Christmas in My Dreams...

Remember that sad World War II Christmas ballad, I'll Be Home For Christmas? It seems like my theme song for these past few years, based on the line "...if only in my dreams."

Today, I salute everyone who is away from their loved ones on Christmas, especially those who are in harm's way. May you find something to make you smile, may you realize that you have friends who will stick closer than a brother, and may that peace that transcends all understanding guard your heart and your mind.

I do miss my parents and my four sisters and their families at this time. I miss getting together and having everyone in my kitchen - even though it was always Mom who brought the most important stuff. (Please don't tell her that I serve instant potatoes and canned cranberries down here in Tennessee!)

I miss those magical Christmases that beckoned us to come outside with hot cocoa and sleds. I miss having all the spouses and kids running around the house and cheering over football games. I miss the noisiness of it all; even if the parties required my sweet, quiet husband to decompress afterwards in a dark corner with muted video games. :)

"It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you… yes, it is Christmas every time you smile at your brother and offer him your hand." -- Mother Teresa

Thankfully, no distance or situation can take the spirit of Christmas away. Although I dream of the day that peace prevails over every family and world gathering, I rejoice that God became flesh and lived among us, and that he chose to never leave us as orphans. I'm thankful for my friends and family in our little home, in this little town. And I'm thankful for you. This Christmas, I'll see you in my dreams - and Mom will have brought enough food for all of us!

Till next time,

Merry Christmas.

How To Have Great Gain

To hear this blog instead of reading it, click here: (It is less than 5 min. long)

How to have great gain. That is my subject today. Not how to have "weight gain," which is an unatural result of the slippery slope between Halloween Candy and New Year's Resolutions. We'll talk about that later.

No, today, I want to share some good news about great financial gain, relationship gain, and happiness gain, because today, I woke up very rich - several times, I might add. Once at 1:00 am, exactly one hour after lying down for the night, again at 4:30, when the heat from all Paul's cast aside covers finally caused me to swelter into wakefulness, (This happens nightly, and I must admit that my response is not always a smile.) and again at 5:00, when I decided to go back to sleep for another hour. The funny thing was, each time I woke up, I was acutely aware of the prosperity all over my life, and my desire to stir up abundance in every one I meet.

What made me so rich? Was it the checks I've been getting in the mail? I don't think so, but that's a part of it. Was it the great deals I found on my kid's Christmas gifts? Nah. Was it the fact that I spend my days doing what I love? Why yes! And just what do I love? The small stuff!

I love to look back to all that I ever dreamed of when I was younger - finding a fabulous husband, having a home, and kids of our own, and having a career where I get to speak and write and help people, being able to do what I want, when I want. And alas, those days have been upon me for years. I am living my dreams. And here's the funny thing - most of the time the fulfillment of those great dreams is quite - daily.

There was nothing spactacular about one single thing that happened yesterday or today. In fact today, there was even some irritated squabbling as the two older kids looked for missing clothes. Few things are as irritating to Jordan as losing his expensive undershirts, except of course, losing all his sweatshirts. Some days I imagine he'll have nothing to wear to his winter baseball practice except his pajamas. And Kristan, well, she had her own issues surrounding her basketball game tonight, while Nathan nearly forgot his backpack, and poor Matthew was staying home with some stomach flu... No. The morning did not look blissful for about ten distinct minutes.

That is when I saw our riches in action. It is in the daily stuff. If you can embrace the daily-ness of every day life, then you can be rich indeed. None of us really has any guarantee of tomorrow, so why wait to be happy?

Why did I wake up rich? Because each time I awoke, I was aware of all the love that fills our home - even when we get on each other's nerves. I was aware of the fact that the worst sicknesses we've ever faced have been gone in 72 hours and I was aware that we have never gone without food and warm shelter. I was aware that my worst days are a hundred times better than most of the world's best days.

My friend Bill says that a man's prosperity is not shown by what he accumulates, but by what he is able to give away. You don't have to be rich to have that mindset. I've seen people in 3rd world countries, smile exuberantly as they give away one of their only chickens, and I've seen wealthy Americans in pain over giving away a hundred dollars. The contrast is remarkable.

Are you rich today? If you are reading this on your computer, and you know where your next meal is, you are richer than most of the world. The secret to great gain is to tune in to it - and enjoy it!

In this crazy, commercial season, I encourage you to slow down, count your blessings, and find something to do for somebody who is not in your immediate family and who can't pay you back. Your gift does not have to be about money.

If you have something to give, and you can give it with a happy heart, than you have great gain, for sure!

Success Verses a Successful Life

What makes a person a success? We are such a performance driven culture. I make my living as a peak performance coach. And yet, it is your success in life as a whole that means more than any successful performance.

As we draw near the close of the year, it is time to ask - was it a successful year? Did you come closer to the goals that matter to you? Did you make good on your promises to yourself and those around you? Are you living a successful life?

I read "success" books like most people listen to music. I read biographies and autobiographies of "great" people, but I've noticed that even for these, success is easier to come by than a successful life. They may become millionaires but lose their marriage, succeed in business but have children who despise them, succeed in sports or entertainment, yet have addictions that eat them alive. That, my friend, is not a successful life. It is not your inheritance to have public success at the expense of private peace. You can have both.

Today, I encourage you to look at all of your roles. Who are you as a spouse, a friend, a parent, a son or daughter, a sibling, a co-worker, an employee, a boss? How do you want to be remembered under each of these hats? What words would you like to have describe you? Hint - for this exercise you can not use the word "successful." Instead, I recommend quality-of-life words like, "Faithful, joyful, loving, satisfied, generous, fulfilled..." Think of who you want to be when no one is watching. That is authentic success.

Remember finding true success is not a matter of accomplishing some external goal to validate who you are. Rather, it is becoming who you want to be, and in so doing, attracting all of the pieces necessary to live the life of your dreams. You were created to live a life of purpose - a life on purpose. You were meant to be blessed in order to be a blessing. Toiling endlessly is a part of the curse. I choose to rejoice in the blessing purchased on the cross.

Enjoy the little things today. Count out loud, the things that make you smile. As you do, you will realize that your success has been available all along.

Until next time,

Enjoy the journey

Ephesians 1:18
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.