The most worth-while thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of others. – Robert Baden-Powell

What do you want for Christmas?

I’m sure you’ve heard this a few times already. Or asked the kids or someone else.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting old and have too much stuff already, but I’m really trying hard not to want more stuff.

Happiness for others….now that is something I can get behind.

Let’s all make an effort to forget about what we want. For Christmas. For after Christmas. For next year.

Instead, let’s try to think more about what others want. What would make them happy?

Not in a doormat, put upon, poor me, martyred kind of way. In a selfless, joyful, peaceful, kind kind of way (yeah, two kinds in a row, my old English teachers would be so proud).

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – For those of us who are Christians – the idea is to replace our wants with what God wants. All the time. Every time. The closer we align with His will, the better – for us.

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Resending this daily attitude email from last year for those who need it.

“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

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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

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“It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.”

― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

This is a great thought to remember this Christmas season.

It’s so easy to get caught up with running from place to place and buying thing after thing.

Sometimes we move so fast we don’t give ourselves a chance to be affected by the laughter and good humour of others.

There are so many reasons to smile and laugh, but we have to notice them.

We have to slow down enough to catch them from others.

This time of year it is easy to let it slip by without having letting a little joy in.

Make yourself laugh this week.

Watch that favorite Christmas movie.

Share a drink with someone.

Email a joke to a friend.

Do something to make yourself and others laugh.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching. – Thomas Jefferson

Having the discipline to do the right thing whether someone is watching or not builds character and confidence.

Jim Rohn talks about starting small.

An apple a day.

Turning the light off when you leave the hotel room.

A walk around the block.

Putting the first few dollars in your investment account.

Just get started doing that thing as if the whole world was watching.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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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

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“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” — Matthew 1:21

Christmas season is upon us again. Another time to remember that Jesus was born all those years ago so that you and I could be forgiven and live with Him forever in Heaven.

This year – remind yourself of this simple idea – you are enough.

You are enough for God to send Jesus here to die in your place.

You are enough without buying all the stuff.

You are enough without overscheduling yourself.

You are enough without having to run around like a crazy person trying to “get it all in”.

Be at peace with yourself. Jesus is ready to be at peace with you. He’s ready and wants to celebrate Christmas with you. In the right way.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. – Henry David Thoreau

Reminder – thankfulness and gratitude shouldn’t be a once a year thing.

The Bible implores us to have thanks in all circumstances. And I think it really means ALL.

Let’s make it a habit.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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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 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

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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 that you get the opportunity to steward.

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

Make it a great day.

Jake

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