Yesterday, we ventured out in the ice and snow to go to church, and I am so glad we did. I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy the message, knowing that our pastor would not be delivering it, and knowing that the message was going to be taken from the movie, “Elf” starring Will Ferrell. I just couldn’t envision how you could get a message about the real meaning of Christmas from that movie…

Like I said, I am so glad we risked the drive on the ice.

Steven Blair based his message on Galatians 5:22-23, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” and Luke 18:15-17, “One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him. Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

and on the three rules of the North Pole:

1. Treat every day like it’s Christmas.
2. There’s room for everyone on the nice list.
3. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.

The message was about bringing the joy and the happiness and the hope back into Christmas, and becoming child-like in our faith once again.  He showed a few clips from the movie that made everyone laugh, but I loved the quote he used from G.K. Chesterton’s book “Orthodoxy:”

“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” 

Just thinking that God is saying, “Again! Again!” like Parker, Anissa and Andrae always said after I spun them around in circles, makes me smile. Just imagining that He takes complete pleasure in creating a sunrise every morning and the beautiful moonrise in the evenings and in making each daisy individually, makes me want to cuddle in His lap and feel so secure and content, knowing the Creator of the world is MY Savior and Lord, and that He enjoys presenting this beautiful world to me each day.

In the middle of the message, Steven shared this window sticker from the parking lot:

And he modified it at the end of the message:

   more,     less.

I am grateful for a wonderful message about sharing the Light of the World at Christmas and every other day, too.

I am grateful for super soft socks and really great Bath & Body Works coupons that enabled us to get big bottles of lotion for our Christmas gifts for Bingo tonight.

I am grateful for memories of giving and receiving Lifesavers books at school from Christmas gift exchanges.

I am grateful for those memories of spinning Parker, Anissa, and Andrae around in circles, making us all dizzy. Oh, how I loved their giggles and insistence that we do it again and again and again.

I am grateful for memories of this time of the year when we spent two weeks at Grandma and Grandpa’s house during Christmas break, and my girls would wake up in the morning, their hair all messy, sitting at the glass table all warm in their footy pajamas, waiting on Grandma to make them snowman pancakes.

I am grateful for a young woman who pulled up beside me while I was waiting in the McDonald’s drive-thru this morning, got out of her SUV, and asked me if I would like these two McDonald’s gift cards – she doesn’t go to McDonald’s very often and decided to give them to someone else. She handed them to me and said, “Merry Christmas!” got back in her vehicle, and drove away. I began to cry.

I am grateful for a phone call with Dad last night, and for being reminded of the memories of Mom’s Christmas poem letters that were always created with love. She was so good at writing the year’s activities in rhyme. I saved them, and now I wish I had them to read again.

I am grateful that I have a Dad who loves to read.

I am grateful with anticipation for tomorrow evening. Sam and I will volunteer in the nursery for the 7 pm service, and Sam will volunteer as an usher for the 9 pm and 11 pm services while I warm up with my choir in order to lead the music for the 11 pm service. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve at church in a new capacity. Last year, we handed out candles for two services, and this year, we will be privileged to hold babies so their parents can attend the Christmas Eve service. God knew what I was missing, and He is providing a way…He is so good to me.

I could so easily slip into a depressed state this week, but I want to focus on the blessings in my life rather than the losses. I want to remember that the tiny Baby that came to save the world, saved ME. I want to Elf more and Grinch less.

I have heard more fake laughter this week than I have in a long time…so I am grateful for people who don’t fake their happiness but heartily laugh when something is funny or makes them happy.

I am grateful for the beauty of geese flying in formation, and for their silly honks.

I am grateful for a boss who offers to buy us breakfast from the deli.

I am grateful for the caramel longjohn left on the counter for me this morning.

I am grateful for a devotion this morning that reminded me to not be ashamed of Who I believe and trust, but to proclaim to the world that Jesus is why we should be celebrating Christmas. My life verse says it all:  I will speak of Thy testimonies before kings and will not be ashamed. – Psalm 119:46

I am grateful for long lines in the drive-thru that prompt me to go inside to get my iced tea, because this morning, a young lady named Melonie was at the register and was shy and to the point, but after I said “thank you for the styrofoam cup,” she looked me in the eye, HELD EYE CONTACT, and said, “I hope you have a Merry Christmas.” And I believed she meant it.  It’s rare to have prolonged eye contact these days with service industry workers, and she made my day.

A sense of humor… is needed armor.
Joy in one’s heart and some laughter on one’s lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.
– Hugh Sidey

I am grateful for another Good Morning America video that made me smile before leaving for work this morning, and it was right down my Christmas alley:

Peanuts Christmas Flash Mob

Which reminds me that I am grateful for a minute of enjoyment last night in the CVS Pharmacy to push the little button on the stuffed Linus character and listen to him recite a bit of the Christmas story. If he hadn’t been so expensive, he would have been a splurge purchase.

I am grateful for a very nice Christmas/congratulations letter from my brother Ron.

Holding on to anger, resentment and hurt only gives you tense muscles,
a headache and a sore jaw from clenching your teeth.
Forgiveness gives you back the laughter and the lightness in your life.

– Joan Lunden

I am grateful for a very comfortable home that keeps me warm during a winter storm.

And I am grateful for this song, and for memories of Karissa singing it. It is one of my all-time Christmas favorites:

Jesus, Born on This Day

Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face. – Victor Hugo

I am grateful for the music of Earth, Wind and Fire that just makes me feel good inside.

 Do You Remember?

I am grateful for my church devotion this morning that talked about Sunday’s message taken from “It’s a Wonderful Life,” highlighting the message of Clarence Odbody, Angel 2^nd Class. It focused on the fact that angels appear in human form and invited me to be an angel to someone this Christmas. Then, Janelle Gregory wrote this beautiful insight about her friendship with a woman from Malawi that was so touching, it makes me want to go next summer:

Insight from Janelle Gregory

This all reminded me of Mom’s dedication to delivering Angel Tree gifts at Christmas time to children in Hutchinson who have a parent who is incarcerated.  Or the shoe boxes that were filled and collected at CBA and WOCS each year for Operation Christmas Child, or the continual program at church that supplies a full backpack of healthy snacks to kids every weekend in the downtown area of Kansas City, or my two parents who picked up two businessmen whose car had broken down on K-96 in the dead of winter and took them to their hotel in Hutchinson, or my daughter Karissa, who heard about a young family who was staying in a seedy motel in Oklahoma City, trying to get back on their feet, and she drove to the city and knocked on their room door and handed them $200, her tithe money. Or Sam, who saw a family in a restaurant with 13 kids, part of a Christian ministry of adopting international children and he anonymously left a large donation to their ministry. Or Dwight, who “volunteers” his time to help single women in Hutchinson do remodel projects or necessary repairs to their homes…and I could go on and on. I need to be an angel this weekend. No, I need to be an angel all of the time and offer Christ to others through my actions.

I am grateful that I can still do a little creative thinking when I send out congratulations emails after our staff places a candidate, just like Shirley and I used to do when we decorated lockers before game days at Central Christian.  Here’s a portion of my latest sample that made me smile this morning:

Kick up yer heels, you two, and celebrate,
‘cause you “Rockette!”

I am grateful that it is Thursday and we will be having Minsky’s pizza tonight with three of my favorite people after piano lessons.

And I am grateful that two of my favorite Christmas movies will be on TV tonight: How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Charlie Brown Christmas.

So that makes me grateful for a DVR, one of the best inventions of my lifetime.

I am grateful for my “Jesus Calling” devotional. Here was today’s, so timely:

When you are plagued by a persistent problem – one that goes on and on – view it as a rich opportunity. An ongoing problem is like a tutor who is always by your side. The learning possibilities are limited only by your willingness to be teachable. In faith, thank Me for your problem. Ask Me to open your eyes and your heart to all that I am accomplishing through this difficulty. Once you have become grateful for a problem, it loses its power to drag you down. On the contrary, your thankful attitude will lift you up into heavenly places with Me. From this perspective, your difficulty can be seen as a slight, temporary distress that is producing for you a transcendent Glory never to cease!

Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. – Isaiah 30:20-21

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! – 2 Corinthians 4:17

I am grateful for my Bingo friends and for time spent with them last night. Oh, how they make me laugh with their grouchy personalities, serious Bingo-playing, and the occasional Hazel-isms that make no sense. They all surprised me in the middle of our time together with a most beautiful Christmas gift that made me cry, a wreath with each of their pictures attached:

I am grateful for a beautiful little girl named Tatum Diane who came to visit with her parents on Sunday afternoon. They actually came to see her great-grandma Drula, but we were privileged to have some time with her, too. I wish she could have stayed longer.

I am grateful for silence and the lack of excessive noise in my life.

I am grateful that my Mom taught me to iron pillowcases and handkerchiefs. I have great memories of sitting on the floor in the front room after taking my Saturday night bath, ironing Daddy’s handkerchiefs and some pillowcases while I was allowed to watch Lawrence Welk, Hee Haw, and the Carol Burnett Show. The good ‘ol days…

Which reminds me, I am grateful that my parents instilled in me a work ethic to follow in their footsteps. They taught me how to work hard at cleaning the house and how to work hard and not waste time for an employer, but to LOOK for something to do, rather than sit around and wait to be told. (AND, I can clean a mean windshield.) If I wanted money, I had to earn it – it wasn’t just handed to me because I was their daughter. If I wanted “things,” I had to work to earn the money to get those “things” myself or wait until my birthday or Christmas to re-stock my closet or have the latest must-have gadgets or toys. Well, with the exception of Sunday afternoons during business meetings at church when I would ask if Lori and Leroy and David and I could walk to the Quik Shop and Dad almost always gave me some money for a snack and a drink. That was a bonus!

I am grateful for public radio’s “This American Life” stories that I sometimes listen to on Sunday mornings on my way back to church for choir rehearsal.

www.thisamericanlife.org

I am grateful for two guys who stopped in this morning and gave us five mini Jimmy John’s sandwiches – for free! What a great marketing tool. I don’t really like Jimmy John’s sandwiches because they are cold, but today, I am less superficial and I will love them.

Okay, they do have a couple of things I like. One, if you order for delivery, they are what they say they are – freaky fast. And, if you haven’t tried it, their Club LuLu as a lettuce wrap is really the only thing you ever need to order there, because it is SO GOOD. (Not for you, Dad…it has turkey and bacon in it.)  

So, after all that, I am grateful for an unexpected free lunch today. Thank you, guys dressed in black who have the most fun job ever today, making people happy with surprise sandwiches.  

I love this devotion this morning. I tend to allow my emotion to rule my mood, and when I’ve spent the night tossing and turning and worrying and missing and grieving and regretting, I then wake up with my mood already set in motion for the day. This was the message I needed today, thank you Lord:

Come to Me with your gaping emptiness, knowing that in Me you are complete. As you rest quietly in My Presence, My Light within you grows brighter and brighter. Facing the emptiness inside you is simply the prelude to being filled with My fullness. Therefore, rejoice on those days when you drag yourself out of bed, feeling sluggish and inadequate. Tell yourself that this is a perfect day to depend on Me in childlike trust. If you persevere in this dependence as you go through the day, you will discover at bedtime that Joy and Peace have become your companions. You may not realize at what point they joined you on your journey, but you will feel the beneficial effects of their presence. The perfect end to such a day is a doxology of gratitude. I am He from whom all blessings flow!

2 Corinthians 4:6; Matthew 5:3, 6; Colossians 2:9-10; Psalm 150:6

I began my day yesterday feeling worry and sadness and a knot in my stomach over a situation I really cannot control any longer, but I spent my morning at work dwelling on the devotion from Ecclesiastes and by the afternoon, my mood had lightened a little, I was re-focused on the blessings that surround me, and by the end of the day, I was able to put myself into making Christmas cookies for the ladies tonight and do love, rather than feel sorry for myself. It DOES work to depend on His Word and meditate on it day and night…

I am grateful for vanilla almond bark dipped pretzels and the mess they make on the counter.

I am grateful for the girl who leaves for lunch and whistles a happy song all the way out of the building, almost every day.

I am grateful for the easy graham cracker/butter/almond things that Mom used to make at Christmas time.

I am grateful for bluebonnets.

I am grateful that a radio station this morning accidentally had dead air space and allowed me to drive to work in silence to reflect on a doxology of gratitude and “I am HE from whom all blessings flow” while loving the beauty of the morning sunshine.

I am grateful that this guy and his wife thought up this funny airport activity and posted it to youtube so that I could laugh out loud in the quiet of the house before leaving for work:

Cell Phone Crasher

I am grateful for a partner who enjoys being in the kitchen, helps make dinner and then washes the dishes, and goes through a huge bag of pretzels looking for the ones that are not broken, just because.

And I am grateful for memories of Hutchinson Friends Church, singing the The Lord is in His Holy Temple at the beginning of the service and the Doxology at the end of the service, with the voices of Roy and Anna, Clarence and Violet, Bob and Wilda, Lowell and Josephine, Ralph and Shirley, Elwood and Norma, Bob and Zetta, Harold and Delores, Orrin and Verna, Mom and Dad, Carolyn at the piano and Verna at the organ. Ahhhh, those were the days, and I love my heritage and those Quaker “traditions.” I can still smell those blonde wood pews and feel that finger thump on my head when I was too noisy.

 

I am grateful for a “new” devotion book that my Dad left for me yesterday. Thank you, Dad – you know I will read it every day!

I am grateful for a new addition to our yard, made by Sam on Saturday afternoon.  We haven’t decided on a name for him, but his possibilities are Woodrow, Woody, Bradley, and Bradford. This little guy makes me smile.

I am grateful for a full weekend of family, friends and Christmas music. I needed this full weekend to stay occupied, focusing on the blessings in my life rather than the difficulties.

I am grateful for a new little baby girl that has entered the world. I hope to meet her someday.

I am grateful for an email from Colin, a former student and a good friend.

I am grateful for a new recipe for chicken tortilla soup that is now my favorite soup…well, right behind Central Christian’s chicken noodles over mashed potatoes.

 Chicken Tortilla Soup with Black Bean Salsa

I am grateful for game time with Rachel, JP, and Angela.

I am grateful for the smell of a Pickwick candle – Joyeux Noel scent.

I am grateful for time to take a nap in front of the fireplace yesterday afternoon.

And I am grateful for my church devotion this morning that seems to be just for me today:

There’s a season for everything and a time for every matter under the heavens:
² a time for giving birth and a time for dying, 
³ a time for killing and a time for healing, a time for tearing down and a time for building up,
⁴ a time for crying and a time for laughing, a time for mourning and a time for dancing,
⁵ a time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones, a time for embracing and a time for avoiding embraces,
⁶ a time for searching and a time for losing, a time for keeping and a time for throwing away,
⁷ a time for tearing and a time for repairing, a time for keeping silent and a time for speaking,
⁸ a time for loving and a time for hating, a time for war and a time for peace.
⁹ What do workers gain from all their hard work? ¹⁰ I have observed the task that God has given human beings. ¹¹ God has made everything fitting in its time, but has also placed eternity in their hearts, without enabling them to discover what God has done from beginning to end. – Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

George Bailey contrasted his father’s life and “wealth” with Mr. Potter’s, saying, “Well, in my book he died a much richer man than you’ll ever be!” Potter was wealthy, but he attained his wealth at the expense of others. George’s father and George lived lives full of ups and downs, helping and serving others. When we view life in the light of eternity, George was right. Ecclesiastes said thousands of years ago that God has “placed eternity” in human hearts, that God means for us to live in the light of eternity.

• Ecclesiastes 3:1-9 used 14 pairs of contrasts. The number seven often meant completeness to ancient Hebrews, so the double use of the number signified totality. The message was that none of the seasons of our life is beyond the reach of God’s mission to restore our broken world to wholeness. What season(s) of life are you in today? What good or bad characteristics does your current season hold? Are you able to trust that God is at work in every season of your life, including this one?
  
• Verse 11 said, “God has placed eternity” in our hearts. An eternal perspective on life offers hope. But though God has placed eternity in our hearts, God has not revealed all the answers to life’s questions. We need faith to choose to believe even without all the answers that God’s eternal plan is good. Do you find an eternal perspective encouraging, or do you find it frustrating that you can’t know everything about your future? Bring your hopes, fears, thoughts, and even frustrations to God in prayer.

I am taking care of you. Feel the warmth and security of being enveloped in My loving Presence. Every detail of your life is under My control. Moreover, everything fits into a pattern for good, to those who love Me and are called according to My design and purpose.

Because the world is in an abnormal, fallen condition, people tend to think that chance governs the universe. Events may seem to occur randomly, with little or no meaning. People who view the world this way have overlooked one basic fact: the limitations of human understanding. What you know of the world you inhabit is only the tip of the iceberg. Submerged beneath the surface of the visible world are mysteries too vast for you to comprehend. If you could only see how close I am to you and how constantly I work on your behalf, you would never again doubt that I am wonderfully caring for you. This is why you must live by faith, not by sight; trusting in My mysterious, majestic Presence.

Father, thank you for promising to be with me through all of life’s ups and downs. Amen.

I am grateful for Topsy’s popcorn – mmmmm, the cheese kind, the caramel kind, the cinnamon kind. I love big tins of popcorn at Christmas time. So did my Mom. Between the two of us, I’m sure we could eat an entire tin in one sitting.

I am grateful for ice, in a glass of tea, not on a sloped driveway. It was a scary slide this morning.

I am grateful for green bananas that have just a little tartness to them. When the tartness is gone, so is the banana, from my diet.

I am grateful for great scenes from Christmas movies. Two of my favorites:

That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

 Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra

I am grateful for Friday the 13^th, and grateful that I am not superstitious. Good things happen on this day, too.

I am grateful for children. They make me smile inside when I watch their antics and listen to their little voices.

I am grateful for Christmas at Resurrection week, and grateful for Emma who was amazed last night when Fabien played the piano, and grateful for Jack who made me laugh out loud because he was so annoyed by a little boy and his antics, and grateful for Sam who rescued Jack and the youth choir by occupying that little boy while we rehearsed backstage, and grateful for the 300+ church members who volunteer so much of their Christmas season to make beautiful music and put everyone else in the Christmas spirit.

Christmas at Resurrection Promo Video

I am grateful for a Christmas tree in the window this year.

I am grateful for childhood memories of Christmas caroling and baking cookies afterwards with Lowell and Josephine, and their silver tree with the colored light wheel thingy, and getting paper sacks filled with ribbon candy and chocolate peanut clusters and candy canes and orange slice candy and an apple and an orange after the church Christmas program, and for the excitement of opening presents on Christmas Eve and being “Santa Claus,” and for the fun of going to Granddaddy and Grandmommy Fergusons’ to see the family on Christmas Day and eat at big tables in the garage or going to the Better Book Room for the Johnson Reunion and watching the gag gifts get opened and then going down to the store to shop afterwards, and setting up the babyfood jar tree on the cedar chest and watching the colored lights blink in the darkness of the “front room”, and the Rudolph that said “Hi!” with his upper body on one side of the door and “Bye!” with his lower body on the other side of the door, and the Readers’ Digest Christmas albums that had the BEST music that we played all of the time in December…

And I am grateful for this devotion from church this morning that coincides with Adam’s message from Sunday:

¹⁴ “Bless people who harass you—bless and don’t curse them. ¹⁵ Be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying. ¹⁶ Consider everyone as equal, and don’t think that you’re better than anyone else. Instead, associate with people who have no status. Don’t think that you’re so smart. ¹⁷ Don’t pay back anyone for their evil actions with evil actions, but show respect for what everyone else believes is good.

¹⁸ If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people. ¹⁹ Don’t try to get revenge for yourselves, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. It is written, Revenge belongs to me; I will pay it back, says the Lord. ²⁰ Instead, If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. By doing this, you will pile burning coals of fire upon his head. ²¹ Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good.” – Romans 12:14-21

Eventually, we all find ourselves dealing with a “grinch.” When that happens, we’re tempted to “give them a dose of their own medicine,” to be as mean (or meaner) to them as they’ve been to us. But, like the Whos’ who sang their joyous song rather than ranting and raging at the Grinch, Paul knew that in the end, it works out best to defeat evil with good.

• When the Grinch heard a glad sound, rather than a sad one, he puzzled and puzzled. Then he had a new thought, wrote Dr. Seuss. “‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more.'” In what ways do Paul’s words remind you of the true meaning of Christmas? Can you identify one way you’ll honor Christmas differently, to better live out Paul’s counsel?
   
• Paul cited ancient Hebrew wisdom: “If your enemies are starving, feed them some bread; if they are thirsty, give them water to drink. By doing this, you will heap burning coals on their heads, and the Lord will reward you” (Proverbs 25:21-22). When have you seen enemies brought together, in your own life or in world affairs, because one side acted with kindness rather than hatred or contempt? What does it take to build trust so that people become receptive to even kind, generous overtures?

Lord Jesus, you are the supreme example of overcoming evil with good. Your gentle, generous life is the pivot point of history. Enable me to live more and more in your goodness and grace. Amen.

I am grateful for the person who thought to dip pretzels into melted almond bark. I could seriously get addicted.

I am grateful for junior high kids who have the ability to talk to adults and carry on a real conversation. It’s even better when they initiate conversation but oh, so rare these days.

I am grateful for high school students who know how to speak on the phone and leave detailed voicemail messages that are very courteous. Fabien is a master, and I’m impressed.

I am grateful for the sense to keep personal things personal. And I am grateful for adults who also have that sense. Why has this always been an issue for me? What is it about adults who cannot keep their personal hygiene information to themselves? Why do they feel the need or desire to share with others these things that are not necessary to know? I am grateful that I have a filter on my mouth and keep some things to myself.

And on that note, I am constantly flabbergasted (I use this word in honor of my mother) to work in this beautiful, upscale office building and witness seemingly normal, professional women who do not wash their hands properly – you know, actually using soap and spending more than two seconds under the stream of water to wash away germs. I walk out of that bathroom and am slightly disgusted, but I am also so grateful that there is a sink with running water and a full dispenser of soap at my fingertips so that I can have clean hands.

That was a grateful with a bite to it. Hmmmm. But I am grateful for soap and water to wash my hands – I remember the little bathroom at the church in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, that had little to no running water and we had to sparingly use bottled water to wash our faces and hands after working in the hot sun all day. I take for granted this luxury of indoor plumbing and liquid soap…

I have not been able to get Adam’s message out of my mind this week.  If you ever want to listen to his message about “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” here is the audio link:

Peace: How Christmas Changed the Grinch

I am grateful for this devotion from church today, that goes along with his message.

12.12.13 – Jesus taught how to tame the Grinch in ourselves

Daily Scripture: Luke 6:27-36

²⁷ “But I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. ²⁸ Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other one as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t withhold your shirt either. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks and don’t demand your things back from those who take them. ³¹ Treat people in the same way that you want them to treat you.

³² “If you love those who love you, why should you be commended? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ If you do good to those who do good to you, why should you be commended? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ If you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, why should you be commended? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be paid back in full. ³⁵ Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing in return. If you do, you will have a great reward. You will be acting the way children of the Most High act, for he is kind to ungrateful and wicked people. ³⁶ Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate.

Reflection Questions:

Is this passage even about Christmas? Yes—if we understand that it’s about the heavenly purpose for Christmas, which was to open before us a whole different way of living. Jesus taught his followers how to live with his peace and joy. As the Whos’ sang in the Dr. Seuss story, “Christmas Day is in our grasp so long as we have hands to clasp… Welcome, Christmas, while we stand heart to heart, and hand in hand.”

• Jesus gave examples, not to create a new set of onerous rules, but to show the spirit in which he calls us to live. As The Message puts it, “If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.” When has someone touched your life for the better by living generously? When have you found the joy of living generously toward someone else?
• Luke linked the Golden Rule (“Treat people in the same way that you want them to treat you”—verse 31) to Jesus’ words about how to treat enemies. In what relationships do you find it hardest for you to treat others as you’d wish to be treated? How can Jesus’ teaching help you discern how to live out the Golden Rule in ways that bless others while you maintain healthy boundaries and self-care?

Today’s Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I know how fear can work in me, can make me see other people as enemies. Grow in me a generous spirit, one that sees all people as you see them. Amen.

I am grateful for these lessons and the lessons I have learned from the book, “Love Does.” I am grateful for the resources to fill a grocery bag for a family in need and two bags full of Christmas gifts for a little boy and a little girl. I am grateful for the confidence to now offer kind words to strangers, just because. I am grateful to be able to pay it forward, to do random acts of love. I am grateful that I am learning the lesson of giving and grateful that I have such wonderful examples and mentors in my life.

And finally, today is my granddaughter’s fourth birthday. Anissa Beth is a sparkplug and she lights up a room with her beauty and her infectious fun energy. When I went to visit the family last November, I was allowed to take Anissa with me on Saturday morning to run an errand. She sat in the vehicle telling me story after story after story, and although I couldn’t always understand what she was insistent that I know, I loved every word she spoke. We sang lots of silly songs on that little trip to Dallas…

I am grateful for memories of:

• her unique way of running, pumping one arm, bent at the elbow
• watching her “mother” her doll
• enjoying her dance moves while she watched tv
• feeling her soft curls that were always adorned with bows
• her tiny little gold glitter shoes
• the way she was so proud of having painted toenails and fingernails
• listening to her sing at the top of her lungs in the back of the van
• hearing her sing “Jesus Loves Me” so sweetly and perfectly at Mom’s memorial service
• her big squeeze hugs
• those eyes that sparkle
• the way she loved to cuddle
• sitting in the playground area at the mall or at Chick-Fil-A, watching Anissa follow the “big girls” and make new friends

Happy birthday, Anissa Beth. I love you to the moon and back and miss you even more.