The commercialism of Christmas is in high gear.  Amazon trucks are rolling.  Malls are packed.  Trees and tinsel prepare for the Christmas Day “loot.”

There is a “presence,” an atmosphere in Christmas that’s about a lot more than Santa Claus.

HERE, FOR ME, IS THE “PRESENCE” OF CHRISTMAS:

During this holiday season, I like to spend time with the “5 F’s”: “friends, family, food, fishing, and football!”

I also like to take time to give thanks to God for one other “F”: Fellowship.

Knowing God is amazing. Worshipping God is better. Hearing from God is the best!

I’ve pastored long enough to know the mood swings of the holidays:  cheer, euphoria, laughter and loneliness, regret, and depression.

How can you prepare for the “swings of the season?”  Try these six remedies: 

Your eye is the most sophisticated camera in the world.  It takes lenses, reflection, focus, and communication to send “sight” to the brain.

Your spirit must be equally focused to communicate “insight” into your soul. 

Here are three steps I use to “see” further into 2020 and “focus” that image into my soul:

The commercialism of Christmas is in high gear.  Amazon trucks are rolling.  Malls are packed.  Trees and tinsel prepare for the Christmas Day “loot.”

There is a “presence,” an atmosphere in Christmas that’s about a lot more than Santa Claus.

HERE, FOR ME, IS THE “PRESENCE” OF CHRISTMAS:

I was surprised the other day when someone told me that many Americans are not even celebrating Thanksgiving.  They see it now as a pointless, even worn out holiday.  Some even disagree that our founding leaders were godly people.

Ok.  I agree it’s more than turkey and cranberry. 

Here are my thoughts about the “why” of Thanksgiving and the things moving in my heart right now about it:

During this holiday season, I like to spend time with the “5 F’s”:  “friends, family, food, fishing, and football!”

 I also like to take time to give thanks to God for one other “F”:  Fellowship.

This Christmas week, I listed a few things I would like to say to Him:

I’ve pastored long enough to know the mood swings of the holidays:  cheer, euphoria, laughter and loneliness, regret, and depression.

How can you prepare for the “swings of the season?”  Try these six remedies: 

Easter is my favorite season.  I love Christmas as the “beginning” and I love Easter as the “completion.”

How does Easter affect my thoughts, my relationships, and my choices…EVERY DAY?

Your marriage may need a total RESET.

Things build up between a couple.  Every Valentine’s Day, millions of married people try to “recharge” their marriage with chocolate candy.

Is it possible for a marriage to actually “reset,” to become like brand new? 

This blog is somewhat of a confession.  Limits are my biggest weakness.  I over schedule, red-line, high performance everything.  As I come to the end of a year, I realize it. 

How can I change it this year?  “Margin.”

Where is “home?”  God is Home.

“Real” estate is not “real.” It is like a motel room.  This world is tangible but it is temporary.  Set your affection on the Person of God Himself and you will enter into true happiness.

Here are a few perspectives to keep your focus correct going into a New Year:

How would you like to sit down with Jesus Christ Himself for an “end of the year review?”  Don’t you wish He could coach you, challenge you, and change you for a greater year in 2018?

He did.  It is found in Revelation chapter two. 

Easter has come again today and will be gone again tomorrow.  For many people, it is a once a year phenomenon.  I remember a child whose parents happened to come to church in October. They found him out looking for Easter eggs under the bushes at the church. 

I think I’ve hit on how to have Easter all year:  “be thankful for what Jesus did for me every day.”

Here is what goes on in my heart in my time alone with Jesus Christ every day:

Everyone loves a “reset.”  I LOVE when the car trip-o-meter goes back to “00000” with one push of a button!  How do you get ready for this new year?  The secret of all growth is to be “reset.”

How do you get reset for the year?

When I was a child, I dreamed about Christmas while looking at a Sears catalog.  I usually narrowed it down to 10 things I wanted the most.  These days, Christmas is more about REST than GIFTS for me!  I asked myself, “What would I love to receive more than anything else in the world?”

I wrote down the 10 things I want for Christmas this year that have nothing to do with material things. Here they are:

Everyone is trying to get a leg up on this New Year.  Thousands of churches nationwide are participating in 21 days of prayer and fasting.  I’ve never been more excited about the American church seeking God.  Surely He is going to answer these millions of prayers! Jesus taught us the “three-fold cord” of a breakthrough in Matthew 6 with the Sermon on the Mount. 

Here is how they have worked in my life when I combine them together:

Everybody makes New Year’s resolutions:  lose weight, gain muscle, write books, read books, get a degree, get a raise, and so on infinitum. All of that is great, but I want to give you a completely different starting point for 2016:  get your finances in order.   Do you realize how much of your life will change when you start emerging out from under that pile of bills, credit card balances, and STRESS?

As I start a new year, here are the three primary focuses I renew: