Thursday; December 24

What are some of your most special holiday memories? While I do remember a few gifts, some of my most important memories involve more of who I was with than what I got. Our family often lived quite a ways away from the rest of the family, but periodically, we would travel back to South Florida for Christmas. (Even to this day, my thought a White Christmas is more about sand than snow.) We would spend Christmas Eve with my Mom’s family and Christmas Day with my Dad’s parents. More often than not, the Christmas Day dinner involved traditional fare, but Christmas Eve was highlighted by fresh fish and oysters. There were Christmas cookies and holiday cakes at the Schurmann gatherings and egg nog (made with ice cream) at the Whartons. There were a lot of people (and a bunch of kids) at one place and often it was just our family at my other grandparent’s house. Fifty years later, I can still remember waiting our turn to unwrap the presents that sat under the metallic tree at one place and the fresh orange juice we were served at the other.


In all honesty, I doubt that your Christmas remembrances are anything like mine with the exception of recalling the mood and people more than the gifts. As I look back, I wonder if we have sacrificed too much of the quality of the mood of the season for the quantity of gifts? I am thankful that we are able to purchase as much stuff as we can today, but are we making the same amount of effort in making memories as we are in providing presents?

I hope you get (and give) everything you want for Christmas, but don’t forget to spread a little cheer. Toys break and clothes wear out; but memories will never fade.

Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday; November 29

The biblical story of the Good Samaritan has changed our world. Notice I didn’t say that it had change religion or even Christianity, it has influenced the world. There are very few people who don’t know the moral of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan. In fact, the phrase has become a common description of everyday people doing good to their neighbors. While Jesus’ parable from Luke 10 shares several spiritual lessons, one of the most practical is that good can be done by anyone. You don’t have to be a church official to do good, it is not only possible for each one of us to help, it is required of all of us. If a Samaritan can be good, so can we! After presenting the parable, Jesus asked the man who had originally asked the question about being a good neighbor which character in the story was a good neighbor, “… he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’” at which point, the discussion from theoretical to personal, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’” (Luke
Read more

Thursday; January 12

The other day I was watching a television show that used a rather common term applied to overcoming challenges. When organizations experience unexpected setbacks – especially when they lose key people – they rely upon the concept of “Next Man Up”. In essence, when our starters (or stars) go down, effective organizations rely upon their next levels to step into the vacancy. While this is an effective response, have we given much thought as to how we prepare to be the “next people up”? First, we must know our job. Even when we aren’t the primary players, we need to be preparing ourselves to be ready when we get the opportunity to shine. Second, we must do our best when we get the chance. Knowledge is important but what turns potential into talent is effort. Yet, maybe the most underappreciated aspect of this concept is a willingness avoid excuse-making and whining about the unfairness of our situation. When we complain about the circumstances that caused the need for replacements
Read more

Monday; September 25

When I was a youngster, I remember hearing about this thing called the Generation Gap. I was a little bit too young to be active in the social movements of the 1960s, but I do remember listening to the challenges the generations were experiencing way back then. Interestingly, now that I have been on both sides of the aging process, I have to admit that the Gap of the 1960s was nothing new. With the development of each generation comes conflict. The young people don’t feel like the older people understand them and the older folks tend to believe their input is being underappreciated. Too often trust is the casualty when two generations collide. The sad thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. When we can capture the innovation and energy of the younger folks and harness the wisdom of those who have been around for a while we can develop a winning combination. No, we won’t always see things eye-to-eye nor will we necessarily speak the same emotional language, but when we app
Read more