 5 Cheerful Christmas movies, click here.
Question: Which are your favorite Christmas movies? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
My goal this week is to share my top 5 Advent devotions. In Western culture, the season of Advent is usually sunk under the weight of Christmas commercialism. In today’s podcast we’ll explore how to sanctify the season of Advent so that we can prepare a happy and holy Christmas.
I’ll also share some of the struggles that Joy and I have faced during the Advent and Christmas season
Looking for a solid Advent Devotion this year. Give a gift to Christ. Consecrate yourself to Mary with the 33 day consecration. We have everything need for it at 33Mary.com. Please visit 33mary.com and sign up.
My top 5 favorite Catholic novels
My new novel retelling the legend of Saint George and the dragon will be published before Christmas.
SHOUT OUT: A huge “shout out” to all 245 (!) of you who wrote amazing 5-star reviews at iTunes. Please rate this podcast by clicking here and then click “View in iTunes.” From there you can leave a review. I appreciate you for this! Thank you!
SUBSCRIBE: Please subscribe (FREE) to this podcast in iTunes and get a new podcast every Wednesday.
Our family likes to incorporate (create?) new Catholic feast day food ideas. Here are a few feast day food ideas for the month of December:
Dec 6 Saint Nicholas Day
This is a fun day. The stockings go up beforehand and there is usually a candy or a little something in each stocking. We also set up our large icon of Saint Nicholas on this day over our family altar and it stays till after Christmas.
White food. Our Lady is without stain of sin. She is all pure. All white. Spaghetti with white sauce. Chicken. And don’t forget the white cake with white icing!
Dec 12 Our Lady of Guadalupe
Mexican food! The Marshall’s are Texans and we love our Tex-Mex. We go all out with queso (don’t forget that can of Ro*Tel!), guacamole, enchiladas and/or brisket tacos. And of course, Coronas or Dos Equis with lime!
Dec 13 Saint Lucy
We’ve never done this one, but I saw it online as I was preparing to write this post. Saint Lucy is the patron of eyes and sight. Behold the eyeball cupcakes:
Photo from http://catholiccuisine.blogspot.com
Kind of creepy. Kind of cool.
Dec 21 Saint Thomas the Apostle (Extraordinary Form Calendar and Anglican Use Calendar)
Saint Thomas is the patron of India – so we eat Indian food on this night. We started this tradition way back when we were Episcopalian/Anglican. The EF (Latin Mass) calendar remembers Saint Thomas on this day as do the Anglican Use Catholics. So we still do it on Dec 21. (Saint Thomas’ feast was moved to July 3 on the Ordinary Novus Ordo calendar).
We used to get Indian take-in, but my wife has become pretty efficient at the mysterious skill set of creating Indian cuisine.
Dec 25 Christmas – Food Ideas
Prime Rib. That’s my wife’s family tradition. It’s awesome. For a few year’s Joy made the Beef Wellington wrapped in puff pastry complete with word Noel formed in the dough. It was almost too gorgeous to eat. It’s all about the beef.
Here’s the Marshall Family Christmas schedule:
4:00am (or some insanely early fuzzy time): 7 happy children wake us up and look at their big “Santa gift” beneath the tree.
We first go and see if the Christ Child has arrived in the family Nativity scene (He always does!) and we sing O Come All Ye Faithful
7:00am Caffeine moves Joy and me to have a nice and simple breakfast with the children on our special Christmas plates
9:00am Attend Holy Mass in Extraordinary Form (ChristMass!)
12:00pm The house begins to fill with the smell of Prime Rib or Beef Wellington and then the extended family comes over for gifts.
3:00pm A feast happens with wine flowing, Christmas music, and lots of laughing.
9:00pm Everyone has gone home. All the children are passed out in their beds after the exciting day. Joy and I (exhausted) cuddle on the couch, drink a glass of wine, listen to soft Christmas music, and look at the lit Christmas tree. It’s my favorite part of Christmas. I’m even a little teary eyed writing about it just now.
Dec 31 New Year’s Eve
Champaign for us. Fizzy apple juice for the children. We don’t do much on New Year’s Eve. It’s Mass the next morning. January 1 is a Holy Day of Obligation.
Question: Please share your feast day traditions and ideas. I look forward to reading them! You can leave a comment by clicking here.
PS: If you use Pinterest, please share this post. I don’t know how to use Pinterest. (I’m male.)
Are you looking for manly Christmas gifts for your husband, son, or grandfather? For the fourth year in a row, I am featuring the Top Ten Manly Christmas Gifts that men want but don’t ask for.
Like last year I have an improved list with more information on knives and how women can choose the right knife for the man in their life.
* If you received this post by email, you’ll want to click “Always Display Images” in your email client so that you can see the manly gift images.
When your man gets back to work after Christmas and someone asks, “So what did you get for Christmas?” let him say something more than “Oh you know, a couple of new shirts and a tie.”
Below is a guide for Manly Christmas Gifts for your husband, brother, or grandpa. Seriously, you can’t wrong with the following ten gifts. They’re all winners. So here we go:
10) Timeless Thermos for the Outdoors
This one “Manly Christmas Gift” has a backstory:
I was fly-fishing in Montana during October. It was fun, but it was cold. I was catching monster trout, but my body temp was diving.
Our fishing guide pulled out three timeless thermoses from his bag. They could have been 100 years old. They were beautiful. He offered us coffee or, get this, hot chicken broth to drink from these old beautiful thermoses. I don’t drink coffee, so I reached for the chicken broth. Wow. It warmed me from the outside in.
I admired the fly fishing guide’s amazing collection of thermoses. “They just don’t make them like that anymore.”
Is it a coincidence that both babies AND college fraternity boys drink from the bottle? Let’s kick it up a notch for your man. Let him pour his scotch libation from a decanter.
This is a big hit every year. If you want your man to feel like a total stud, get him this manly Christmas gift. It’s an old school shaving kit just like your grandfather used to use. Real Badger hair brush. Soap bowl. Cool stainless thing to hang your razor up to dry.
Still not convinced? Check this out. Soon-to-be-Saint John Paul II used a razor just like this:
By the way, the badger hair brush will smell like a wet animal the first several times he uses it. It’s okay, the smell goes away after a few uses. It’s all part of the manly appeal. He feels cool, you get to pet his clean, smooth face. Everybody wins.
Pipe smoking is something wonderful to experience in the winter. Just ask Sherlock Holmes.
Albert Einstein, Mark Twain, C.S. Lewis, Vincent Van Gogh, Gandalf, and Santa Claus also concur.
Plus, everyone loves the wafting of a little pipe smoke on a cool winter day. This pipe model can hold a filter, which will keep your man healthy if he so chooses.
I once made a rash vow to God not to smoke tobacco and I’m bound to it – so I can’t smoke a pipe tobacco anymore. However, I do smoke tobacco-less blends and I love the tar out of it (pun intended).
6) Kindle Fire HD from amazon.com
Studies shows that the amount a person reads usually correlates with his income level. When your Kindergarten teacher told you that “readers are leaders,” she wasn’t pulling your leg.
If you want to grow spiritually, practically, or economically, you need to read…often!
Check out the new Kindle Fire HD. It’s 139 right now at amazon. That may sound like a lot, but when you realize that you can get almost all of the great English classics and spiritual classics for either $0.99 or FREE, then you’ll save lots of money in only a matter of months! You can also get the great spiritual classics.
It’s easy to use – even Grandpa can use it since you can make the text bigger and it will robotically read all your books through its built-in speakers.
About 30 years ago, people starting making lame paperback Bibles. If it’s the inspired, inerrant Word of God, at least wrap it in real leather and gild the page edges…
Here is the one you need to get him. It’s Douay Rheims (Catholic, yet old school language), but it’s only Psalms and New Testament published by Baronius. It fits perfectly into the side pocket of a suit or blazer. I carry it in my sports coat, and it holds up to use. It’s absolutely beautiful and has a ribbon to mark your place.
Oh, and please buy him the black leather version. If you buy him a white Bible, you might as well throw in ballet lessons.
Baronius also makes an impressive real leather Family Bible. I’ve done a lot of research and this is the one that every Catholic home should have. Baronius makes wonderful Bibles.
4) An iPad Cover that Looks Like an Old Book
I like using my wife’s iPad, but if it looked like an old book, it would feel more traditional. Here’s the solution.
Your Top 3 Manly Christmas Gifts
Like last year, the top 3 Manly Christmas Gifts are Knives. The knife is the most popular manly Christmas gift – year after year. I tried to think of something that would knock it out of first place. I couldn’t do it.
A man without pocket knife…woe is he. You can use a pocket knife to cut string, pull out splinters, slice apples on a picnic, etc. Growing up, my dad always carried a knife in his pocket. And if a thug jumps you, you’ve got something rather than nothing.
You can slip a knife into his Christmas stocking and he’ll be thrilled when he discovers it. It will be the first time in a long time that he had a toy to play with on Christmas morning. If you have a son who’s coming of age, you should slip a Swiss Army knife into his stocking. If you get your husband a knife for Christmas, he can use it all morning to open up Christmas gifts, toys, cards, and packages. He’ll be happy to use his new gift all morning.
I’m recommending three knives this year depending on your need:
1) A Fancy Gentlemen’s Knife for the pocket of his suit or slacks 2) An Every Day Carry Knife for the pocket of his jeans and khakis 3) Swiss Army Knife for your 8-18 year old young man
3) The Fancy Gentleman’s Knife
I call it the “gentleman’s knife.” It’s the very nice wooden or bone handled knife.
This is a knife that he only carries for special occasions. Think of it like this, this isn’t a knife that you wear in your jeans, you wear it in the pocket of your slacks or suit. It’s the kind of knife that is passed from Grandfather to Father to Grandson. An artifact. An heirloom. Usually, a manly-man won’t buy himself this knife (he buys useful knives for himself as tools – see knives below), but he loves to receive a fine knife like this as a gift.
It’s the perfect manly Christmas gift and I recommend this for your dad or husband. Ladies, think of it as the closest thing to masculine jewelry.
Case is the old school man’s knife brand. Your grandpa probably owned one like this at some point in his life. Here it is at amazon.com.
2) The Everyday Carry Knife
This is the knife that a man carries in his pocket every single day. With this knife he opens mail, cuts string, cuts tags off clothing, removes splinters, and all the other odd jobs suited for a knife.
My one criteria for an “every day carry” or “EDC” is that it have a pocket clip that keeps it from falling out of your trousers at the baseball game. The other important thing about an every day carry knife is that it be lightweight. You don’t want to carry a heavy lump in your jeans pocket. The pocket clip also keeps the knife high in your pocket so it’s comfortable whenever you sit down or drive.
If your man is a gadget guy then he’s probably a fan of the multi-tool or Swiss Army.
These are the knives that have many, many other tools attached: bottle opener, saw, tweezers, toothpick, pliers, etc. The Swiss Army knife if perfect for a boy’s first knife (age seven). If he’s reached the age of reason, he should have a knife.
PS: Whatever you do, don’t get the FRENCH Army Knife:
PPS: If you want your man and/or boy to get out into the outdoors and use their knifes, then check out our new Catholic apostolate for boys: The Troops of Saint George! He’ll learn how to use a knife, start a fire without matches, and prayers in Latin. It’s legit.
