Christmas customs change from generation to generation. I’ve seen quite a change in customs from the 1950s when I grew up to today. So I asked my Dad a couple of years ago how they celebrated Christmas when he was a child (latter 1920s, prior to the Great Depression). The economy was booming and my grandfather was proprietor of Diehl’s Jewelry Store in Butler, so they were better off than many in a small town.
He told me they set up a small evergreen tree on a table in the living room, and decorated it with tinsel. On Christmas morning he found fruit and nuts in his stocking near the tree and one gift, usually an item of clothing.
Perhaps a little simplicity around our Christmas celebrations today wouldn’t be so bad. Perhaps the generation who had won World War II and felt invincible spoiled its children with an ever increasing array of gifts that the next generation can never keep up with. Perhaps the gifts that used to come with joy from love, now come with a load of debt from a sense of duty.
Does that mound of guilt-reducing gifts really enhance Christmas joy? Do our children really appreciate us more for it? I think I’ll try to simplify Christmas this year.
Tags: Christmas, gifts, simplify
How does a Christian best deal with bad news when it comes? We have to keep our faith anchored in Jesus Christ and His promise that we have been “predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus” (Romans 8:29). God will not give up in that effort.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingerich remembered, “I was dramatically shaped by my grandmother and aunts, because they convinced me when I was four years old that there was always a cookie available. It might be baked or might be store-bought, but it’s in a jar somewhere. Today when I open up the cupboard and the cookie isn’t there, I don’t say, ‘Gee, there’s no cookie.’ I say, ‘I wonder where the cookie is.'”
The next time bad news knocks on your door, go looking for the cookie; with God in control its got to be somewhere.
Tags: bad news, cookies, optimism
A kingerdarten Sunday school teacher was working hard to get her class to focus on the story of Jesus’ birth, and to stop thinking about Santa Claus. She read the story over and over to them, and for good measure, taught them to sing Silent Night. Finally, she asked them to draw their own designs for Christmas cards.
One youngster had done a very fine job in drawing the baby in a manger, with Mary and Joseph and the animals; but the teacher noticed with anxiety that he had drawn a little fat man right beside the manger. She asked, “Jimmy, that isn’t Santa, is it?”
Jimmy answered indignantly , “Of course not, that’s Round John Virgin.”
What humorous Christmas tales have you heard lately?
Tags: Christmas, Santa
The Apostle Paul said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31). But what does it mean to “believe”?
Suppose you got really sick and go to see the doctor. After a thorough examination, he says you’ve contracted a fatal disease, but medical science has discovered a cure. You may be convinced that he is the best physician available, that his diagnosis is accurate, and that the medication he prescribes is your only hope. But you do not take it. Does your “belief” save you? No.
You must take the medicine. If you just lie there believing and refuse to take the remedy, you will die! So it is with God’s offer of salvation. Let’s get up and be healed! “Faith without works in dead” (James 2:20).
Tags: faith, works
The invention of dynamite changed the way wars were fought and revolutionized mining and tunneling.
A man from Michigan had an idea for removing a tree stump from the yard of a friend. He decided to use some dynamite he had stored away in his house. It did the trick. The explosion turned the stump into an airborne missile that traveled 163 feet down-range before crashing through a neighbor’s roof. The stump opened a 3-foot hole in the roof, split the rafters, and pushed through the ceiling of the dining room.
Can you see yourself in the actions of the dynamite user? Explosive words and actions only make things worse. We get action, but we leave much damage in our wake.
Solomon wrote: “The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression.” An old Chinese proverb says, “He who angers us controls us.”
Have you ever caused regretted damage by your explosion?
Tags: anger, dynamite, explosion
I had thought yesterday would be my final comment on my Dad and his passing, but God is still working in me. I asked God to help me not to break down as I was now the leader of the family, and he did just that. As long as I didn’t think about him or hang around the casket, I did fine, and God helped me through the funeral service.
But, yesterday (Wednesday) morning, was a day I’ll long remember. I stayed at home in the morning to spend a little more time with the grandkids before they left. I was sitting on the sofa with my 18-month old grandson, Reuben, on my lap. He is a little slow in developing words and I hadn’t heard him say anything yet. So I said, “Can you say Grandpa?” And he replied, “Paw-Paw.” I was delighted.
A half-hour later they left. Then it dawned on me. Now I’m the Grandpa! It was an emotional moment as I for the first time understood what a responsibility it is to be the oldest. I cannot emotionally talk about it, but hoping that this blog will help me resolve this so I can go on with my day.
No one will understand what I am saying unless you’re already there. God, help me be a great Grandpa.
I played hooky with this blog yesterday to give attention to my Dad’s funeral and spending time with family. My sister and her husband, Diane and Rex Bartlett, flew in from Washington State and were staying with us, as well as our daughter and husband, Jenny and Josh Doyle, and two grandkids from Nashville, Tennessee.
I want to thank everyone for your expressions of love and respect for my Dad. I firmly believe in the command that we must honor our mother and father that our days may be long in the land (Exodus 20:12 and repeated 7 times in the Bible). When Dad asked me to speak at his funeral, I saw this as an opportunity to honor my father with my words.
I’m currently writing a history of the wartime experiences of my Mom and Dad and only need to do a bit more editing and add pictures. What are you planning to do to honor your parents?
Tags: honor, parents