Tag: holiday

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Christmas is Over and now it’s Time To Pay the Piper

Christmas is over. Hopefully you were able to enjoy some time with loved ones. Now the other shoe drops, though. January heralds the arrival of the credit card bills.

There’s a reason stress levels are so high this time of year. The period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is likely the period of highest spending during the whole year for most households. If you were able to sneak through December without dealing with many bills, January’s probably not going to be quite as kind to you. Depending on how much your spending increased during the Christmas season, those bills may put a major strain on your bank account.

Well I don’t have a way for you to make all those problems go away, but I might have something that can help take the sting out of it. For next Christmas, rather than running headlong into your bills using only your regular paycheck, it might help to save up for your Christmas expenses during the whole year. I bring this up now because you’ve got almost an entire year to prepare for the next Christmas. The priority, obviously, is to pay your bills from this Christmas, but if you’re done with that already, you may want to take a look at this strategy.

How much did you spend on this past Christmas? Add everything up. Include those gifts for friends and family that come to mind easily, but what about the less obvious things? Your list might include things like gifts for your kids’ teachers or members of the club you’re part of, white elephant gifts for parties at your work, end-of-year donations, etc. Don’t forget the extra electricity for decorations (indoor and outdoor), the higher electrical demands accompanying the hosting of guests, and additional heat during cold weather. Maybe you picked up some special booze as a Christmas treat. Did you have any extra out-to-eat occasions in late December? Did you have to travel somewhere (gas/tolls/tickets)? Add all of that to your list and tally it up.

After giving it a little thought, maybe that number is a little higher than you expected. Depending on your situation (mainly how many people you purchase gifts for and how extravagant your celebrations are), your total could be anywhere between $200 and $5000 or more. I’m not going to tell you what “right” is, but if you’re feeling pinched, maybe you can make an adjustment now to help prepare for the next round.

Take your total and divide it by the number of paychecks you get in a year. If you get paid every two weeks, you get 26 paychecks a year. If you get paid twice a month, that’s 24 paychecks. After dividing the total cost by the number of paychecks, whatever number you get, that’s the amount you’d need to save per paycheck to cover the same amount of expenses this coming Christmas. Wish you had a little more cash to cover this past December’s festivities? Boost that number a bit. If you did something out of the ordinary that you don’t plan on doing again, like a special trip, you can get away with saving less per paycheck to cover things next time.

Next, it’s a good idea to have a separate bank account for you to start stashing your “Christmas cash.” You could keep it all in your normal account and keep a running tally of how much of that money is set aside for December use, but unless you’re pretty diligent about keeping track of that sort of thing, it gets hard to distinguish how much of that money is just your normal account and how much of it has been set aside for specific use. That’s an easy way for the money to get sucked into other spending throughout the year. Setting up automated ways of funding this account every paycheck makes it easy for you to build your celebration fund without having to actively think about it during the year.

By way of example, if you’re paid every two weeks, $50 per paycheck is $1300 at the end of the year. If you go $60 per paycheck when you get paid twice a month, you’re looking at a total of $1440 by your last paycheck of the year. Even small additions can add up. At those two paycheck rates, saving $5 more each paycheck can mean a total of $120 or $130 more at the end of the year. By this point you probably already got your first paycheck of the new year. Even if you did, January’s still a great time to get started on setting up this kind of system with your bank, credit union, or section of the mattress where you stash your money.

Sacrificing that much per paycheck might be too much of a stretch. I totally understand that, but I’d also ask this…if that’s too much to set aside per paycheck, do you have a reliable plan for paying it off all at once if you don’t use a method like this? If for one reason or another this strategy isn’t going to work out for you, consider doing most of the year’s paychecks like this and taking a break when needed, or only saving half or two-thirds the amount per paycheck and coming up with the rest via whatever method you’ve been using. Either way will help cushion the blow if you’re not already doing something similar.

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If You Could Choose Anywhere and Any Time…

Imagine if you could choose where, when, and under what circumstances you were born. If you’re perfectly fine with how things worked out for you, that’s great, I’m not trying to make you unhappy with your upbringing. But think of the possibilities. Many people would probably choose to be born to rich parents, or maybe to royalty, or if nothing else, in a nicer climate or better location than where you started out.

Of course, we have no way of choosing where or when we’ll be born, our ancestral lineage, or the circumstances of our birth. It’s something we all accept as being beyond our control. That’s what makes it so hard-hitting when we look at Old Testament scriptures to see “before-it-happens” predictions of where and how the Messiah would be born. There are a number of Bible verses describing the coming Christ’s future birth:  

Isaiah 7:14 – Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Genesis 49:10 – The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Micah 5:2 – But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

Isaiah 11:1 – There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

Now aside from the virgin birth part of it, I can see how a skeptic might say “well, okay, but if you make enough predictions, you’re bound to get something right.” You know what? I agree with that. Here’s the thing, though. The verses listed so far only pertain to Christ’s birth. When you add in predictions about the Messiah’s demeanor, about His riding on a foal, that He never suffers a broken bone, the nature of His death, etc., you start really narrowing the possibilities down in a way that excludes random chance. While it might be possible to fulfill a few of them by chance, things start to get mind-blowing when someone comes along and fulfills all of them.

I heard somewhere that the odds of anyone fulfilling all the prophecies related to the Christ were fewer than one in 80 billion. I think we get desensitized from movies about how astronomically unlikely it is to overcome such odds. The computer virus gets beaten. Han Solo successfully navigates the asteroid field. Tom Cruise saves the day. Let’s bring this a little closer to real life. The odds of winning the MegaMillions lottery earlier this week were a little better than 1 in 303 million. If those odds remained the same from drawing to drawing, you’d hit the MegaMillions jackpot over 260 times before reaching the same level of likelihood as a single individual fulfilling all those messianic prophecies.

Even if you don’t believe in God, you’ve got to admit there’s something a little unusual about that. The inference is that Jesus Christ is the predicted Messiah. If that’s true, it has massive implications for you and for everyone you hold dear. Why don’t you take a closer look into it?

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Quick Hit: Holiday Curveball

I recently had the opportunity to have a conversation with a woman who had recently received an unwanted diagnosis. It’s something that, to say the least, is taking some getting used to.

During the course of the conversation, there were two encouraging ideas that came up, which can be applied to other peoples’ lives, too:

  1. This diagnosis didn’t catch God off guard.
  2. This new set of circumstances in no way changes God’s will for your life.

We’ve all had something come along and take the wind out of our sails. As we get ready to kick off holiday season, please be mindful of the people around you who may be going through a particularly challenging time. The holidays, especially, can be a trying time, and you may have been placed in their life for such a time as this.

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I’m Just Here for the Boo’s

Well happy Halloween, everybody. Anybody still dress up on Halloween now that you’re not a kid anymore?

The event wasn’t a huge thing for me as a kid. I do remember one year, though, I got a paper knight’s mask from Denny’s or some other restaurant, my parents wrapped some kind of box in aluminum foil, gave me a little cardboard sword (also wrapped in aluminum foil), and I used a pot lid as a shield. I was one mean-looking knight, let me tell you. I was, probably in my second or third year of college?

No, just kidding. I was a kid, probably 3 or 4 years old.

The fun part about Halloween (aside from the candy) is getting to dress up and pretending to be something you’re not. It’s fun for a few hours. Some people unknowingly embrace a lifestyle like that, though. Jesus called some people out for doing this.

Pharisees and those highly educated on the law held positions of authority and were responsible for teaching God’s word to a people who didn’t have ready access to their own copy of the scriptures. Rather than focus on justice and mercy, the spiritual leaders harped on strict adherence to the tiniest aspects of the law (even going so far as to institute laws God did not command). They did a great job tithing even to the smallest detail (giving the appropriate portion of their herb gardens) and made sure they sternly warned anyone who dared to walk too far on the Sabbath, but they completely neglected the things God actually valued.

When Jesus confronted them on it, here’s what He had to say: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” – Matt 23:27-28

(That was only a portion of what Christ said during an exchange where He didn’t hold much back.)

Jewish law forbade people from touching graves, which caused ceremonial uncleanness. Tombs back then were whitewashed on a regular basis, their brilliance causing them to stand out and warn people away from them. It also helped them look very clean and neat. In combination with sometimes having ornate decorations on the tomb, you could get the impression that these were very nice places to be, almost forgetting the decay, uncleanness, and defilement residing inside.

My point? Sure, have fun dressing up for Halloween for a little bit, but don’t forget…it might be easy to hide your true self from others, but God can peer right through your best costume and knows exactly who you are. If that’s not something you’re happy about, maybe it’s time to make some changes in your life.

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The Good Ol’ Red, White, and Blue

Have you ever met someone that stayed positive and upbeat almost all the time?

Before I get into my story, I have to explain something to the non-military types reading this. When you’re in the military, there’s a lot of misery and generally terrible conditions you have to be prepared to endure. (After all, you don’t normally fight wars in the nice parts of the world.) As part of the coping mechanism, military branches and units try to buck up their troops with camaraderie and esprit de corps. There’s mixed success with this tactic, but it truly does help to know that when you’re trudging through the mud or up a mountain, your fellow troops are right there alongside you, and you’re not miserable alone.

Also, everything in the military is an acronym. Sometimes there are acronyms inside acronyms. It gets a little crazy. Don’t quote me on the history of this next part, but I think it was the Army that came up with the acronym “HUA.” It stands for “heard, understood, acknowledged.” It’s the military version of saying “got it.” It started getting applied in all kinds of situations. “Soldier, I need you to get rounds on that target NOW, do you understand me?!” “HUA!” Or maybe “we’re gonna grab some Chinese, then meet at the theater at 9, hua?” Over time it morphed into having different meanings; it became kind of a greeting, a rallying cry, or just something to say when you don’t have anything else to say. (I know a dude, long since retired from the Army, who couldn’t go more than two sentences without saying it somehow. “Hooah! Beautiful morning!” “Hooah, enjoy your day!”)

Different branches of the military are funny; a lot of times they want to do the same sort of thing but they don’t want to copy anyone, so they modify things a little. “Hoorah!” “Huh!” “Hooah!” “Oorah!” Where I spent time in the Air Force, it was “Hooyah.”

Anyway, all that’s prelude. When I tried out to be a survival specialist, we had to deal with a lot of uncomfortable, miserable, and/or physically arduous tasks. While we were waiting around for class to start, we spent the weeks doing different things like go on ruck marches in the mountains or in state parks with heavy packs, go on mini field trainings for three or four nights (think camping, but not quite as comfortable), and do a ton of physical training.

There was this one guy, Carl, who was relentlessly optimistic. Whenever he walked into the room or area where a bunch of us were, he’d greet us with a “hooyah, team!” He was so upbeat he came across as kinda goofy sometimes (this guy’s not really like this, is he?). If we’re on a ruck march, he’s bouncing back and forth to different groups of us, lifting our spirits. If we’re getting smoked during PT, he’s the one asking for more and encouraging the rest of us along the way. On one mini field training, when we’d already been out in the woods for a few days without any shower and we smelled like smoke, were tired and irritable from poor sleep and non-stop mosquito bites, and were generally over-tasked with things to do, Carl’s the guy looking for opportunities to goof off in a way that brings a smile to somebody’s face. This picture was one such moment. The other guy was hamming it up a little for the picture, but Carl saw him looking closely at the ground for a piece of gear or something and Carl seized the opportunity for a morale-boosting photo op.

One of Carl’s trademark moves was when we were all assembled at the start of the day. As the American flag was raised each morning to the sound of a bugle call, our formation snapped to attention and saluted for the duration of the music. As soon as the NCO in charge of us gave the call to “order arms” and go to parade rest (stop saluting and return to a more relaxed state), Carl would pipe up with a lone voice and shout “Hooyah, America!” Our instructors liked the sound of it so much that before long, we were all doing it in unison, every duty day.

Today’s our nation’s 248th birthday. That’s a long time for a nation to use a single constitution. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs as a country. Today it seems like the nation is trying to tear itself apart while adversaries band together. I came across the following statement and felt like it resonated with our current times. It applies to both men and women, but I wanted to present the original quote:

“Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.”

We’ve been through some tough times as a nation, and it feels like we’re in one of them now. We can get through this one, but it will require strong people standing up for truth and justice. Hang in there, speak truth to power, and help out a neighbor or someone you see who needs a hand.

Happy Independence Day, and Hooyah, America!

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Despite all the Mentions of “Peace” in Christmas Carols…

I have a daughter that looks forward to Christmas all year round. Sometimes we catch her humming Christmas carols in the summer. Once Halloween passes, she starts to crank it up into full gear. You can imagine how full of the Christmas spirit she is right now.

In a lot of Christmas carols, as well as certain Bible verses that are more prominent in December, “Peace” gets a lot of attention this time of year. There are a lot of Christmas carols out there that mention the word “Peace” somehow (sleep in heavenly peace, Peace on earth and mercy mild, his law is love and his gospel is peace). A lot of Bible verses point to it, too (…and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. Isaiah 9:6). It’s as though the very presence of Jesus is somehow synonymous with Peace.

Yet despite all this mention of Peace, there’s a verse in Matthew chapter 10 that seemingly contradicts this concept of Christ bringing peace to the earth:

Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. –Matt 10:34

Now what does that mean? This doesn’t sound the least bit peaceful.

It’s actually a warning from Christ himself that His arrival did not bring peace to the world. In fact, wars have been fought in the name of Jesus. People have been disowned by their families for converting to Christianity. Though it’s not directly related to Christ, the world is currently in the greatest state of unrest in recent memory. Where’s the peace?

In Old Testament times, the fall of man severely damaged the relationship between God and humanity. God’s wrath and pure holiness prevent the relationship from continuing in the same way it previously did. The chasm between the two could only be temporarily bridged by animal sacrifices and priestly intercessors. Now Christ has changed the game and permanently bridged the gap on our behalf. This wasn’t possible before His birth. Christ didn’t come to bring peace; He came to make peace. There’s now an enduring pathway back to a restored relationship with God that could only have come from someone that fulfilled all the requirements of the law.

May you enjoy the Christmas season, knowing that despite all the imperfection present in the world, there’s a way back to a relationship with the Prince of Peace.

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In Everything Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is this week! We’re moving into the time of year where a lot of people have mixed emotions. Brokenness, loss of loved ones, and relationships that simply didn’t work out as hoped all contribute to some people having a difficult time during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.

Then there are those whose hearts are overflowing with joy during this time of year. For some this serves as an opportunity to count their blessings, reunite with those they’ve been separated from, and catch up on things that have happened since they were last together.

Whether you’re one extreme, the other, or somewhere in between, may these words from 1 Thessalonians shape your outlook to be more like what Christ wants it to be:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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When Something Takes the hit for you

Easter is a little more than a week away. To help prepare for the season, I’d like to revisit a story I’ve told before, but it’s been a few years, so I can probably get away with it.

In the years after college I took up skydiving. It was lots of fun and a whole new type of experience. When you’re early in your skydiving career, there’s a lot of stress, thought, and mental preparation that goes into each freefall jump. It’s important to stay mentally calm so your body stays physically relaxed. If you tense up, it makes it difficult to control yourself in the airstream, and your body doesn’t maneuver the way you want it to.

One day I did a jump, and I don’t remember what the objectives were, but the freefall portion of the jump didn’t go well. Nobody got hurt or anything, but I was unable to achieve the goals I’d set for myself. For whatever reason, I had either raised my own expectations too high or I tensed up and started losing control of my ability to maneuver how I wanted to. When it came time, I opened my parachute and descended under canopy, fuming the whole time I floated to the ground.

When I finally touched down safely, I let that anger out. Draped in thousands of dollars worth of gear that had repeatedly saved my life, I couldn’t go too crazy on the chute or the rig, so I ripped off my helmet, yelling as I slammed it on the ground, then kicked it in frustration. Man, I was just seething with rage over something that I don’t even recall today.

Around Easter time, we sometimes hear the word “propitiation” in church. It’s usually referring to the idea that since God and sin are incompatible, and His holy wrath toward sin must be satisfied before we experience lasting peace, there has to be some kind of reckoning.

In my case, on that skydive, I took out my wrath on that poor, innocent helmet. After expending my rage, I stood there with gritted teeth, red face, and heaving shoulders. As I began getting myself under control, the wrath was spent, and the helmet had served as the object that took the punishment.

In God’s case, He had a choice. He could either demand ongoing sacrifices of unblemished animals from His followers, or He could implement a permanent solution. Back in Bible times, sacrifices were the means of satisfying God’s wrath against our sin…those sacrifices took our punishment on our behalf. Thankfully for us, He opted to go the second route. He sent Jesus Christ, His only son, to live among us. Living a spotless life without sin (the equivalent of an unblemished sacrificial animal), Christ died on our behalf, an innocent man dying the death of a criminal. Then, in what has to be one of the most indescribable emotions in the whole Bible, God turned His back on His own son, who then experienced our due punishment in our place.

Christ died on a Friday. That Sunday, He rose from the dead in victory, having satisfied God’s wrath and forever changing our relationship with God for the better. This is propitiation. Christ took our punishment for us so we could be spared from it.

So the next time you feel the urge to either punch a wall, punt the stupid playground ball that kid’s been bouncing, or throw your golf clubs into the water hazard, just imagine how much greater God’s wrath is, and be thankful that He’s enacted a plan that offers you a way to exempt yourself from it.

Dear Lord, thank you from the bottom of my heart for dying on the cross on my behalf. This Easter season, please help me remember the importance of what You’ve done not just for me, but for everyone, whether they accept Your gift or now. Please help me to live the way You want me to live, and share this good news with those around me. I pray in Your name, Amen.

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Quick Hit: If Santa Followed the Lord

Either voluntarily or by compulsion, one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

At that point it will be too late to make a decision about who Christ is. But imagine if people could come back from that encounter and warn others who haven’t yet experienced that event. I saw a mug last year that shows how Santa might spread the word:

You’re all naughty. Romans 3:23-24

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. –Romans 3:23-24

Don’t forget what Christmas is really all about. God came in the flesh to permanently cover all the sins of those who embrace Him as their Savior. This amazing gift is what inspires our own exchange of presents to one another. May this event inspire joy in your heart year round, but especially this time of year!

Merry Christmas!

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We’re Given Reason To Be Thankful

Since many of us are probably doing something a little outside of our weekly routine this Thursday, I thought I’d post a little early.

There’s a character in the Bible that normally only gets mentioned around Christmas, but it’s probably more appropriate that we stop to think of him around Thanksgiving.

Simeon (Luke 2:25-35) was a devout man. God had provided a special promise to him. The Lord revealed to him that he wouldn’t die until he had seen the promised Messiah. Since God had been largely silent for hundreds of years (in terms of speaking through prophets), this was a huge deal.

Luke 2:27 says that the Spirit led Simeon to the temple on the day Mary and Joseph were required by law to present their newborn son as the law required. It doesn’t say anything about how he recognized that Jesus was the Messiah, but verses 28 and 29 say that he took the child in his arms, praised the Lord, and proclaimed that he could now die in peace.

This is a level of thankfulness that’s difficult to describe, yet relatable for Christians today.

We’re bombarded by bad news and starved for good news. We see the collapse of morality everywhere, and even the apparent rise of immorality. We’re constantly being asked how our God could let these things happen. It’s easy for Jesus-followers to get discouraged.

And then we remember the promises about the restoration to come.

It’s not quite on the same scale as the guy that got to hold baby Jesus and understand the significance of who he was holding, but it gives us hope and reason to be thankful.

This year as you reflect on what to be thankful for, remember to keep God’s promises and the hope that comes with them at the top of your list.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all, and may you be able to celebrate with loved ones this year!