I try to remember to share the story below each Christmas….in case any of you don’t believe in Santa.

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!

Https://youtu.be/k_eo76lM7iw?si=hH6UN8-nL4NQv7Yt

Time to get the Christmas music going.

Turn on your favorite, sing along and enjoy the season.

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

The first wealth is health. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

This was a great reminder as I’m recovering from hernia surgery right now.

Take care of yourself.

The Bible talks about we are the hands and feet of Christ. How we are here to do His work. With our bodies.

We are able to be of the most and best service when we take care of ourselves.

Not so we can look good in a swimsuit or some other vanity based goals.

But so that we can tackle the needs of others with vitality and strength.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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

stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadnt before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesnt come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Two major lessons from The Grinch.

First – Christmas isn’t about presents or decorating or food or anything else. It’s about love. Love from Our Father in heaven and love for all of mankind as we gather together.

We really can forget about all the stuff and gather around in joy and peace. It is possible. Even if it’s only for Christmas.

Second – that even the coldest heart can be turned by the miracle of Christmas. The Grinch was irredeemable in so many ways. But in the end, Christmas wins out and he finds joy and peace with the rest of the Whos.

The Christmas story is just that. We all are irredeemable in our way. We all are need of saving. God sent his Son as a little baby in a manger just so that you could feel that same peace and joy that comes from knowing that.

Make it a great day.

Merry Christmas.

Jake

Kindness in women, not their beauteous looks, shall win my love. – William Shakespeare

As I get older – kindness takes on more and move value.

So much of the trouble in our lives could be avoided if we were simply more kind to each other.

Christmas season is a great time to get started.

Let’s all just try to be a little more kind.

Some advice on getting started – start at home – with your spouse if you have one. And then move on with coworkers, customers, friends, etc.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Https://youtu.be/xi4OpBMbyGY?si=VVxUubV2lzFHS57k

Home Alone is always one of the first ones I watch during the Christmas season.

While it’s a Christmas movie – it’s also a good lesson on being thankful for what you have.

Kevin wishes away his family in a moment of selfishness.

Then finds himself wanting nothing more than being with them.

The holidays can be hectic and chaotic. It’s easy to miss the real reason they are important.

Jesus was born to save us from sin. Our family and loved ones are a blessing to be thankful for. Our neighbors, coworkers, and those we interact with are to be served with love.

Make it a great day.

Jake

I just like to smile. Smiling’s my favorite. – Buddy The Elf

Elf is a classic Christmas movie, following a similar theme to many others.

Buddy the Elf is a “believer” who believes in Christmas, Christmas Spirit, Santa, goodness, etc.

At first he’s seen as the one who has it all wrong by the cynical people he encounters. His positivity and naivete are laughed at and ridiculed.

Then at some point the tide turns – the cynics are proven wrong and the “believer” proves them all wrong in the end. Their eyes are opened and they see him in a new light – the one who had it right all along.

I try to think of the Christmas season as a reminder of how we should act all year long. If we can remember which values are worth believing in.

That’s it’s better to be nice than to be mean.

That money isn’t that important.

That it is better to give than receive.

That being selfless is better than being selfish.

That service and love and faith and grace are to be valued and put above stuff and pride and greed and selfishness.

Christmas really can last all year long – if we believe.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Conflict cannot survive without your participation. – Wayne Dyer

Dale Carnegie says it this way – the best way to win an argument is to not have one.

We get to choose our reaction to conflict.

With social media and other tools today – there is no shortage of people on both sides of every conflict.

We can choose to respond in love.

To treat others as we would like to be treated.

Because of the person we want to be.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Courage is found in unlikely places. – J. R. R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings books (and movies) tell the story of unlikely heroes.

Small folk whose wholesome courage and heart save the day.

It’s a reminder that small things change the tide.

There are a lot of big problems in the world. Plenty to worry and fret about.

Real change starts small. With little moments of courage.

The courage love and be loved by those closest to us.

The courage to hope and have faith with the small and big stuff.

The kindness showed to a stranger.

The helping hand reached out to someone in need.

Make it a great day.

Jake