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

https://youtu.be/MyA1zKBUhxM

This has become a new family favorite around the Davis house.

Christmas is a great time for both old and new traditions.

Life is full of transitions between the old traditions and the new.

As we seek wisdom, an important area is deciding when to let go of something and move on to something new.

Embracing the new while cherishing the old can be a delicate balance.

Christmas is a great time to embrace both.

Make it a great day.

Jake

My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that? – Bob Hope

Idea for the day – start Christmas early.

Don’t wait another day to say thank you.

Don’t wait another day to say I love you.

Don’t wait another day to hug somebody.

Go ahead and get started. Spread some love and joy.

Make it a great day.

Jake

JW* – “The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.” — Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder

EB* – “But really, they did it because every human being has a basic instinct to help each other out. It might not seem that way sometimes, but it’s true.” ―The Martian, Andy Weir

MS* – “People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time.” — The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis

JD – “Patience, he thought. So much of this was patience – waiting, and thinking and doing things right. So much of all this, so much of all living was patience and thinking.” — Hatchet, Gary Paulsen

I forgot to collect quotes from everyone in our meeting this week so I am posting quotes from an article I recently read.

The article was about reading (and book clubs, specifically) and how it expands our thinking.

Pick up a good book. Think about what the author is really saying.

And then share those ideas with someone you care about.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“But on Christmas Eve this year, I can say to you that, at last, we may look forward into the future with real, substantial confidence that, however great the cost, peace on earth, goodwill toward men can be and will be realized and ensured,” Roosevelt said in his radio address , reaching Ladd Field via Fairbanks’s KFAR radio. “This year I can say that. Last year, I could not do more than express a hope.”“American boys are fighting today in snow-covered mountains, in malarial jungles, on blazing deserts,” he said near the end of the address. “They are fighting on the far stretches of the sea and above the clouds, and fighting for the thing for which they struggle.” – "81 Days Below Zero: The Incredible Survival Story of a World War II Pilot in Alaska’s Frozen Wilderness" by Brian Murphy

Today is Pearl Harbor Day.

It’s a day to remember an important moment in American history.

It’s also a day to remember that there are still troops fighting for us in “snow-covered mountains, in malarial jungles, on blazing deserts”.

Today, we remember those who have served and those who are serving.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"Two days in the year nothing can be done, they are yesterday and tomorrow." – Anonymous

How much of today do you spend thinking about yesterday and tomorrow?

We are all tempted to spend too much of our time focused on what we can’t control.

My personal wakeup call is to say to myself “what is the most important thing I should be doing right now?”

We each need some way to shake ourselves out of analyzing and overanalyzing the past and worrying about the future.

The difference we make and the life we build is done in 24 hour increments. Spend them wisely.

Make it a great day.

Jake