CityView Magazine

10 | November/December • 2014 publisher's note C hristmas is the most recognized and cel- ebrated holiday of the year in our country. is tradition goes back to when the Pilgrims landed in America in 1620 on the Mayflower, bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to these shores. Christmas, however, has been tremen- dously secularized by our culture the past 50 years. Although Jesus was not actually born on December 25th, it is a day that most of western civilization has been cel- ebrating as the birth of Christ for hun- dreds of years. If the Pilgrims had not le the religious persecution that was taking place in England to come to America, we would not have this great coun- try and the freedom we have today. eir purpose was to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in America. Christmas did not become a federal holiday until 1870. Up until that time, sev- eral states that were founded by the Puritan sect of Christianity did not celebrate Christmas Day because they believed the only day to celebrate was the "Lord's Day" (the Sabbath). In the end the vast majority of Christians prevailed and Christmas Day finally became a federal holiday. Whether Christmas is a secular holiday or a celebration of the birth of Christ to the people of the United States, the holiday season is still looked upon as a time of giving and enjoying family and friends. If you proclaim to be a Christian then celebrate our Lord and Savior's coming, give praise and thanksgiving and pray for those that do not yet know Christ. And of course, with the holidays comes plenty of eating, I finished 43 days on the HCG diet with much success. I lost 42 pounds and will be on a transition diet for three more weeks. e diet is quite amazing. I was never hungry and did not lose any muscle. e daily injections were never a problem either. e only issue people may have with this diet is the daily meal preparation. anks to my lovely wife, Sandee, for helping me with that task. Preparing vegetables for a week in ad- vance was an arduous event. We had to cook cabbage, spinach and asparagus and measure two cup servings and put in zip lock bags for a week's worth of eating. All and all it was worth it! Our Food and Wine issue launch party was a huge success. e venue was won- derful and a a big thanks to Vizcaya Villa for agreeing to host the event and also to the local restaurants for the excellent food and the wine and beer distributors for wonderful drinks. We had over 400 people attend. Everyone had a good time! We would like to give a special thanks to Mark Pezzella of Five Star Entertainment for being the "go-to" guy for all things tech. e lighting, music and ambiance really fit the bill. Enjoy the holidays with your loved ones and pray for our country. God Bless! My "after" picture

• Cover