Surviving Christmas

Every man is a great image or one doesn't usually feel that way. Jesus speaks of narrow gates wide roads masculine journey is filled with many twist and turns, so how do we keep from losing heart trying to find a way life feels more like a losing battle than something worth dying for, grab your gear, request your band of brothers will serve as the guides we call masculine journey masculine journey starts here now masculine journey were very glad to have you today my hope that your week is going really well and and this will be the highlight of your week that you'll be able to listen to this and something will just move you. Okay that's always a great little girl got on whether that CVB review, the authors like like 1890 yeah there's a lot of leaves left before Christmas and statistically. I think psychologist and people would say that this is the most stressful time year you know and and it's not without reason you you have some people try to get the perfect gift for other people in of the 12 families I got a visit because it's a blended family. Four times removed, you know, that kind of thing. Maybe it's been alone on Christmas or surviving financially in all those kinds of things and so the topic that we might go through today's surviving Christmas and what that really looks like some of the clips we have the funny enough meant to be funny but also make a good point. You know that sometimes being around other people that we love is not the easiest thing to do and for me it's you know Mary actually Cindy Lou who put it really well. Where are you Christmas you want to be a holy day you wanted to be a day that you're thinking about Jesus. But oh my goodness, some of the other shenanigans that come along and and and you can even begin to think about that kind of thing because you're so taken out.

It isn't an immediate roomful with us today.

I don't know how many of us will Dr. Silas roundtable a couple setting on the sides and as always gotta prompt somebody to throw in and on the topic that were talking about, but you want to start with this first clip in and really brother.

Have you set it up in a second, but part of it is Clark wants to have the perfect Christmas exactly when he's completely after the perfect Christmas and so you go ahead and set up the liquid from their now the perfect Christmas from the standpoint of house decoration and the way the families can come together in the way that there's going to be harmony and all the stuff and then all of a sudden while he's admiring his tremendous handiwork with the house lights. Cousin Eddie shows up in and out while you're listening to this, you might note how his idea of his plan of how Christmas was good turnout is been totally derailed by the presence of his cousin who he might be my count how many times he says Eddie Clark, and everything I know about exterior illumination.

Eddie has his gorgeous Clark help you to do this All-America guard get Rocky get a kiss from me, you better take a rain check on that art is got… On the same identified. Our pride and joy. You name it we named Annette because he got just that it's not over Clark scratch your belly that's okay so you betting Clark on the belly and he'll love you till the that I really said my hands all chat cannot call anyone to make it a surprise. I woke up tomorrow. My fence on the carpet. I would be more surprised than I am right now you play that before he came in and none of us could keep from laughing. I think clip is obviously Christmas vacation for it's not the most family-friendly movie G rated version is pretty good, but that it deftly has some insights to weigh the way. Christmas can go for people now have you picked that clip. Is there a particular reason why the cup spoke to you as the Scripture in first John, where it says you know if if you hate your brother and you claim to love God, you're a liar you might be familiar with. Well, if you hate your cousin Eddie and I got a few of those that God challenges me with every year like how my get love this person well and and it really puts me right where I think God wants me on my knees trying to figure out how am I gonna interact with this and often they ship up uninvited right at the minute that you like any now. You get a bill in some so God wants to make sure you get the picture that this is something that you get count with you, and I usually like to throw questions of people have been asking. It's always my favorite thing that I am in ask you guys if you would care to share when you hear that term in a surviving Christmas without really look like for you because for each of us. It's different, you remember a few years ago when my wife and I got divorced, you know, we had all these traditions we did as a family for 23 years and then all of a sudden there was a new tradition that we had to start and unfortunately God really gave me some some insight to some things I could do for the boys and instead I have an in a tree upstairs entry downstairs or whatever that we used to do is you send them on a scavenger hunt and so had the presence around the house and give them clues and when that's her favorite partner there. There were happier without the mayor with the gift most time in on so just be grateful that you know no matter what you face God's there. So for the other guys we get you Brian and Harold and Corey yeah for me growing up. As I grew up in split household and we always had to go 18 different places on Christmas or any holiday really, but mainly Christmas Eddie and my dad's and my mom's mainly stay with my mom but you, my dad and then we had to get that grandparents on his side and the grandparents on our side and it really just ended up being a drag that me and my brother had because we knew that no matter where we would go we would end up getting jilted into while we are leaving.

Why can she stay and eat with Sheena Waddy not spinning more time with us in the holidays. It really just turn into something that the mob looking back, I just wasn't fair and not really what Christmas should be about the especially grown-up when you're young, but I was really fortunate that you have a wonderful family on both sides and the eat they always did their best, even if sometimes it could don't think they realize just how selfish they were being but at the same time, they still took care of me. My brother loved us and Christmas is always fun. Grown-up. Despite everything, it makes a very good point that in all of our Christmases growing up the way we look back on is completely different from one another. If our stories are similar to the situation is probably different in on unfortunately a lot of people do deal with various levels of the dysfunction. Every families dysfunctional at some level it may be a few rings out from there. But when you get out far enough you can find cousin adding a couple more right and so to play this clipper click from Saturday Night Live years and years ago when it's they produced a record called the dysfunctional family Christmas point is, listen to what they sing about. Please gather together to reopen old feelings and Silver Bell records is proud to present a dysfunctional family Christmas Jerry for Christmas is as is after dysfunctional hit songs like Christmas and is laugh at that.

It's not really that funny you here.

Towards the end of the mom tell her daughter.

You know, underneath that of those few extra pounds is a really pretty girl you know how much I would just break a kids heart and it happens to people that you know we go in and even well-meaning people can really hurt us through the holidays. When we focus on what they're saying and think it's a perfect illustration of have an emphasis on the wrong syllable because one of the things that has irritated me about the thing is we start and Christmas at Thanksgiving, and even before you know you can get through hallowing without so emphasis on the material aspects of is an irritating thing to me and early on. I hated Santa Claus because he always gave my first cousin better gifts that he gave me with you before the show. I think that's a big thing for me that I just come come into to realization of the backseat of this past week because I do like the holidays and of always look forward to the holidays but I think for the wrong reasons, and now that being a new believer in understanding exactly what it means and the true meaning of Christmas. I'm looking forward to it is the first Christmas. Now, as a believer, maintenance, and I'm kind of exciting them. I'm getting goosebumps now even thinking about it. It's it's can be really interesting and I'm pretty excited for. That's very cool it is and I think that that's a lot of the point is the world the enemy wants to take our focus off really what we should be focusing on and I don't I was listening to that clip, and I'm thinking about times being around family in the past that it's sometimes hard to hold onto your identity right and being clear of where you look for that identity you know if you find that it identity and your family this kindest point. At some point, you find that identity in Christ will never disappoint back room to listen the more, including a Santa Claus clip which I will Harold be really thrilled about is like Santa Claus Santa Claus Seneca mask injury radio.org. Listen past podcast will be back in second place and I talked about ways you can help support is clearly a smile that he was on the information that Facebook.com where you can click the donate button, waking it once again, PO Box 552 7285, the heart of every man is a great adventure like doesn't usually feel that way. Jesus speaks of narrow gates wide roads masculine journey is filled with many twists and turns. 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 we call masculine journey masculine journey radio Saturdays at noon. Right here on the truth is a thing to say. Christmas Day that's a greeting from here. We know this is a very shy smile and you may legally not get to daily click. I didn't know it was made acutely key, but he told me what I'm probably saying I have always heard it. That's what spell you medically. You had a friend or a relative that let the yeah yeah it was my ex-wife's family, her uncle this amazing goodhearted man. He just really love to Wyoming. If you ever got to visit their but every Christmas you know and when we would go over to see her family. He would be there in we would hear at least three or four times and he just loved it. Every time I hear it makes me smile. One, because it's just an upbeat song. The tube makes me think of him and asked how much of goodhearted, loving guy that he was the Chipmunks for us. Janice Chris. I hate them.

But my grandma plays every year. Set always makes me a little thing that goes around my granddaughter love something but cigarette that one of the things in always say where are you Christmas we long for that feeling that we had at some point in life that Mary Cindy Lou who was calling for his you know how do we get back to that place and that place of family and and if we were getting ready for the show. I recalled my father, my favorite Christmas memory was a Clark Griswold moment. I mean he was going to give us this Cox airplane. It was at P 51 Mustang and if any of you ever saw. There were gas powered airplanes and you had to start them with your and my father's language is really colorful and so when he would try to start that little engine that we got the putt putt putt putt you know and slapped his finger and then we would get to hear all these words and he was to show us that we are seven or eight years old ma'am I will, brother, and he was good shows how to fly this place. He spent the better part of an hour trying to get it to start every time that he would try to get the little needle valve to work and family.

This thing again and get all chipped up and finally he gets a little needle valve or the engine as it is two-stroke and has lived like this thing is just ready to go 60 is our brand-new Christmas present right and and he is not a fly it so he sends the elevator up on this plane just go straight up stalls comes right straight down crashes into 20,000 pieces are Christmas present for which to me. 16 is like that's my dad. You know that that was just like really really cool.

My brother and I have laughed about that for ever. You know he went out and bought us another plane and unit was all that but it was all the adventure and end and that was a sense of I belong to something you know this is this is me and my brother you, even you and your brother going and dreading. Mary was family unit that was part you do you hear me and him always. He now had each other's back and that we bonded to those times that I think that one thing to keep in mind is that no two years or nearly the same in the one thing about life. It's it's constantly changing and only want to think that the next year's Christmas is going the same as this year's and a promise and all of our lives. Things will be different now starting to look at it from the lens of the oldest son is going to graduate college and at the end of next year not this year and Artie think about man Christmases are deathly going to change. Then you know and just the constant changes your family dynamic changes along the way that really can't take this to a clip from the original movie the Santa Claus and this is a Tim Allen and in this clip, Tim gets his son Charlie for Christmas. Charlie is not overly thrilled about it. Tim and his Charlie's mom and split up and so there there dividing custody and so he tries to cook a turkey which doesn't come out too well and they find themselves going into a very popular restaurant chain lets us listen to how that plays out like no thank you beauty what you say we start out with cold glasses. She sees no favorite were coffee, decaf can aspirate a question.

Second is probably going to Cheryl quickly about this clip that always makes me laugh one you know when Mike daughters were little. They would see their mom have for Christmas and half of the summer in shipment.

We were always driving on Christmas day and she lived two states away and so would meet at the middle state and so was a lot of fun special been up north snow, ice, you never know what you're going to get wills had to stop at Denny's because it was the only place open so we always meet at the same Denny's every time, but that the part that I really love about that clip is my daughters were Jan when this movie came out and we still used today. And when they're disappointed about something or whatever plane milks fine. Yeah, that's what we say things out. It just makes me laugh is that that's continued in our family with both my girls and now my sons for a number of years you have a great point about this movie and generally not it starts out like this, but it's not weight in the yeah I if you remember the movie Tim Allen is putting asunder bad. You can tell he's pretty bored with what he's really, I think, is writing a story is get through anything. Charlie's asleep and just skip through life is not really excited about Christmas and what it means is not really given his son adventure. But what ends up happening in the movie he takes his son on adventure. It was even really meaning to do it but it was just really cool to see how the son Charlie came alive during that when he was taken on that adventure and it just reminds me of that for kids all under 13, you know, 873 and if we just take time to slow down and really teach them what Christmas means really take them on an adventure that can mean many different things to many different people, but enough you been in this message long, you know that adventure is critical in specially men's hearts, but women also need adventure so I just think it's have a great parallel to what we should be doing and just slowing down and enjoying every little part of Christmas. It's really good point unit does move so fast in life is so fast-paced and deftly and that situation provide a great solution in the gut says let's go on this adventure. We have about four minutes left, but I do want to go around and ask you guys know what some things that people can do you know if they find themselves.

Not a great place for Christmas is really hard when you share story real quick about the Christmas you can sound the favorite Christmas and their favorite Christmases.

We taken part in our churches event which was to go take food to the less fortunate are toys whenever we went and picked up our goodie bag from the church and they gave us an address to go to and we got there. Now the house is nicer in our house and there was Alexis support like were not feeling the Christmas thing) and my wife was I I do Bible study with this lady who doesn't even have the money to buy a code. I helped her get a coat that they don't have much for Christmas and I have her address here because I took her home. So we end up in the middle of Yadkin County somewhere in a trailer park and we get to their house to the outside is like 12° outside and outside warming themselves in a trashcan missile wood because they have no heat and electricity in the house. They have nothing for Christmas dinner.

They have no choice. They have nothing and I guess my kids were maybe older ones were 10 and 11. At the time Ryan was like to so my kids like this I give my kids I can't give my toys that you know whatever I do.

I've got under the tree. Let's give him this, you know, let's go get them feel they can have our dinner, you know, they can have our food in and they were all about making sure that this family and and we went and got stuff and we came back and and and got their house warmed up and in the end it was it was the Christmas that I can assure you for our family. They'll never forget.

And it was just really God directed that we went out on that what we thought was the adventure when it didn't turn out to be that way. My wife got resourceful, absolutely. And they did go on an adventure and they lived in the bigger story right and I think that's part of you know what were all called to do is to step out of that small story, regardless of what were facing and otherwise facing different things and some people are challenging challenged in a lot of different ways or you got any thoughts on how people can kinda get through whatever they're going through for me. Like you said. I'm excited about this Christmas because first Christmas as a believer I think this this year. I'm just gonna like you said, slow down in living the moment of of it. Just try to appreciate it for what it really means what it really is trying to get myself caught up in all the hustle and bustle of of Christmas and going from here to herein. Just be patient with everybody and just really just enjoy being with the people I love and trying to know.

Thank God for the blessings I have, because really I think from my perspective. Now that's really what Christmas is about his thanking him for all the blessings that you have not so much giving presence and and all that good stuff. So I'm just gonna take it slow and like you said live in the moment and try things my patients. Thank you so obviously Robby talk about helping others you know and then Corey talk about keeping the perspective Harold Brian anything you guys can think of the people can kinda focus on her try to put their sights on throughout this holiday season. One thing I would add that every cousin Eddie mean there's always on those. We always have an opportunity, no matter what it is to share the good news of what Christ is done in our life. You know, a lot of us have grown up in different ways, but if we live in our identity. We can definitely make a big impact in others lives. If are just living in that true identity that Christ has given us so I would just say uses, use it as an opportunity to share real quick.

Anything you think of God attend agree with what Brenda said that we need to get over used get irritated because Christ one more winter born in the spring and that they feel but the fact that we recognize Christ was born live and die for us is the important part. Thank you matter what you're facing. Obviously, we say relief the answers God what that looks like is different for every one of us and we need to seek identity in him may believe the larger story may we need is Phil's loving arms around us is Christmas what he knows is that you need him and you need him in your heart this Christmas