The holiday season is a time of great joy. It is full of symbolism. There are bright lights in almost every neighborhood. Stores are full of shoppers buying gifts for their loved ones. Christmas trees light up our homes. Special carols, that we sing only once each year, sound pleasing to our ears. Yes, the celebration of Christ’s birthday is a wonderful experience.

As Christians, we proceed through this season each fall. In general, love abounds within our society. When we donate to the food shelf; to Toy’s for Tots; serve at a shelter; or just say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays— we feel good because we are demonstrating our love for each other— through Christ. Love is wonderful gift we have been given through our faith.

Thought for the Week: As we go through the week before Christmas, stress tends to build. Year-end activities pile up on top of holiday parties, annual budgets and all the “to do” about Christmas. This week let us focus on why we are doing all of this. Not because we have to, but out of love for each other, those around us and the love of Christ.

Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father, we are all wrapped up in the season’s activities. It is difficult not to be distracted by the advertising and materialistic goals of our society. We pray that Christian love can shine through the materialism and with the help of Christmas prayers, music and services, love will shine through.
Amen.

If this passage sounds familiar, you probably read last week’s Good News. This is a strong message worth repeating during such an active time. It suggests that we have tools through our faith that can help us enjoy the season. However, just like the tools in the garden shed, they will not help us if we don’t reach out and pick them up.

The many tools of Christianity are available to us all, and picking them up just takes the time to allow them to work. Here are some suggestions. Try changing your daily routine for the season. In the morning shut off the news, put down the paper and sit alone with your beverage and just think about the season in quiet. That may change your outlook for the day. When you feel out of control or stressed, have this week’s passage in your presence, take a break and read it. Give your faith a chance. Something that I do is wear my “lapel pin.” The pair of feet from “footprints in the sand.” They constantly remind me that I am not alone. There are many options. God is available to us, but we have to let Him into our lives.

Thought for the Week: The Christmas story is one of wonder and genius. The genius of the wise men to read and follow the signs shown to them. They took the time to go and answer a call. They took a leadership role. As we go through this busy time, let us understand our role as Christians and be leaders in spirituality.

Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father, we are experiencing unusual times. The weather is confusing and there is unrest in our society. We are approaching a new year with hesitance and in many cases fear. We need you beside us in times like this. We prayfor the presence of mind to slow down and be aware of your presence. Amen

The Holiday season has arrived. Thanksgiving just past and surely we all spent four days meditating and offering prayers of thanks for our blessings. What?? That’s not what we did in my house! What we did was have a wonderful gathering with both friends and family. Yes, there were prayers and thanks combined with some outside games, football, Christmas shopping and our 18 annual 5K race. Put the weekends activities on a list and most of us would realize why we were tired this week.

As Christians, we are coming to a very special day. A day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Our focus however is often placed on gifts, parties, getting our acts together for the new year. Our calendars are full with many special events: holiday parties, Winter sports, Christmas pageants and services, shopping, year end business meetings.
Sometimes it just gets out of control. Is all this activity a bad thing? I think not, especially if somehow we can get through it all by keeping Christ at our side and on our mind.

Christianity and spirituality are wonderful allies during busy times.

Thought for the Week: This week let us focus on finding more time for ourselves during this busy period. When we see the materialistic symbolisms and Christmas marketing, let us use them as a reminder to slow down and be selfish; take “time out” from our obligations to society and let our spirit help us enjoy the season.

Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father, we are a blessed people and give thanks for the many great values we have learned through our faith. We give thanks for our good fortune and our awareness of Christ’s presence through this busy season. We thank you for the gift of our spirituality and our ability to travel with God as our co-pilot.
Amen

We are entering the Holiday Season. This weekend we gave thanks through the celebration of Thanksgiving. For the next few weeks we need to maintain our spiritual focus while being surrounded with blatant materialism and marketing. We Christians need to keep an eye on the real celebration, not just on Sunday, but 24/7.
During the year we “..run a good race…” by keeping the Lord in our lives. It is sometimes difficult, but never as difficult as between black Friday and Christmas. The news stories of traffic jams at the store openings, injuries from the crowds crushing their way into Macy’s in New York, the barrage of media advertising and the ten pound newspaper stuffed with adds are hardly subtle persuasion. There is more than a “..little yeast working..” in our society. It is very easy to become distracted or confused.

Most of you know me well enough to know that I am not saying “bah, humbug” to Christmas lights, trees and gifts. They are a part of the world’s celebration. My message today and through out the season is that we need to keep thinks in balance. Every day we need to remind our selves and our families (especially the children and youth) about the real message, the birthday of Christ and where our spiritually comes from as Christians. We need to demonstrate to our families that it is OK to “…run a good race…” even through the holidays.

Once each year we celebrate Thanksgiving. It is the traditional start of what we call the holiday season. While giving thanks we must be aware and focusing on the good rewarding parts of our lives; focusing on the positive. H. Norman Wright put it this way, “Thanksgiving is not to be limited to only the times when we are aware of blessings. Let us give thanks even when we have a problem to solve, when there are difficulties to be met. At these times, we give thanks to God for unconditional love and goodness, for unlimited wisdom and abundance. When we give thanks continually, we are rejuvenated— spirit, mind and body.” Let us hold those thoughts and be thankful for all of our blessings.

Thought for the Week: This week we move into that frantic period called the holiday season. Winter sports activities run high, holiday parties are abundant, year end financial activity in both our personal and business lives need care and then there are the holiday greeting cards. Let us focus this week on giving thanks to God for the love we have for each other and the support He will give us through prayer that will make this season a blessing. Pray and give thanks to the LORD.

Prayer for the Week: Dear Lord and Father, this week we give You thanks. Thanks for our friends, our families and our troubles. Yes, we give you many thanks for our financial crises, our family stress and the ripples in our personal seas of tranquility. Through our troubles we learn to pray and appreciate the many blessings that seem greater when compared with the ripples. This week we give you thanks for our lives, your love and your forgiveness. Amen

The holiday season is a time of hope. The Psalmist notes that there is one clear message from the heavens, one God with one message in all tongues to all peoples. Clearly, this encourages us to believe that there is hope for universal understanding and some day world peace. We live in an often troubled world. This year there have been natural disasters, terrorism, attacks in schools, layoffs and all sorts of ungodly events. They capture the headlines. Certainly there many who question God’s role in all of this. We need to remember that “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” The press and news media report on other issues. It is up to each of us to focus on the message. With our example, we can infect the world with faith, peace and hope.

The parable of the seeds points out the greatness of a well planted thought. John F. Kennedy said it this way, “One person can make a difference and every person must try.”

Thought for the Week: There will be bad news this week. We will hear it, see it and sometimes feel it. This week we need to overcome it with the faith and hope of the Lord. This week let us show others our hope for future generations.

Prayer for the Week: Dear Lord, this is the time of year when all faiths celebrate you. We celebrate your presence in different ways with the common thread of love and peace. This week we pray for the guidance to share our faith so that we may sow a seed in your name.

Every day the Lord gives us blessings. In our busy-ness it is easy to forget the role He plays in our lives, There were a lot of events that made me think of the Lord this week. Here are three of them.
Early in the week when with a very good friend, we were talking about the things that we prayed for. They were guidance, support, internal peace and several others. It was obvious that neither of us prayed for favors or help. We realized that through prayer, good things would happen. Later in the week, a young athlete competing for a chance to compete in next summer’s Olympics collapsed and was taken from us. Why? That is a big question and certainly something that makes people doubt. When the final reports are in on this, somehow good will come from his young life. It is too soon for mortals to understand. The third event that brought the Lord to the forefront was a correspondence from our Good News associate about his return home after the fire storm that ravaged his neighborhood. There were 15 of 47 houses destroyed on his street, his son’s street lost half and the sanctuary of his church was lost. Here are the words he used in closing his correspondence: “Truly God is good. There are many lessons to be learned and many prayers have been answered. To God be the Glory.”

As the Psalmist said, “Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me.”

For several years there has been a lot of overly bad news. It seems that we have been bombarded with a media frenzy of negativity; Financial news, terror, street violence, some institutions breaking down etc. How does that affect the peace and tranquility in our lives? The one word answer is “negatively”!

As Christians, we need not be affected that way. We have an ally, friend and leader in Jesus Christ. We have the ability to take a few minutes when stressed and utilize His help. Please note that I said “utilize” rather than “ask for” his help. It is up to us as individuals to “just do it.”

In my high school we were forced to memorize something from Benjamin Franklin regarding time usage. “We have only just a minute, only sixty seconds in it, forced upon me, can’t refuse it didn’t seek it, didn’t chose it, but it is up to me to use it..” In a way, our faith fits that mold. Just like we can waste our time, we can waste our faith. The difference is that our faith is always available and time can be lost. In our search for peace and tranquility, love and friendship— the ability to live our lives well, we need to keep our faith at the forefront; “...Put it into practice, and the God of peace will be with you”.

Thought for the Week: This week let us have peace no matter what happens in our lives. Let us focus on out faith when we are stressed. This week let us pray rather than react to negativity. Put our faith to good use.

Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father, we pray and appreciate your response. Often when we need you we fail to seek you. This week we are faced with many challenges in our lives. This week we pray that we will recognize your activity in our lives and your presence around us. Amen

Many of you have known me for years and have heard me comment on over achieving sales persons. My comments simply are that no one would deal with the frustrations of sales and dealing with the public unless the reward was internal. Somehow, all overachievers feel they are helping others. In thirty years of sales I have seen many people enter the field “for the big bucks.” These people do not become long term over achievers and most seem to underachieve and disappear. Many of my mentors were of this type and years ago I thought of them as “boy scouts.” I had not made the connection between them, love and God.

Our “Good News” list includes them today. Also on this list are clergy from many faiths and business people—from receptionists to CEOs—all successful, primarily through a love of serving. In business as well as our daily lives love, caring and sharing God with others will lead to success and happiness. Let us follow Nike’s lead and “Just Do It.”

Thought for the Day: This week let us search out and focus on the many things we do to “serve.” Not just the big things, but the little. The times we allow someone into traffic, open or hold a door, make a phone call to say hello, etc. These are all acts of caring. Let us enjoy when someone does these things for us. Let us share our caring spirit and enjoy the week.

Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father we need to understand your “love.” The world is full of hate, distrust and doubt of others. Personally, each of us shares these at some level. This week we pray that we learn to “love” the way Jesus did and can apply that love in our daily lives as an example to others. Amen

Each year there are 400,000 plus marathon finishers in America. That number has increased ten fold in thirty years. In that same time frame, participation in endurance tests like triathlons, iron man bike rides, etc., have grown by the by the same proportions. The increased awareness in fitness has gone to the point where people feel the need to test their capabilities.

There are many that enter events that have not completed the training, that are not ready, or try to do too much. In physical activities we find out quickly and decisively when that occurs. Often sincere delusion creeps into the participants’ heads, excuses. The weather was not right; I did not drink enough; I started too fast; and they are all a part of learning how and proper training.

Paul was not talking about physical fitness tests to the Galatians; he was talking about belief in the Lord, faith. A marathon runner runs for months, 600-1200 training miles just to run 26 miles, 385 yards. When my daughter Karen and I trained for triathlons it was seven hours a week in the off season to stay fit and 14 hours for three months to be in competitive condition. We went to church on Sundays unless there was a race! My message today is that somehow we Christians are not maintaining a balance. The YMCA Triangular logo says: Spirit; Mind and Body. Christians go to church most Sundays; some attend a bible study during the week but the average Christian spends less than an hour a week on faith development. When our faith is tested will we have done enough training? We need to consider the condition and depth of our faith.

Thought for the Week: This week, every day, let us take some time for the Lord. It could be at break time, in the drive through, at the coffee shop. Let’s place our selves first in faith.

In our every day lives, we encounter negativity, anger and difficult situations. When encountering this negative force, we make a choice in how we will respond. In our society, often we stand up to be counted rather than be perceived as weak, wimpy or undecided. We can take the confrontive course, meet the challenge head on, or the Godly course and work out the problem through love, through our hearts. we can demonstrate our love of God through our responses.

When we encounter anger, what happens when we show love? ...caring? ...calm logic? ...prayer? A few years ago, I had to deal with a very angry neighbor. She was upset with the world and wanted my advice. She had cut herself off from several friends to the point that it was effecting her family and her overall lifestyle. I was part of her anger equation and saw no real need for what seemed to be misplaced or secondary anger. I could not even figure out what to apologize for! She was irrational.

There wasn’t anything I could not think to say to appease her anger. So I told her that I appreciated her concerns, could not understand her reaction to her friends, but would pray for her in two ways. First, I would pray that God would lead me to a better understanding of her will. Second, I would pray that God help her find a way of dealing with her resentments without choosing to be angry and lashing out at others. The room filled with silence, we hugged and I left. Our relationship is different today.

Perhaps, through prayer and the help of God, she is less angry and has a better life. Perhaps she even chooses prayer over anger and resentment.