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On December 17, 1843, Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol. In his preface to this influential book he wrote, “I have endeavored in this Ghostly little book to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it.”

Dickens was keenly aware of the injustices of his day and initially set out to write a political pamphlet to address those issues. Instead, he realized that sharing his concerns in the form of a story would have “twenty thousand times the force.” It is said that his book, which kept selling out in its first 24 printings, left an indelible imprint on the hearts and minds of his fellow citizens in Britain. And indeed, A Christmas Carol continues to challenge the greed and avarice of our society 175 years later!

But if a book of fiction can prompt that much change in hearts and lives, how much more the example of a real life in flesh and blood? We can moan and complain about the social ills of our day, but what good does that do unless we change ourselves?

When the angels visited the shepherds on that first night of Christ’s birth their message was clear. It was good news of God’s good will to all people, and designed to bring us all into a place of love and grace beyond our wildest imaginings.

Here are a few suggestions to make the holiday season special, not only for others but for you as well as you exercise your love and generosity toward others:

1. Make someone’s day!

Often, we go through the routines of our day without even registering the fact that we’re dealing with other human beings.

That clerk, cashier, or attendant could just as well be a robot for the way we sometimes treat them. Instead, look that person in the eye and greet them with a smile. Ask them how their day has been and thank them for their service.

Also, as you drive, be courteous and thoughtful. Be patient and let people into the flow of traffic. Be cheerful and congenial with others.

2. Cultivate a spirit of generosity.

Look for a charitable organization to give to financially. You could: fill a shoebox with treats for a needy child, contribute toward drilling a well for clean water in a third-world country, or donate to your local homeless shelter. If you can, don’t just give, but explore ways to volunteer.

If you encounter a homeless person, buy them a meal. When you drive up to a coffee stand, pay for the coffee of the car behind you. Treat a co-worker to lunch. Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to express generosity.

A spirit of generosity flows from a heart full of gratitude, which leads to the next point…

3. Express gratitude freely.

Ingratitude causes us to be grumpy, self-centered and stingy. Despite any hardships or suffering we may be experiencing, we all have much to be thankful for. If there’s any doubt about that, simply journal a list of all the things for which you are grateful. When you think you’ve exhausted those reasons to be thankful, persist in coming up with even more.

Then, think about all the people involved with all those good things in your life and take the opportunity to thank them.

And when you encounter people who didn’t emerge from your list, think of ways to thank them too. Also, share with others the things that you are grateful for. Your gratitude will be contagious and spur them to gratitude as well.

4. Focus on others.

If we’re honest, we probably all have to admit that we spend too much time thinking about ourselves. Instead, focus on others. Think about the struggles and joys that others around you are experiencing. Enter into their joys and challenges and celebrate with them or offer help and empathy.

Call someone you haven’t talked to for a while—ask how they’re doing and wish them well. Think of something to thank them for or compliment them on. If you can think of anyone you’ve been holding a grudge against, forgive them—if not for their sake, then for yours!

5. Spend time with loved ones.

Sometimes it’s easy to overlook or neglect those closest to us. Be intentional about spending time with those you love. Celebrate your relationships. In whatever way is posible connect with those close to you.

Watch your favorite movie together. Play table games and laugh together. Tell them how much they mean to you. Thank them for being a part of your life.

Make these practices a part of your life this holiday season. Practice them well and seek to make them your way of life year round. By doing so, you’ll be a blessing to others, making a positive difference in their lives, and feel more carefree and at peace yourself.

Let your life inspire others to live as you do.

Standing there on the sidelines I was impressed with how the others were playing. It seemed like they had superpowers, as though they were endued with some special something that set them apart for success.

Counting numbers, measuring metrics, I just never seemed to tally up to my own expectations.

It was heartbreaking. Then it all fell apart…

Despite my best efforts and desperate prayers, the life I had constructed tumbled down around me and I was left floundering in my own failure and a deep and boggy slough of low self-esteem.

Scrambling in the remnants I was looking for something I had lost. Confidence for one, but no, it was more fundamental than that.

Enter a parade of characters into the pantomime of life, and a crowd shouting, “He over there!”, “He’s behind you!”

“This is who you are, this is what you should be, this is how you should think.”

Finally I had sense enough to cancel the noise, get into the prayer booth and switch off the voices.

“Lord, who am I?”

You are a writer. And I have called you to provoke people to pursuit and to purity.”

Pursuit of God.

Pursuit of His call and anointing (for YOUR life, not mine).

Purity of motive.

Purity of vision.

Purity of message and commitment to the King.

But the funny thing is, this conversation was borne from frustration with who I am. Intense. Unyielding. Provocative and contentious at times.

Why am I like this?” I lamented.

“Because I made you that way. I like you that way.”

Papa knows best, and he understands what He requires to fulfil His purposes in and through your unique and perfectly chiselled and charred personality.

All the engine needed was direction.

For me it was writing.

I’d been waiting for myself to catch up all along.

Every experience and every heartbreak spills into the pages I fill.

Every lesson and learning, every leaning of my heart into the things that make me feel alive.

All of them are essential ingredients making up the Marmite man that I am.

Love me or hate me. Like me or despise me. Read me or don’t.

I have discovered something special, something I never want to lose ever again.

Myself.

YOU are the person you have been waiting for all along.

And just in case you don’t realise it yet, YOU ARE AWESOME!

Our spaces can get crowded very easily. Especially internal ones.

With so much cramming to invade the door marked ‘attention’, it’s easy to forget that the inner world we carry with us everywhere we go was never intended to be the thoroughfare it has become.

I am a go-get kind of guy, and spend a lot of energy encouraging others to act and make awesome stuff, especially books, blogs and other ways to share their worth with the world, but I’m also aware that the consumption machine is unrelenting and never-satisfied.

It’s easy to end up on a hamster wheel never feeling content with either what you have or what you give out. There’s always more.

As Solomon pointed out:

“…the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.” (Ecclesiastes 1:8 KJV)

One devilish ploy is to tire you out, keep you always straining for the next thing, and never stopping to savour and enjoy what you already have. Celebrate how far you have come. Luxuriate in your already blessed existence.

There are natural times and seasons for everything.

A Punctuated Life

My good friend, David Hoffbrand, speak often about a punctuated lifestyle. I love his free series about Sabbath living (https://sabbath.love) and I for sure need to be reminded again and again that my life does not consist just of the things I do, make, accumulate or spend.

Seasons like the end of a year offer opportunity to stop and think. To reflect on your why, what has worked and what has not, and plan intentionally for what’s around the corner.

It really does take energy to forge your path, but the energy and fortitude to do it flows from rest. It is nurtured not in activity but a lack of it. Those moments that we stop and consider carefully the direction and trajectory we are taking.

Take time over the next few weeks for yourself, and give yourself permission to lay aside the constant activity and drivenness.

Invite God the Holy Spirit into your space, ask Him what needs to be brushed out, and what to leave, what to bring, and what to drop.

In your conversations He will surely help you see the path before you in a clearer, cleaner light and the steps you need to move in a direction that nurtures your soul.

It’s crazy maddening to have a baby growing inside and no way to push the screaming idea out. Some people I know have been pregnant with a book for decades and despite occasional Braxton-hicks they just get fatter and heavier every year.

It’s time to finally get that book written and published!

And do you know the best thing about this? Babies are not adults!

Your first book can be an infant. It can be weak and kind of ugly looking, and still be lovable and literally bursting with potential.

It’s often said that your first child is the most difficult. I agree 100%. I remember Larna and I with our first son, Luke. Seriously scary! The first picture of me holding little baby Luke in my arms is hilarious. I look like a deer caught in headlights.

And despite the difficulties and fears, more kids often follow.

The thing is, nature demands that a baby be born at the time appointed. An idea on the other hand can stay in the womb for a lifetime never see the light of day.

How many messages and magnificent histories, all of that experience and wisdom accumulated over time, leaves no legacy, no footprints in the sand to follow.

Screaming and Kicking

Your words are screaming and kicking within you to be expressed.

Stop pushing them back down!

Don’t hold them in!

Who cares what people will think? Nothing should stop you stepping out and sharing your worth and words. Without being out where people can learn from, benefit by, or be entertained and challenged through, the possibilities are literally zero that you’ll hit a bestseller.

Don’t overthink, don’t be bamboozled by the plethora of over-complicated courses teaching the 56-point system to an Amazon bestseller. Leave that on the shelf and just write. Write from your heart and get your thoughts on the page.

Just.

Write.

Make it public.

As you do, you’ll find your stride. You’ll discover your voice. You’ll learn that words are there to be enjoyed, to be relished, and that their purpose is not perfection.

Perfect words may exist, but not in my wheelhouse. My workshop is full of ideas bristling for attention, thoughts clawing for attention, and bursting, bubbling babies begging to be born.

The white page beckons and when an idea is ready for action the contractions begin.

Thankfully the passage to the world for an idea is far less painful than a flesh and blood kid. The only thing that needs to expand is my willingness and ability to share. The only contractions I need to be considerate of are grammatical short forms.

And the more I give way and let what is natural and normal happen, the happier I find myself in the process. The easier this whole birthing thing becomes.

You have a book in you, I can see it kicking!

Christian! It’s time to finally get that book written and published and 2021 is the year you should do it! (<<< PS: I lied about no shoulds)