It is that time of the year when we give gifts to others. It is the time of year when we do not think about ourselves but others and what they want or need. God knew in His unlimited wisdom that we would need help with our lives. Not only do I find that I need God’s help. I have also come to realize that I need His help every day of my life. God does not always give me what I want, but He always gives me what I need.

ROMANS 12:6-8

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

NLT

Our goal in serving God is to be able to continue to serve Him throughout our whole lives. Growing up in church, I always heard the phrase, “stay full of the things of God.” It took me a long time to understand what that actually meant. When my car runs, it uses gas and I have to fill it up when it gets empty so it will continue to run and I can use it. So, when I give out things that God has blessed me with in life I need to find spiritual things in my life so I can fill back up the same way I fill my car with gas. The more love, compassion, peace and hope we give out, then the more we need to stay full of the things of God. We can read the bible, pray, go to church, or even sing hymns and worship songs to fill back up. What a great series of events to experience in our lives. We can continually give and receive.

When you get a gift, either you like it and use it or you do not like it and hide it somewhere. Gifts from the Father are to be used and not wasted or just put on the shelf. Gifts from God come as He wills (any gift at any time) for the profit of all. You should not only welcome the gifts from God but also expect them in your life. We all know it is better to give than to receive. However, if we do not receive, then we have nothing to give. We have a responsibility to use the spiritual gifts in our own lives. God has blessed our lives with many different gifts and there are many people that can use them. You have the gifts, you might as well use them instead of letting them go to waste. The good thing is that no one person has all the gifts. It takes many different parts to make one complete church body. Gifts do not clash or compete but they all work together to serve the same goal or purpose. Giving gifts is not about serving your agenda and making you happy. It is about serving others and bringing joy to others. We can all show others love, mercy, compassion and kindness. May God bless your holiday season! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Tony Guadagnino is the pastor at Christian Love Fellowship Church, located at 801 SE 10 St., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. For more information, call 954-428-8980 or visit www.clfministries.org.

By Gary Curreri

The Deerfield Beach football team burst on to the field following introductions in fog and smoke, unfortunately for the host Bucks, their season ended the same way, three hours later as Miami Columbus won the Class 8A state semifinal, 49-21 on Friday night.

Columbus running back Henry Parrish carried 25 times for 177 yards and three scores as the Explorers capitalized on three turnovers and costly penalties to pull out a lopsided win.

Parrish scored on a 2 yd. run and 4 yd. run early and added a game-sealing 61 yd. run with 2:08 remaining in the game that booked Columbus’ ticket to the state championship game on Dec. 8 at Camping World Stadium (Orlando) where they will play Jacksonville Mandarin, a 45-31 winner over Riverview Sarasota.

Host Deerfield Beach struggled to get out of its own way in the first half as they committed seven penalties, six were false start infractions whistled against the offense, and two turnovers as Miami Columbus turned that into a 28-7 lead and the Bucks were unable to recover.

“We did everything you cannot do when you are trying to win a ball game,” said Deerfield Beach coach Jevon Glenn, whose team was penalized 16 times for 93 yds. and had four costly dropped passes, including two sure touchdowns. The Bucks also had a TD whistled back on a penalty. “Miscue after miscue after miscue kind of wore our will down a little bit, but the kids didn’t give up on me.”

Columbus quarterback Brandon McDuffey threw two touchdowns, while Parrish ran for one score and Elias Morales returned a Derohn King interception 42 yds. for a touchdown to give the Explorers (14-0) the early advantage. King’s second pick-6, a 20 yd. return by Kalani Norris with 5:52 iced the game at 42-21. Norris also scored on a pass reception earlier in the game.

“I mean just the miscues, the lack of focus,” Glenn lamented, “I don’t want to take anything away from Columbus. They capitalized on our miscues and our letdowns. A lot of them weren’t given away, they were forced. They are a helluva football team and I am hoping they go up there, represent South Florida and bring that title back. Tonight, they were the best team on the field.”

Deerfield Beach (12-2) saw its six-game winning streak come to an end with the loss. The other setback was a 38-6 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas.

King completed just 14 of 34 for 193 yds. passing and three interceptions. He has thrown seven interceptions in his last three games. Junior running back Jaylan Knighton, who entered the game with 2,045 yds. rushing and 28 scores, was held to just 44 yds. rushing. It equaled his season low which came in the team’s other loss to St. Thomas Aquinas.

Columbus hit double digits for the 24th straight playoff game and scored on their first three possessions of the game. The Explorers have been an offensive juggernaut in the postseason as they have averaged 45.75 points in wins over Coral Gables, Palmetto, South Dade and Deerfield Beach to reach the state championship game in Orlando.

The Explorers are making their fourth state championship game appearance, and its first since 2014, as they look for their first title.

“I am proud of my team and my seniors that gave everything they have for four years,” Glenn said. “We want this to be where the kids get more out of it than the program does, for those kids to get a great education and go on to the next level. Their hard work is paying off and they will be able to set them up and probably their families for the next generation by getting a quality education at a university.”

With the loss, Deerfield fell to 1-7 in state semifinal games. The lone win came in 2005 when they reached the state final and lost to Palm Beach Gardens, 49-29 at Dolphin Stadium, now known as Hard Rock Stadium.

“What people have to understand is we have a young team and we have a lot of guys coming back,” Glenn continued. “We have to learn from this as we carry this into the offseason.”

“There is nothing for us to be embarrassed about,” Glenn said. “We fought hard. We didn’t get our ultimate goal, but truth be told, we lost to the better football team tonight. We are grinders. We are going to take a couple of weeks off and just like every year on Dec. 26, we’ll get back in the weight room and be going at it.”

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

My School of Rock vocal teacher, Jessica Morale, threatened to suspend me because I had yet to see Bohemian Rhapsody, which had been getting some of the best word of mouth rave reviews. Much like A Star is Born, so many people have seen Bohemian Rhapsody on the big screen. I regret missing this feature on the five story IMAX screen when it played at the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science. But I finally got to see it.

For those who rode with me back in the day in my yellow Volkswagen Beetle named Kelso, you likely heard a Bohemian Rhapsody bootleg on an eight-track player. When Kelso was full, we would all sing the opera parts from the song, a decade before Wayne’s World was released. We were cool before we knew it.

Bohemian Rhapsody shows a baggage handler at London Heathrow Airport, Farrokh Bulsara (Rami Malek), who lives with his conservative Parsi family. One night, he catches his favorite local band, Smile, whose lead singer abruptly quits. Farrokh auditions on the street and his future bandmates Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) recruit him immediately. After forming a new rock band by the name of Queen, Farrokh legally changes his name to Freddy Mercury.

Despite having a flamboyant front man, Queen becomes a strong ensemble band with each player contributing to some of the great songs of album rock radio stations, ie, “Fat Bottomed Girls,” “You’re My Best Friend,” “Another One Bites the Dust” and “We Are the Champions.” Queen tours the world with concerts that demand audience interaction, mostly conducted by Freddy Mercury.

Of course, with any rock artist biopic, we witness the self destruction of success. To director Bryan Singer’s credit, he does not dwell on this dark side of Freddy Mercury. (It should be noted that Brian May and Roger Taylor were involved in this production). Bohemian Rhapsody opens and closes with Freddy Mercury’s redemptive moment, the “Live Aid Concert” on July 13, 1985 at the Wembley Arena in London.

The “Live Aid Concert” was a golden moment for this columnist finishing up his course work at Florida State University. Broadcast poorly on MTV, so much of the concert was lost in hype, though Queen’s performance was highly praised.

Bohemian Rhapsody is worth the price of admission for recreating this golden performance with four actors and special effects. That said, unlike the self indulgence of the “Woodstock Generation,” “The Live Aid” generation used music to prevent starvation in Ethiopia in the mid 80s. Thanks Bohemian Rhapsody for reminding this columnist about this charitable time during the Reagan-Bush administrations.

Deerfield Beach

Nov. 20: A man reported that unknown suspects stole all four alloy wheels and tires from a Toyota Camry parked at 977 Spring Cir. The loss was estimated at $2,000.

Nov. 20: A man reported that wheels and tires were stolen from his Honda Accord parked at 627 Siesta Key Cir.

Nov. 20: A man reported his minivan parked at 1100 SE 4 Ave. was broken into. A window was smashed causing $300 in damage and coins were stolen from the interior of the car.

Nov. 24: A man reported that his car was stolen after an informal party he hosted at 4411 NW 3 Terr. He was told a man named “Billy” stole the car.

Nov. 26: It was reported that a woman stole cellphone cases/chargers from Target at 1200 S. Federal Hwy. The loss was estimated at $519.

Nov. 26: A man reported his vehicle stolen from his home at 274 SE 1 Terr.

Lighthouse Point

Nov. 10: Someone took a package of dog food from a porch at 2765 NE 21 Terr. The loss was $260.

Nov. 13: The victim placed her Apple iPhone in the pocket of her apron and, following her shift, she left the apron at work and clocked out. The victim left the business at 2460 N. Federal Hwy. and later returned when she discovered her phone was missing. It was not turned in and the phone was estimated at $500.

Nov. 17: A male holding a bank envelope and a restaurant menu entered the store at 3700 N. Federal Hwy. and said he needed to get $1 bills in exchange for wrapped coins for his business. He received $100 in singles and the store employee put the coins on the side. It was later discovered that there were pennies in the wrapped coins and there was a total of $85.46 loss. The subject attempted to do the same larceny at a nearby ice cream store but was refused.

(This is a partial list. For Deerfield Beach Crime Watch in full, visit www.DFB.City and click on “Sign Me Up” to receive the city wide report.)

Cocktails with Santa

Thursday, Dec. 6, 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Historic Butler House

380 E. Hillsboro Blvd.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Holiday foods and sweet treats. Adult beverages, photos with Santa and lots more fun. Donation is $20. For more information, call 954-429-0378.

December Business Breakfast

Thursday, Dec. 6, 7:30 to 9 a.m.

Wyndham Deerfield Beach Hotel

2096 NE 2 Ave.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

They will be featuring one of the many charitable organizations in our community. Go and hear about the great work taking place at the Jim & Jan Moran Boys & Girls Club in Deerfield Beach, with an overview by Club Director Brenda Fulmore and a testimonial from alumnus Kencent Brown. Tickets (advance): Members, $25; non-members, $30 (at the door): Members, $30; non-members, $35. For more information or how to register, email info@deerfieldchamber.com.

Movies at the Park — Rise of the Guardians

Friday, Dec. 7, 7 to 9 p.m.

Athletics Complex

501 SE 6 Ave.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

The Deerfield Beach Parks & Recreation Department will be hosting the third Movies in the Park. So grab a blanket and lawn chair and join them. The event is free. Popcorn and other refreshments will be available for purchase. For more information, call the Constitution Park at 954-480-4494.

Winter Wonderland

Saturday, Dec. 8, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Quiet Waters Park

401 Powerline Rd.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Join the city for some wintery fun. Their celebration of the season features a parade at 11:15 a.m. highlighting the marching band of Deerfield Beach High School, a 70 ft. snow slide, a snow hill for climbing, trackless train, giant snow globe and a visit from Santa. The event and activities are free. Food will be available for purchase from Food Trucks and local vendors. Entry into the park is $1.50 a person. For more information, call 954-480-4494.

Pompano Beach Garden Club meeting

Monday, Dec. 10, 12:30 p.m.

Emma Lou Olson Civic Center

1801 NE 6 St.

Pompano Beach, FL 33060

The meeting is open to the public. The Program “Holiday Designs” presented by Pompano Beach Garden Club members. For more information, call 954-253-9938.

Deerfield Beach Arboretum meeting

Thursday, Dec. 13, 7 p.m.

Deerfield Beach Arboretum at Constitution Park

2841 W. Hillsboro Blvd.

Deerfield Beach Fl, 33442

Speaker will be Kristen Hoss. She is an educator and ecological consultant who teaches the Florida Master Naturalist Program in Broward County with over 25 years of experience in marine, aquatic and terrestrial ecology, and the management of natural areas, including wildlife. Her passion is making a difference in people’s lives. During this talk, you will learn the importance of native plants, as well as how to determine what plant to plant where. Light refreshments will be served. Several plant giveaways will be held. This meeting is free and open to the public. For more information, call 954-480-4494.

Save the Date:

56th Annual Holiday Boat Parade

Friday, Dec. 14, 6 to 10 p.m.

Sands Harbor Resort and Marina

125 N. Riverside Dr.

Pompano Beach, FL 33062

This year’s Grand Marshals, The Freedom Fighter Outdoors members, will be on the lead boat in the parade and will visit the Sands Harbor Resort where the National Anthem will be performed. You’ll be able to enjoy the decorations and excitement of over 50 boats on parade. As a reminder to everyone, the bridges on Atlantic Boulevard, 14 St. Causeway and Hillsboro Boulevard will be in the upright position from approximately 6:15 to 9:30 p.m. for the Boat Parade to pass by. Traffic is usually extra heavy in those areas so please plan accordingly and drive safely. For more information, contact the Pompano Beach/Lighthouse Pt/Margate Chamber at 954-941-2940.

Breakfast with Santa

Saturday, Dec. 15, 10 a.m. to noon

LHP Fire Rescue Station

3740 NE 22 Ave.

Lighthouse Point, FL 33064

Open to all LHP children 12 and under.

Letters to Santa Claus

Through Saturday, Dec. 15

The City of Pompano Beach Parks & Recreation Department can help prove Santa’s “real” by delivering the letters to the North Pole and making sure Santa replies to your child’s letter. Letters and envelopes will be available to fill out for jolly ole St. Nicholas at the following recreation centers:

• Emma Lou Olson – 1801 NE 6 St.

• Highlands Center – 1650 NE 50 Ct.

• McNair Center – 951 NW 27 Ave.

• Mitchell Moore Center – 901 NW 10 St.

For more information, visit www.pompanobeachfl.gov or call 954-786-4111.

For me, this miracle is most vividly expressed in the following episode.

It was the eighth night of Chanukah in Kiel, Germany, a small town with a Jewish population of 500 (Germany at the time had a Jewish population of 500,000). That year, 1931, the last night Chanukah fell on Friday evening, and Rabbi Akiva Boruch Posner, spiritual leader of the town, was hurrying to light the Menorah before the Shabbat set in.

Directly across the Posner’s home stood the Nazi headquarters in Kiel, displaying the dreaded Nazi Party flag in the cold December night. With the eight lights of the Menorah glowing brightly in her window, Rabbi Posner’s wife, Rachel, snapped a photo of the Menorah right before Shabbat, and captured the Nazi building and flag in the background.

Mrs. Posner wrote a few lines in German on the back of the photo:

Chanukah, 5692 (1931). ‘Judea dies,’ thus says the banner. ‘Judea will live forever,’ thus respond the Chanukah lights.

If you lived at that time in Kiel, or anywhere in Germany, what seemed to be more powerful and everlasting? The menorah or the swastika? One year later, Hitler became Chancellor of Germany and the Nazis held a torch-lit procession through the famous Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to celebrate Hitler’s seizure of power (on Jan. 30, 1933).

That gate became the symbol of the Nazi regime. Dozens of parades, motorcades, celebrations and rallies were held by the Brandenburg Gate. Hundreds of thousands of German would gather at that beautiful site, the symbol of Berlin’s splendor and power, to salute the Fuhrer and his 1000-Year-Reich.

Then came the onset of the Holocaust and the Final Solution — 80 years ago, on Nov. 9, 1938, with Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass,” when 30,000 Jews were deported to Concentration Camps, hundreds beaten to death, thousands of shuls, Jewish homes, and stores burnt to the ground.

80 years have passed. A few nights ago, I spoke to my colleague, Rabbi Yehudah Teichtel, Chief Rabbi of Berlin. And this is what he shared with me.

A few days ago he went to visit the President of Germany, Frank Walter Steinmeier, to discuss the 80th anniversary since the onset of the Holocaust.

Rabbi Teichtel shared with the German President the words that he heard from the person who sent him to Berlin, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, that in the place where we saw the greatest darkness we must bring in the greatest light.

So the President of Germany said to the Chabad Rabbi of Berlin that he wants Germany to put up this coming Chanukah (which falls out a few weeks after the 80th anniversary) a massive grand Menorah right at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, in the exact spot where Hitler stood and gave his fiery speeches on the urgent need to rid the world from the bacteria of the Jewish people, their Torah and their G-d. [The menorah was put up and lit starting Dec. 2].

And then the German President asked Rabbi Teichtel if he himself can have the honor to light the menorah?!

And the good Rabbi said, “Yes, of course. You will be lighting the Shamash, that first candle from which we kindle all the other candles.”

So, this Chanukah 2018, [people could] go to the Brandenburg Gate and observe the President of Germany lighting the Shamash of the Chanukah menorah of Chabad in Berlin in the spot where the greatest enemy of the Jewish people stood just a few decades ago.

So, now, friends come back with me to the photo taken in 1931, in Kiel Germany. A wise Jewish woman, Rebbetzin Rachel Posner, wrote on her photo: Chanukah, 5692 (1931). ‘Judea dies,’ thus says the banner. ‘Judea will live forever,’ thus respond the Chanukah lights.

I ask you: Who was right?!

And by the way, both the menorah lit in Kiel in 1931 and the photo survived World War II, because the Rabbi and his wife fled to Israel in 1934, and their grandson Yehudah Mansbuch inherited both and donated them to Yad V’shem.

Yehudah lives today in the city of Haifa with a large family. And each Chanukah, Yad V’shem delivers to his home for eight days the Menorah used by his grandfather in Germany, on the window sill opposite the Swastika. There, in home, in the eternal Jewish homeland, he lights the menorah with his children. And he shows them each year the photo his grandmother took and her inscription.

So I ask you, who was right?! Who triumphed the swastika or the menorah?

Special thanks to my friend and colleague Rabbi YY Jacobson for putting this story on paper.

Rabbi Tzvi Dechter is the director of Chabad of North Broward Beaches, located in the Venetian Isle Shopping Center at 2025 E. Sample Rd. in Lighthouse Point. For all upcoming events, please visit www.JewishLHP.com.

By Emily Rosen

ERosen424@aol.com

www.emilyrosen424.com

It took me 70 years of Sundays — that’s 3,640 Sundays — to appreciate one of the greatest gifts I ever received. I finally remembered that it was Mr. Steinberg, my high school English teacher, whose only textbook that senior year was the Sunday New York Times — Mr. Steinberg, who gave me 3,640 (give or take) precious Sundays.

I remember now, that although our class took The Times apart and thoroughly examined it section by section, mostly, we actually studied the Book Review in the greatest depth. We learned to read reviews and to evaluate both the reviewer and the book reviewed. We talked about each “interview,” the quality of books on the bestseller list, those that were highly recommended by the editorial staff of the newspaper and even the advertisements for books yet to be published or previously reviewed. We were encouraged to choose books of our favorite genre and to write our own reviews.

Now, so belatedly, as I savor my Sunday morning book review read time, and find myself traveling all over the planet geographically, intellectually and spiritually, I am aware of how each issue is an education in itself. I see how each issue opens my mind to something new, and how even the genres to which I am least attracted offer another way to see the world and to see myself in it. And, by golly, each week I am swept away by how easy it is to get a genuine “high” without even a cup of coffee at my side — not that I am knocking coffee.

More and more, we are getting translations of especially fiction, ranking high on the list of new releases. There are writers from Africa, Asia and South and Central America sharing their culture and traditions, and stories opening doors for us to learn about people unlike us.

Of course, science, business, sports, government and all the arts are subjects to which many “someones” have devoted a major part of their lives, researching, opining and writing their hearts out. And it’s all so easily accessible in a morning read. Thank you again, Mr. Steinberg, for your indefatigable patience in, at first, forcing me to “study” the newspaper.

While we’re on the subject of intangible “gifts,” let us not forget our libraries, one of the greatest community assets ever conceived by man. If you are a really disciplined person, you can save a bunch of money on higher education tuition by organizing your own curriculum in a library.

But, since we are a consumer society, I’m guessing many of you already have your gift lists made and perhaps even at least half attended to. I’m hoping you have included books and some items that will challenge the minds of the young people — yes, even the old people — on your list. We can’t allow Google to do everything for us. We will soon be entrapped by A.I. (artificial Intelligence) in all aspects of our lives, and will be tempted to give into the laziness of thought which will follow.

This is too grim a note to leave you with so soon before an impending joyous holiday, so in all optimism I know that there are many Mr. (and Ms.) Steinbergs left in this world who are still willing to fight for one of our most precious rights – the right to think for ourselves.

Happy Holidays to all.