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Top 5 Ways to Finish the Year

November 23, 2010 in Holidays, Life, Thoughts with 1 Comment

I absolutely love this time of the year.  Although the next five weeks are extremely busy, I love every minute of it – the energy, the buzz, the spontaneity, the crowds, and the spirit of the season.  We have already decorated for Christmas, watched Elf, and have spent some time listening to Christmas music on Pandora.  The only thing missing is some snow, but I think it is on the way.  I realize that everyone may not share my sentiment for the holiday season, mostly because of potential stress brought about by this time of year, so I wanted to challenge you with the Top 5 Ways to Finish the Year.

Focus on relationships rather than responsibilities. I understand that you cannot drop all of your responsibilities, but you can prioritize tasks which emphasize important relationships in your life.  Instead of grocery shopping by yourself for all the Thanksgiving food, call a friend and go shopping together.

Do something spontaneous. A little spontaneity can create lasting memories.  Wake the kids up after they have gone to bed and drive around looking at Christmas lights.  Give an unexpected gift (I can send you my address if you need it).  Do something random for someone you don’t know.

Enjoy the moment. If you are like me, your mind runs 90mph and sometimes I am “there, but not there.”   Do what it takes to set aside work, stressful circumstances, and personal differences in order to be fully present in the moment.  You cannot relive the day so you should make the most of it.

Attempt to restore a broken relationship. Christmas is a time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who brings reconciliation with God to those who receive Him by faith.  If we celebrate forgiveness and restoration during this time of year, why not follow the example of Jesus?

Commit to some changes. The new year is quickly approaching and it is imperative to evaluate what we need to change for the year ahead.  A new start can be the beginning of something great.

Anyone want to join me in committing to one or all of these?  Do you have any to add?

Dude, Where's My Car?

December 26, 2008 in Holidays, True Stories with 0 Comments

Last night I took my son to see a movie and my brother was in town so he went along with us. Usually when I go to the movies, I go to an earlier showing to try to save a few bucks; in fact, most of the time I await the release of the movie in the dollar theater to save several bucks! I’m cheap like that. However, this particular movie looked relatively funny so we decided to see it in our local cinema on the day of its release. We were not disappointed because the comedy turned out to be very entertaining.

At the conclusion of the film, we left the theater and walked into the parking lot when I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach…I couldn’t remember where I had parked my car. What’s up with this? How can a mildly intelligent (I use this term lightly) person be away from his car 90 minutes but then forget where he left it? You’ve been there before, I’m sure. There were a sea of cars and mine seemed to have been swallowed by a whale…call it Jonah. Although the brain is a pretty unique piece of God’s creation, mine seems to forget things easily.

Luke writes a story in his gospel about some men who also had a memory lapse. Jesus enters a certain village and is approached by ten lepers begging Him to bring healing to their diseased bodies (Luke 17:12-19). Jesus commands them to go show themselves to the priests, who could declare them clean, and upon leaving the presence of Christ their leprosy was cleansed. Out of the ten men who were made whole, Luke documents that only one leper returns to give thanks to Jesus for being healed. In response to the thankfulness of this man, Jesus asks a peering question, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?” Nine lepers were simply concerned with their physical healing while one was convinced of his need to worship Christ.

We have just celebrated the advent of Jesus Christ whose miraculous birth and eventual death on the cross brought salvation from the penalty of sin for those who will believe (Matthew 1:21; Romans 10:9-13). Let’s not forget that Christmas is meant to be celebrated at all times, not just during the month of December. Of course I am not advocating year round Christmas trees in our homes along with Clark Griswold lights on the exterior of our house; however, I am challenging us to constantly remember that the little baby born in Bethlehem desires to also be worshipped and obeyed every day.