Podcasts about christmas well

Keeping Christmas Well | Rev. Jason Adams | 7/00 Christmas Eve Service | December 24th, 2023

About a decade and a half ago, when I first started what we now call You Tell Me Texas, I decided to establish an annual tradition

Financial Planner Luke Smith joined 2CC Talking Canberra 1206AM in Money Matters, which aired on Friday 15 December 2023.  This week’s show asks a cracker of a question as the Christmas holidays approach quickly: How can I get through Christmas without blowing the budget?  Perhaps more than at any other time during the year, Christmas … Luke on 2CC – Spend Christmas well, with a plan! Read More »

Helene shares a funny story with her triplets talking to an older woman in the grocery store.

“It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alivepossessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!” – Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. This is a very interesting quote. For those of us who are followers of Jesus, this should be […]

Keep Christmas well. (12-23-22)

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Reviews for Jolly Good Christmas (Hallmark Channel) and Well Suited for Christmas (Lifetime).

New stuff from Apple! Apple's New Line Whether you're wanting the best and newest thing OR want to see last year's stuff go down in price? Well, this is for you! New iPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods and more! Join Jonathan, LD, and Sam as we chime in on our thoughts.

Keep Christmas well. (12-23-21)

For bonuses and to support the show, sign up at www.patreon.com/themidnighttrainpodcast   This week is our Christmas special here on the train. First, we've covered Krampus, Christmas killings, and ghost story Christmas traditions. Then, in keeping with our tradition of crazy Christmas episodes, today, we bring you some crazy Christmas disasters! Christmas isn't immune to crazy shit going on, from natural disasters to fires. Not only that, we're giving you guys a pretty good dose of history today. So with that being said, let's get into some crazy Christmas stuff!   While this first topic isn't necessarily a disaster in the usual sense, it definitely caused nothing but problems. And yes, it's a disaster. In 1865 on Christmas Eve, something happened that would change things for many people in this country and still causes grief to this day. While most people in the u.s. were settling down for the night with their families, leaving milk out for Santa, and tucking the kids in for the night, a group of men in Pulaski, Tennessee, were getting together for a very different purpose. Frank McCord, Richard Reed, John Lester, John Kennedy, J. Calvin Jones, and James Crowe were all officers with the Confederacy in the civil war. That night, they got together to form a group inspired at least in part by the then largely defunct Sons of Malta. While it started as a social club, within months, it would turn into one of the most nefarious groups around, the Ku Klux Klan. According to The Cyclopædia of Fraternities (1907), "Beginning in April, 1867, there was a gradual transformation. ...The members had conjured up a veritable Frankenstein. They had played with an engine of power and mystery, though organized on entirely innocent lines, and found themselves overcome by a belief that something must lie behind it all – that there was, after all, a serious purpose, a work for the Klan to do." It borrowed parts of the initiation ceremony from the sons of Malta with the same purpose: "ludicrous initiations, the baffling of public curiosity, and the amusement for members were the only objects of the Klan," according to Albert Stevens in 1907. In the summer of 1867, local branches of the Klan met in a general organizing convention. They established what they called an "Invisible Empire of the South." Leading Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest was chosen as the first leader, or "grand wizard," of the Klan; he presided over a hierarchy of grand dragons, grand titans, and grand cyclops. The organization of the Ku Klux Klan coincided with the beginning of the second phase of post-Civil War Reconstruction, put into place by the more radical members of the Republican Party in Congress. After rejecting President Andrew Johnson's relatively lenient Reconstruction policies from 1865 to 1866, Congress passed the Reconstruction Act over the presidential veto. Under its provisions, the South was divided into five military districts. Each state was required to approve the 14th Amendment, which granted "equal protection" of the Constitution to formerly enslaved people and enacted universal male suffrage. From 1867 onward, Black participation in public life in the South became one of the most radical aspects of Reconstruction. Black people won elections to southern state governments and even the U.S. Congress. For its part, the Ku Klux Klan dedicated itself to an underground campaign of violence against Republican leaders and voters (both Black and white) to reverse the policies of Radical Reconstruction and restore white supremacy in the South. They were joined in this struggle by similar organizations such as the Knights of the White Camelia (launched in Louisiana in 1867) and the White Brotherhood. At least 10 percent of the Black legislators elected during the 1867-1868 constitutional conventions became victims of violence during Reconstruction, including seven who were killed. White Republicans (derided as "carpetbaggers" and "scalawags") and Black institutions such as schools and churches—symbols of Black autonomy—were also targets for Klan attacks. By 1870, the Ku Klux Klan had branches in nearly every southern state. The Klan did not boast a well-organized structure or clear leadership even at its height. Local Klan members, often wearing masks and dressed in the organization's signature long white robes and hoods, usually carried out their attacks at night. They acted on their own but supported the common goals of defeating Radical Reconstruction and restoring white supremacy in the South. Klan activity flourished particularly in the regions of the South where Black people were a minority or a slight majority of the population and were relatively limited in others. Among the most notorious zones of Klan activity was South Carolina, where in January 1871, 500 masked men attacked the Union county jail and lynched eight Black prisoners. Though Democratic leaders would later attribute Ku Klux Klan violence to poorer southern white people, the organization's membership crossed class lines, from small farmers and laborers to planters, lawyers, merchants, physicians, and ministers. In the regions where most Klan activity took place, local law enforcement officials either belonged to the Klan or declined to act against it. Even those who arrested Klansmen found it difficult to find witnesses willing to testify against them.    Other leading white citizens in the South declined to speak out against the group's actions, giving them implicit approval. After 1870, Republican state governments in the South turned to Congress for help, resulting in three Enforcement Acts, the strongest of which was the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871.   For the first time, the Ku Klux Klan Act designated certain crimes committed by individuals as federal offenses, including conspiracies to deprive citizens of the right to hold office, serve on juries and enjoy the equal protection of the law. In addition, the act authorized the president to suspend the habeas corpus, arrest accused individuals without charge, and send federal forces to suppress Klan violence. For those of us dummies that may not know, a "writ of habeas corpus" (which literally means to "produce the body") is a court order demanding that a public official (such as a warden) deliver an imprisoned individual to the court and show a valid reason for that person's detention. The procedure provides a means for prison inmates or others acting on their behalf to dispute the legal basis for confinement.   This expansion of federal authority–which Ulysses S. Grant promptly used in 1871 to crush Klan activity in South Carolina and other areas of the South–outraged Democrats and even alarmed many Republicans. From the early 1870s onward, white supremacy gradually reasserted its hold on the South as support for Reconstruction waned; by the end of 1876, the entire South was under Democratic control once again.   Now, this was just the first version of the Klan. A second version started up in the early 1900s and later on another revival which is the current iteration of the Klan. We're not going to go into the later versions of the Klan because well…. Fuck 'em! We've already given them too much air time! But… This most definitely qualifies as a Christmas disaster.   Next up, we have a couple natural disasters.    First up, Cyclone Tracy. Cyclone Tracy has been described as the most significant tropical cyclone in Australia's history, and it changed how we viewed the threat of tropical cyclones to northern Australia.   Five days before Christmas 1974, satellite images showed a tropical depression in the Arafura Sea, 700 kilometers (or almost 435 miles for us Americans) northeast of Darwin.   The following day the Tropical Cyclone Warning Center in Darwin warned that a cyclone had formed and gave it the name Tracy. Cyclone Tracy was moving southwest at this stage, but as it passed the northwest of Bathurst Island on December 23, it slowed down and changed course.   That night, it rounded Cape Fourcroy and began moving southeast, with Darwin directly in its path.   The first warning that Darwin was under threat came at 12:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve when a top-priority flash cyclone warning was issued advising people that Cyclone Tracy was expected to make landfall early Christmas morning.   Despite 12 hours' warning of the cyclone's impending arrival, it fell mainly on deaf ears.   Residents were complacent after a near-miss from Cyclone Selma a few weeks before and distracted by the festive season.   Indeed in the preceding decade, the Bureau of Meteorology had identified 25 cyclones in Northern Territory waters, but few had caused much damage. Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy was a small but intense system at landfall.   The radius of the galeforce winds extended only 50 kilometers from the eye of the cyclone, making it one of the most miniature tropical cyclones on record, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).   Records show that at least six tropical cyclones had severely impacted Darwin before Tracy.   The worst of these was in January 1897 when a "disastrous hurricane" nearly destroyed the settlement, and 28 people died.   However, unlike Tracy, it is thought this cyclone did not directly pass over Darwin.   And while Tracy was reported as a category four cyclone, some meteorologists today believe it may have been a category five shortly before it made landfall.   At midnight on Christmas Day, wind gusts greater than 100 kilometers or over 62 miles per hour began to be recorded.   The cyclone's center reached East Point at 3:15 a.m. and landed just north of Fannie Bay at 3:30 a.m.   Tracy was so strong it bent a railway signal tower in half.    The city was devastated by the cyclone. At least 90 percent of homes in Darwin were demolished or badly damaged. Forty-five vessels in the harbor were wrecked or damaged.   In addition to the 65 people who died, 145 were admitted to the hospital with serious injuries.   Vegetation was damaged up to 80 kilometers away from the coast, and Darwin felt eerily quiet due to the lack of insect and birdlife.   Within a week after the cyclone hit, more than 30,000 Darwin residents had been evacuated by air or road. That's more than two-thirds of the population at that time.   Cyclone Tracy remains one of Australia's most significant disasters.   As Murphy wrote 10 years after the cyclone: "The impact of Cyclone Tracy has reached far beyond the limits of Darwin itself. All along the tropical coasts of northern Australia and beyond a new cyclone awareness has emerged."   Merry fucking Christmas! Damn, that sucks. The information in this section came from an article on abc.net.au   Next up, we are going way back. The Christmas Flood of 1717 resulted from a northwesterly storm, which hit the coastal area of the Netherlands, Germany, and Scandinavia on Christmas night of 1717. During the night of Christmas, 1717, the coastal regions of the Netherlands, Germany, and Scandinavia were hit by a severe north-western storm. It is estimated that 14,000 people died. It was the worst flood for four centuries and the last significant flood to hit the north of the Netherlands.   In the countryside to the north of the Netherlands, the water level rose up to a few meters. The city of Groningen rose up to a few feet. In the province of Groningen, villages that were situated directly behind the dikes were nearly swept away. Action had to be taken against looters who robbed houses and farms under the fraudulent act of rescuing the flood victims. In total, the flood caused 2,276 casualties in Groningen. 1,455 homes were either destroyed or suffered extensive damage. Most livestock was lost.   The water also poured into Amsterdam and Haarlem and the areas around Dokkum and Stavoren. Over 150 people died in Friesland alone. In addition, large sections of Northern Holland were left underwater and the area around Zwolle and Kampen. In these areas, the flood only caused material damage. In Vlieland, however, the sea poured over the dunes, almost entirely sweeping away the already-damaged village of West-Vlieland.   We also found this report from a German website. It's been translated, so our apologies if it's wonky.    "According to tradition, several days before Christmas, it had blown strong and sustained from the southwest. Shortly after sunset on Christmas Eve, the wind suddenly turned from west to northwest and eased a little. The majority of the residents went to bed unconcerned, because currently was half moon and the next regular flood would not occur until 7 a.m. At the time when the tide was supposed to have been low for a long time, however, a drop in the water level could not be determined. Allegedly between 1 and 2 a.m. the storm began to revive violently accompanied by lightning and thunder. Between 3 and 4 o'clock in the morning the water reached the top of the dike. The current and waves caused the dike caps to break, so that the tide rolled over the dike into the flat land with a loud roar of thunder. Many only had time to save themselves in the dark on the floor under the roof. Most of the time there was not even time to take clothes, drinking water and some food with you. Numerous houses could not withstand the rising water and the current. In the higher and higher water and the increasing current, windows were Doors and entire walls dented. Allegedly the hurricane and the storm surge raged against the coast for three full days, so that it was not until December 28 that the water fell so far that one could come to the aid of one's neighbors with simply built "boats." In many places, the dykes had been razed to the ground, which meant that in lower-lying areas, every regular flood caused renewed flooding. At the places where the dykes were broken, deep valleys, some of which were large, formed. In many places where the dike is led around in a semi-arch, these walls, also known as pools or bracken, are still visible and testify to the force of the water. At that time, many people are said to have believed that the march was forever lost. In the low-lying areas, the water was later covered with ice floes, sometimes held up for months. Up until the summer months, bodies were said to have been found repeatedly during the clean-up work on the alluvial piles of straw and in the trenches. Many people who survived the flood later fell victim to so-called marching fever. New storm surges in the following years ruined the efforts for the first time to get the dike back into a defensible condition, and many houses, which were initially only damaged, have now been completely destroyed. Numerous small owners left the country so that the Hanover government even issued a ban on emigration."   Looks like the Netherlands got a proper Christmas fucking as well! Some towns were so severely destroyed that nothing was left, and they simply ceased to exist. Damn.    Cyclones and floods… What else does mother nature have for us? Well, how's about an earthquake! On Friday, December 26, 2003, at 5:26 a.m., Bam city in Southeastern Iran was jolted by an earthquake registering a 6.5 magnitude on the Richter scale. This was the result of the strike-slip motion of the Bam fault, which runs through this area. The earthquake's epicenter was determined to be approximately six miles southwest of the city. Three more significant aftershocks and many smaller aftershocks were also recorded, the last of which occurred over a month after the main earthquake. To date, official death tolls have 26,271 fatalities, 9000 injured, and 525 still missing. The city of Bam is one of Iran's most ancient cities, dating back to 224A.D. Latest reports and damage estimates are approaching the area of $1.9 billion. A United Nations report estimated that about 90% of the city's buildings were 60%-100% damaged, while the remaining buildings were between 30%-60% damaged. The crazy part about the whole thing… The quake only lasted for about 8 seconds.   Now I know what you're thinking… That's not Christmas… Well, there spanky, the night of the 25th, Christmas, people started to feel minor tremors that would preface the quake, so fuck you, it counts.   We have one more natural disaster for you guys, and this one most of you guys probably remember. And this one was another that started last Christmas night and rolled into the 26th, also known as boxing day. So we're talking about the Boxing Day Tsunami and the Indian ocean earthquake in 2004.    A 9.1-magnitude earthquake—one of the largest ever recorded—ripped through an undersea fault in the Indian Ocean, propelling a massive column of water toward unsuspecting shores. The Boxing Day tsunami would be the deadliest in recorded history, taking a staggering 230,000 lives in a matter of hours.   The city of Banda Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra was closest to the powerful earthquake's epicenter, and the first waves arrived in just 20 minutes. It's nearly impossible to imagine the 100-foot roiling mountain of water that engulfed the coastal city of 320,000, instantly killing more than 100,000 men, women, and children. Buildings folded like houses of cards, trees, and cars were swept up in the oil-black rapids, and virtually no one caught in the deluge survived.   Thailand was next. With waves traveling 500 mph across the Indian Ocean, the tsunami hit the coastal provinces of Phang Nga and Phuket an hour and a half later. Despite the time-lapse, locals and tourists were utterly unaware of the imminent destruction. Curious beachgoers even wandered out among the oddly receding waves, only to be chased down by a churning wall of water. The death toll in Thailand was nearly 5,400, including 2,000 foreign tourists.   An hour later, on the opposite side of the Indian Ocean, the waves struck the southeastern coast of India near the city of Chennai, pushing debris-choked water kilometers inland and killing more than 10,000 people, primarily women and children, since many of the men were out fishing. But some of the worst devastations were reserved for the island nation of Sri Lanka, where more than 30,000 people were swept away by the waves and hundreds of thousands left homeless.   As proof of the record-breaking strength of the tsunami, the last victims of the Boxing Day disaster perished nearly eight hours later when swelling seas and rogue waves caught swimmers by surprise in South Africa, 5,000 miles from the quake's epicenter.   Vasily Titov is a tsunami researcher and forecaster with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Center for Tsunami Research. He credits the unsparing destructiveness of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on the raw power of the earthquake that spawned it. The quake originated in a so-called megathrust fault, where heavy oceanic plates subduct beneath lighter continental plates.    "They are the largest faults in the world and they're all underwater," says Titov.   The 2004 quake ruptured a 900-mile stretch along the Indian and Australian plates 31 miles below the ocean floor. Rather than delivering one violent jolt, the earthquake lasted an unrelenting 10 minutes, releasing as much pent-up power as several thousand atomic bombs.   In the process, massive segments of the ocean floor were forced an estimated 30 or 40 meters (up to 130 feet) upward. The effect was like dropping the world's most giant pebble in the Indian Ocean with ripples the size of mountains extending out in all directions.   Titov emphasizes that tsunamis look nothing like the giant surfing break-style waves that many imagine.   "It's a wave, but from the observer's standpoint, you wouldn't recognize it as a wave," Titov says. "It's more like the ocean turns into a white water river and floods everything in its path."   Once caught in the raging waters, the debris will finish the job if the currents don't pull you under.   "In earthquakes, a certain number of people die but many more are injured. It's completely reversed with tsunamis," says Titov. "Almost no injuries, because it's such a difficult disaster to survive."   Holy fuck… That's insane!   Well, there are some crazy natural disasters gifted to us by mother nature. So now let's take a look at some man-made disasters… And there are some bad ones.    First up is the 1953 train wreck on Christmas Eve in New Zealand. So this is actually a mix of mother nature fucking people and a man-made structure failing. This event is also referred to as the Tangiwai disaster. The weather on Christmas Eve was fine, and with little recent rain, no one suspected flooding in the Whangaehu River. The river appeared normal when a goods train crossed the bridge around 7 p.m. What transformed the situation was the sudden release of approximately 2 million cubic meters of water from the crater lake of nearby Mt Ruapehu. A 6-meter-high wave containing water, ice, mud, and rocks surged, tsunami-like, down the Whangaehu River. Sometime between 10.10 and 10.15 p.m., this lahar struck the concrete pylons of the Tangiwai railway bridge.   Traveling at approximately 65 km per hour, locomotive Ka 949 and its train of nine carriages and two vans reached the severely weakened bridge at 10.21 p.m. As the bridge buckled beneath its weight, the engine plunged into the river, taking all five second-class carriages with it. The torrent force destroyed four of these carriages – those inside had little chance of survival.   The leading first-class carriage, Car Z, teetered on the edge of the ruined bridge for a few minutes before breaking free from the remaining three carriages and toppling into the river. It rolled downstream before coming to rest on a bank as the water level fell. Remarkably, 21 of the 22 passengers in this carriage survived. Evidence suggested that the locomotive driver, Charles Parker, had applied the emergency brakes some 200 m from the bridge, which prevented the last three carriages from ending up in the river and saved many lives. Even still, 151 of the 285 passengers and crew died that night in the crash.   This information was taken from nzhistory.gov.    Next up is the Italian Hall disaster.    Before it was called Calumet, the area was known as Red Jacket. And for many, it seemed to be ground zero for the sprawling copper mining operations that absorbed wave after wave of immigrants into the Upper Peninsula.   Red Jacket itself was a company town for the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company, a large firm that in the 1870s was known as the world's largest copper producer. For a time, C&H had the world's deepest copper mines.   But the company wasn't immune from the organized labor push that swept across the Keweenaw Peninsula and other parts of the U.P. in 1913. Miners in Montana and Colorado had unionized, and in July of that year, the Western Federation of Miners called a strike against all Copper Country mines. According to a mining journal published that year, they were pushing for a $3 daily wage, 8-hour days, safer working conditions, and representation.   "The strike took place in a very complicated time in American history," said Jo Holt, a historian with the National Park Service's Keweenaw National Historical Park. "We had all these different things coming together. An increasingly industrialized country was grappling with worker's rights, gender issues, and immigration. We were moving from a gilded age into a progressive era, and recognizing the voice of labor.   "We see this event happen in the midst of that struggle."   "The reason it resonates today is we are still having these conversations. How do we create a just economy that functions for everybody? ... We are still, almost hundred and 10 years later, in the midst of these conversations."   As the strike wore into fall and the holiday season, a women's auxiliary group to the WFM organized a Christmas Eve party for the miners' families at the Italian Benevolent Society building, better known as the Italian Hall.   It was a big, boisterous affair, researchers have said. The multi-story hall was packed, with more than 600 people inside at one point. Children were watching a play and receiving gifts. Organizers later said the crowd was so large that it was hard to track who was coming in the door.   When the false cry of "Fire!" went up, pandemonium reached the sole stairway leading down to the street.   "What happened is when people panicked, they tried to get out through the stairwell," Holt said. "Someone tripped or people started to fall, and that's what created the bottleneck. It was just people falling on top of each other."   The aftermath was horrifying. As the dead were pulled from the pile in the stairwell, the bodies were carried to the town hall, which turned into a makeshift morgue. Some families lost more than one child. Other children were orphaned when their parents died.   One black and white photo in the Michigan Technological University Archives shows rows of what looks like sleeping children lying side-by-side. Their eyes are closed. Their faces were unmarred. The caption reads: "Christmas Eve in the Morgue."   After the dead were buried, some families moved away. Others stayed and kept supporting the strike, which ended the following spring.   Rumors emerged later that the Italian Hall's doors were designed to open inward, preventing the panicked crowd from pushing them outward to the street. Those were debunked, along with the suggestion in Woody Guthrie's "1913 Massacre" song that mining company thugs were holding the doors shut from the outside that night.   Damn… Mostly kids. On Christmas. That's a tough one.   Here's another touchy one. A race riot erupted in Mayfield, Kentucky, just before Christmas 1896. Although slavery in the U.S. ended after the Civil War, the Reconstruction period and beyond was a dangerous time to be black. Things were awful for non-whites in the former Confederacy, amongst which Kentucky was especially bad for racial violence. In December 1896, white vigilantes lynched two black men within 24 hours of each other between the 21st and 22nd, one for a minor disagreement with a white man and the other, Jim Stone, for alleged rape. A note attached to Stone's swinging corpse warned black residents to get out of town.   In response to this unambiguous threat, the local African-American population armed themselves. Rumors spread amongst the town's white people that 250 men were marching on the city, and a state of emergency was called. The whites mobilized, black stores were vandalized, and fighting broke out between the two sides on December 23. In the event, three people were killed, including Will Suet, a black teenager who had just got off the train to spend Christmas with his family. It was all over on Christmas Eve, and a few days later, an uneasy truce between the races was called.   Ugh! Y'all know what time it is? That's right, it's time for some quick hitters.   Many of us enjoy the Christmas period by going to the theatre or watching a movie. In December 1903, Chicago residents were eager to do just that at the brand-new Iroquois Theatre, which had been officially opened only in October that year. 1700 people in all crammed themselves in to see the zany, family-friendly musical comedy, Mr. Bluebeard. But just as the wait was over and the show started, a single spark from a stage light lit the surrounding drapery. The show's star, Eddie Foy, tried to keep things together as Iroquois employees struggled to put the curtains out in vain.   However, even the spectacle of a Windy City-native in drag couldn't stop the terrified crowd stampeding for the few exits. These, preposterously, were concealed by curtains and utterly inadequate in number. When the actors opened their own exit door to escape, a gust of wind sent a fireball through the crowded theatre, meaning that hundreds died before the fire service was even called. 585 people died, either suffocated, burned alive, or crushed. The scene was described in a 1904 account as "worse than that pictured in the mind of Dante in his vision of the inferno". Next up, the politics behind this ghastly event are pretty complicated – one Mexican lecturer described the massacre as "the most complicated case in Mexico" – but here's an inadequate summary. The small and impoverished village of Acteal, Mexico, was home to Las Abejas (the bees'), a religious collective that sympathized with a rebel group opposing the Mexican government. Thus, on December 22, 1997, members of the then-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party crept down the steep hill slopes above the village. They chose their moment to attack carefully as people gathered at a prayer meeting when they finally slunk into Acteal.   Over the next few hours, assassins armed with guns executed 45 innocent people in cold blood. Amongst the dead were 21 women, some of whom were pregnant, and 15 children. Worst of all, investigations into this cowardly act seem to implicate the government itself. Soldiers garrisoned nearby did not intervene, despite being within earshot of the gunfire and horrified screams. In addition, there was evidence of the crime scene being tampered with by local police and government officials. Though some people have been convicted, there are suspicions that they were framed and that the real culprits remain at large.   -Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring… except the Soviet Union. The Marxist-Leninist Khalq and Parcham parties had ousted the Afghan president in April 1978. Still, communism was so unpopular in Afghanistan that the mujahideen succeeded in toppling them just over a year later. So Khalq and Parcham turned to the Soviet Union for help, and on Christmas Eve that year, they obliged by sending 30,000 troops across the border into Afghanistan by the cover of darkness. Bloody fighting ensued, and soon the Soviet Union had control of the major cities.   The Soviets stayed for nine years, at which time the mujahideen, backed by foreign support and weapons, waged a brutal guerrilla campaign against the invaders. In turn, captured mujahideen were executed, and entire villages and agricultural areas were razed to the ground. When the Soviets finally withdrew in February 1989, over 1 million civilians and almost 125,000 soldiers from both sides were killed. From the turmoil after the Afghan-Soviet War emerged, the Taliban, installed by neighboring Pakistan, and with them Osama bin Laden. This indeed was a black Christmas for the world.   -How about another race riot… No? Well, here you go anyway. Although, this one may be more fucked up. The Agana Race Riot saw black and white US Marines fight it out from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, 1944. Guam was host to both black and white US Marines in 1944. But instead of fighting the enemy, the white troops elected to turn on the all-black Marine 25th Depot Company. First, the white Marines would stop their fellow soldiers from entering Agana, pelt them with rocks, and shout racist obscenities at them. Then, on Christmas Eve 1944, 9 members of the 25th on official leave were seen talking to local women, and white Marines opened fire on them. Then, on Christmas Day, 2 black soldiers were shot dead by drunken white Marines in separate incidents.   Guam's white Marines were decidedly short on festive cheer and goodwill to all men. Not content with these murders, a white mob attacked an African-American depot on Boxing Day, and a white soldier sustained an injury when the 25th returned fire. Sick of their treatment by their fellow soldiers, 40 black Marines gave chase to the retreating mob in a jeep, but further violence was prevented by a roadblock. Can you guess what happened next? Yep, the black soldiers were charged with unlawful assembly, rioting, and attempted murder, while the white soldiers were left to nurse their aching heads.   One more major one for you guys, and then we'll leave on a kind of happier note. This one's kind of rough. Be warned.    In late December 2008 and into January 2009, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) brutally killed more than 865 civilians and abducted at least 160 children in the northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). LRA combatants hacked their victims to death with machetes or axes or crushed their skulls with clubs and heavy sticks. In some of the places where they attacked, few were left alive.   The worst attacks happened 48 hours over Christmas in locations some 160 miles apart in the Daruma, Duru, and Faradje areas of the Haut-Uele district of northern Congo. The LRA waited until the time of Christmas festivities on December 24 and 25 to carry out their devastating attacks, apparently choosing a moment when they would find the maximum number of people altogether. The killings occurred in the Congo and parts of southern Sudan, where similar weapons and tactics were used.   The Christmas massacres in Congo are part of a longstanding practice of horrific atrocities and abuse by the LRA. Before shifting its operations to the Congo in 2006, the LRA was based in Uganda and southern Sudan, where LRA combatants also killed, raped, and abducted thousands of civilians. When the LRA moved to Congo, its combatants initially refrained from targeting Congolese people. Still, in September 2008, the LRA began its first wave of attacks, apparently to punish local communities who had helped LRA defectors to escape. The first wave of attacks in September, together with the Christmas massacres, has led to the deaths of over 1,033 civilians and the abduction of at least 476 children.   LRA killings have not stopped since the Christmas massacres. Human Rights Watch receives regular reports of murders and abductions by the LRA, keeping civilians living in terror. According to the United Nations, over 140,000 people have fled their homes since late December 2008 to seek safety elsewhere. New attacks and the flight of civilians are reported weekly. People are frightened to gather together in some areas, believing that the LRA may choose these moments to strike, as they did with such devastating efficiency over Christmas.   Even by LRA standards, the Christmas massacres in the Congo were ruthless. LRA combatants struck quickly and quietly, surrounding their victims as they ate their Christmas meal in Batande village or gathered for a Christmas day concert in Faradje. In Mabando village, the LRA sought to maximize the death toll by luring their victims to a central place, playing the radio, and forcing their victims to sing songs and call for others to come to join the party. In most attacks, they tied up their victims, stripped them of their clothes, raped the women and girls, and then killed their victims by crushing their skulls. In two cases, the attackers tried to kill three-year-old toddlers by twisting off their heads. The few villagers who survived often did so because their assailants thought they were dead.   Yeah...so there's that. We could go much deeper into this incident, but we think you get the point.    We'll leave you with a story that is pretty bizarre when you stop and think about it. But we'll leave you with this story of an unlikely Christmas get-together. This is the story of the Christmas truce.    British machine gunner Bruce Bairnsfather, later a prominent cartoonist, wrote about it in his memoirs. Like most of his fellow infantrymen of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, he was spending the holiday eve shivering in the muck, trying to keep warm. He had spent a good part of the past few months fighting the Germans. And now, in a part of Belgium called Bois de Ploegsteert, he was crouched in a trench that stretched just three feet deep by three feet wide, his days and nights marked by an endless cycle of sleeplessness and fear, stale biscuits and cigarettes too wet to light.   "Here I was, in this horrible clay cavity," Bairnsfather wrote, "…miles and miles from home. Cold, wet through and covered with mud." There didn't "seem the slightest chance of leaving—except in an ambulance."   At about 10 p.m., Bairnsfather noticed a noise. "I listened," he recalled. "Away across the field, among the dark shadows beyond, I could hear the murmur of voices." He turned to a fellow soldier in his trench and said, "Do you hear the Boches [Germans] kicking up that racket over there?"   Yes," came the reply. "They've been at it some time!"   The Germans were singing carols, as it was Christmas Eve. In the darkness, some of the British soldiers began to sing back. "Suddenly," Bairnsfather recalled, "we heard a confused shouting from the other side. We all stopped to listen. The shout came again." The voice was from an enemy soldier, speaking in English with a strong German accent. He was saying, "Come over here."   One of the British sergeants answered: "You come half-way. I come half-way."   In the years to come, what happened next would stun the world and make history. Enemy soldiers began to climb nervously out of their trenches and meet in the barbed-wire-filled "No Man's Land" that separated the armies. Typically, the British and Germans communicated across No Man's Land with streaking bullets, with only occasional gentlemanly allowances to collect the dead unmolested. But now, there were handshakes and words of kindness. The soldiers traded songs, tobacco, and wine, joining in a spontaneous holiday party in the cold night. Bairnsfather could not believe his eyes. "Here they were—the actual, practical soldiers of the German army. There was not an atom of hate on either side."   And it wasn't confined to that one battlefield. Starting on Christmas Eve, small pockets of French, German, Belgian, and British troops held impromptu cease-fires across the Western Front, with reports of some on the Eastern Front as well. Some accounts suggest a few of these unofficial truces remained in effect for days.   Descriptions of the Christmas Truce appear in numerous diaries and letters of the time. One British soldier, a rifleman, named J. Reading, wrote a letter home to his wife describing his holiday experience in 1914: "My company happened to be in the firing line on Christmas eve, and it was my turn…to go into a ruined house and remain there until 6:30 on Christmas morning. During the early part of the morning the Germans started singing and shouting, all in good English. They shouted out: 'Are you the Rifle Brigade; have you a spare bottle; if so we will come halfway and you come the other half.'"   "Later on in the day they came towards us," Reading described. "And our chaps went out to meet them…I shook hands with some of them, and they gave us cigarettes and cigars. We did not fire that day, and everything was so quiet it seemed like a dream."   Another British soldier, named John Ferguson, recalled it this way: "Here we were laughing and chatting to men whom only a few hours before we were trying to kill!"   Other diaries and letters describe German soldiers using candles to light Christmas trees around their trenches. One German infantryman described how a British soldier set up a makeshift barbershop, charging Germans a few cigarettes each for a haircut. Other accounts describe vivid scenes of men helping enemy soldiers collect their dead, of which there was plenty.   One British fighter named Ernie Williams later described in an interview his recollection of some makeshift soccer play on what turned out to be an icy pitch: "The ball appeared from somewhere, I don't know where... They made up some goals and one fellow went in goal and then it was just a general kick-about. I should think there were about a couple of hundred taking part."   German Lieutenant Kurt Zehmisch of the 134 Saxons Infantry, a schoolteacher who spoke both English and German, described a pick-up soccer game in his diary, which was discovered in an attic near Leipzig in 1999, written in an archaic German form of shorthand. "Eventually the English brought a soccer ball from their trenches, and pretty soon, a lively game ensued," he wrote. "How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time."   So much more can be said about this event, but that seems like an excellent place to leave off this Christmas episode! And yes, when you really do stop and think about it… That's a pretty crazy yet fantastic thing.   Greatest disaster movies of all time   https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-greatest-disaster-movies-of-all-time

Pastor Casey finishes up this seasonal series. Isaiah 61:1-3, 10

Pastor Casey continues this seasonal series. Isaiah 9:6

Pastor Casey starts this short seasonal series. Luke 1:68-78

Some info on why Narc Abusers are so vile at xmas. How they behave. And a thankyou and congrats to you for waking up and joining my tribe. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas! What It REALLY Means will return NEXT WEDNESDAY with an all new episode.

Today is our final day on this week’s theme of Immanuel—God with us in newness. As we close this week, we’re going to throw back to something old—“A Charlie Brown Christmas,” the animated classic that first aired in December of 1965. On the 50th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas, USA Today ran article on the history of the show. They printed the actual recalled conversation between Charles Schulz, the Peanuts creator, Lee Mendelson, the executive producer, and Bill Melendez, the animation director, from when they were planning the production. Schulz brought up the idea of Linus reciting the passage from Luke regarding Jesus’ birth, saying, “If we’re going to do a Christmas special, we’ve got to do it the right way and talk about what Christmas is all about.” Mendelson recalled, “Bill and I looked at each other, then I said, ‘There’s never been any animation that I know of from the Bible. It’s kind of risky.’” Schulz responded, “Well, if we don’t do it, who will?” The other risk they took in doing an animated Christmas special for primetime was deciding to use a jazz soundtrack, which is of course now a classic in its own right. They produced “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in just a few months, way back before computer animation. The concept of reciting an exact Scripture recitation on primetime would likely never be produced and released today. But yet, here it is, 50-plus years later, playing year after year as a classic that no one dares mess with. And the scene when the kids’ mocking laughter subsides and Linus strolls out to the middle of the stage and starts declaring God’s Word as the answer to what is Christmas all about has an odd, yet mystical anointing. It’s so misplaced, but so amazing all at the same time—and millions get to see and hear it every year. One of my favorite details is as Linus gets into his recitation, he drops his beloved blanket to lift his hands. Linus dropping his blanket rarely happened in any Charlie Brown special, so the metaphor was quite strong. I want to bring us back from reminiscing the old to our theme this week of the new … think about Charles Schulz’s response to his co-creators when they questioned presenting the Gospel of Christmas: “Well, if we don’t do it, who will?” The reality today is we’re all waiting for someone to do something about the mess we’re in. And we have far too high of expectations on everyone. So … what if we decide to put some Jesus right in the middle of our moments this Christmas the way Schulz did? After all, if you and I don’t do it, who will? Next week, we’ll be diving in to the Christmas passages in Luke to look at some unique perspectives on some of the characters in the Christmas story, but listen now as I close to the exact passage Linus read: (Luke 2:8-14 KJV) And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Let’s pray: “Father, this ancient story of Christ’s birth never gets old. Because new was born. We could use some good tidings of great joy and to be told to fear not. We could use some peace on earth and good will. Help me to be Your mouth, hands, and feet to bring those things of You into my world. Because if I don’t do it, who will? As above, so below.”

Put your pagan feet on the ole Yule log and let the Ringside Preachers tell you a better tale about how the world began and what heroes once did to save it. Topics: Christmas gift guide for guys, from the Preacher men The Tim Burton of Advent stories: theological differences between the 1-year and 3-year lectionaries If some sort of dystopian event happens, what's in your “bug out bag”? “He knew how to keep Christmas well,” from Charles Dickens. Do we have that knowledge?   Guest: Rev. James Hopkins First Lutheran Church of Boston   Thank you:  1517.org proud member of the 1517 Podcast Network and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis and thejaggedword.com    Music: Willing Virginia - Christmas Time Willing Virginia - Emmanuel on Spotify, iTunes, SoundCloud Dead Horse One - I love my man   Other stuff: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Put your pagan feet on the ole Yule log and let the Ringside Preachers tell you a better tale about how the world began, and what heroes once did to save it.
 Topics: - Christmas gift guide for guys, from the Preacher men - The Tim Burton of Advent stories: theological differences between the 1-year and 3-year lectionaries - If some sort of dystopian event happens, what’s in your “bug out bag”? -“He knew how to keep Christmas well,” from Charles Dickens. Do we have that knowledge? Guest: Rev. James Hopkins First Lutheran Church of Boston Thank you:  1517.org proud member of the 1517 Podcast Network and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
 and thejaggedword.com Music: Willing Virginia - Christmas Time Willing Virginia - Emmanuel Dead Horse One - I love my man Other stuff: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Think it's too early for Christmas? Well, you're dead wrong, because Queen Mimi has declared the holiday season OPEN! Let's face it, most of us can't wait to get this year out of the way and as we're going to be at home "quite a lot", there's no excuse to be a Scrooge in 2020.Joining Tolly and Gena this week is Rich Hawkins, who is in charge of every Youtube video Netflix UK make - what a dream job! Not only is he extremely adept at sucking you into a video rabbit hole full of Easter eggs and BTS action, he's also incredibly entertaining company - as the girls found out!Whetting your festive appetites are the following:The Queens GambitStepmomBarbariansGrand ArmyJingle JangleThe CrownEach week join hosts and IRL friends Tolani Shoneye (of The Receipts podcast fame) and Gena-mour Barrett (who works for Netflix) as they discuss what they're watching, and what they think * you * should be watching. Produced by Jamie East and Netflix UK

Being a motherless child and also a childless mother is difficult at Christmas sometimes it’s lonely. No family at Christmas? Well you are not alone here. I am with you, I feel your pain and am here for you.

Listen online to our powerful and inspiring messages. Cornerstone UMC, which is a United Methodist Church in NW Houston, TX desires to leave you inspired to go out and change the world. www.cornerstoneumc.org

Listen online to our powerful and inspiring messages. Cornerstone UMC, which is a United Methodist Church in NW Houston, TX desires to leave you inspired to go out and change the world. www.cornerstoneumc.org

Need a break from your family? Didn’t get what you want for Christmas? Well, you’re in luck! Here’s a new episode for ya.

What do you want for Christmas? Well, maybe you said a downtown park, maybe not. Wes Simpson is hoping for a park and Glaswegians seem to want it too. Simpson joins Brennan and Daniel this week ahead of a presentation to the Glasgow City Council. Simpson has garnered support from several citizens over the last several months and hopes to move downtown in the right direction with a downtown park equipped with an amphitheater, splash fountain and a pavilion for the regional farmer's market. All Wes Simpson wants for Christmas is a downtown park, and he just might get it. Don't forget to subscribe to Convergence on Apple Podcasts and Google Music today! Hear the latest on Convergence!

Children around the world grow more excited by the day in December as Christmas approaches. Are you looking forward to Christmas morning? How would you feel if it was always Christmas? Well, that’s just what one little girl wondered over 100 years ago in this special holiday tale, "Christmas Every Day."

Who doesn't love Christmas? Well, Trace doesn't. And maybe you if you're more of a Thanksgiving type. I mean, doesn't it feel like Christmas is kind of boxing out your favorite time of the year? On Arkana Cast's first ever Christmas special, two elves are tasked by the avatars of other holidays to destroy Christmas. When the time comes, what will they do? Grab yourself a mug of cocoa and a loaf of cat and enjoy our holiday gift to you. The Arkana Engine website: https://arkanaengine.com/ Music: Bouchedag by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com) & Silent Night by Hyson (www.facebook.com/iamhyson) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Stories in this episode: Tammy’s Rockefeller-worthy Christmas tree doesn’t bring the holiday spirit like she hopes but leads to a new take on Christmas with her blended family; A not-so-magical Christmas causes many of Paula's holiday plans to go awry but helps her reflect on the sacredness of Christ's birth; From gifts gone wrong to hospital holidays, four stories straight from our pitch line show how even the worst Christmas can be the best; Kevin reexamines his motivations to help reunite his family over the holidays after his pornography addiction leads his wife to ask for a divorce. This episode of "This Is the Gospel" is sponsored by Light the World. If you’re looking for a meaningful addition to your christ-centered Christmas traditions, the brand new short film "The Christ Child" at LighttheWorld.org is a beautiful way to go. In our little family, we have a special Christmas Eve dinner and I know that I will be showing this video as part of that celebration. Speaking of gathering with friends and family, Latter-day Saint wards and branches all over the world (that means your ward and my ward!) will be holding a special Christmas service this coming Sunday on December 22. Don’t you think it would really light the world if we could invite everyone—neighbors, friends, family—tocome celebrate the season with us and our temporarily beefed-up ward choirs??? I’m in and I hope you are too as we light the world together. SHOW NOTES To see pictures, and find links to things mentioned in this episode, go here. To find out more about the themes we're developing for upcoming episodes, follow us @thisisthegospel_podcast on Instagram and Facebook :) TRANSCRIPT KaRyn Lay  0:00   Merry Christmas friends! Before we hop into our episode, we wanted to let you know that this is "This Is the Gospel" is taking a few weeks off to enjoy the holidays with our people. But don't worry, we'll be back in the new year. So keep an eye on us on Instagram @thisisthegospel_podcast because the pitch line will still be open. And we've got some exciting upcoming themes including an episode dedicated entirely to the new youth theme. So as those stories start rolling at your family gatherings, do not forget to share the stories from your holiday with us.   Welcome to "This Is the Gospel," an LDS Living podcast where we feature real stories from real people who are practicing and living their faith every day. I'm your host, KaRyn Lay. We're deep in the throes of the Christmas spirit around here. And as we barrel our way towards Christmas Eve planning our word Christmas socials, thinking about our ministry assignments, and trying desperately to learn how to wrap round present, we wanted to take a minute to tell the stories of Christmases past.    You may think our theme this week is a little . . . well, grim for holiday celebration episode. In fact, if you've ever heard of the term "schadenfreude," which is a German word that loosely translates to taking pleasure at someone else's pain, you may worry that listening to other people's stories about their worst Christmas would be like indulging in this terrible practice. But I promise we're no schadenfreuders! Is that a word? Schadenfreude-ers? Schadenfreuders? Well, this is "The Best Worst Christmas" episode.    And now I can hear you asking, "But KaRyn, what does that even mean? How can the worst Christmas also be the best Christmas?" Well, don't worry. Our seven storytellers today are going to show us exactly how that's done. So buckle up for "The Best Worst Christmas."    Our first story comes from Tammy who wanted what we all want at the beginning of a new adventure: magical firsts. Here's Tammy.    Tammy  2:00   I waited 34 years, eight months, and 14 days to get married. . .  finally! I felt like I had totally been prepared to get married, but nothing prepared me for our very first Christmas together.    We had been married for five months when we celebrated the first Christmas, which was so exciting. I married a widower, and with that came two little darling girls so I became instant-mom overnight. So you can imagine my anticipation at celebrating Christmas as a family.    We went as a family and picked out the most beautiful Christmas tree and came home and decorated the house and then got out all the ornaments to decorate the tree. Now, I had had a few ornaments and a few things that I had collected over the years of being single but not really a lot so there wasn't much that I could contribute to the decorating festivities. So we used everything that the family had had before I joined them. And when we got everything out to decorate the tree, I had not anticipated the grief that I would experience.   Ornament after ornament, of course, I'm being a little dramatic. I would say a majority of the ornaments though, were decorated with my husband's name and his wife's name. And after 14 years of marriage, of course they would have ornaments together. And, of course, they would have collected ornaments, but I didn't even think that that would be a thing on Christmas morning. And so as we pulled each ornament out, and I sat on that couch, the girls would pull the ornaments out and go, "Oh look, Dad, remember when you and mom got this?" And I just sat there and it was every ornament they pulled out. My emotions just swelled and I got more and more emotional. And then I started crying on the couch. And I just was so sad and I didn't even think that I would be. And my husband looked at me and I tried to hold back the tears and I couldn't and we both recognized what a difficult Christmas this was going to be for both of us.    So I just did what any adult, responsible, mature woman would do and I had myself a full-blown adult tantrum. And the next day I went out and about my own tree and my own decorations. And I decorated that bad boy and made it the most beautiful thing that I'd ever seen. We put it in another room of the house. we affectionately refer to it now as the Rockefeller Center tree because it was a little bit audacious. It was gigantic, and the ornaments were big. And I did that thinking that that would make everything better. And it didn't because here's the reality and one thing I recognized is that we'd only been married five months, and their mom had only been gone for a year. And those years of firsts are rough. And it was a year first for all of us. Because I think what the Savior taught me in that moment was everybody was grieving. My girls and my husband were grieving the loss of a wife and a mom, and I was grieving the loss of the dream of being just someone's first choice, I guess, first wife. I would never get a year of firsts. I mean, I would have our first Christmas together, but it wouldn't be like a newlywed with no kids. It was just a different kind of first. And so I think I realized that we all were grieving, we all were sad.   We left the Christmas tree up as is and didn't change anything. And then when January came when we took the tree down, my sweet husband took all those ornaments and put them in a separate box. And we've just kept them and stowed them away until the girls grow up and then they can have those ornaments.    I just think it's so important for me to recognize that Christmas really is about Christ, and it certainly was that day. And throughout that holiday season, I feel like He kind of healed all of our hearts. Specifically mine, and I grew up and I recognize that while I didn't get what I hoped for, I definitely got what I wanted, which was a family and a husband who I adore. And I love being a wife and a mom, being a mom is harder than I thought it would be, but I do love it. And we've added two more little girls to the family and Christmas morning is glorious and the festivities are wonderful and we decorate and we have so much fun.    I loved the talk by Elder Wirthlin in October 2006, the year I got married, called "Sunday Will Come." And it just made me kind of think about how no matter how dark our Fridays are and how lost we feel, and that decorating day was a dark Friday for me, my Sunday did come and my heart healed. And everything turned out just wonderful.   KaRyn Lay  6:50   That was Tammy Uzelac Hall. And I'm excited to tell you that Tammy is the host of LDS Living's newest podcast the "Sunday on Monday" study group podcast. It's a "Come, Follow Me"-based scripture study, which is going to be available on Desert Bookshelf PLUS+ starting at the beginning of the new year. Tammy hosts a different group of women each week to talk about, expand on, and explore the gospel through the scriptures. And if you thought she was real here, you will not want to miss her take on the Book of Mormon.    You know, Tammy and I often chat about the highs and lows of step-parenting. And one thing I realized as we were listening to her story is that sometimes, the worst things become the best because of a little bit of empathy. When we open our hearts to even consider the perspective of those around us, like Tammy did with her stepchildren and even her new husband, well I think that opens the door for God to do His work in our hearts just like He did with her. It also doesn't hurt to have a healthy sense of humor about ourselves, which my friend Tammy has in spades.    Our next story comes from Paula, who found herself one Christmas unexpectedly removed from the holiday cheer that she so desperately wanted to be a part of. Here's Paula.   Paula  8:00   Growing up, Christmas was very magical for me. My grandparents would have a huge Christmas gathering for our family on Christmas Eve. When my husband went for the first time, he said it was really kind of like something off of a TV Christmas special. And that was probably my favorite part of Christmas.   When my kids came along, I wanted Christmas to feel as special and magical to them. We had six children, so it got kind of crazy at times. We just kind of would buckle up at the beginning of December and kind of just take it one thing at a time. There were dance recitals and music recitals and Christmas church socials. My husband always had a work Christmas party and both of our families live here in North Carolina so there were extended family gatherings on both sides. I always did kind of feel a little guilty as the Christmas time would come to a close and I would stop and think, "Oh, I've been so busy and haven't really stopped to take a few minutes to reflect like I wanted to." And it just seemed like it kind of came every year and you just kept going.   Christmas of 2002, we had our fifth child at that time, Benson. He was about 18 months old. He had kind of a rough year with some sicknesses. At the early part of December, he had bronchitis that kind of kept me out of the cold with him. We would stay home and there were several things that we missed right at the beginning of the month. You know it was disappointing, but we still had the rest of the month and I thought, "We'll just get him well and then everything will be fine."    But as time went on, it was one thing after another. There was an ice storm. Here in North Carolina when an ice storm hits, pretty much everything shuts down. Everyone goes to the grocery store and stocks up on bread, the bread gets gone really quick. So if you don't get there soon enough, you're out of luck. The bread's gone. And you kind of come home and then when the ice storm hits, you are pretty much house-bound.    I had planned a Young Women's Christmas party at our house that I was really excited about that year. And that just happened to fall during the ice storm so that was canceled. I was pretty disappointed about canceling that because I had put a lot of work into getting ready for it and was excited about having the girls over.    So after this ice storm, then Benson had a relapse from his bronchitis that kind of sent us back inside again. He was pretty sick. And then my husband usually has a work party that he and I would go to. The work party was something I looked forward to every year. It was a chance to get dressed up and have a date night in the middle of all the other stuff that was going on. But this year, I wasn't able to attend that either. There still were several things to look forward to in the rest of the month. But just before all those things happened, we all came down with a stomach bug. It started with one person and it was one of those things that would take a day or two before it hit the next person. And it just slowly went through our whole house. Our Christmas was not turning out very magical at all.    A large part of the month I felt like I spent at home alone with Benson, my youngest. We would sit there and rock with the lights turned down. We'd usually sing him Primary songs if I was getting him to sleep. But because it was Christmas time, I substituted those songs for Christmas carols. As I was alone and had that time to reflect and think about the things that really happened during the first Christmas, I realized that those Christmas carols made those events that happened over 2000 years ago come alive for me. I felt what a silent night it was in Bethlehem. I could almost see the bright stars in the sky and picture the beautiful virgin mother with her little baby and how precious and tender and mild he was. I felt a little bit of the wonder that the shepherds experienced they were visited by the heavenly messengers. And I could hear the songs and the sounds of the angels singing. It was during those times with my little baby boy that the birth of our Savior became so real to me. I felt like I was given a gift and a chance to go back to those many years ago and experience a little piece of it myself.   I think it's interesting that going back to when I was a little girl and the thing that made Christmas so magical to me was the music that I heard at my grandparents' house on Christmas Eve. And then this Christmas in 2002 I had such a special experience with Christmas for myself was also because of the music, that I realized that probably the thing that kept me home and caused me to miss a lot of Christmas that year was because my little boy was sick. But it was that same reason that calls me to have this special experience with the birth of our Savior.   KaRyn Lay  14:46   That was Paula.   I think we can all relate to those seasons in our lives, like Paula had, where God invites us to slow down and just be with Him. It might be hard initially to be very appreciative of that gift because it's easy to feel the deep disappointment of all that we've missed or the fear of disappointing those we love. But what I'm reminded of from Paula's story is that we can find the gift if we're willing to let go of the pressure of our own expectations and open our eyes to the offerings around us. And though I don't have a baby to rock to sleep on the dark nights before Christmas, I'm going to try harder to carve out some quiet time to just sit and dream and think about the things that matter most during this Christmas season.    Our next few stories came to us directly from our pitch line. We asked you to call in with your best worst Christmas stories, and you did. We got so many fun and touching submissions from gifts gone wrong to tragic decorations to difficult moments in your lives that somehow showed forth the power and goodness of God. Well, we got them all and here are a few of our favorites.   Patricia  15:53   Hi, my name is Patricia Henderson. My story begins when I was about 13 years old. I grew up in Northern California and I had, it was Christmas. And I had just received the greatest gift in my little brain and that was a Swatch watch. It was awesome. It was see-through and the band was colorful. It was awesome.    So, the day after Christmas, our family took a trip to Disneyland. And we had stayed at a hotel and I was very careful when I put my watch by my towel at the pool when we were swimming and I forgot my Swatch watch down by the pool at the hotel by Disneyland. So I rushed back down when I realized and, of course, it was gone. I was devastated. I went back to my room and just cried and cried and cried. And I've pleaded with the Lord, "Please Heavenly Father, please help me find my watch."   So the next day was the day we were to go to Disneyland. Disneyland that day was at full capacity. It was so busy, people everywhere. And my heart was heavy because I had lost my watch. And I was so devastated about it. So I went throughout the day kind of standing in line at a ride. And you know how the lines are, they go back and forth and back and forth with people and you just stand there. And you move a little ahead and then you stand there. And I look over on a boy's arm and I see a watch that looked just like mine. And I feel like the Spirit told me, "That's your watch, ask for it." And so I did. I got the courage. I wasn't that kind of teenager. I was very cool, I thought, and I didn't do things like that. But I did. I asked him I said, "Hey, where did you get that watch?" And he said, "Funny story, we staying in a hotel and it was down by the pool at the side of the pool and so I put it on." I said, "What hotel are you staying at?" And it was the same hotel. And I said to him, "I lost my watch down by the pool and that's my watch. I just got it for Christmas." And guess what? He gave it back to me. And I got my watch back on the busiest day of probably the whole year at Disneyland.    To me, that has been a miracle in my life. I was young, I was impressionable, and this was very important to me at that time and my prayer had been answered. I've often gone back to that story throughout my life and remember the undeniable power of prayer. Of the thousands of people at Disneyland that day, Heavenly Father led me to my watch. I've always felt like it was my special connection to heaven. Where this could have been the worst Christmas ever, it showed me the powerful lesson of how aware my Heavenly Father is of me. Thank you.   Suzi  19:07   Hi, my name is Suzi Hjorth. I grew up in Southern California and my grandparents had a Christmas tree farm in Vista. And every year, our family of nine would pile in the Suburban and go to grandma and grandpa's house and we could pick any tree we wanted on the lot. And it was a pretty magical time.    When I was about 12 or 13, my grandparents sold the farm. And for the first time, we had to go buy a tree at the store like normal people. And we all piled in the Suburban and went to the store and were quickly dismayed at the cost of Christmas trees. And we were on a fixed income and my mom finally looked at us and said, "Guys, you want more presence or a tree?" And we left the store without a tree.    But my mom isn't one to be messed with, and so she went out into the backyard and cut a branch off of our pine tree. And then she got a drill and she drilled holes anywhere that there wasn't something green coming out of it. And then she went and cut more branches and she stuck them in the holes and made her own Christmas tree for our family and we put it in the regular spot. But being 12 or 13 years old, I was mortified by this Christmas tree. It wasn't triangle-shaped. It wasn't neat and tidy. It didn't look like anyone else's Christmas tree. It was wild and unkempt. And I could have just died from the shame of that Christmas tree.   People would come to our house and say it was amazing and I would roll my eyes thinking they're just trying to make us feel better about ourselves but we are so lame. Years later, I look back and I realize that was the most beautiful Christmas tree ever. And every year now I make a wreath out of the pine branches that I go and cut off of the tree in the backyard. And every year my kids complain that it's a little too sloppy and it's not round and neat like all of the other people's Christmas wreaths. And it makes me happy and joyful that I've turned out a little something like my amazing mom. Thanks, bye.   Greg  21:15   Hi, my name is Greg Davis. One of my most painful Christmas memories, which is that when I was about 8 years old, all I really wanted was a football for Christmas. I was so excited to get it. And I saw that odd shape under the Christmas tree and thought for sure I knew what it was. And sure enough, I opened it up and it was a brand-new football. So what else do you do on Christmas Day when you get a football besides throw it across the room with your brothers? So I took this brand-new football, threw it across the room to my brother, and he threw it back to me. Only, I didn't catch it but it went off my fingertips and into the fireplace. And inside the fireplace, there was a hot nail sticking out of a board, and it punctured right down the heart of that ball within 30 seconds of getting my brand-new Christmas gift. I watched to sizzling there in the fireplace. Even when we pulled it out, it was not salvageable.    So was I upset? Yes. Did I cry? Probably. But what's amazing about that is even though it was so frustrating at the time, it's now one of my favorite Christmas stories. So crisis plus time equals laughter. We laugh about it now. And things that seem big in the moment aren't always as big as we make them out to be. That's my Christmas story.   Carissa  22:36   Hi, my name is Carissa Abrams. Christmas 2016 was a really hard time for our family. We had recently moved from St. Louis, Missouri, to Richmond, Virginia, for my husband's military training. And shortly after we arrived in Virginia, our baby boy was born 13 weeks early. To give you an idea of how early and how sick he was, he weighed two pounds exactly and just really, really sick. And it was hard because all of our friends were across the country in St. Louis and our closest family members lived in Idaho. It was just really isolating. One of the hardest things was that our daughters, who were six and seven at the time, couldn't hold him. He was too little and too small.    Fast forward to the Sunday before Christmas, I was talking to the missionaries in our ward. We had two sets of elders at the time. They could only talk to their parents twice a year on Mother's Day and on Christmas and I asked them if they were excited for Christmas and excited to talk to their families. The two elders I was talking to looked at each other and they looked a little sheepish. And they said, "Yes, we're really excited to talk to our families, but we're not sure how and when we're going to do that." And I realized that they didn't have any plans for Christmas. No one had invited them over. Immediately, I felt the Spirit whisper to me, "Carissa, you need to have them over to your house." I said, "No, I can't. I have, my son's in the hospital and my family's really struggling. It's a hard year, I just can't." And I felt the impression again so I invited them over.    And it was such a wonderful experience to have them. I actually called all four of their moms to set up the time for them to call. And one of the elder's mom said something that really touched my heart. She said, "I've been praying that someone would be taking care of my son on this mission because every time I get the opportunity, I take care of the missionaries and I see them at my house. So I knew that if I took care of these elders, that someone would take care of my son." And I realized that was just like my family situation. I couldn't take care of my son that year for Christmas. I couldn't see him or really do much for him. There were other women taking care of my son, but I could take care of other women's sons at Christmas.    And we had a great day and it was so healing for me to be able to care for those boys when their moms couldn't. And the real miracle came that night when we went to the hospital and my daughters were able to hold their little brother for the first time. So what should have been our hardest Christmas was our best.   KaRyn Lay  25:22   That was Patricia, Susie, Greg, and Carissa.    Thanks to everyone who submitted their best worst stories on our pitch line. We absolutely loved seeing how many of our friends are able to find the good stuff in the midst of the hard stuff so thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And just to be clear, Patricia, I feel you. All I ever wanted was a Swatch watch, and I never got one so I feel a little bit jealous of you right now.    Our final story today of "The Best Worst Christmas" comes from Kevin, who after 15 years of marriage found himself and his family in very different places during the holiday. A quick note for those of you who might be listening with small children, this story openly discusses addiction. And while there's nothing to really worry about, you may want to preview it yourself before sharing. Here's Kevin.   Kevin  26:09   My worst Christmas actually started in August. It was an August that after many years of having to deal with me and honestly my pornography addiction, that my wife finally decided to take my three children and leave.    She told me that she was going to leave, and I totally understood. She had taken the time through much prayer, and I believe she even went to the temple and considered it. I knew that she needed to do this if that's what she felt, and I didn't blame her. I totally put all the blame upon myself.    She went out to her parents with my three children and it was extremely hard for me. I was absolutely devastated. Let's be honest, I was bawling my head off. It was terrible. I knew at that very moment that this was "do or die" for me. That I had a very, very serious decision to make in my life at this point. Either I make changes or I go into a very, very scary route, one that I did not want to go into.   So I decided at that point that, you know, if she's not there, who's pushing me to do things? Who's pushing me to make these changes? Well, it had to be me, and I knew it had to be me. And I was already starting the repentance process. I was meeting with my bishop regularly, I was going to addiction recovery meetings, and I started to see a therapist. And you know, I was doing these things to help me heal and a lot to try to get my family back. I really wanted my family back. That was, you know, a lot of my motivation at the time. It was if I, if I made these changes, my family will be okay. We're going to be back together. That was my motivation. It was good motivation, but it wasn't quite the right motivation.    It was looking like we were going to be just divorced. And when I talked to her, she'd be like, "Yeah, we're, I don't think this is going to work out." It was Thanksgiving of that year and I was preparing for them to come visit. And I was having a really hard time. I was, I was in a moment of deep depression, deep anxiety, deep, deep fears. They were going to be here for Thanksgiving for about a week, and I wanted the house to be perfect. I wanted there to be no reason for her to come and be like, "Oh, he's not changing." So I was doing things. I just, I got to a point where I couldn't do it. I was, I was cleaning and I couldn't do it. And I, the anxiety totally took over. I was sitting on my bed telling myself, "Kevin, you gotta get up, and you've got to clean more." And not being able to move. I picked up my phone and I called my best friend and then another good friend, to come give me a blessing. I was bawling my eyes out. Not understanding why, why I could not move. Why I could not do this simple task for my family. I went downstairs in preparation to get my blessing and I still could not stop bawling.    I got a phone call from my son Keagan. And he said, "Dad, I just wanted to talk to you. I needed to talk to you." Heavenly Father heard my prayers, and through Keagan, He answered them. Afterward, my wife told me that my son said he wanted to call me and she said, "No, he, you got to go clean your room first." And so he went in to clean this room and he came out and said, "No, Mom, I gotta call Dad." There's no doubt in my mind that, that was the Spirit telling him to call me.   It was most definitely a panic attack that I was experiencing. The brethren came and they gave me a blessing. And at that point, you know, I knew I just couldn't worry about how the house looked. I just had to worry about taking care of them when they're here. So they came and things went well. Things went very well. I was feeling really good thinking, you know, "Oh yeah, things are great. I'm gonna, we're gonna get back together, yeah, yeah." So afterward, I talked to my wife again and she's like, "No, no, we're still on the road to divorce here, Kevin." That hurt, you know, that was really hard for me to hear.   I had made some arrangements for me to be able to go out to my in-laws' where my wife and children were staying for Christmas. Before I'd go to my in-laws, I was going to visit my brother and sister in Utah. When that time came, I flew out with some really difficult flights. But you know, more than happy to do it just to see my family. Had like a Christmas dinner with my sister and her family. It was, it was a hard time. I was emotional because it was family, right? It was a family thing, but it wasn't because my family wasn't there. And so it was extremely difficult for me. And unfortunately, my sister had to feel that from me.    So my wife meets up with me and I transfer my belongings over to the van and we drive up to her parents. The kids are in the car and we're all just, you know, we're having a good time driving up. We get to my in-laws and, you know, I know that my in-laws love me. They're really amazing people. My mother-in-law, so very supporting, and as is my father-in-law. However, I do have to say I was really uneasy when I first got there. I was not sure how my father-in-law was feeling about me. And the reason I was uncomfortable was because I had actually told them why we were separated and called them before she came out there and had apologized to them. It's not an easy thing to talk about. There was a lot of shame involved, a lot of—I had hurt his little girl. Not physically, but emotionally, and it was painful. I'm sure it was painful for both of us. I know it was painful for my wife. So here I am in their home, feeling awkward with my family. But again, not truly with my family. So I'm here at Christmas with the hope of being able to fix things. So I'm, you know, serving I'm helping I'm doing all kinds of stuff. And I'm doing it because I love them but in all honesty, I also was doing it because I wanted them back.   Christmas Day came I, I honestly do not remember a whole lot about the day. My children made these wonderful gifts for me. They got me a drawing tablet because I like to draw. And inside, they wrote me a little note, you know, telling me that they love me and everything and it was wonderful. I mean, the morning felt nice. It did. I mean, it felt nice, but it's still hard because I knew that I was going to be leaving soon.    My wife and I, we had many conversations. I shared things about me, about my life, about my life experiences, and I'm not very good at sharing my life experiences. I'm very guarded about those things. I knew though that if I did not start opening up, that I would definitely lose her. She was still talking about divorce. And so, you know, I had to, I had to open up. I'm always willing to like to listen and I'll talk about things but I don't share. But I know that in a relationship, it's not just about talking but it's about sharing.   So we finished up Christmas and it was again time for me to leave. Things seemed like they were going well, but I felt like things weren't going to be still how I was hoping where we are gonna just reconnect. Everybody's gonna get back together. We were going to be a happy family. I did not feel that. So then as my brother picked me up to take me back to the airport, I was sitting reflecting. I was actually, a lot of, we talked about a lot of things. Um, I don't know if I talked to him about this or if this was just in my mind as he was talking, but it came to me that I was serving, I was trying to serve my wife with the expectation of her coming back to me. With the expectation that if I did all of these things, then she would come back to me. And I realized that no, that's not why I need to be doing this. But I need to be doing it just because I love her with no expectation of anything other than showing my love for her. It was very significant for me to realize this, to realize that, that I needed to do these things for love. And as I realized that, I also realized that my heart was changing.   Before this, I did not feel like I was worthy for Heavenly Father's love. I did not feel like I deserved His love. I know that Heavenly Father was there. I just didn't feel like I was important. I think at this point, I started to begin to love myself. I began, not, you know, not to this degree of, "Oh, yeah, I'm great." No, but I started to understand how Heavenly Father sees me. I still don't fully see how Heavenly Father sees me. But, you know, it was nice to be able to feel a glimpse and to see a glimpse of that. I think the really cool thing about this is I'm pretty sure that Heavenly Father has been trying to tell me that for years. I think that it's through the repentance process that I came to this understanding. And it wasn't necessarily that He told me this because I repented. It's that because I repented, I was now open for this. I was now ready to receive this information, this, this knowledge.   I came back home and it was confirmed she was still talking about divorce. But after the revelation, I believe I was more vested in my personal, mental, and spiritual and physical health. I really wanted to just be a better me. I started to do things that I had never done. I went and saw a doctor. I was starting to recognize the depression that I had and so I went and saw a doctor to get help with that and I continue to see a therapist. And I started to randomly send flowers to her, randomly sent her treats, I randomly just did things. I am, I would get flowers for her home, but there was something else to it.   So as I was starting to send these things, these random things, my wife calls me and thanks me for one of them. And she says to me, "Kevin, why did it take you this long to do this? Why didn't you do this while we were together?" And honestly, in my mind, I thought, "Well, I thought I had done some of this." I think that Heavenly Father was just opening up some more things, again, to be seen differently. But even that at that point, she still was like, "You know, but we're still on this road for divorce." And honestly, at that point, as much as I loved my family, I was okay. I was okay because I knew that I was going to be okay through the Savior. As long as I do what I need to do, as long as I keep Him in my life, as long as I let the Atonement work in my life, I would be okay. That doesn't mean that I still didn't have my struggles with depression and whatnot, but at least I knew that I will be okay.    I am happy to share that that spring, spring break, my family came home to visit. Near the end of that visit, my wife pulled me aside and she started listing off the pros and cons of being with me. That as she did this, I'm like, "Oh crap, this does not sound good for me." But apparently, the things that were pros to her were much more important than those cons because she told me at that point that she was, she was ready to try to make it work too again. That she was willing to give me another try. I know that that was not my, I did not change my wife, but that it was the Savior. It was the Spirit. There is no way that I caused that change. But I do know that the things that I would, was doing, helped, helped get us there.    We're together as of August. They came back and we've been together and we've been working through things. I do know that there's still work to be done as a family, for healing and for, for everything, but with the Lord's help and as long as we're open and willing to share and willing to do the things that we need to, our story will continue. It'll be rocky, but it will continue. I'm so very grateful that my wife had the courage to leave me. And that my Savior, while I felt so alone, made sure that I knew that I was not alone.   KaRyn Lay  42:38   That was Kevin. I am proud to say that Kevin is my brother. And I'm the sister he worried about at that Christmas dinner. But I want to say for the record, that we were just happy to be with him and high emotions are no big deal for the Lay family. So whenever any of you are ready for your breakdown, just come to our house. There's a place at the table. We're ready.    You know, it's hard for me to imagine that a Christmas separated from your partner and your children, a Christmas spent wondering if you'll ever find healing for something that seems like it's held you hostage for a really long time, could possibly become the best Christmas in your memory. But that's the thing about difficult experiences and memory. I heard recently on this other podcast that I love that we are scientifically wired to forget the feeling of the high emotions and pain that we experienced during stressful times in our lives. Otherwise, honestly, no one would ever have more than one baby or more than one family Christmas party. And while that science is helpful and explaining how our minds work, to give us courage to get back in the ring and keep fighting, I think the scriptures teach us how heaven helps our hearts to have that same courage.   One of my favorite scripture passages of all time is in the New Testament when Paul is writing to the Romans. In chapter eight, he's reassuring the disciples in Rome of the nature of Christ and the power of living His law. And he's teaching them how to become conquerors in the cause of Christianity, despite their setbacks and trials. And in verse 28, he says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."    I think I love that verse because it explains how something that is the worst can possibly become the best in our hearts. I think it's really all about perspective. I think that's what Paul was trying to teach us. According to Paul, loving God and seeing ourselves in service to His purpose instead of whatever purpose we've dreamed up for ourselves, those are the only two requirements for all things to work together for our good. And things working together for good doesn't actually mean that the minute we choose faith and belief that our football will be resurrected from the fiery furnace, or our baby will miraculously be healed and home from the NICU in time for Christmas, or our fractured family will need less time to make their way back together. But what it does mean is that through our love and our commitment to His plan, we can see the light in the darkness. Our eyes will be opened, we'll be able to see our baby in the eyes of the homesick missionaries that we comfort and place of their own mothers. We'll recognize the gift of dark nights in a rocking chair while we miss the glitz of the holiday party. And we can feel the hope of our own connection to the Babe of Bethlehem at the exact same time that we feel disconnected from the people we love most. Our hearts are turned and turned again so that we can actually see and believe when Paul says in Romans chapter 8:31, "What shall we then say to these things? If God before us, who can be against us?"   Biology may sometimes lighten the mental load of past pain, but it is our Heavenly Father who lightens the spiritual load. And suddenly, what was worst is now and forever best. We say to these things, "God is with us. We are His. And because of Him, we are made new and whole."    That's it for this episode of "This Is the gospel." Thank you so much for joining us as we celebrate the beauty of Christmas together through stories. And thank you to Tammy and Paula and Suzi and Patricia and Greg and Carissa for sharing their stories. And a special thanks to my brother Kevin and his family for being unashamed of the brave path they have taken to healing.    It's probably not easy to have me and your family or your ward asking you to tell the stories for the greater good. So I'm truly grateful to everyone that I've hit up for stories.    And if you're as excited as we are for the "Sunday on Monday" study group podcast, it launches December 30th on Desert Bookshelf PLUS+, and we cannot wait for you to discover it. You can get a free trial of Desert Bookshelf PLUS+ for 30 days by going to deseretbook.com/thisisthegospel to check that podcast out and to see what we're all talking about. You're going to love it.    As we head into the short break for the Christmas season, just a reminder that we're still gathering your stories on upcoming themes. So follow us on Instagram and Facebook @thisisthegospel_podcast to find out what's coming up and to keep connected with us during the break. If you have a great story about your experience living the gospel of Jesus Christ, well we want to hear from you on our pitch line. So leave us a three-minute story pitch at 515-519-6179.    All of our stories on this podcast are true and accurate as affirmed by our storytellers. And this episode was produced by me, KaRyn Lay, and Sarah Blake with additional story producing and editing by Katie Lambert. It was scored, mixed, and mastered by Mix At 6 Studios and our executive producer is Erin Hallstrom. You can find past episodes of this podcast and other LDS Living podcasts at ldsliving.com/podcasts. Have a beautiful, merry, wonderful best Christmas. See you in the new year.

Christmas. It's the most wonderful time of the year! It's also a time of crowded calendars, hurry and stress. How can this season somehow inspire the best in us, while simultaneously unleashing the worst in us? Let's discuss how we can "Christmas Well" so that the Christmas season is one genuinely marked by "good news great joy".

Christmas. It's the most wonderful time of the year! It's also a time of crowded calendars, hurry and stress. How can this season somehow inspire the best in us, while simultaneously unleashing the worst in us? Let's discuss how we can "Christmas Well" so that the Christmas season is one genuinely marked by "good news great joy".

Personally, I make it a rule to cry on every day EXCEPT Christmas. Did you ever watch that Disney movie? Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas? Well fun fact they actually made a sequel, called Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas. And every time I watch this episode I think of that movie because the names areContinue reading →

This morning Pastor Brad continues his Brain Games series by teaching us about Kissing Worry Goodbye. Pastor's Notes: TEXT Matthew 6:25-34 NKJV 25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one [a]cubit to his [b]stature? 28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not [c]arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. INTRODUCTION Good morning, everybody! I’m so excited to be here, but I’m also excited about the season we are in. Who else is ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas? Well, if you aren’t, you better get ready because it’s upon us! This month, we’ve been talking about Brain Games, and winning the battle that rages on the inside. We’ve looked at strongholds and how to tear them down, and also our thought life and outlook on the world. This morning, as we get ready to look at one of the most stressful seasons of the year, I want to talk to you about maintaining your peace and “Kissing Worry Goodbye”. ILLUSTRATION In just a few short days, Americans will celebrate the holiday called “Thanksgiving”, where we will count the many blessings of our nation and the freedoms we have. Then, in less than 24 hours, our news feeds will be filled with police reports of Black Friday crime as people fight, fuss, and vandalize all to get their deals for Christmas. In the rush to check everything off their Christmas lists, they most likely will end up giving themselves their own gift: High interest credit card debt, missed mortgage payments that now have to be caught up on, and skipped utility bills. Like the house that catches on fire from it’s Christmas lights, the strain of finances has a way of ruining the holidays. Besides that, take the weight gain and add the family stress, and you have a recipe for unhappiness. TRANSITION What if I were to tell you it didn’t have to be like this? Well, it doesn’t. And while I can’t fix your overeating, overspending, or your family difficulties, I can share with you some principles from the Word of God that I believe will be helpful. BACKGROUND In our passage, Jesus is dealing very directly with the subject or worry, anxiety, and trusting God. In all reality, the context of this verse is tied to verse 24, where Jesus talks about trusting money. However, this type of anxiety and stress that apply to all areas of life. What happens when we worry? APPLICATION 1. We lose perspective of our value (vs. 25-30) - The birds and the flowers do not fret and worry. They trust. - We are way more valuable to God than they are. We are His people, created in His image. - Bottom line? Jesus said worry is sinful. In fact, what it’s saying is that we don’t trust God. 2. We lose our testimony (vs. 31-33) - Worrying about material things is what the Gentiles (at that time, unbelievers) do. - When we starting worrying and fretting over the temporal, we start acting like those who don’t know our God. - What better opportunity we have to share our light with the world than to hold fast in the middle of the storm. 3. We forfeit our joy (vs. 34) - It’s been said that worry keeps you up at night and down in the day. - It robs you of your health, peace, and productivity. - Planning is different than worrying. One is positive, and one is negative. - When we worry, we are exercising negative faith for something that may never happen. CONCLUSION What do we do then to stay positive in a stressful season? - Know He loves you- Give it to Him in prayer- Handle what’s in front of you one day at a time.

Celebrating Christmas Well - Tim Radcliffe - 23rd Dec by St Saviour's, Guildford

What were we up to on Christmas? Well just listen and find out. Dan installed some shelves in the game closet.

Happy New Year from Set Piece Menu - the podcast where four friends talk football over food. The football: The Atteveld Derby. To continue our festive theme of select XIs, we deliver not one, but two, relating to previous pods about the game's great s***houses. Which players are in the House XI, which in the Bag XI, and which would win in a likely bad-tempered match of s***housery. All the above is delivered with a parlour game-style silliness which will accompany your New Year's Celebrations perfectly. The food: Remember we mentioned a banoffee pie before Christmas? Well here it is, preserved and ready to go at the beginning of January. The magic and mystery of broadcasting... Get in touch with us via twitter @setpiecemenu Email: setpiecemenu@gmail.com www.facebook.com/setpiecemenu

“The Redemption of Scrooge: Keeping Christmas Well” Luke 2:41-52 Rev. Jeff Lust encourages us to keep Christmas well by sharing God’s love throughout the year. (Note that a movie clip has been removed for copyright reasons.) Recorded live at Stonebridge United Methodist Church in McKinney, Texas. For more information, including service times, please visit www.mysumc.org.

This is episode 17 of the MTG-Profits podcast. What do we want for Christmas? Well, I have a few ideas, plus the rest of Ravnica Allegiance mechanics revealed!

Pastor Katie's Christmas Eve message talks about "Keeping Christmas Well".

How's the water? Sometimes they are calm and sometimes they are troubled, and there isn't much you can do about that. What we can do is make sure the Master of the sea is onboard with us. This Sunday I will continue the "Gift of Rest" series by looking at the story of Jesus calming the storm. What does this have to do with Christmas? Well, Jesus came to earth to sure He could always be onboard when our storms churn the water around us.

Merry Minisode Christmas! It’s time to harvest magic mistletoe, punch your blindfolded friends, burn a chunk of wood from the yard so your family doesn’t die, and eat flaming raisins. All in a 12-hour day’s long work. Oh, that’s not what you do on Christmas? Well thank your lucky ass you weren’t born in the Victorian era. Join Mike to learn about… basically all the things I just listed. Sources: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/dark-side-christmas-saturnalia-christmas-carol-dickens-norse-mythology-festive-traditions-a8112341.html https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/yule-log/ https://qz.com/quartzy/1165055/the-yule-log-a-pagan-ritual-turned-youtube-phenomenon/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snap-dragon_(game) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbxNuBWAZcA

Hello, Hello! I’m back with a brand new episode and a fresh conversation with my good friend (and neighbor) Sam May! Sam digs up stories about experimenting with drugs for the first time in High School and how his mom ended up finding out about it from his friends no good ratting out mother, Pam (thanks a lot Pam!) He shares the story of Claws, his childhood pet turtle that run away to his negligent neighbors house. We discuss the perks of working in production sound for film and television, and I find out why Snyder Texas was ranked USA Today’s top 50 places to live. (spoiler alert: it’s a super small town and everything is very cheap) Then we talk horror films. (What? A week before Christmas?) Well that’s because this episode was actually recorded back in October. Sorry Santa! But sit back, listen, and enjoy. Love, Kris Instagram: @sammaysound @kristianlugo

Happy Holidays everybody! Since today is the start Yuletide and we're less than a week out from Christmas, we're interrupting our usually scheduled program to WRECK the Polar Express, and maybe discover the true meaning of Christmas? We'll be covering the book and the movie, and we'll pick back up with Prisoner of Azkaban Part 2 next Friday!

Pastor Thomas Brashears -- What is the meaning of Christmas? Well, you won’t find it in the Christmas cards you’re getting! The true meaning of Christmas is all about the forgiveness of our sin, yet it can be a battle to be freed from the burden of past sins, or sins we find ourselves repeating. This Christmas give some consideration about why you’re celebrating this year and what it really means.

Stressed about finding a holiday outfit for Christmas? Well join the Menlo Club! One of the best clothing Subscription boxes you can get this holiday season! Subscribe: https://www.themenlohouse.com - Subscribe to the 25 Day’s Podcast on Apple Podcast! http://watch.kadsreview.com/25days-apl Instagram: https://instagram.com/kadsreview *This is not sponsored, this was sent out to us free for review purposes.*

Christmas 2017 - Bill and Jen talk crap about Christmas - Well, kind of... In the end, Christmas is just another day, another number in the calendar, and an opportunity to behead turkeys and turn off the radio. Jen and Bill have likes and dislikes and can't resist letting you know what they think about overspending, Christmas obsession in general, a bit about great gifts for the visually impaired, and cardboard boxes. Featuring Hotsauce in my Eggnog Arranged and produced by Bill Babcock with help from Andrea on drums and Anton adding the bass. It's been an interesting year and we're looking forward to an awesome 2018 with more disorganized podcasting, more Imp, more music, and even more conversations about things that may or may not matter. Merry Christmas everyone, be it in joy or misery, it's all good. Until next year. House of Imp - Out. JennyK, Bill, and Imp - Staying away from live turkeys since Christmas.

What in the world could movies have to teach us about Christmas? Well, this Christmas Eve, we continue in our Christmas at the Movies series with a look at The Polar Express. The Polar Express, a film about a magical train that goes to the North Pole, asks the perfect question for Christmas Eve.... "Do I Believe?"

What in the world could movies have to teach us about Christmas? Well, this Christmas Eve, we continue in our Christmas at the Movies series with a look at The Polar Express. The Polar Express, a film about a magical train that goes to the North Pole, asks the perfect question for Christmas Eve.... "Do I Believe?"

Hungover from Christmas? Well we have two movies that feel like a hangover (and not THE HANGOVER which one of these films hoped for) in our latest offering during the holiday season. On December 9, 2016 two films focusing on the combustible combination of comedy and careers arrived like a lump of coal: OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY got a wide release and achieved modest box office success, while THE COMEDIAN starring Robert De Niro premiered in limited release in pursuit of Oscar glory. It is not a spoiler to say that neither film presented on this podcast won any Academy Awards. Which puts these films in the appropriate company of your hosts of SOBER CINEMA! Enjoy(ish). Facebook/Instagram/Twitter: @sobercinema

So... how was Christmas? We'll check in with celebrity tweets to see what they did. We all flood the stores today to take back a bunch of stuff you didn't like. That leads us to... re-gifting. Everyone's still handing out gifties for the holidays, are you "re-purposing" something? We'll tell you the etiquette on how to do it gracefully. There's the story of the nice elderly couple who gave everyone marijuana for Christmas...the Walmart heroine...People Who Are Going To Hell... and since the kids are home, a whole bunch of fun stuff to do with them along the Wasatch Front. And! You! Christopher's Prime Steakhouse! Drop a comment on the show to enter to win dinner for 4, won't you?

Who needs Christmas? Well, as it turns out, we all do. But it might not be for the reasons you think.

What in the world could movies have to teach us about Christmas? Well, this Christmas Eve, we continue in our Christmas at the Movies series with a look at The Polar Express. The Polar Express, a film about a magical train that goes to the North Pole, asks the perfect question for Christmas Eve.... "Do I Believe?"

What in the world could movies have to teach us about Christmas? Well, this Christmas Eve, we continue in our Christmas at the Movies series with a look at The Polar Express. The Polar Express, a film about a magical train that goes to the North Pole, asks the perfect question for Christmas Eve.... "Do I Believe?"

Christmas 2017 - Bill and Jen talk crap about Christmas - Well, kind of... In the end, Christmas is just another day, another number in the calendar, and an opportunity to behead turkeys and turn off the radio. Jen and Bill have likes and dislikes and can't resist letting you know what they think about overspending, Christmas obsession in general, a bit about great gifts for the visually impaired, and cardboard boxes. Featuring Hotsauce in my Eggnog Arranged and produced by Bill Babcock with help from Andrea on drums and Anton adding the bass. It's been an interesting year and we're looking forward to an awesome 2018 with more disorganized podcasting, more Imp, more music, and even more conversations about things that may or may not matter. Merry Christmas everyone, be it in joy or misery, it's all good. Until next year. House of Imp - Out. JennyK, Bill, and Imp - Staying away from live turkeys since Christmas.

You Tell Me Texas by Paul Gleiser - Today broadcaster and listener can maintain a dialogue. And that's what this portion of KTBB.com is about. I'll put the proposition out there. You feel free to agree, disagree or amplify. This is YOUR forum. So YOU TELL ME TEXAS!

You Tell Me Texas by Paul Gleiser - Today broadcaster and listener can maintain a dialogue. And that's what this portion of KTBB.com is about. I'll put the proposition out there. You feel free to agree, disagree or amplify. This is YOUR forum. So YOU TELL ME TEXAS!

It's Christmas! And among the many things people think about during the holidays, family is a big one. But did you know families also show up in stories? They do! So this holiday season Timothy and Nick examine the role of families in the stories we consume. Did we mention it was Christmas? Well, no Christmas is complete without a Christmas Special, and the second half of this podcast isn't complete without a Special Christmas Contest about Christmas Specials! So here's our gift to you this season, the 83rd episode of your premiere podcast on storytelling, Derailed Trains of Thought. Merry Christmas! Show Notes

Who Needs Christmas - We Do- December 17- Speaker Andy StanleyWho needs Christmas? Well, as it turns out, we all do. But it might not be for the reasons you think.

Who needs Christmas? Well, as it turns out, we all do. But it might not be for the reasons you think.

In this episode, I explore ways to come closer to Jesus and his heart as you and your family prepare to celebrate Christmas. I pray that I am able to follow what I say here as well, so there is no judgement, just thoughts and ideas. I pray that you experience a Christmas well spent this year!

Celebrating Christmas Well, 7pm 20th December by St Saviour's, Guildford

You Tell Me Texas by Paul Gleiser - Today broadcaster and listener can maintain a dialogue. And that's what this portion of KTBB.com is about. I'll put the proposition out there. You feel free to agree, disagree or amplify. This is YOUR forum. So YOU TELL ME TEXAS!

You Tell Me Texas by Paul Gleiser - Today broadcaster and listener can maintain a dialogue. And that's what this portion of KTBB.com is about. I'll put the proposition out there. You feel free to agree, disagree or amplify. This is YOUR forum. So YOU TELL ME TEXAS!

Did you think I was going to leave you empty handed on Christmas? Well think again! Today I bring in my sister to help me do the news. Subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/viperforlifeacr Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CodyCarConundrm Have you ever been frustrated with people parking over the line in the parking lot. Our family has designed "Funny" parking cards. Grab your set at our website - http://www.howireallyfeelcards.com/ Cody's Car Conundrum is being heard internationally. Sponsor this podcast to increase your customer base. Send an email to drtaffy777@gmail.com with Sponsor in the subject line

After "Born Is The King (It's Christmas)" by the Praise Team and "Angels Singing" on piano by Melinda Hayes, Chip fights through a sinus infection to deliver the Christmas Day message "Keeping Christmas Well". Christmas is a time of GREAT celebration. It is good news, of great joy, for all people (Luke 2:2-10). We celebrate with great joy at Christmas because the Messiah has come to SAVE us, He will bring peace to earth, and His birth shows that God's FAVOR is upon us. (Luke 2:11-14). So, how should we react to these things? We should SEARCH to see if these things are true. We should be amazed and praise God, and SPREAD the "good news" to others. (Luke 2:15-20). Merry Christmas!

Don't you love it when Rodney waits weeks to post an episode so you can relive Thanksgiving just days before Christmas? Well, you're welcome. Join us as we talk about our favorite foods and traditions on Thanksgiving.

Episode 80: “Cool Tech Gift Ideas” Looking for that last minute tech gift idea for that loved one for Christmas? Well, you’ve come to the right place as we give you a smorgasbord of goodies of varying price ranges, just in time for the festive season. We also have a new segment called ‘The Up/Down Report’ where we […] The post 80: Cool Tech Gift Ideas appeared first on Naked Tech Podcast.

With the presidential election looming in the key East African economy of Kenya, the issue of corruption looks to be high on the political agenda. It was of course a key cornerstone of Donald Trump's US presidential election campaign, where he pledged to "drain the swamp" and rid Washington of corruption, so how bigger factor could it be in Kenya's presidential race? Vivienne Nunis reports from Nairobi. It's been described as the World's "forgotten war," yet the bloodshed in Yemen shows no signs of ceasing. Our security correspondent Frank Gardner reports from the Saudi Yemen border. Chief executive pay - it's a topic which regularly sees temperatures run high, and governments scratch their heads about how to control the gap between the highest and lowest earners. But now the US city of Portland in Oregon thinks it might have come up with an answer. The New York Times' Gretchen Morgenson tells us about the city's controversial new tax. The former British Prime Minister David Cameron says it cost him his job, but what's behind the rise in political populism across the globe? Our North America editor Jon Sopel takes a look. And, could there be a spy in your midst under the tree this Christmas? We'll hear about concerns that so-called "smart toys" are recording what our children say,and reporting it back to the software companies. The BBC's Roger Hearing will be joined throughout the programme by entrepreneur and author of The Business Secrets of Trappist Monks August Turak in Raleigh, North Carolina. And from Hong Kong by Andrew Peaple, Deputy Asia Finance editor for the Wall Street Journal. (Picture: Highrise buildings of downtown Nairobi are seen from Uhuru Park in Nairobi, Kenya. Credit: EPA/DAI KUROKAWA)

In the first stanza of Charles Dickens’ classic story, A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge didn’t have much enthusiasm for Christmas. “If I could work my will,” said Scrooge indignantly, “every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.” Scrooge was a bit of a grump, wouldn’t you agree? But after being visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley, and the three spirits of Christmas, Scrooge becomes a changed man. To the Ghost of Christmas Future, he promises, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” And he did. The final paragraphs of A Christmas Carol report that Scrooge “knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.”

Keeping Christmas well means keeping the lights burning, even after we think there is darkness. Remember, love, and tell stories.

Keeping Christmas well means keeping the lights burning, even after we think there is darkness. Remember, love, and tell stories.

In the first stanza of Charles Dickens’ classic story, A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge didn’t have much enthusiasm for Christmas. “If I could work my will,” said Scrooge indignantly, “every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.” Scrooge was a bit of a grump, wouldn’t you agree? But after being visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley, and the three spirits of Christmas, Scrooge becomes a changed man. To the Ghost of Christmas Future, he promises, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” And he did. The final paragraphs of A Christmas Carol report that Scrooge “knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.”

It's Christmas time! Celebrations, gift-giving, eating, the most wonderful time of year! But what's the hoopla really all about? Today, Brian Tyndall presents a message from Luke 2. It's the story that's been read at countless Christmas gatherings over the last couple millennia. But do you know it? What is the real message of Christmas? Well, that's what Brian will tackle today. Turn in your Bible to Luke 2:1.

Do you really like going into stores to shop around Black Friday or Christmas? Well, apparently many of us look more forward to visiting a dentist than subjecting ourselves to this ritual - yet we still do it. Why and for how long? The challenges this poses for retailers during this, their make or break season, are many but fear not, mobile can help.

Wait, didn't we just have an episode of this MONTHLY podcast LAST WEEK? Well, we survived the apocalypse so it's time to celebrate Christmas! And what am I doing to celebrate Christmas? Well, I'm taking a look at one of my favorite toy lines ever, G.I. Joe! While I am also a fan of the cartoon as well as the Marvel comic book series and do mention them a couple of times, I decided to stick to the toy line. Over the course of this episode, I talk about the my five favorite action figures, my five favorite vehicles, and five action figures and vehicles I always wished I owned but didn't. Show notes and pictures are available at http://popcultureaffidavit.com, which is also where you can see regular weekly blog entries about the randomness that is pop culture. Feedback can be addressed topopcultureaffidavit@gmail.com

Wait, didn't we just have an episode of this MONTHLY podcast LAST WEEK? Well, we survived the apocalypse so it's time to celebrate Christmas! And what am I doing to celebrate Christmas? Well, I'm taking a look at one of my favorite toy lines ever, G.I. Joe! While I am also a fan of the cartoon as well as the Marvel comic book series and do mention them a couple of times, I decided to stick to the toy line. Over the course of this episode, I talk about the my five favorite action figures, my five favorite vehicles, and five action figures and vehicles I always wished I owned but didn't. Show notes and pictures are available at http://popcultureaffidavit.com, which is also where you can see regular weekly blog entries about the randomness that is pop culture. Feedback can be addressed topopcultureaffidavit@gmail.com

Here's some facts for you: 75+% of men are overweight, 64+% of women are overweight, 5.7% of all Americans have grade 3 obesity, and 31% of children are overweight. So why would we bring up these shocking statistics 2 weeks before Christmas? Well, we eat more candy, cookies, eggnog, and junk during this holiday season more than any other time of the year. When we see this prevalence of metabolic syndrome, it's important to talk about the risk factor reduction. Tune in to Eve Prang Plews, L.N.C, as she talks about what this is and ways to achieve it.

Any competitions heard in this podcast are no longer active and are not available to enter. The Steve Allen Show is on between 5am and 7am, Monday to Friday and again on and Sunday's between 7 and 10am, on London's LBC 97.3. By subscribing to this