How we handle our tough times stays with us for a long time.

We celebrate the First Advent to whet our appetites for the Second. We long for the next coming.

Hope is not a granted wish or a favor performed; no it is far greater than that. It is a zany, unpredictable dependence on a God who loves to surprise us out of our socks.

Our task is to stand tall in God's love, secure in our place, sparkling in kindness, surrounded by his goodness, freely giving to all who come our way. You, me, and the Christmas tree. Picked, purchased, and pruned.

You don't have to be dishonest to communicate the gospel.

I choose joy... I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical... the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

If relationships matter most then [at the end of our lives], shouldn't they matter most now?