Merry Christmas!

I shared this post two years ago:

HENRY BROUGHAM

Tonight I want to tell you the story
of an empty stocking. Once upon a
midnight clear, there was a child's cry.
A blazing star hung over a stable and
wise men came with birthday gifts.
We haven't forgotten that night down
the centuries; we celebrate it with
stars on Christmas trees, the sound
of bells and with gifts. But especially
with gifts. You give me a book; I give
you a tie. Aunt Martha has always
wanted an orange squeezer and Uncle 
Henry could do with a new pipe.
We forget nobody, adult or child.
All the stockings are filled...
All that is, except one.
And we have even forgotten to
hang it up. The stocking for the
child born in a manger. It's His
birthday we are celebrating. 
Don't ever let us forget that. 
Let us ask ourselves what He would
wish for most... and then let each
put in his share. Loving kindness,
warm hearts and the stretched out hand
of tolerance. All the shining gifts
that make peace on earth.

Thanks to Bishop Brougham's sermon we hang a stocking for Jesus each year, placed between ours--in the center--to represent how we want Christ in the center of our lives. 

There used to be more stockings--one for each child and pet--but we've gone full circle, empty nesters with three stockings, shown below.  Mine on the left, Kurt's on the right, and the Savior's in the center.

War Room (2015) is a great movie about prayer. At times it is over-the-top, but the film carries a vital message: Prayer is a powerful weapon. We never need to battle life's problems alone.

Prisons don't always have bars. Addiction, depression, compulsion, illness, negative thought patterns, can hold us captive. Blessed are they who bring light into our lives.

Based on a true story, in the following clip from The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (2005) a group of women who enter advertising contests gather at the home of Emma Hartzler. They call themselves The Affadaisies and they meet at Emma's home since she can't come to theirs... she's inside an iron lung.


A teacher (Hilary Swank) gives hope of higher education to a group of students trapped in hatred, gangs, violence. She helps them find their voice through journaling. Freedom Writers (2007), based on a true story.

In Forever Strong (2008), rugby player Rick Penning (Sean Faris) lands in juvenile detention for his second D.U.I, but it's his attitude that keeps his potential locked up. A counselor at the center provides an opportunity for the athlete to play on a team coached by Larry Gelwix (Gary Cole), who holds the rugby players to high moral standards. Coach Gelwix's methods help Rick break free of his self-destructive behavior. This film is based on a blend of true stories about Utah's Highland High School rugby team.


Today I will give encouragement to others.

On Day 2, I shared a clip from Ben-Hur (1959) where Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) receives water from Jesus. In this clip (toward the end of the film) Judah follows Christ's example of kindness and offers water to Him.

I've already mentioned Les Misérables in previous posts (here and here), but I can't help but think of it again for today's focus. Jean Valjean goes to prison for stealing a loaf of bread to help his sister's child, near starvation. Then after his release from prison, he comes close to starvation again. A kind Bishop provides shelter and a meal, but more importantly, gives Valjean a second chance at life.

Today I will donate nonperishables to a local food bank.

I attended a friend's funeral earlier this week and her family didn't speak of anything she had accumulated. Instead, they spoke of her love for family and God. 

There are some movies out there that reflect on what matters most, but today I am simply posting this very short video because it says it all.

I think of Pollyanna (1960) when I think of being glad. Sometimes people mock Pollyanna as someone who is naive, dumb, or unaware. But that's not the case. She is aware of disappointing situations but chooses to find something to be glad about... and she helps others do the same.

Today I will choose to be glad and share joy with others.

Three of the most powerful words in Cinderella (2015) come at the end when Ella tells her villainous stepmother, "I forgive you."

In the movie Take (2007), Ana Nichols (Minnie Driver) harbors anger and resentment toward Saul Gregor (Jeremy Renner) for the pain and suffering he caused... for what he took from her. Several years pass before she recognizes that the bitterness is destroying her life. "I forgive you," she tells him, "I have to forgive you."

Today is Sunday. I will spend meaningful time with others while I attend church services, sing in the choir, and conduct a women's meeting.

I couldn't think of a movie that fits the literal translation of this verse, and trust me, I did not want to search the internet for anything connecting movies with nakedness! Yikes. So I chose to use another meaning of the word naked: exposed to harm, unprotected or vulnerable.

With that definition, I think of Wonder (2017). Entering a mainstream school for the first time, Auggie Pullman (Jacob Tremblay) is extremely vulnerable. Born with facial deformities, some kids tease and mock him, but others gradually gravitate to his good-naturedness and clothe him in friendship. 

Liongate Movies Trailer: Wonder

Today, I will care for and clothe others by donating clothes to a local thrift store.

I love the examples of mercy shown in Les Misérables. After being released from prison, Jean Valjean struggles to find shelter and something to eat, and eventually huddles in the doorway of a church. The Bishop finds him there and invites him inside. Valjean is given warmth, food, and a place to sleep. In the night, he awakens, steals silver from a cupboard and runs away.

The next day two policeman bring Jean to the church and tell the Bishop...

What we treasure or value the most--fashion, fitness, appearance, money, family, friendship, God--indicates where our heart is. It's what we love. 

There are numerous movies about characters re-aligning their priorities, but since it's the Christmas season, I selected Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol for today's focus. Ebenezer Scrooge, allows greed to takes over his life. Wealth is his treasure. After three ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve--Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come--his heart changes. He feels compassion again and his focus turns outward to others.

Today I am focusing on what's important... uninterrupted Devotional time (prayer, scripture study, journal writing) and time with my family.

This is the Golden Rule and the higher road to take. Treat others as we want to be treated, with respect. Turn away from anger and revenge and respond with kindness.

Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) teaches his children to respect others and treat them kindly. He tells Scout (Mary Badham), "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." (To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962)

Javert seeks to destroy Jean Valjean, and yet when Jean Valjean has an opportunity to kill Javert, he chooses a higher road and lets him go. He treats Javert as he wants to be treated, with mercy and kindness. (Les Misérables, 2012)

The 2015 version of Cinderella emphasizes "have courage and be kind." It takes courage for Cinderella to treat her stepmother and stepsisters with kindness, but she does it out of respect for her parents wishes and because that's the way she would like to be treated.

Today I have selected something that would brighten my day and I am going to do that for someone else.

Mourning is a part of life. We mourn the death of loved ones, the end of relationships, the loss of jobs, loss of health.

Some people know just what to say or do to comfort those in need. I am not one of those. But I try. 

When I grieve, the best thing to help break my dark thought patterns is laughter, so I love this scene from Steel Magnolias (1989)...

Fandango MovieClips: Steel Magnolias "I Wanna Know Why"

Fandango Trailer: The Blind Side 

(Michael Oher became an NFL football player. You can read his story here.)

POLLYANNA (Hayley Mills)

There are 800 happy texts, did you know that?

REVEREND FORD (Karl Malden)

No, I didn't know that.

POLLYANNA

Yes, well there are. And, you know,

my father said, "If God took the trouble

to tell us 800 times to be glad and rejoice,

he must have wanted us to do it."

Today I will share a scriptural phrase that lifts me when I am down. It comes from Psalm 30:5 "...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

Life is full of ups and downs, downs and ups. I find strength to endure tough times or depression when I remember the darkness will not last forever... joy will come again.

(This film is rated R for the blood, gore, graphic war scenes, mild swearing and sometimes vain references to deity. If you find some or all of those elements offensive, you can watch it filtered (I did) with ClearPlay, or wait for an edited version on television.)

Today I will be kind to someone who has been unkind to me.



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