Where are you Christmas?

This is the Truth Network of every man crazy in life doesn't usually feel that way. Jesus speaks of narrow gates and livelihoods for the masculine year is filled with many quests and journeys. So how do we keep from losing heart trying to find a good way when life feels more like a losing battle and something worth dying for, grab your gear, request your band of brothers will serve as the guides recall masculine masculine start here now and it is Christmas season and we have a Christmas trying to show for it just brought to you by Mary Lou who I know you're wondering who family honoring him Maryland yeah they got Maryland who so her question that she asked in her actually wonderful summer and play a second, but I want you to be thinking about some things before we play the song is where are you Christmas why can I find and yet when you really picture this in your own mind that it in this time a year. Our pacing gets different. Our template we all of a sudden if you're like me, there's a lot more to do than you normally would. You got Christmas parties so if you think of you know the devil when he was trying to discover a way to get couples really unite together Christmas parties were oral or something that he had in mind that the way to do this. That was in a the woman would be getting ready for this Christmas party with any number of of of outfits that she will she really want to look at and what she really wants to hear is is her husband. The teller look at it. I know that's what Tammy has this expectation. But me being in of the Grinch. I guess that I am I am expecting that. Were going to be on time and so every minute, every minute that we are not on time and that I can see were not going to be on time.

I feel like I'm dying inside. And so I get more and more and more anxious. Rodney and them getting more and more angry. So that when she finally does present herself for that big moment where I'm supposed to say or how you look absolutely stunning in a captivating all those words that we read about it. We know are supposed to do. But your eyes are saying I can't take another minute you know it's it's does that sound familiar. Sam yeah does the frustration building in knowing when you're person that really wants to be on time has to be on time you like it wired in you and your paired with somebody that that not there driven the other driven by other things that man. It leads to some ugly stuff. Sometimes the one I really shouldn't you be leading to joyful dying of that party is at it that you're going to do it doesn't ethically in that way now seems like were wired for trouble and you know we get off on this flip that just oh my goodness happens well before is not like the night of its days before you knows, maybe in the week the whole week you like okay get this party coming up. I know you're gonna be late. You start building those expectations early and it builds up and you just get to that night in your trying to do all kinds of things off. I do this and start this and this will happen if I get that ready because I have to be on time. Unlike you Robby, I have to be on time. Mrs. wired in me and all you try this expectation.

But we got to leave by 6:30 PM. You can't. You do all kinds of things and boy.

By the time you actually start to get late you realize. Now we are not making on time and near human.

It feels like I am dying inside and and I could not cry out with Mary Lou, who any stronger than this part that question that she asked is is me. You know, I realize that this is something inside of me that is absolutely destroying them. The mood destroying the season and my compulsion, Mike untaken out of my comfort zone.

Satan has the warfare gone is its full 40 million miles an hour and I know that what she's saying is absolutely the case and and since we only have somebody was actually here when the Grinch was a boy I average. You are there for the original Christmas they want you there around alone. Good Lord for that. No one when the Grinch comes. It's like me, looking in the mirror I represent that pretty well.

I guess my first beginnings of resentment about this season began long time ago with the commercial aspects of it totally dominating the time you know by this go there do that didn't like that at all. And then I got hung up for a while because I thought Christ was born in the spring not in late December, so they got it all wrong. I finally came realize that it doesn't matter that it oneness early December 25. He was born.

That's the important thing. That's what we need to keep in mind and celebrate not because of expensive gifts, but because of the fact that Savior came and gave himself for us and who we can have that hope life after this. And so what's up with the kids onto Sam okay and I maybe my kids are the only one Sandy but for some reason and even now that they're in there. You know out of their teenagers and in their 20s, how can they get under each other's skins so and then and then you know for whatever reason, Rodney, that does not bring out the best in me will come. I I have these expectations that they were going to, you know, really love on each other and that they were going to really be a family discontent and that these things work and I have you know this effect and where it was going to be in a like. I guess what and what was his name in crisp article yeah I was expecting the Clark Griswold vacation in a Christmas for the Clark Griswold moment when you expect that a way where you live that on every yeah so your child is all fun and games and all looking forward to a get to visit with family and stuffer. Those are for just me.

I was lived in the same small town the group.

My family grew up in, and it's only family around me was great. Then your old are you married and this whole thing is flipped. All I have to do all this stuff and get all the stuff ready and you're not doing just sitting on the backside start to appreciate what your mom that went through to make that wonderful for you and you like this is work. This is supposed to be fun.

And every year you all the first Christmas with the first child always in this wonderful all day, not even they don't appreciate it LOL it's going on. This is know all about me is about the now the couple and then you start your little world and the kids are like okay they're participating more than really enjoying opening presents. I get into that. That's got you for a while and then also not cuteness wears off and you get there, getting a little older and outside their old enough to take for me to help her do these other things and I wandered there.

There are selfish nature start to show up in your like oh my gosh you see them.

Just click view all my gosh I did that I was like that. I'm still playing Andy. What brings out the Grinch. I don't know the busyness of it. The have to go to the stores and in shop.

I guess I dearly man. I mean, that's a fate worse than that.

It will always place even even you know this find something online can you know something like that.

But for the top spot and parking spot.

I heard about a lady that literally. This guide shoveled out this place in Chicago for an hour to get his parking. This lady parked. He literally killed her on her parking spot. I mean that's all my I mean it. It's yeah it would definitely lose the meaning and you know we talked about this for years of over the distractions and stuff that was a significant you know so were not the only ones to celebrate a reason a spiritual reason, and of the Jewish people unite celebrated Passover feast to boost different out of Hanukkah honest year for them.

So whatever they're doing all this you know God intends that he knows there's times there is reason to celebrate. And the enemy knows even to try to get us off of that idea coming that celebration. We know that there is an enemy in play here is not just us in our own selfish ways of mean there is an enemy to play and we need to look out for that. But there's also grace and I believe to be found. It God gave us the idea of the celebration times to enjoy one another and just ended. Be thankful for his goodness and really understand that you know of his gift of salvation. You know it came through mean that the foreshadowing of the feast of the in the Old Testament were nothing more than foreshadowing of what were experiencing today so there's a way to celebrate it but we all know that there's an attack from multiple fronts of taking that peaceful time out of our lives, and Sam, you've got this friends in other struggles. This time you're going through the loss of loved ones and stop multiple situations couple friends that are single and have lost loved one and find themselves on the second half of their life know their past that even an event.

I don't have kids and an outcome. I have decorate my house.

I am going to buy for. I have known to celebrate with the very emotional hard time for a lot of people reason and even if you're trying to be in the moment, trying to live like that. You still have the enemy, and maybe whispering things like, you know you're on your own. Your long and whatever that battle may look like it's just a difficult season for a lot of people. I know you know I lost my father this year and in the last few Christmases.

We can't share with him to see was at his house in an hour in the house and so you know I look around and I think about and then.

And that leads to other feelings and expectations and and so you may be thinking, G Robby you really like Debbie downer this well where you have a rescue, and soon state in the next segment we will talk about what some of the ways that Jesus can risk as he is obviously what Mary Lou was asking for you. You and I were so careful she had a relationship with, and we did get that in a minute. First get to hear the song.

I know you're all benign here. Robby Gilmore here in the Truth Network podcast of help make my pillow the company it is today, and now Mike Lindell, who by the way, I've met is a great guy, the inventor and CEO of my pillow wants to get back to our listeners for the first time you can get deep discounts on all my pill products. If you go to my pillow.com right now, and click on the new radio listener specials who never thought that my dream job would be selling my pillows you're getting tired of these sleeping droughts, but you can get deep discounts on my pillows, mattress toppers, bedsheets, and so much more. For example, the body pillow is regularly 89, 99, but with a promo code get truth it's only 2999 remember all my pill products, the 60 day moneyback guarantee in a 10 year warranty. Just go to my pillow.com and click on the new radio listener specials and get deep discounts on all my pillow products including the body pillow for only 2999 enter promo code to get truth or call 800-942-9613 these great radio specials as soon as I talk about ways you can help support is clearly a smile that he was on the information that is Facebook.com where you can click the button waking into masculine day radio down once again, PO Box 550 927-2850 Jesus what you will and freedom venture with God. It's a masculine journey. Radio is designed to give him information is used for the kingdom coming this April 2 through the fifth now masculine journey is mislaid to grant our own hearts establish video we can relate to all this, that, like oh my goodness you're comes again, and here we go down this road of God did what this what would a rescue look like in in this situation, and so I start to play this clip when we were talking about, you know, things that we were thankful for and are masculine but I saved it for tonight because this to me represents the rescue of I realize that these things in me are very despicable on the mayor as despicable as the Grinch, let me get angry at Tammy about this immediately angry pickets about that in all these different things and so this clip comes from the dirty dozen, which I really think speaks to Christmas more than you may realize because Christmas to begin with was a rescue. We talk about all the time that it was more like D-Day that the earth was in a tort terrible position and end Jesus was, to set up a beachhead and it was a rescue.

In this case you know this particular kernel is picked 12 prisoners that were all right doomed to die and I don't know if you're aware of it but without Jesus we are to you know where to hang by the neck till her dad. I mean no more God and going that you know but he came in he rescued these guys from that so that they can actually walk in her glory and fight a neat fight that you know if you watch the rest dirty dozen, but the rest of this clip if you listen to it is hears these guys and no one of them to scared to death and he's gotta get up the rope and listen to what happens. The other guy and his bad temper and how this guy comes in and rescues him in a play that will talk minute after talk made eyes. You are ordered by Allied command to select 12 general prisoners convicted by courts-martial and sentenced to be executed for server lengthy prison terms for murder, rape, robbery and other crimes of violence and he will deliver them secretly behind enemy lines in France to undertake a mission of sabotage. Change the course of 12 men will be known as I was one of you guys would like to stick this in the closing, the only fuzzy when they lock you up.

What you do so is your friends over there like the solo was like to be pushed to kill the man with your bare hands because he showed only anyone's one and drove his job on right through his brain because he killed me to kill but to kill and is meant to kill somebody. This is as far occurs to me a number things about the clip number one God allows Christmas in Robby's life so I can be pushed so I can discover that I've got something that needs working on it and the other beautiful thing. If you watch the entire movie.

The dirty dozen. Is that what the major was trying to bring out in these guys was that they had to work as a team and so even though I got my weaknesses and by being you guys being around me.

It's clear you know if I open up to you guys, where I met were my struggles are right and that was part of the secret of the dirty dozen was the teamwork around these guys are all horribly flawed but yet got to walk in there Lori and I did a mainly certain share the story like we've been talking about and then obviously learned what that teamwork to work together to produce in a victory essentially so remember in a position rather than dying and complete shaman, whatever that they got to live out the larger story and make an impact in Sam what comes up in your mind as you think about that and I think about what Christmas becomes about it.

Sharing the fellowship in the impact one another's lives in doing that through Jesus doing that through shared beliefs and I know that the time that I have with you guys that the holiday is even more special now because I want a group of people that I love walking on this journey. I think that you know after the show last week we had a chance to really ask questions of each other, you know, what was your best and worst day and oh my goodness you know it was a real opportunity for us to get a look at each other's hearts and and and and not pray for each. This came out organically after this you know that from the clip and I think it did us all a good we've heard each other story, but we will a bit deeper and put it in the constant context of best and worst. And you know you share share life and it just encourages you, you know that you know that there's a reason why we all ended up, the way we did in and that there is there is victory in it. You know, but that you can share that common common story now and and also where Jesus came for you in this situation and how he brought healing which goes along those lines, but you've got a clip of your own. That's about risk and do you know looking for a Christmas movie Brennan into it sometimes is diehard Christmas movie. So you don't think about it just because it was said at the Christmas time, but asked you really see the crisp Christmas story in it. If you take a look at it.

I mean John MacLean is no Jesus Christ LOL I'll agree, but he is a rescuer and he comes in rescues for people that are caught in a time you know that they should be celebrating.

They should be enjoying the good things there trapped there, bound and their fearful and how does that not parallel to our lives. This is John just wants to spend Christmas with the family get stuck at the office regarding the holiday is Christmas jingle Somervell Bruce Willis a guy got a beer for New Year's.

While I love the title diehard you know where there. We just blown a grommet bonnet bonnet and all these different relationships that we had such expectations for but that could be exactly the time or Jesus, the rescue because he's a hero of the story right and mentally. You mean he just it's just an example of rescue and in what he's done in the sacrifice he made for us in how we treat that truly gives us the ability to get through these times mean again, if he's if he is risen from the dead.

I have power to not have to be reactionary at the Christmas season. I can be celebratory of his in a coming to the earth and death and resurrection. But you know that there's just something about about the fact that he he is doing that rescue forests, not just at Easter. That's where we get the story.

The most time, but when he invaded this earth. It wasn't Christmas time and it was a has as his birth and wonder what kind it was going what was going on. The heavenly's at that time when he was entering the earth.

You know, we know that there was mass to Marine killing of babies and stuff and try to get rid of him as king. So there was, and that there was an enemy attack of that but he invaded this earth to the admission right and there's also hope that I think comes at this time a year that he is coming back and you know the greatest Christmas story ever told. Clearly is yeah yeah but his story is no their power and the power from that to show there is a big time rescue come in and and and you know the end is coming right. Sam absolutely you know we need to be reminded of the story we need to be reminded of that happened mechanically that perspective on everything when the other thing matters. We can see honestly how trivial they are nature and that we shouldn't let it take away the larger story is is a key ingredient.

It really I know that the camp is where I began to get the idea that wow that's the reason that all this stuff is going on because you know the they're trying to get it.

The real message of Christmas is not about me, I'm not a party. If you have a lot of great one, there is there is as present as demand because I can assure you that wow I mean to have a band of brothers to walk in to help you fight the is doing it alone, you know that's tough like a baby shark I mean like a baby seal you know you're his son and brother coming up April 2 through the shift. If you go to mass radio.org after the radio anymore just masculine journey.org will get you there and register for camp coming up. We got a lot of Christmas shows Kevin Weiss is taking next week. More advanced font on the messenger