SEVEN WAYS TO HAVE A JOY FILLED CHRISTMAS WITHOUT CONSUMERISM

Christmas is almost here! It is a time of family and remembering our past year. A time when we gather for get togethers and celebrating friendship and our families. An annual celebration for Christians to hand out gifts, prepare meals and shop.

But it can also be a time of stress when we wear ourselves out and drift into a Christmas of labor and not joy. For some it is a time of loneliness and isolation, a reminder of a life that is set apart.

Our televisions, radios and computers will blare with “buy this or hurry now and buy.” All serving to dull the real purpose of Christmas. A Christmas taken away by consumerism that exhaust us and create a false sense of Christmas.

What can we do? How do we slow down and enjoy Christmas? How do we create memories of joy that will be remembered and create a tapestry of happiness for all to remember? How do we learn that giving is far better than receiving?

Here are seven ways to push back on those things that distract our Christmas and create a joy filled Christmas.

Help one family member or friend

We all know that one person who needs a little extra care this holiday. Reach out to them this Christmas and show them that they are loved. Maybe take them out to a meal and listen to their story. Or perhaps give them a very personal gift that shows you care. Mostly let them know they aren’t alone.

Visit your local Salvation Army Bell Ringer

Find the place where a Salvation Army ringer is standing, ringing their bell. Put in a few more dollars into their basket than you normally would. And thank them for what they do for the world. Honor their presence as someone who is giving their time to make life better for those of need. Let them know you care.

Watch a Christmas Movie

There are many wonderful Christmas movies to share with family and friends that capture the true spirit of Christmas. During Christmas time put aside time to sit together and enjoy a wonderful movie. Perhaps watch It’s a Wonderful Life or maybe A Miracle on 34^th street. Or a classic story of giving and not receiving; like A Christmas Carol and don’t forget the popcorn. There are many movies from decades past that capture the true spirit of Christmas and are fun to watch. Let this time together be a time of reflection and a gathering that will be remembered. Maybe even set aside a time for yourself to watch these movies to rest and experience expressions from the past of Christmas time.

Ask for that Your Present is a Donation

Perhaps this is the Christmas that you don’t receive presents. This Christmas when we are asked what do we want, reply, “Donate the value of the present you were going to buy to your favorite charity. I have enough, I have been blessed.” With so many in need throughout our communities it is a way of helping out those who need more this Christmas.

Visit an Assisted Living or Hospice Center

Many of those who live in assisted living or in hospice will have a tougher Christmas this year. Many will spend their Christmas alone and without visitors. They need to know they are cared for. Help them know that Christmas does exist for them. Many churches organize visits during this time of year. Perhaps your church does as well. Bring books or crafts. If you don’t know someone in a center, call ahead and ask is there someone who needs a visit.

Call long Ago Friends and Wish them Merry Christmas

We all have those friends we wish we could talk to, but seem to run out of time. This Christmas try calling friends from the past and wish them a Merry Christmas. Not just send a card, but say “I care.” Perhaps this will reignite a desired friendship that has been dimmed by time and distance. Maybe It’s one special person or a number of people.

Go to a Candlelight Service at Your Local Church

Is this the Christmas that you attend church on Christmas Eve and start a new tradition or perhaps continue an old tradition? In all communities there is a church that will have a Candlelight service we can attend. Music is sung with gusto and it is a joy filled time. The highlight is a church filled with candles lit one by one. The lights are dimmed and the congregation will sing Silent Night, a soul filled song with remembrance of the true meaning of Christmas. Words when listened to express the real meaning of Christmas.

This is our Christmas this year. Our Christmas, not to just receive but to give. A Christmas to avoid buying presents out of consumerism, and one to bring in the real spirit of Christmas. It is our Christmas to push past the ads and the exhausting process of making sure we bought enough. It is our Christmas not to worry about what we got, but what we give. And to remember that what we give with our time, many times is more important that what we spend.

This is the year we change how we celebrate Christmas.

Blessings, until next time,
Bruce L. Hartman

Photo by Element5 Digital

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“Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Ephesians [5:21]

 

AGEISM: CREATING A LOST GENERATION

One of my clients, John, has been looking to change jobs for five months. John has grown dissatisfied with his current industry and would like to work in an industry that has higher standards of excellence. John typically meets his sales objectives and is always in the top ranking of his company’s sales performance. In fact, throughout his career he has achieved close to two times the results of the standard.

It doesn’t take long when you talk to John to discover he is a man of high integrity and extraordinarily personable. He is a gifted communicator and executes his tasks at a high level. He is old school, customer needs first and whatever he does he does well!

Recently he had applied to jobs that he was more than qualified to perform and was denied. Not through a written form letter or verbal communication, but through silence. His follow up calls go unanswered and likewise his emails seeking status, receive no further communication.

When I first took John on, I told him, despite his outstanding resume and ability to work at a high level this rejection would happen. The reason, he is over sixty. Employers don’t hire people in their sixties.

More about John, he runs five miles five days a week. He is vibrant and many days works to eight or nine. His mind is fertile and flexible. He listens to learn and energizes those he works with. The perfect candidate. He is older and part of the greater societal movement when people want to continue their career well past sixty.

“Many people stay energetic and curious throughout their lives, never giving in to slothfulness or passivity.”

Too often I hear, we want someone young and energetic. But I always wonder, why is being young associated with being energetic. Many people stay energetic and curious throughout their lives, never giving in to slothfulness or passivity. Being energetic has little correlation to age. We either are or aren’t energetic, not because of age, because of our desire to perform.

When you look at the age make up of those who walk the two thousand miles of the Appalachian Trail. The age categories are those of either under twenty-eight or those over fifty-five. The percentage of those who start and complete this mighty trek, is the same for both age groups.

Looking further at the average stay at an employer by a new hire, younger hires stay a significantly shorter time than that of those who have more experience.

Those with experience have just that, experience. They know the right trails to take. They know that arrogance is a bad communication tool. They know this because they have experience.

In the American business place, which has made progress with many societal issues such as racism and gender, the older employee is still held back. The reality is that those over sixty will stay longer, have proven track records and be great team players. Perception of the aged is very different than reality.

“He himself had bought into the perception, because you are older, your skills are diminished.”

Another of my recent clients, Richard, was bemoaning the fact that his skills were so much poorer than his youthful counter-parts, making it hard for him to compete for promotions. When I probed his skill levels, I found his Excel levels equal or better than most. He knew R, the new database tool for Excel spreadsheets, when many younger employees still are learning R. He himself had bought into the perception, because you are older, your skills are diminished.

Buried in the book of Ephesians, we find today’s verse about how to treat each other. Treat each person we meet fairly and honestly, out of reverence to our Lord and Savior. Not to judge because of color, gender or beliefs. This also includes those who are aging. Fair dealing with all, regardless of biology.

What would Jesus say to those who ignore those who have aged? Would Jesus approve or disapprove? The answer to these questions gives us Christian’s insights as to our requirements when evaluating candidates.

Why not hire someone who will be an employee for many years past the average? Why not hire an employee with a “proven track record?” Why not get the value of someone who knows the trails? Why not hire someone who has learned the lessons of life?

Sure older employees aren’t the shiny new penny, but perhaps more valuable because of the wrinkles of their life.

Blessings, until next time,
Bruce L. Hartman

Photo by Huy Phan

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“Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.”

Matthew [12:25]

 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND RECOVERING AMERICA

During the start of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln said; “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” We live in a similar time, of angry voices of those who seek to sway the court of public opinion, not through kind and civil debate, but through anger and acrimony. Lost is the art of creating allies, instead American leaders create fear amongst its populace.

Lincoln saw this in his time as well, angry self-interested people that propelled a nation to fight itself. Lincoln knew that no nation can stand when it fights itself. For any entity, whether it is a small family or a great nation, internal anger will always cause a fall. It is true in business, our churches, families and certainly our country.

What is remarkable about President Lincoln was he lived his own words. Many that he picked to serve with him on his cabinet had been political rivals. Salmon Chase, his opponent in his race to be president, was named by Lincoln to be Secretary of the Treasury. Chase had been a vocal opponent against Lincoln’s run to presidency, but Lincoln saw extraordinary gifts in Chase and appointed him. Lincoln said; “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”

Lincoln was less interested in a person’s personal loyalty, he was more interested in their competency and loyalty to uniting America. Lincoln’s overall attitude was loyalty to our common cause, to our republic and to those who could help.

Lincoln was also a great example of the bounty America offers for the common person. He grew up in Kentucky and Indiana, the son of farmer. Lincoln never received a formal education and was self-taught. Lincoln didn’t like the traditional farm life and educated himself to become a lawyer. In his early adult years, Lincoln moved to Illinois and quickly became a highly regarded citizen, selected by a captain in his local militia at the age of twenty-two. Where he developed the nickname “Honest Abe.” Locally he was well respected.

Lincoln learned the pitfalls of angry division, as a member of the now defunct Whig party. He watch his compatriots fight over slavery and its involvement in the fight to make slave states out of  Kansas and Nebraska. The debate became so acrimonious that the party became defunct in the 1850’s.

Later, Lincoln became one of the early leaders of the new Republican party. But Lincoln had seen how unproductive and selfish debate could destroy an institution, not externally but internally.

We stand today looking at our national debate, not through the lens of what is right, but what’s in it for me. We only see the dirty laundry of our debate in the headlines, while the common person, not in power, wants civil debate. We are being held captive by those in power who have caused this division.

We have a congress where new incoming members, elected by their citizenry have asked for a change in leadership.  Both the leader of the House, Nancy Pelosi and Mitch O’Connell, have approval ratings in the mid twenty percent. However, the voices of those who are new has gone unheard. We will still have those in power who see discord as a way of life. Discord that threatens our country. Discord built on distrust for the other side and  whom is no longer able to listen.

Jesus, himself spoke twenty-one centuries ago about the dangers of this discord, when he said; “and no city or house divided against itself will stand.” We are in the midst of a slow and painful decline caused by those who speak without concern for others. Those who speak without hearing. Those who don’t know, “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”

The greatest thing about life is that we get to practice being who we want to be every day. Every day, we are presented with new opportunities to change lives and practice being the person God intends us to be. Every moment and every encounter we get this chance. Not be stuck in yesterday, but to create a brighter future for ourselves and others. Every day a chance to do something positive. I fully believe America wants this chance, not mired in the acrimony of the past, but a hopeful eye for our future.

Recovering America is both complex and at the same time simple. Simple in that we all need is to that of being captivated by being patriots. To put away our personal fights and become  enamored with creating friendships during debate. No point is worth winning if it creates acrimony. Victories won with disrespect are fleeting.

Blessings, until next time,
Bruce L. Hartman

Photo by Patrick Perkins

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“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.”

Matthew [18:10]

 

AN EVERY DAY PERSON CAN CHANGE LIVES

Jeanette called me recently to see if I could help a new acquaintance find a job. Jeanette had met Chris at a finance conference and was struck by his earnestness and sincerity. So she called, because she thought I could help. Typical of Jeanette to want to help, a woman with firm goals and an earnestness to live life helping others.

“Jeanette had the three traits all employers like; positive, trustworthy and competent.”

I had met Jeanette two decades earlier, when her career was just starting out. We hired her because she had qualities that we valued. She listened to learn, got things done and analyzed effectively. Jeanette had the three traits all employers like; positive, trustworthy and competent.

We were proven right, in meetings she took notes and answered questions simply, but to the point. You knew when she said she would have something done, you didn’t need to follow-up. It got done, without fanfare or expectation of a pat on the back. She just did her job.

“Jeanette represents the vast majority of the hardworking people in our work force that are the sled dogs of our country’s marketplace.”

Jeanette is one of those everyday people in business who go to work to do a good job every day. They don’t receive headlines nor are they interested. Jeanette represents the vast majority of the hardworking people in our work force that are the sled dogs of our country’s marketplace.

During my call with Jeanette I discovered another facet to her life. Beyond just seeking help for her new friend, I found out she had started a non-profit called The Children at Risk Advocacy Association. An organization that provides support for foster children and their families. Her non-profit helps with legal aid and representation in the courts for both the children and foster child families.

“ Social Workers would love to be better advocates, but are resource constrained.”

Many of the state agencies that care for foster children throughout our country have significant gaps in care and advocacy for foster children and their sponsor families. Most state agencies are over worked and under-represented. Social workers work long hours with little resources to help these children, while saddled with the paperwork churned out by a nebulous set of rules. Social Workers would love to be better advocates, but are resource constrained.

“Jeanette’s organization helps find a voice for these children.”

Today in our country, over four hundred thousand children are in foster care. Almost half are being raised by relatives. Many will never be rejoined with their families and spend a lifetime shuttling from one foster home to another. Spending their childhood with a lack of protection and a voice about their future. Jeanette’s organization helps find a voice for these children.

For Jesus, children were special. Jesus used children’s innocent and trusting ways as an example for us to follow with our faith lives. He borrowed the fish and loaves of bread to feed five thousand children. Jesus was stern in commands to not harm these innocent members of God’s people. Jesus had a soft spot for children.

“As a society our children deserve a childhood of bounty, loving parents and a stable home. Not all will get these opportunities.”

As a society our children deserve a childhood of bounty, loving parents and a stable home. Not all will get these opportunities. There are gaps to fill and societal nets to establish to work towards providing all our children with the basic needs of childhood. Jeanette’s organization is a wonderful start in childhood advocacy. Jeanette’s organization can be contacted by emailing  childrenatriskadvocacy@gmail.com ​.

It was nice to hear from Jeanette and to discover that her dreams of being a senior finance leader had been fulfilled. She gave me far more credit for her success than was deserved. Her success came from a morally pointed compass of someone who is always upbeat, positive and wonderfully competent.

It was better to hear that she sees her life as having a responsibility of helping others, whether it is helping an earnest executive looking for career guidance or defenseless children needing an advocate.

We need people like Jeanette, who live a different life than we see in the dirty laundry of our headlines. She is an example of the many wonderful people who work every day to pursue a career and desires to help those needing a voice. Jeanette would be the first to point out she is one of many.

Blessings, until next time,
Bruce L. Hartman

Photo by Charlein Gracia

We love giving credit to budding photographers to help them gain more exposure.