Below is one of my favorite little stories about Christmas.

Always remember that you are on Santa’s team.

Merry Christmas.

Jake

My grandma taught me everything about Christmas. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," jeered my sister. "Even dummies know that!"

My grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her world-famous cinnamon buns.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me.

"No Santa Claus!" she snorted. "Ridiculous! Don’t believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let’s go."

"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn’t even finished my second cinnamon bun.

"Where" turned out to be Kerby’s General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days.

"Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I’ll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby’s.

I was only eight years old. I’d often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church.

I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobbie Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock’s grade-two class. Bobbie Decker didn’t have a coat. I knew that because he never went out for recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough; but all we kids knew that Bobbie Decker didn’t have a cough, and he didn’t have a coat.

I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobbie Decker a coat. I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that. I didn’t see a price tag, but ten dollars ought to buy anything. I put the coat and my ten-dollar bill on the counter and pushed them toward the lady behind it.

She looked at the coat, the money, and me. "Is this a Christmas present for someone?" she asked kindly. "Yes," I replied shyly. "It’s … for Bobbie. He’s in my class, and he doesn’t have a coat." The nice lady smiled at me. I didn’t get any change, but she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons, and write, "To Bobbie, From Santa Claus" on it … Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy.

Then she drove me over to Bobbie Decker’s house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa’s helpers. Grandma parked down the street from Bobbie’s house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk.

Suddenly, Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell twice and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobbie. He looked down, looked around, picked up his present, took it inside and closed the door.

Forty years haven’t dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my grandma, in Bobbie Decker’s bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: Ridiculous!

Santa was alive and well … AND WE WERE ON HIS TEAM!

"Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you do, and you will presently come to love him." – CS Lewis “Mere Christianity”

Love is a verb.

It builds upon activity.

It requires action.

Consistent, positive action that puts another before ourselves.

Find a way to show love today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” – CS Lewis

For some, the Christmas and holiday season are a bleak reminder of a broken heart.

A time of loneliness and melancholy for loved ones no longer with us.

A time to wish for one more chance, one more memory, one more “I love you” or “Merry Christmas”.

Sadness and heartache are real.

They are a price to be paid for loving another human being.

When I think of others going through times like this, I always go back to this quote from CS Lewis.

I’m not sure why it has to work like this, but I believe he explains how it does work.

We must choose between allowing our hearts to harden and turn to stone, or wade into the dangerous waters of vulnerability.

I know this is easier said than done and that compared to a broken heart some may wish for a heart of stone, but my sincerest wish is that even the broken hearted can find hope in CS Lewis’s words.

Hope and faith that real love is worth the heart ache. That a heart of stone is something we would not wish on our worst enemies.

This is part of the magic of Christmas. We are reminded to believe in love. To hope for what can be and to have faith that love will win out in the end.

As a Christian, this is the true meaning of Christmas. God loved us. God sent his son to live and then die on the cross in exchange for us. Love, God and Jesus won out in the end.

Make it a great day.

Jake

If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share. – W. Clement Stone

Being thankful is a great place to start because it reminds us that we have something to give.

We weren’t put on this earth to just consume all that we can and be thankful along the way. We were made to give.

If you are thankful for all the love in your life, show it and share it.

If you are lucky enough to have a little extra money, give it away.

If you have some free time, find a place to volunteer.

There are many ways we can share this holiday season.

A great place to start is that list you think of over Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. As you think of what you are thankful for, take a moment to think of a way to share whatever it is you are thinking about.

Our real opportunity to change this place forever lies in our ability to share and give the best of ourselves with others.

What are you going to share?

Make it a great day.

Jake

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 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

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.

Jake

https://youtu.be/NOa5UOHdwnc

Figured we should end the week with a funky thank you right before Thanksgiving week.

“Thank you for letting me be myself.”

I sure am thankful for the people in my life that do this for me.

I know that “myself” has a lot of room for improvement but some of you love me anyway.

We all have people in our lives like this.

Don’t forget to tell them you are thankful for their love and appreciation.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-bartolotta/happiness-tips_b_3956114.html

I won’t regurgitate the tips from the article (please read them), what struck me most was the basic idea from the intro.

Quit buying into this idea that you’ll be happy when the next thing comes through.

The idea that the next new hot gadget, workout tip, or daily attitude email (ouch) will magically solve all your problems.

Don’t buy it.

It’s not true.

It will only get and feel better when you get better.

Better at the small disciplines that make the difference.

Make a short list and then don’t miss.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"Hold a book in your hand and you’re a pilgrim at the gates of a new city." – Anne Michaels

Not sure if you noticed or not, but the time changed over the weekend.

It gets super dark, super early now.

Seems like a good time to pick up that book you’ve been meaning to read.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The way to get things done is not to mind who gets the credit for doing them. Benjamin Jowett

In the book “The Go Giver” Bob Burg outlines what he calls the Law of Receptivity – only by being open to receiving do we allow others the opportunity to give.

This was my biggest takeaway from the book.

The quote above reminded me of this.

When we don’t worry about getting the credit or about who does what, when we are open to have others do for us or on our behalf; we give them the opportunity to give and be of service.

So much of our happiness is dependent on our ability to be of useful service.

We get more done and create more happiness when we open to others helping (and getting the credit).

Some of my favorite Mavidea moments have been the times when a Mavidean gets the credit for being of service to someone.

Look for opportunities to help others be of service. For opportunities to work together and forget about who gets the credit.

Make it a great day.

Jake