Think About It

One of the things that I like about this time of year is the plethora of college football games on T.V. I especially like the opportunity to watch some teams I might not see throughout the year. I have to admit that I didn’t search out games played by Old Dominion or the University of Texas at San Antonio, but if I arranged my schedule correctly, I could watch them during the Holiday Season. The good thing about all the Bowl Games this time of years is that a lot of teams get to play – the bad thing about them is that with so many of them not everyone gets invited to a major bowl. For every New Year’s Day game, there are many more that don’t get all that much attention. In fact, for some teams that didn’t fare well (or those who feel like they got short-changed) they ended up playing in relative obscurity. While this is a fact of life, it does bring about an issue for each team – or more importantly, for each player. Since their talents aren’t being showcased, will they give it ...

Most of us who stayed awake in Science Class realize that the moon doesn’t generate any light, it merely reflects sunlight. There are times when the orb is all but dark, but then there are times (especially on a snow covered night) when its reflection lights up the countryside. We talk about the phases of the moon, but truth of the matter is that it is just indicating the impact the sun is having on it at that moment. Not long ago, I got to thinking about how much like the moon I am. When I am around positive people, I am more apt to be optimistic, but when I allow the pessimism of others influence me too much, I come across as a grump. When we take this one step further, we can see how people with bad morals can influence our behavior while those who are good can elevate our lifestyle. I realize that I am ultimately responsible for what I do and say and how I feel, but I have to admit that I am more of a chameleon than I’d like to admit. While this can be a challenge, there i...

I didn’t grow up in Europe, so a lot of what I think I know about the continent comes from television. I remember an episode of M*A*S*H* that made the case that Boxing Day (December 26) was a day on which supervisors and workers exchanged roles. I recently did a quick fact check and I didn’t find that as a standard in today’s society. What I found was that it is more a part of the extended holiday vacation (that includes super special sales). Another thing that I did find was that in years past workers received Christmas “boxes” from customers or employers for their good work throughout the year. So much for learning my history from a sitcom! While we don’t live in Europe, the idea of spending the day after Christmas giving something special to others who aren’t family sounds kind of neat. Maybe we could start a new tradition – helping out others. It sounds kind of fun to give the clerk at grocery store a small gift just for being at work on that day. What about giving a 50% ti...

How do you celebrate Christmas? There are some who gather around a nativity scene and honor the Christ-child by singing “Silent Night”. Others sit around the Christmas tree and sing “Santa Clause Is Coming To Town”. There are still others who don’t do anything special on the day. As I have pondered Christmas, I have come to the realization that it is open to a lot of interpretations and I am not going to critique what you and your family does. All I ask is that you have a good time. Whether you spend the day eating goose or roast beast … opening presents or reading from Luke 2 … watching the Charlie Brown Christmas Show or Christmas Story – it doesn’t matter to me, just have a great day. If you will allow me a little latitude, here is my holiday wish to you (even though it is from the Old Testament). “The Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift His countenance on you, and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26). From o...

Have you found that perfect gift? We are getting down to the wire and I am sure that some of us are still holding out so that we can find the once-in-a-lifetime gift that will set the gold standard for gift-giving. Not only will it endear us to the recipient, we might even secure a place in the gift givers all of fame. Now, we might have made some purchases just in case, but there is still hope that we’ll find THE one. If you are on this quest – first of all, I wish you the best of luck – but, maybe I can give you a little hint. The perfect gift isn’t going to be available at your local jeweler or even online on Amazon. In fact, the perfect gift isn’t even a thing, it is an attitude. When the Apostle Paul wrapped up his assessment of how believers should behave toward each other he observed, “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (I Corinthians 13:13). In other words, we can look all around the world for the perfect gift, when in fac...

When Jesus began His ministry, He found Himself in a challenging era. He was the Messiah who had been promised to save the world, but the religious environment didn’t necessarily feel like they needed any help. They took pride that they had figured it out and any attempts to “fix” them wouldn’t be looked on favorably. However, Jesus didn’t give up and continued to show them a better way. In fact, during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contrasted the phase, “You have heard that it was said …” with “But I say to you …” several times. Jesus understood the value of the Law of Moses, but He also realized there was a better way – and His disciples would be required to adopt it. Interestingly, it is easy to find ourselves in a similar situation today. Whether it is religious, political or even social beliefs, many of us are content with the way things are. We have grown up with our beliefs and we are comfortable with them – however, there might be a better way of doing things – Jesus’ w...

On this date in 1803 the Louisiana Purchase was completed. Now if you remember from your U.S. History class in Middle School, you’ll recall that when this chunk of land in the midsection of North America was purchased from the French it was not only massive, it was also wild. The 530,000,000 acres the U. S. Government secured from France was mostly unsettled and contained some of the harshest weather in the hemisphere. Yet, when we look back on this investment we see that not only did it serve as a piece of the puzzle that united the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, it also contains a lot of land that has been America’s breadbasket for years. This wilderness was transformed into a big part of America’s farmland that made us healthy and happy. As I thought about this transaction I was reminded of how something that initially seems difficult or even unimpressive can be transformed into something wonderful. We may not initially see a circumstance in life or a personality in a person as...