My wife went on to add that she thought women should do all the preaching because women love from the heart. Men love with their brains. Men are always fighting and at war with each other, trying to prove who has more knowledge, who’s right and who’s wrong.

My wife truly has the gospel in her heart. She never judges another person, is always kind and compassionate toward others. She works very hard for causes she feels in her heart. She has helped out in the Philippines for the last three years sending clothes, school supplies and Christmas boxes to children in mountain villages. Why, because she heard there was a need and her heart went out to those children. Children she has never met and will probably never meet. None the less, she felt the Lord telling her to do something and she did.

She went on to defend the church. She said that she works with other Christians, just like I do, but at work we can’t talk about Jesus in a easy, relaxed manner. We can’t lift our hands in praise and we can’t teach each other or really get into prayer together. We need church to do that.

She says all religion should really be about is the essential doctrine of the Church. What is the essential doctrine of the Church? The best way to share the the essential doctrine of the Church is through the Apostle’s Creed:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen

Everything outside of the essential is manmade doctrine. Manmade doctrine is false religion. It has nothing to do whether your saved or not. It has nothing to do with whether you can call yourself a Christian. If you believe in God, His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and you believe Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, He suffered, was crucified, dead and buried and on the third day He arose again, and you believe we need fellowship with other Christians, that your sins have been forgiven, that one day we will be risen from our grave and have an everlasting life, you understand the essential doctrine. Anything else is not to be argued over because it is not essential to having a relationship with God the Father, His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

If you want to live like Jesus did and mend your broken, hardened heart, live the gospels. Live the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Jesus lays it all out in the gospels and if you follow Him, He will show you the way, the truth and the life. A life of real freedom, free from condemnation of false religion, free from legalism and judgmentalism. Do as Jesus does and quit bickering and fighting over religion.

You my brothers were meant to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command, ‘Love Your Neighbor as Yourself’. If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other.

Rockwell

Happy Thanksgiving! Yep, it’s that day again. The day when we get together with family, some we haven’t seen for a year, and gorge ourselves with wonderful, fantastic pies! That is after we have gorged ourselves on turkey, ham, mashed taters, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, olives, deviled eggs and we must not forget the infamous green bean casserole. It’s typically the day when our weight goes up and we begin the our Christmas goody eating binge. This year I have decided, like I have in so many past years, to diet between Thanksgiving and Christmas so I can gorge myself once again at Christmas. It has never worked in the past and I really doubt it will work this year with all the candy, cookies, pies and cakes that make the rounds.

Speaking of Thanksgiving and Christmas, why is it ‘politically correct’ to say Happy Thanksgiving but not to say Merry Christmas? As I see it Thanksgiving is the original Christian holiday in America. That was a day to give thanks to God, it was a day set aside to pray and thank God for everything He had given. The bounty of the land, the safe passage, the enduring the hardships. Christmas is nothing anymore except a day of greed on the part of big business.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are those who reflect on Christmas as the birth of Christ but the day has been taken over by commercialism. A family may go to church or mass on Christmas day or pray, read the Christmas story from the bible, set up a Nativity but then it’s opening presents, Santa Claus and Dreaming of a White Christmas. We feel that everyday should be a refection on Jesus and trying to follow His way for our lives.

Speaking of commercialism, remember when Thanksgiving was a day of families, food and football. I cannot believe what big business has done to the traditional Thanksgiving. Remember when if you forgot something for the Thanksgiving meal you went without because ALL the grocery stores were closed. Today most grocery stores are open, at least until early afternoon. Retail is killing the traditional Thanksgiving and the family time that it should be about. Many stores are open today, Thanksgiving, like Big Lots, Dollar Tree, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Shopko, Fred Meyer and the biggest of them all, Walmart, among others. Now for the first time ever Macy’s, JC Penney, Best Buy, Target, Kohl’s and many that I probably don’t know about will open at midnight. Why? To try and get our dollars first. Toys-R-Us is opening at 9pm to get a jump-start on Black Friday. If it keeps going we won’t have a Thanksgiving, it will be called Black Thursday. So much for family values, turkey and pumpkin pie. It’s becoming all about HDTVs, Video Games, Tablets and Kitchen Appliances.

We need to get back to the basics of life and forget the Black Friday Doorbusters. A year or two of no one showing up on Thanksgiving, Midnight or 4am and then we could all have the Thanksgiving we remember.

Sorry for ranting but American Families deserve better than what were being handed by Washington, Wall Street and Big Business. So, what are we thankful for this year?

First off we are thankful that we live in this great country and for all the men and women that serve this great country. May God continue to shed His grace on America and the people of this nation. Then I am thankful that my wife and I both have jobs. Things are really shaky, we both work in government-funded positions and budget cuts are hitting our area hard but we Keep on Rollin’. Hopefully next year is as good to us as this year has been.

We are thankful for all that we have. There are so many that do not have what we have. We don’t have to worry about where we will find our next meal, where we will sleep or what we will wear. We are very fortunate and have all the basic necessities of life. Plus we have Bell, the Beast, a Durango, a 94 LeBaron Convertible and a Harley. Much more than many but at the same time God has blessed us with the ability to use it all for His glory. With these we meet many people that we would not have met otherwise and can share with them about the stuff and that God has blessed us tremendously.

We are blessed with families, both sets of parents, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, grand children and nieces and nephews. We are blessed with great friends, those we can get together with and those that we only converse with on Facebook. We are blessed with a great CMA family and people who care more about others than themselves.

We will not be participating in any Black Friday shopping. We probably will not even go shopping this week-end other than for necessities. We will be spending Thanksgiving with Sharon’s family and will have a traditional Thanksgiving feast.

Finally, I, Gary, would like to say thanks for my beautiful wife of 38 years. She puts up with me and my quirks. She is there for me when I need her and she gives me everything I need. Heck, she baked 5 different kinds of pie for today, including my favorite, cherry. Sharon’s cherry pie is to die for. It is pure ecstasy. And she is making corn bread stuffing for the dinner. Mmmmm…

Thank you for visiting Rollin’ in the Years. Thank you for putting up with my rants. Enjoy the day with family and friends and remember to give thanks for everything that you have. Life is short and you never know what tomorrow will bring. So, until next time, don’t eat too much and if you do just lay on you side and Keep on Rollin’.

The media and the politicians in Washington say Herman Cain has no political experience and therefore has no business holding office. I say so what, let’s give the man a chance. We have had enough of the good ol’ boys and politicians in Washington and it just may take a man with business sense and no political sense to get this country back on it’s feet again. Every year people talk about putting the old guard, the good ol’ boys, the Harvard and Yale raised politicians, out of office and every year just about all of the same people wind up back in control. Well people, if we let the tried and true guard keep running this country we might as well kiss the home of the brave and the land of the free goodbye. Another four years of this guard and we’ll all be broke because the only way that they can even attempt to get the National debt down is to tax us more. The more they tax us however, they more they spend and we’ll never see prosperity in America like it used to be. We don’t need another politician, we need someone who understands how to grow and prosper a business and Herman Cain has shown that he can do that many times over in the past.

Herman Cain’s 999 tax plan is simple. The media would like us to say it’s too simple. There was a day in time when simple was good. Today most people can’t fill out their own income tax because the tax code has gotten so complicated that only a CPA or a Tax Attorney can make any sense out of it. 999 is to simple? I pay 9% income tax on what I make at a job. I pay 9% sales tax on whatever I purchase. If I go into business for myself I pay 9% on my business profit. Pretty simple. A third grader could do my taxes.

The media says it’s an unfair tax because there are those that do not pay any taxes under the current tax code. For example a young family that has managed to buy a home with 3 children may not have to pay any taxes once the mortgage deduction is taken and the $1000 per child tax credit is applied and then to top all that off they get the Earned Income Credit. In some cases they may even get a check back from the government because they have a  negative tax liability and they call that fair? In my current financial state I barely qualify for the mortgage deduction any more because the standard deduction amount has been raised to $10,000. I don’t have children at home any longer and I don’t receive the earned income credit. I pay about 17% income tax  each and every year. Would you call that a fair tax and if the government keeps giving away money to those who can claim all the deductions and credits, how is that going to solve the National debt?

I have read and heard the media say that Herman Cain’s 999 tax plan will increase the tax burden on a large portion of the American people. They say that those states that don’t have a sales tax will have the added tax burden of the National sales tax, also known as a consumption tax, added to their tax liability. It’s as if the media thinks that every state, that doesn’t  have a sales tax currently, will wind up paying an 18% National income tax. They are implying that every person spends every penny they make on consumable goods. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I am not an economist but the math involved with Herman Cain’s tax proposal is very simple, a 9% tax on consumable goods. Not every penny made is spent on consumer goods and it varies from year to year. Let’s take an example that is very easy to understand. If I spent 50% of my income on consumer goods and my and my spouses annual income is approximately $110,000 (I wish…) we would pay a 9% income tax of $9900. That would leave  us $100,100 of disposable income. If we spent 50% of that, approximately $50,000 on consumable goods the 9% National sales tax we would have paid would be $4500. Our overall tax liability would be $14,400 or roughly 14.4%. Now I don’t know about you but 14.4% is better than the 17% under the current tax code. Even if you live in a state that does not currently have a sales tax isn’t 14% better than the 17% under the current tax code?

To those who don’t pay any income tax today because of the Earned Income Credit, the Child Credit and whatever other credits you receive it will add about a $1000-2000 tax, if you only made $11,000 a year. I am sorry that you will have to start paying taxes now but it’s been the downfall of the American congress that the tax  code has been modified over the years to where the current tax code has become so unfair. This is a America, where all citizens are supposed to be equal but there is no equality in the current tax code. That needs changed so that half of the American people do not get a free ride paid for the other half of the tax paying citizens of America.

The final 9% in Herman Cain’s proposed tax is on businesses. Can a flat 9% tax work? Once you abolish all the tax credits and deductions that corporate America can take today it will bolster the economy due to the extra billions of dollars put into the government coffers. To show just a case in point let’s look at one of the largest corporations in America, Exxon-Mobil. With a annual income of tens of billions of  dollars, Exxon-Mobil states that they pay 17.4% in taxes. What? As I stated I pay about 17% in income tax. In Exxon-Mobil’s case they are paying 17.4% in all taxes combined, income tax, excise taxes, payroll taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, etc. In 2009 a analysis of the Securities and Exchange commission found that Exxon-Mobil did not pay any income tax. So with the 9% business tax Exxon-Mobil would be paying their fair share. You can search on the internet and find the same numbers I am about to share. From 2005 to 2010 Exxon Mobile states that their income was $73 billion. 9% of $73 billion would be 6.6 billion dollars in income tax alone. That would be a fair tax seeing as how as stated above they didn’t pay any tax on 2009 and I’m sure the other years would show similar statistics.

Herman Cain’s 999 tax is simple, yes, and it would replace the current 72,536 pages of the US  Tax Code. It would simplify how we pay taxes in America but will it generate enough revenue to replace the current funds generated by the current tax code? This is one part of the 999 plan the media agrees with Herman Cain on. If you search the internet on ‘Herman Cain 999’ you will find articles from many news sources and most all of them state the the 999 would generate as much income as the current tax code. Do a little research  yourself and see what the media is saying about 999.

In one final point the media says Herman Cain is not electable because he has never held a public office before. That is a good thing because he is not one of the good ol’ boys of Washington. Here is one last thing I want to share to make the point that he is electable and that his lack of experience as a politician will help him. We are all familiar with the Gallop Polls. There is an interesting stat on Gallop right now that sheds some light on how a non-politician can lead this country and that his popularity with the people of America can rate higher than the tried and true politicians. Gallop has a chart on their website, on the right hand side, that shows the Job Approval ratings of Presidents in September of the their third year in office over the last 60 years. Currently Obama approval rating is 44%. The only President with a lower approval rating in September of his third year in office  was Jimmy Carter. Clinton was only 46% in his third year. The President with the highest rating had never held a political office until he was elected President of the United States of America. The President with the highest approval rating in September of his third year in office as Dwight Eisenhower. That just may say something about not being one of the good ol’ boys and how the American people trust a non-politician.

Herman Cain is electable, he has a plan and he’s currently leading in the polls. The only thing I would like to now is his stance on the social issues America is facing and his ideas on foreign policy. If he is as level headed on foreign policy he might just be the next President of the United States.

Entrance to the Unveiling of the 9/11 Memorial

I remember September 11, 2001 like it was yesterday. Those images of the planes, the twin towers, the fire and smoke and the towers crashing to the ground are forever burned into my mind. I was working from home that morning when a colleague from Florida called and ask if I had the TV on. I replied no and he said to turn it on. I sat for the longest time in disbelief and shock as I watched the two planes fly into the towers. Then the fires and the reports of the people trapped in the two towers that could not get out. I remember I cried that day as I watched and prayed. I remember thinking, ‘God, how could you let this happen?’ Then the towers started falling, collapsing in on themselves as the heat, the fire and the explosions took over. I will never forget that day as long as I live.

I know today that God was in those towers with those people who were trapped. God was in the planes with those that perished on those flights. God was with the Firemen, the EMTs and the Police that respond and lost their lives as they tried to rescue those that may have survived. As America watched and cried at the horror that took place that day I am sure God was just as sad about those that lost their lives that day. Today I know that God didn’t let it happen. I know that God gives us all a free will and let’s man make his own decision without interfering with man’s choice. I know it’s hard to imagine but if God interfered with man’s decisions we would all be nothing but puppets on a string.

Fast forward ten years. Today Kennewick unveiled it’s 9/11 Memorial. It was to start with a escort of Fire, EMT, Police and motorcycles to the Southridge Sports Complex. Since we only live two block from Highway 395 we heard the Fire Trucks as they made the turn from Kennewick Avenue to 395. We ran out and jump in the car and headed off to view the procession. It was awesome seeing the procession of Fire Trucks, Police cars, Ambulances and motorcycles make their way to the memorial site.

We attended the unveiling and dedication of the 9/11 Memorial in Kennewick this afternoon. As we enter the Southridge Sports Complex we were greeted by a huge American flag hung between two Fire Trucks. It was totally moving to walk under that flag and see all the people that turned out for the dedication. As we walk under the flags and on to the grounds we were handed two balloons. The crowd was a mass of red, white and blue as those in the crowd held onto their balloons and they floated above everyone’s heads.

As we got close to the memorial site hundreds of people were standing in the hot afternoon sun to witness a piece of history be unveiled. It was almost a carnival like atmosphere with the balloons, the tents set up to our backs, and the people talking and chattering all around. Then Kennewick’s Chief of Police gave a few opening remarks and then introduced a group of Kennewick Boy Scouts that provided the Color Guard and presented the Colors. One of Kennewick City Councilmen then talked about how the beams came to Kennewick. Kennewick was one of 81 areas to be given sections of the beams. After a couple of more speakers the memorial was unveiled.

The unveiling of the 9/11 Memorial

The entire crowd was in total silence as a Lampson crane withdrew the tarps from the massive 35 foot tower section planted in the ground. Then an American Flag was hoisted by the one of the Vets organizations up a flagpole that was placed between the two beams. It was totally a breath taking and very solemn moment as everyone watched.

The flag flying above the Twin Tower artifacts

The 9/11 Memorial is unbelievable. To see the two artifacts from the Twin Towers and their enormous size makes one wonder how the towers ever came down. One column of steel is a full 35 feet high and must be at least 16 inches square. The beams presented to Kennewick were exterior beams meaning they ran inside of the outer walls of the towers.

At the end of the presentation the crowd released their 3000 red, white and blue balloons all at once. A sea of red, white and blue surrounded the tower beams as the balloons took flight. One group got caught on the flag pole and stood as a reminder, at least for awhile as if to say, ‘Never Forget’. As anyone from the Tri Cities heads south on Highway 395 they will always be reminded of the Twin Towers and the events of September 11th, 2001. Yes, Tri Cities, we will never forget.

3000 Red, White and Blue Balloons released

Did you know that 9/11 is Patriot’s Day? On October 25th, 2001 President Bush declared 9/11 as Patriot’s Day. On this day we should all fly a flag outside of our home and take a moment to remember those that gave their all on that tragic day 10 years ago. We should also never forget, whether you agree with the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, those that gave their all in response to those terrible events of that day. Also, we should not forget those who are currently in harms way providing us with the freedom to fly our flags and continue with the freedoms we have. We should thank God that we live in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Yes, We Will Never Forget

A study was done throughout 2007, where 3000 plus people were tracked while attempting to achieve a range of resolutions that included losing weight, visiting the gym, quitting smoking, and drinking less. At the start of the study only  52% of participants were confident of their success. About half thought that they  could or would actually accomplish their goals. Why even make a resolution if you think you will fail from the start? At the end of 2007 it was found that only 12% actually achieved their goal. That is about the same as the recovery rates of AA and NA. So, what’s missing in the New Years Resolution and Recovery equation?

We have to get ‘I’ out of the equation to make any steps towards success in any resolution. It’s the same as with any 12 Step Recovery program, we have to let go and let God! We first must admit that we are powerless over our addiction, adverse behavior, mistakes we keep making, whatever you want to call it, and that it controls our life, that our life is unmanageable.

Once we can admit we are powerless then we can come to terms with the fact that if we can’t do it, it will take someone with more power over our life then we have. We come to believe that a power greater than ourselves can  restore us to sanity.

So, where do we find that Higher Power, a power that can take our bad behaviors that have placed us in bondage and set us free? We find that power in the only one that has the power to heal our hurts, to heal our relationships, to remove our shortcomings, to reveal to us the truth that can set us free. The one that offers us a real freedom. A freedom that doesn’t just free us from one or two of our behaviors but a freedom that is revealed in every aspect of our lives.

We must turn of will and our live over to the care of God. The one true God, the creator of the earth and the giver of life. The Triune God, that is, God the Father, His Son Jesus, and the Spirit He has promised to send us. We must turn our will over to the care of God, as we understand Him. We don’t need to know anything other than we believe that God exists and ask for His saving grace through His Son, Jesus.

Jesus said ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’_[a] Jesus tells us that the only way to the Father is through Jesus. The only way to experience the true power of God is to enter into relationship with Jesus. Jesus gives us all access to God the Father, and lets us experience all that God has to offer us, including help with our resolutions.

It was Jesus that said ‘…you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free’_[b] and ‘…if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed’._[c]

Jesus said He could make us free and He will show us the Way, the Truth and the Life. He will show us the way to live our life according to His way and it’s not as hard as most religious people make it out to be. He will show us the truth, the truth that will set us free, all we have  to do is be willing to listen. He will give us life, a life of freedom here on this earth today, and a eternal life for tomorrow.

So this year make just one resolution. Resolve to follow the Way, the Truth, the way to a life of freedom. Just let go and let God. ‘Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.’_[d]

Notes:
All quotations NKJV
a. John 14:6
b. John 6:32
c. John 6:36
d. Proverbs 3:5

²⁵ And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, ²⁸ he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
²⁹ “ Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
      According to Your word;
³⁰ For my eyes have seen Your salvation
³¹ Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
³² A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
      And the glory of Your people Israel.”
³³ And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against ³⁵ (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

We read that Simeon was a just and devout man. Simeon was just, he observed the laws of God, and he was upright, righteous. He was also devout,  he was careful to understand  the presence and claims of God and he was reverent to God. Simeon had a relationship with God, he had a true heart of love for God. When we enter into that type of relationship with God it changes us. We begin to do what God wants out of love, because we want to, not because we have too. We begin to care about others, like Simeon caring about Mary, Joseph and a baby.

Because of the relationship he had with God, he was able to hear the Holy Spirit, God, speak to him. When the Holy Spirit told him that he would not see death until after he had seen the Christ, the Messiah, and when the Holy Spirit told him to go to the Temple to see the child, Simeon knew and trusted God. Simeon had faith in what God told him and knew that the things God told him would come to pass. When we are able to have faith in God, we are able to trust God, then we truly love God. We become a part of God’s family.

When Simeon sees the baby, he takes him in his arms and he blessed God. In this instance to bless God is to praise God. Simeon praised God because just like the Spirit had told him he was seeing Jesus, he was holding Jesus and now God was going to let Simeon go in peace. Simeon was praising God because of what God had said. God had said Simeon would see Jesus, the he would see the Messiah, and it had come to pass. Simeon was holding Jesus in his arms. Simeon was a friend of God and now he was a friend of Jesus.

Simeon continues by saying that his eyes were seeing God’s salvation. Simeon said that he was seeing the one that God was sending to be our savior. The one who would be the glory of Israel, who would separate the good from the bad, and offer those who accepted the salvation a new life. To the Gentiles, to the rest of the world, truth. The truth that could bring us into the revelation of what the Savior could do for us. The Savior’s forgiveness, His love, and His acceptance into God’s family. Simeon could now have peace, his heart could be filled with peace knowing that the salvation had come to the world. That God would offer forgiveness to everyone and save them from the bondage that this world places us in.

Simeon goes on then to bless Joseph and Mary. He tells Mary that many will accept the Gift that God brought into the world. He also tells Mary that many will reject God’s gift. That Jesus would be a sign, He would perform miracles, He would tell us the truth, to which many would speak against, denying the Gift, rejecting Jesus and all He has to offer. That Jesus would be pierced, which He was at the Crucifixion, but that she would also be pierced with the pain which a mother feels for their child, and also for the fact that many would discount the story of a virgin birth and the whole message of the Good News, the Gift, that Mary brought to the world.

So Simeon says in this story that we should accept the gifts that became available to us over two thousand years ago.. The gifts that only a Savior can bring:

• The gift of faith, which is a love for God in our heart.
• The gift of friendship, which is a love others
• The gift of peace, experience a full life and have a heart filled with serenity
• The gift of family, embrace the family that God offers us and the family he has placed us with here on earth, no matter the circumstance
• The gift of forgiveness, the healing and restoring power of forgiveness, the forgiveness that comes from God and the forgiveness we can offer others

Have you accepted the Gift? Have you accepted Jesus and the salvation He offers? It’s really very simple, just believe that Jesus came to save us and trust Him and what He tells us. That He came to forgive us, that He died for us and that He arose and is alive. He is alive, He is with the Father God, where He watches over us and waits to help with the struggles of our life. We only have to ask Him for His help.

Merry Christmas to all! May we all find love and peace this Christmas.

The Greatest Gift

It’s only a few days until Christmas. As we are running hurriedly around finishing up our last minute Christmas preparations take a minute and ask yourself a couple of real quick questions. Have you fed the hungry? Did you give a drink to the thirsty? Have you done anything to help the homeless? Did you provide gloves, or a scarf, of a coat to someone in need? Have you comforted the sick? Did you go and visit anyone to just share a moment and let them know you care? It is so easy to get caught up in all the hustle and bustle of the season that we forget that a simple little task can make a world of difference to even a stranger. Yes, a simple task.

Like a donation to the food bank. Look around and you’ll be surprised how easy it can be. Many grocery stores have boxes or bins set up for donations. The food banks get really stressed and run very low this time of year.

Donate an hour or two to your local mission helping with Christmas dinner preparations. Your local mission, depending on the size of city you live in, can feed hundreds to thousands on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and they can use all the help they can get.

Go through your closet and pull out your old coats, pants, shirts, shoes, gloves, scarves and take them to your local mission. They always have a need for clothes, as does the Salvation Army, and many others agencies in your area.

Take an hour and go to a nursing home and volunteer to in any way you can for the holiday. You can read, sing or play for them. The seniors enjoy it and sometimes it can mean the world for a man or woman without a local family.

All of the above can be done with very little or no money and very little time. The reward you receive in return will be much more than you can imagine. Sometimes the best gift you can receive is the blessing that you receive by blessing someone else.

As Jesus said in Matthew 25:

34 …‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

Be blessed! True giving is not limited to money and material items. It includes giving time to those in need, volunteering at the mission or homeless shelter, delivering meals to the hungry, going through your closets and drawers and sharing that which is so desperately needed.

We all think about the needy, the hungry, the less fortunate and the homeless, but we should be ashamed if that’s all we do. Christmas is not the only time of the year to give of ourselves and our blessings, but it is a good time to start.

So what is the greatest Christmas gift? The giving of yourself, your blessings and your love to those in need. The same way that God sent His son into the world on that Christmas 2000 plus years ago, because He loved us, we need to share love with all those around us. We need to share the Greatest Gift!

I want to share something to think about this Christmas. As I use Facebook on a daily basis I seen many posts that others make urging others to help with this or that, or to support a FB cause. It makes me wonder how many people actually get involved or if they just post for appearance. This one came across this morning and I reposted.

As posted on Facebook:

"Every Christmas you always hear people saying what they want and bought. Well this is what I want. I want people who are sick with no cure to be able to be cured. I want children with no families to be adopted. I want people to never have to worry about food and shelter & heat. Now, lets see how many people actually care and bother to re-post this."

My question is are we making a difference? Are we helping? How many drop their change in the Salvation Army red kettles as they head out of the store? How many donate to the American Cancer Society? MDA? When is the last time you stopped and helped a homeless person with food or shelter? How many have adopted?

I realize that we can’t do it all but should we not try? In my family, which has been truly blessed, we have adopted, sent packages to the Philippines, participated in Operation Christmas Child, sponsored children in World Vision, donated for water wells, clothing and shoes through World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse. Helped out in the Mission. Gave gifts to the under privileged children in the local schools. Always drop our change in the Red Kettle. Give money to the homeless when we see the need. As well as participate in toy runs, benefit rides, benefit concerts, etc.

I am not claiming to have done this all my self, and it doesn’t really matter who did what or who gave how much. This is done by our family, that being my wife’s parents, her sister and brothers, and my wife and I. We all share in the giving and the blessings it brings.

This Christmas, I ask that you examine your heart and participate in the giving. That’s what it is all about, giving. The blessings we receive from a smile by a child, an elderly person or a homeless person can warm your heart and your soul. The memories of some of the blessings can provide a lasting gift. A Merry Christmas from a Red Kettle bell ringer as you drop even a quarter or a couple of dimes in, may put a smile on our face but it will most certainly put a smile on an unknown face somewhere in our community.

I really pray this Christmas that we all participate in the giving and the receiving. The giving and receiving of love. The same love that God showed us over two thousand years ago when He gave us His gift. The gift of His son, Jesus. So that those who accept that gift, may have a real life, a life of hope, a life of peace, a life of abundance.