Six Letters

I love brain teasers. I like word mysteries, puzzles and 3-D and other optical illusions. More likely than not, I have to read the cheat sheet to be able to solve them, but I still enjoy the challenge. Here are a couple of my favorites.

“A cab driver is going the wrong way down a one way street. Two policemen see him but don’t stop him. Why?  Or: “In the following line of letters, cross out six letters so that the remaining letters, without altering their sequence, will spell a familiar English word.”

Believe it or not there is reason to my seemingly unrelated thought processes. I was cleaning off my desk when I found my folder of icebreakers. The cross out six letters brain teaser was on top and it made me think about crossing Christ out of Christmas, therefore shortening it to Xmas. It just so happened that on the same day, yahoo.com ran a story about the origins of using “X” to replace Christ in Christmas -- therefore the jump from brain teasers to Christmas.

Admittedly I am one of those who cringe when I see “Xmas.” Not ever having taken Greek, I had not, until after reading the article, made the connection that our “X” is the Greek ‘chi’ which, when combined with ‘rho’ symbolizes Christ. Below is the article from connectamarillo.com.

“In the first story, we look at the abbreviation commonly referred to as Xmas. How did the word Christ come to be replaced by the letter “X”? Turns out it goes back to the very beginnings of Christianity. “Using the symbol “X” for Christ is a tradition that dates far back into the history of Christianity and into the first few centuries. That’s because our letter “X” is identical to the Greek letter ‘chi,” which is the first letter for Christos in Greek, and so early Christians many times would see the letter “X” or combine that with the letter ‘rho’ in Greek to symbolize Christ,” says Father Robert Busch, PhD, Amarillo Diocese Schools Director. Xmas therefore means, “Christ’s Mass,” so in many ways, the “X” stands for Christ. But some people unaware of the Greek origin of this “X” often mistakenly interpret the Xmas as an informal shortening pronounced (eks-mas). Many therefore frown upon the term Xmas because it seems to them a commercial convenience that omits Christ from Christmas. It’s also important to note that it is a written abbreviation, and should not be pronounced “X”mas, but instead as “Christmas.” Another interesting fact, in olden times when paper and ink were precious commodities, the “X” was used to save space when printing.” (connectamarillo.com))

A little Greek goes a long way but I suspect that most of us, even after a brief lesson in word origin, still prefer to see Christ in Christmas; after all, He is the reason for the season.

Copyright © 2010 Judith Bell

P.S. Let me know if you can’t figure out why the cabbie wasn’t stopped.

Evil Momma

They finally did it! They pushed me too far. They have to learn that “every choice has a consequence.” They of course are those young men living in my house.


I’ve been on a tear for the last two weeks. It all started with a sink full of dirty dishes. I thought I could wait them out. I was wrong. The same dishes sat in the sink Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I was patient. I asked repeatedly who left the dishes in the sink only to learn that a fourth person going by the name, “I don’t know”, had moved in without me knowing about it.

I didn’t get mad. I didn’t threaten certain death if they weren’t washed and put away. I did decide there were consequences. Friday morning I got up, cleaned out the gun closet and outside freezer and put all the dishes, glasses, pots, pans, forks, spoons, bowls, knives and cooking utensils in one or the other. I locked the doors and hid the keys. I left paper plates, plastic cups, plastic forks and spoons, one cookie sheet, one small pot, one small pan, a wooden spoon and a spatula. I figured they had everything they needed to survive. Yup, every choice has a consequence.

Needless to say they are not very happy right now. Lee got mad and wouldn’t talk to me. David asked if he had to wash the paper plates. Reid left challenging messages on yellow sticky notes in the cabinet and refrigerator. The one in the cabinet read “Bring it on big dawg” and the one in the refrigerator read “Evil momma is back.”

Of all the notes that he left, the most meaningful was “Evil momma is back.” During their elementary years, while other mom’s were referred to as Ryan’s mom or Mrs. Dee Dee, Reid and all of his friends called me “Evil Momma.” Evil Momma was special; it set me apart from the other moms; and let me say, that was a name I wore with honor. There was something about that label that let me know that somewhere along the way I had done what I was supposed to do. It set me apart from the other moms.

The name Evil Momma means something and so does Christmas; “…She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means “God is with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

Copyright © 2010 Judith Bell

Back in the Manger

Christmas always takes us back to the manager; to the night when Christ was born.


One of the most familiar reminders of that night is the nativity. Nativity scenes have served as a reminder of Christ’s humble birth since the Dark Ages. However, it‘s Saint Francis Assisi that gets the credit for popularizing the most treasured display of Christmas. Though it was undoubtedly rustic in design and construction, scholars believe that it was a live nativity and most likely biblically correct, portraying on those that were present in Luke’s telling of the birth. Luke’s account is vague, giving no specific details about the setting of Christ’s birth, other than it was a structure used for stabling animals and that only Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and the shepherds were present. The details weren’t important to Luke because the focus was totally on the birth of Jesus.

I have several nativities, but my favorite is a very simple wooden scene of the first Christmas. The last three years the set has been missing a piece because three years ago Lucy, the Airedale puppy from the dark side, ate baby Jesus. One night the baby was lying in the manger and the next morning it was nothing but splintered pieces of wood.

It has taken three years, but my Dad has finally managed to craft a replacement; baby Jesus is back in the manger! I felt a sense of completeness this year as I removed the cherished pieces from the box and placed them on the table. As I put the baby in the manger I was reminded, as I am each year, that Christmas is a time of preparation and anticipation. It is a time to purposefully prepare our hearts to receive God’s perfect gift of love.

Nativities have undergone drastic changes since 1223. Regardless of how extravagantly or garishly crafted today’s nativities are, they serve to remind us that the focus of Christmas remains on the baby lying in the manger.

Tonight as I look across the room I see a complete nativity. The scene is complete. The splintered pieces have been replaced and baby Jesus is back in the manger.

“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snuggly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:11-12)

Copyright © 2010 Judith Bell