MS* – Clarence: [to George] Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he? – It’s a Wonderful Life

EB – Shitter’s full! – Cousin Eddie

JD – “Christmas was on its way. Lovely, glorious, beautiful Christmas, upon which the entire kid year revolved.” – A Christmas Story

JW – There’s room for everyone on the nice list. – Buddy the Elf

Buddy the Elf sure is a smart one.

There’s room for everyone on the nice list.

There’s always room for more nice.

There’s always room for more love.

There’s always room for more selflessness.

There’s always room for more family.

There’s always room for more friendship.

There’s always room for more hope, faith, peace, joy…..

As we cram our schedules and houses with more stuff, remember the things there is always more room for.

Merry Christmas.

jake

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love. – Mother Teresa

Love until it hurts.

I think she means love it until it starts to (and continues to over time) kill our selfishness.

We must seek out this place of giving up our own desires for others.

When we can love another like this we finally experience the life we were designed for.

The paradox is that when we are able to do so we become happier than we would have been had we acted on our selfish desires in the first place.

I’m sure you all believe this already. My hope is that this email inspires you to do act on it. Just a little. Today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

He HADN’T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME!

Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,

Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?"

"It came with out ribbons! It came without tags!"

"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"

And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn’t come from a store."

"Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!"

We also had the chance to watch the Grinch Who Stole Christmas over the weekend.

These few lines from the end always stand out to me.

I should be old enough to realize that Christmas isn’t about presents or decorating or any of that other stuff, but these lines still catch me off guard a little each time.

Hopefully these lines do them same for you. A reminder that Christmas is more than all of the stuff.

Make it a great Christmas.

Jake

PS – If you want to read the entire Grinch story, here you go: http://web.mit.edu/tere/www/text/grinch.txt

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

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

JD – “If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised.” — Clark Griswold

EB* – “You couldn’t hear a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant.” — Uncle Lewis

MS* – I don’t know if I oughta go sailin’ down no hill with nothin’ between the ground and my brains but a piece of government plastic. – Cousin Eddie

JW* – Aunt Bethany: Is your house on fire, Clark? Clark Griswold: No, Aunt Bethany, those are the Christmas lights.

Forgot again to get quotes from everyone so I am sending out quotes from “Christmas Vacation”.

Whether your favorite Christmas movie is a hilarious comedy or a sentimental tear jerker, make time to watch your favorites this Christmas.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting.

It is happiness because we see joy in people.

It is forgetting self and finding time for others.

It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values. – Thomas S. Monson

Halfway through December already.

Don’t let the season pass you by without noticing and being a part of it all.

Look for the joy in others.

Forget about yourself and make time for someone you love.

Focus on what’s really important.

Simple reminders.

Merry Christmas.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“If you are going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill

Keep going.

If things are rough, the only way to a better place is to keep going.

Stopping in the middle of it only ensures it lasts longer.

This falls into the category of “easier said than done” but that doesn’t make it false.

Whether you are going through something truly horrific or are just having a bad day, keep going.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“Having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card.” – Marc Brown

It’s true.

Nowadays you don’t even need a card.

You just need the card number and your PIN and the right website and you can download and read books to your heart is content.

Over the last few years I have gotten myself more and more into the cycle of reading for fun and for pleasure.

There are so many good books to read.

Go to the library, pick one up and get started.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Every year at the Christmas party I make it a point to find a moment or two to step back from it all and just observe.

Every year I see the same thing.

I see smiles.

I hear laughter.

I feel the love in the room.

I remember that this is what it is all about. I remember not to worry or overthink it. I remember that we are getting the big things right.

I find my wife and go back to her side remembering that I am the luckiest guy in the world.

Thank you for being a part of that. I can’t imagine it without each and every one of you.

Merry Christmas.

Jake