How I take sorrow

As to how I take sorrow, the answer is 'In nearly all the possible ways.' Because, as you probably know, it isn't a state but a process. It keeps on changing — like a winding road with quite a new landscape at each bend.

C.S. Lewis

Bombarded

Because nothing promotes inner peace like being bombarded with a constant stream of information about other people’s lives.

Markoff Chaney

The most important part

The most important part of Christmas is the first six letters.

He remembers my name

One important part of the Christmas story we typically skip past is the first chapter of the New Testament.  Flip a Bible open to Matthew chapter one and take a look. Why do you think did Matthew started his Gospel with a seemingly boring list of decedents? That dry list of names is Jesus' genealogy. It tells us where He came from on a human level. It is recorded first because anyone presented as "King to the Jews" at this time had better have the ancestry to prove it.

In the Old Testament, after conquering Canaan, it was your tribe, family and father's house that determined where you lived. The book of Ruth tells us that for some land transitions, the pedigree had to be known to conduct business. After the Babylonian captivity, Ezra tells us that many were claiming to be priests. To verify this, they had to be able to produce the proper pedigree. Remember what Mary and Joseph were doing at the start of the New Testament? They were going to register by pedigree for taxation purposes.

Knowing where you came from helps you understand who you are--as well as where you are going.

There's another reason this list of names in Matthew chapter one is significant. There are some 50 genealogies in the Old Testament filled with the names of people we don't know. People who've been forgotten. The record is a reminder that they lived--and while they aren't important to us, they were important to God. He remembered each one.

You may not be know beyond your small circle of acquaintances, but you are significant to him. So much so, Jesus says the hairs on your head are numbered (Matthew 10:30).

Next time you open up the New Testament to read the story of the birth of Christ, don't just skip to angels, shepherds and wise men. Pause for a moment and remember what it means to see those names.

Stephen Goforth

For the Birds... pt. 2

Christmas comes each year to draw people in from the cold. Like tiny frightened sparrows, shivering in the winter cold, many live their lives on the barren branches of heartbreak, disappointment, and loneliness, lost in thoughts of shame, self-pity, guilt or failure. One blustery day follows another, and the only company the keep is with fellow-struggers who land on the same branches, confused and unprotected.

Then, as the year draws to a close, Christmas offers its wonderful message. Emmanuel. God with us. He who resided in heaven, willingly descended into our world. He breathed our air, felt our pain, knew our sorrows, and died for our sins. He didn't come to frighten us, but to show us the way to warmth and safely.

Charles Swindoll
The Finishing Touch

Happy Christmas!

Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!

Charles Dickens

For the Birds, pt. 1

The Christmas story absolutely escaped Tom. The whole “God born in a manger” thing was beyond him. Or maybe it was just too simple for him to grasp. At least, until that Christmas Eve when the snow began to fall. Tom had just settled into his fireside chair and begun to read when he heard thumping sounds on the window and at first he thought someone was throwing snowballs. He went to the door. Looking into the yard, he found a small flock of birds, huddled there in the snow. They had been caught in the storm and had desperately tried to find shelter by flying through his large living room window. He knew he couldn’t let those little creatures freeze. The barn! Where the children keep the pony. That would provide shelter if he could get the birds in there.

He opened the barn doors and turned on a light. The birds didn’t move. Maybe some food would entice them. He sprinkled bread crumbs next to the stable door. Nothing. He tried catching them and shooing them. The birds went everywhere, except into the barn. They were afraid of him. I want them to trust me, he thought. How can I convince them I want to help? But any move he made tended to frighten them. They would not follow or be lead or shooed.

“If only I could be a bird myself,” he thought. “If I could be a bird and mingle with them and speak their language and show them the way to the barn, then they could see and understand.” It was at that moment the church bells began to ring. Listening to the good news, Tom understood--and sank to his knees in the snow.

Resistance

Are you a writer who doesn’t write, a painter who doesn’t paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what Resistance is.

Steven Pressfield

How well do you know the Christmas Story?

1. What did the angels sing to the shepherds?

2. In what direction did the Wise Men look to see the star in the sky?

3. Where did the wise men go to see the baby?

4. How many wise men were there?

5. In which season of the year was Jesus born?

6. What did Mary ride on to Bethlehem?

7. What did the wise men ride on?

8. In what country did the Christmas tree originate?

9. In what century did Christmas celebrations begin?

10. Was there ever an original, real Santa Claus?

11. What Christmas tradition commemorating the birth of Jesus did St. Francis of Assisi begin? 

12. What is frankincense?
    a. a precious metal
    b. a precious fabric
    c. a precious perfume
    d. an Eastern monster story

13. What is Myrrh?
    a. an easily shaped metal
    b. a spice used for burying people
    c. a drink
    d. aftershave lotion

14. Did Jesus tell us to remember his birth?

15. What did Jesus tell us to remember?

Answers

Outside the zone

All the interesting, important stuff happens outside the comfort zone.

Michael Hyatt

The cure for despair

Action is the antidote to despair. -Joan Baez

Your spark of madness

You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.
Robin Williams

Who's life are you living?

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.

Steve Jobs

Your Brand

Your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room.
Jeff Bezos

Stubbing your toe

You will never stub your toe standing still. The faster you go, the more chance there is of stubbing your toe, but the more chance you have of getting somewhere.

Charles F. Kettering

Climbing high mountains

You walk over the highest mountain one step at a time.

Seeing and Observing

You see, but you do not observe.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)

Swimming Naked

You only learn who has been swimming naked when the tide goes out.

Warren Buffett