https://youtu.be/UV8x7H3DD8Y

There have been so many Christmas songs created over the years.

And each of us has our favorite(s).

Don’t let the season pass without cranking up some of your favorites.

Make it a great day.

Merry Christmas.

Jake

Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses. Alphonse Karr

For some reason this reminded me of the important relationships in my life.

Each relationship includes an imperfect human being that has both thorns and roses.

I can choose to complain about all the little idiosyncrasies or I can choose to look at their uniqueness and wonderfulness.

It’s easy to get caught up in the negatives. We’re wired to avoid the pain of the thorns and so we allow ourselves to focus on the wrong things.

Instead, look for the roses today in your relationships.

Look for the good in each of the people you encounter.

I promise you they have them.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.

This is from the beginning of “Love, Actually”. It has made it on to our list of annual Christmas movies to watch.

The above is the very beginning of the movie.

It’s a great reminder that love is all around us.

Sometimes we forget.

Sometimes we let ourselves fall into the trap of thinking only of ourselves. We forget that we are happiest and at our best when we are loving others.

At Christmas we are reminded of these simple truths.

Let these Christmas feelings soak in. Make them part of your day. Then sail right on past Christmas. Loving and serving others well into the New Year. Maybe if you are lucky, it will become a habit (if it isn’t already).

Make it a great Christmas.

Jake

“Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone, and as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

— Marianne Williamson

What a great reminder – you were meant to shine.

Not in a way that puts others down or takes away from them – they were meant to shine as well.

The first sentence sets the stage perfectly – we were made to serve the world (God).

For some reason, it’s easy to miss this idea and buy into bad thinking.

Either the thinking that you are worthless and aren’t made to shine or that you are in competition with others and to outshine them you must diminish their efforts or somehow exalt yours.

We let fear and selfishness dominate our thoughts and diminish our impact.

When we let go of our fears and lean into our God-given gifts and talents for service we inspire others to do the same.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“And despite all this, Christmas comes. Whether we want it to or not, whether we are in the mood for it or not, we must hear again that Christ, the savior, is born.“~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer works Volume 10 Barcelona, Berlin, New York, 1928-1931 This year, regardless of what you love or hate about the Christmas season, keep it forefront in your mind that the birth of Christ, who lived a sinless life and died to rescue us from certain death is the reason for the season. Have fun, enjoy family, enjoy too much food, but don’t lose track of the reason we have Christmas. – from a blog I read (should have copied and pasted the authors name as well).

Each year as the Christmas season begins (after Thanksgiving) I work to remind myself of the reason for the season and that this is a time to be joyful and peaceful – not stressed and worried.

Each year, the Christmas season is a reality we all must face.

We must make the choice to be thankful, joyful and peaceful.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. – William Arthur Ward

Being thankful is the beginning of a better and more full life.

When we are thankful for what we have we transform our attitude and prepare ourselves for more of the same.

Think of an area of your life where you want to see a change.

Find something in that area to be thankful for.

Maybe an example would help.

Let’s say you wanted to save some money.

First, be thankful for whatever money you do have.

Treat that little bit as if it were a blessing.

And then you will have the attitude it will take to start adding more.

Make it a great day.

Jakeu

I Receive ALL of Life with Thanksgiving –

I have gratitude for EVERYTHING

that has ever occurred to bring me to this moment.

I give thanks for the joys and the sufferings,

the moments of peace and the flashes of anger,

the compassion and the indifference,

the roar of my courage and the cold sweat of my fear.

I accept gratefully the entirety of my past and my present life.

– Jonathan Lockwood Huie

It takes a very mature person to be thankful for ALL of life, I know I have lots of room for improvement here.

I won’t challenge us all to immediately become thankful for everything, but maybe we could take a step in that direction.

As you think about what you are thankful for this year, challenge yourself to go beyond your usual answers.

Family, friends, faith, home, etc. are all great and worthy of our thanks, but let’s add to the list this year.

Maybe even find a challenge or struggle to be thankful for.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Thanksgiving week.

It’s a great opportunity to be reminded of all that we have to be thankful for.

Friends, family, careers, God, food, shelter – we all have a long list.

Happiness and contentment begin with thankfulness.

One of life’s great balance acts is the balance between thankfulness for what we have while still stoking the desire for growth and change.

As we look to make changes in our lives, we need to both strive for more and better while being thankful for where we are and the journey to get to where we want to go.

I still haven’t wrapped my head around this entirely, but I’ve taken up the practice of trying to be thankful for where I am any time I’m working on changing something.

Be thankful for the $10 in your savings account even when you would like it to be $1 million.

Be thankful for the 1 pound lost even though you want it to be 20.

Be thankful for the opportunity for growth, some never get it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Resending this “Toe Tapper” from a few years ago….

https://youtu.be/o_v9MY_FMcw

This one goes out to Meaghan. Between her and the girls, I have heard this one many times this week.

I have a confession to make though. I may not actually believe this is the best song ever.

But the message is a great reminder of the power of a great song.

I am sure we all have a song that moves us.

A song that brings back happy memories.

A hymn from church that pulls at our heart every time.

A classic song that injects just a little bit of our youth back into us.

A slow song that reminds us of that first dance at our wedding.

Go find the YouTube for one of these songs today and listen to it. Let it take you places.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – Bonus points for those that "Reply All" with their "Best Song Ever" for everyone else to hear. Please try to keep them relatively clean (that warning was for Erik as I know the rest of you are way too mature to send out something inappropriate).

The Parable of the Talents in the Bible teaches some important lessons.

I have included the story below.

Spoiler alert….one of the morals of the story is that “to whom much is given, much is expected.”

And we all have been given much.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Matthew 25:14-30

New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Talents

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’