Been called this more than a few times (a-hem) and often wondered “Just what the heck does it mean, anyway!?”  Can’t say it ever bothered me – skin has gotten far too thick to let a silly word like that give me any grief.

But the inquisitive side of me still wondered just what a “Gringo” is.  Well recently my Mom was reading a book that gave a brief synopsis on the history of how this word came to be.  It’s rather interesting so I thought I’d share.

Green Grow The Rushes O!  is a folk song popular across the English speaking world. The song was first recorded in Hebrew in the 16th century and probably much older than that.

Alistair Moffat in his book Arthur and the Lost Kingdoms states,  “Why do the Mexicans call the Americans Gringos? It is a strange term with an even stranger origin.

When Davie Crockett, Jim Bowie and the other heroes of Texas’s war against Mexico were besieged in the Alamo, they had a small force of about eighty Scots mercenaries with them. The Scots’ marching song was the folk-tune ‘Green Grow the Rushes O’ and that is why Santa Ana’s army and finally the whole of Mexico called the Americans Gringos.”

So there it is…how it all came to be.  Here are the words – in a condensed version.

Green Grow the Rushes, Oh!
 

The leader sings:   “I’ll give you one, oh.”

And the group responds…“Green grow the rushes, oh!”

Leader: “What is your one, oh?”

Group: “One is one, and all alone, and ever more will be so.”

Leader: “I’ll give you two, oh”

Group:  “Green grow the rushes, oh!”

Leader: “What is your two, oh?”

Group: “Two, two, the lilly-white boys, clothed all in green, oh.”

“One is one and all alone, and ever more will be so.”

Leader: “I’ll give you three, oh”

Group: “Green grow the rushes, oh!”

Leader: “What is your three, oh?”

Group: “Three, three, the rivals, two, two, the lilly-white    boys…” …etc… 

The verses go on…

“Four for the gospel makers”

“Five for the symbols at your door”

“Six for the six proud walkers”

“Seven for the seven stars in the sky”

“Eight for the April rainers”

“Nine for the nine white shiners”

“Ten for the Ten Commandments”

“Eleven for the ‘leven that went to heaven”

“Twelve for the twelve apostles”

This is a simple and effective PR campaign.  Please pass it along.  I’m not sure where or from whom it originated, but it’s gaining momentum.

Dear Friends,

This afternoon I was praying about a number of things, and my mind began to wander.  I was deeply distressed at  the symbolic actions that President Obama took as he began his presidency.  Namely, that he signed executive orders releasing  funds to pay for abortions, permission to fund human stem cell research,  and federal funding for contraception.   I have been involved in the pro-life movement for nearly 20 years, and it pained my heart to see a man and a political party committed to the shedding of  innocent blood.  This man, and this party lead our country, but they do not represent me nor the 72% of Americans who believe that abortion is wrong and should no longer be legal.

This envelope represents  one child who died in abortion.  It is empty because that life was unable to offer anything to the world. Responsibility begins with conception.

“You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof.”

“If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however (sic) you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content.”

“The following sections will survive any termination of your use of the Facebook Service”

Someone sent these to me so I made them into a slideshow – the pictures are of actual cakes and look so authentic! Check out the slide show and see for yourself!

PETA wants to feed kids vegetarian school lunches.  Read the letter.  Unbelievable.

“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”  ~ Philippians 2:3-5

• We have the ability to cook a meal for someone who just got out of the hospital.
• We can run an errand for an elderly person or visit a nursing home patient for 1/2-hour.
• We can spend an afternoon babysitting the children of a worn-out mother.
• We can add a couple items to our church or other local food pantry for a pittance.

There are a million ways we can help others in these difficult days, and we don’t need government grants/funding to do it.

We can – and should -  do it ourselves. Do a nice deed for someone today. Doesn’t matter how small or trivial it seems. Sometimes all it takes is two words to a troubled person:  “I care“.  Surely we can all afford that (but you must mean it or it’s pointless).  Try it – you may be surprised at how good YOU will feel while also making someone else feel good.

All you need to be is a Christian who cares.