simple blessings of Christmas - on sale now

The past two years, The Simple Blessings of Christmas, a gift book with 30 seasonal meditations I wrote and packaged for Simple Truths, has sold out by the end of November.

So consider this my reminder that if you are interested in purchasing a copy (or copies) for you and for others, now is the time to order.

The publisher has added a free card to go along with the free DVD "movie." It will be available through the Simple Truths website and there is a promo code to purchase it at a discount.

Enjoy and be blessed!

the lonely crowd at Christmas

I am not alone at all, I thought. I was never alone at all. And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the word seemingly most indifferent. For this is still the time God chooses.

-Taylor Caldwell

It is possible to walk down Fifth Avenue in New York City with a mob of shoppers and window watchers on a Saturday afternoon during the Christmas season . . . to attend a packed church service to experience Handel’s Messiah . . . to stand in a long line at the local movie theater on the opening night of the latest holiday blockbuster everyone has been waiting to see . . . even to attend the neighborhood Christmas progressive dinner with people you know and greet regularly . . . it is possible to do all these things and still feel lonely.

David Riesman, a Harvard professor and prominent psychologist of the 1950s, described this “modern” phenomenon as being a member of the “lonely crowd.”

Christmas reminds us we are never alone.

If you are feeling disconnected, isolated, and alone in the world, well, you’re not alone. As easy as it seems to simply reach out to others, in our fast-paced, media-saturated, competitive, busy, self-centered, preoccupied society, really connecting can be an imposing challenge. Is it any wonder that so many people turn almost exclusively to the virtual world of cyberspace for dating, chatting, socializing, and experiencing relationships rather than savoring flesh and blood encounters?

Excerpted from the Simple
Blessings of Christmas.

You can do Christmas shopping online to avoid the crowds and connect with friends on Facebook, but you just can’t do Christmas by yourself. So even if you find yourself alone in a crowd at Christmastime, the spirit of the season—the One who came to bring peace to all people, to reconcile God and man, to lift up and redeem people from every walk of life—will touch your heart. Even if you don’t know how to reach out to Him or others, He will reach out to you.

What does it take from you? Nothing more than an open heart. Why try? You just don’t know how, when, where, and with whom you’ll realize you are not alone.

“The virgin shall be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means “God with us.”

Matthew 1:23

 

Merry Christmas from the Gilroys

Open publication - Free publishing - More gilroy family

Christmas reminds us of the joy of hospitality

Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.Washington Irving

 History and literature brim with accounts of the wonderful gift of hospitality. In Charles Dickens’ immortal and beloved A Christmas Carol, it is the rich man with the big house, Ebenezer Scrooge, who locks his door and heart tightly to others, content to count his gold and silver coins. It takes an ethereal ghost and the fear of what the afterlife—chains and all—might hold for him to awaken Scrooge to the soulless and cruel miserliness of his ways. Soon after he sees the light, he is welcomed into the humble home of Bob Cratchett, where the air is cold but the hearts are warm, where he sees with his own eyes the responsibility and richness of opening one’s heart and home to others.

But my house isn’t very big and my furniture isn’t very nice. We get so tired out by the holidays. We just want some down time.

Not sure about your gift of hospitality? First of all, if you have a smile, a warm heart, and a few kind words, no one cares about how grand or simple your house is.  It was the investor Charles M. Schwab who said:  Money will buy you a bed but not a good night sleep, a house but not a home, a companion but not a friend. 

Second, you are wise to pace yourself over the Christmas season and not fill every square in your December calendar with activities. You need not feel guilty for that down time you’ve been looking forward to.

But the simple truth is that hospitality is good for the soul; it allows you to connect with others and is a tangible expression of your care for them.

Two thousand years go, an unnamed innkeeper, his guest rooms already filled, opened his heart and what accommodations he could muster to a young couple with nowhere else to turn. His home was the site of the greatest miracle in the history of mankind.

Shepherds and angels may not appear at your front door when you invite the neighbors over, but a special blessing awaits you and them!

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

From The Simple Blessings of Christmas by Mark Gilroy

Christmas reminds us that greatness begins in small packages

The man who is called father by three of the world’s major religions—Islam, Christianity, and Judaism—had but a small family of his own. In fact, he and his wife, Sarah, weren’t sure they could even have one child. But from Abraham’s offspring, there remains a lineage that circles the globe.

He wasn’t supposed to live beyond infancy. All the other baby boys of his birthplace died the year he was born. His mother had to give him up to the care of another. But the tiny baby survived, even when he was floated down the Nile River in a basket. And the man Moses grew into led his people out of slavery and against impossible circumstances presented by nature and enemies, he brought them into God’s Promised Land.

He was the youngest son of an inconsequential family that was a member of a small tribe that lived in the hill country of an obscure nation. Yet David, a man after God’s own heart, prevailed in combat against lion, bear, and giant. Poet and warrior, he became a king and nation builder against whom all other kings to come would be measured.

In a dark and violent world; in a bleak and blighted village; a tiny life appeared. What difference does the life of one small make baby? Particularly one of questionable lineage, of humble means, far from the center of worldly power?

Jesus, the Babe in the manger, brought light and hope to a world engulfed in strife—and forever changed the course of history.

We look to the big, expensive, and impressive; we admire the powerful and influential; we check price tags, even during the holidays. But the message of Christmas is that great things come in small packages. A simple kindness. A gentle word. A smile. A listening ear. A shared meal. A song. A handwritten note. A surprise phone call. The shining eyes of children. All these small gestures hint at the greatest blessing of Christmas: a grand and magnificent love broke into the world when Jesus was born in a humble manger.

Enjoy the bright lights and big moments of the season. But don’t lose sight that the greatest blessings come in the smallest packages.

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches. Matthew 13:31–32

From The Simple Blessings of Christmas by Mark Gilroy

Note: Publisher sold out in November this year so not available for order. But it will return in 2012.

Christmas highlights the importance of traditions!

What would life be like without traditions? Particularly at Christmas? On September 21, 1897, Francis P. Church, an editor at The New York Sun, wrote a letter to a young lady who wondered about on particular tradition of the season. Church’s classic response provides soothing words to a sometimes cynical world!

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun: “Dear Editor: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, ‘If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?” Virginia O’Hanlon, 115 West Ninety-fifth Street Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the scepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no child-like faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. . . . The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

The songs we sing. The movies we watch yet another year. The visits to relatives. The same meals we’ve eaten for as long as we can remember. The candlelight church service. Traditions. Oh, they can drive us a bit crazy and might even feel a little bit boring at times. But they do point to the “unseeable” and help us experience anew the “supernal beauty and glory beyond.” Traditions are one of the sweetest blessings of Christmas.

Christmas teaches us the joy of gratitude

Christmas day is a day of joy and charity. May God make you very rich in both. - Phillips Brooks

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. - James 1:17

There is a simple attitude that determines in our own minds whether we are rich or poor, blessed or cursed, and fundamentally positive or negative about life. To make that enormous of a difference, that attitude must be incredibly powerful. And it is. That attitude is gratitude.

One person gets a job and is thrilled to be a contributing member of a team—and to be paid for it to boot. Another person gets the same job with the same company and with the same pay and benefits and feels cheated. One person literally has a great job and the other has an equally crummy job. Why? The difference is an attitude of gratitude.

One teen looks under the Christmas tree, finds a simple and thoughtful gift from her mom, and knows she is loved; all that another teen can think about as he tears the glossy wrapping paper from the box is the new cell phone model he didn’t get. She had a great Christmas morning and got absolutely everything she wanted; he had a lousy Christmas and didn’t get anything good. Again the only difference was gratitude.

After a long pregnancy that generated more questions than congratulations; that nearly led to a marriage ending before it started; that included a painful and arduous journey; that culminated in her son being born in conditions fit for animals but not for humans, how did Mary respond? Luke tells us that she “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (2:19). In Bethlehem, among the animals, she found joy. She could have complained that God was doing nothing good for her, that her husband was a lousy provider, that the innkeeper should be put in prison for denying her a bed in the house, but instead she declared the “great things” God had done (Luke 1:49).

This central Christmas story—and the joys and challenges of our modern holiday—remind us that gratitude changes everything. Whether there are gifts stacked to the ceiling with your name on them or you aren’t sure anyone is going to give you anything, stop and give thanks to God, the Giver of all good and perfect gifts. You’ll receive a special blessing in your spirit and discover you have everything you need.

Merry Christmas 2010!

Open publication - Free publishing - More newsletter

Christmas reminds us that generosity brings joy to others—and ourselves

The simple blessings of Christmas are all around us - but in the hustle and bustle of the season we too easily miss them! That's the premise behind a new gift book, The Simple Blessings of Christmas, I wrote with my friends from Inspired Faith (part of Mac Anderson's Simple Truths gift company). As Christmas day approaches I am going to continue to excerpt a few of the 30 short chapters. You can also click here to view the inspirational "movie" that goes along with the book. Hope you enjoy! If you do, I would truly appreciate you sharing with your friends and family. Thanks.

The joy of brightening other lives, bearing others’ burdens, easing others’ loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas.
W. C. Jones

The Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Acts 20:35

Jim and Della Young. A young couple just starting out in the world together and living in hard scrabble tenement in New York City that cost $8 per week. Furnished. Sure, they were poor, but they were in love so all was well—until the Christmas season rolled around.

Through shrewd bargaining with grocers and other shopkeepers, Della had managed to save money to buy a Christmas gift for Jim. Her problem was that you couldn’t buy much with $1.87. She was beside herself with tears. Jim had fared little better. But when he arrived home from work on Christmas Eve, he carefully carried a treasure he knew Della would adore, all wrapped in tissue and paper and tied with a string. But the only thing on Della’s mind was a gift she had for Jim. She could barely contain her excitement in anticipation of seeing the expression of joy on his face when he opened what she had found for him. Della’s pride was her hair: “rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her.” Jim’s pride was a gold watch that had been owned by his father and grandfather.

Jim’s gift to her was a set of combs, “side and back, that Della had worshipped long in a Broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jeweled rims.” Della’s gift to Jim was a “platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation—as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch.”

All was wonderful except the small detail that Jim had sold his watch to buy Della’s combs—and Della had sold her hair to a wigmaker in order to buy his chain.

But in his classic short story, The Gift of the Magi, William Sydney Porter, better known to the world as O. Henry, wrote:

The magi, as you know, were wise men—wonderfully wise men—who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

The Christmas season is fun and exciting as we open presents—but it is even more joyful for the opportunity to share from our abundance with others.

the simple blessings of christmas: childlike wonder

The simple blessings of Christmas are all around us - but in the hustle and bustle of the season we too easily miss them! That's the premise behind a new gift book, The Simple Blessings of Christmas, I wrote with my friends from Inspired Faith (part of Mac Anderson's Simple Truths gift company). Over the next two weeks I am going to excerpt a few of the 30 short chapters. You can also click here to view the inspirational "movie" that goes along with the book. Hope you enjoy! If you do, I would truly appreciate you passing along a good word to your friends and family. They just might enjoy too! Thanks.

Simple Blessing #3

Christmas reveals the wisdom of childlike wonder.

Christmas! The very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given—when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes.
Joan Winmill Brown

Jesus called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:2–4

Even though little Cindy Lou Who didn’t stop the Grinch from stealing Christmas, most Dr. Seuss experts still think it was her big brown eyes that first pierced the his heart and begin his personal transformation, even before he heard the whole community come out and sing from his icy hilltop home.

What are the characteristics of a Grinch?

Nothing showcases the heart of a Grinch better than cynicism. Looking at everyone and everything with jaded and jaundiced eyes. A true Grinch would never be satisfied to watch another person perform a good deed during the holidays, but would take time to wonder who that person thinks they are trying to impress.

Isolation is another surefire way of showing the world your inner Grinch. Getting together with family and friends can be too much of a hassle, can’t it? Why go to a special church service when you’ve had enough of crowds at the mall? And the neighborhood progressive dinner will conflict with a TV show you wanted to watch!

Then there’s a resentful spirit that hates to see others experiencing blessings in life. Such a small-spirited outlook declares one to be a top-tier Grinch.

But there’s more that goes into being a Grinch. Irritability. Short temper. Meanness. Making fun of others for their innocence and joy.

Now if you’ve had enough of being a Grinch, there is a cure if you’ve seriously been feeling like canceling Christmas for yourself—and everyone else—this year. It begins with humility. Not believing you are too sophisticated and cultured to stop and admire the tinsel and the toys. It continues with the words of Jesus to His followers when some thought the kids were being a nuisance and distracting them from grown-up concerns. He said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14).

Lost the wonder of Christmas? Maybe you need to watch a child enjoying the season. Whatever it takes, spend some time with small kids this Christmas. Have some friends or family members with kids come over to decorate cookies. Take a family you know out on a Christmas light tour or to an outdoor Nativity scene. Or help an organization that delivers toys to needy children—and see if you can be part of the delivery team.

Kids approach Christmas activities with unabashed enthusiasm. Watching their excitement and outright glee over things as simple as sugar cookies and wrapping paper, you just might find your heart softening—or growing three sizes—and your cynicism melting. You’ll be filled with compassion for children and an appreciation for their ability to really celebrate. Best of all, what will replace your hard heart is a renewed sense of childlike wonder and joy.

peace on earth, good will to all men

My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?
Bob Hope, American film actor and comedian

Christmas calls us to peace with all people – even those different than ourselves.

It happened in the midst of the fiercest fighting of World War I. It spanned all 500 miles of the Western Front, a jagged ever-changing line separating British and German forces. Newspapers around the world hailed it as miracle.

"All I'd heard for two months in the trenches was the hissing, cracking, and whining of bullets in flight, machinegun fire and distant German voices,” said Alfred Anderson. "But there was a dead silence that morning, right across the land as far as you could see. We shouted 'Merry Christmas’ to each other.”

Anderson, who was 108 years old when he spoke those words, was the last survivor of the Christmas Truce of 1914, a spontaneous event that he experienced at 18 years of age and one that he had thought of every day since.

There are numerous first hand accounts from soldiers’ journals of how this seemingly spontaneous outburst got started. But the story most remembered was that a German soldier began singing “Stille Nacht” and his solo soon became a chorus as he was joined by English voices singing “Silent Night.” A British regiment serenaded the Germans with “The First Noel” and the Germans sang back to them, “O Tannenbaum.”

Men from both armies laid down their weapons and crept cautiously and then quickly into No Man’s Land to share food, cigars, drinks – and even play a game of soccer together.

Christmas has always been a time when people of all ages, races, and creeds come together to break bread peacefully. Like the Truce of 1914 sometimes even sworn enemies have laid aside historical and more recent hostilities.

In the Christmas story, a newborn Baby was given gifts by Wise Men from the East, probably Persians from a city in what is now Iran. When these Magi realized that King Herod was a threat to the Baby’s life, they protected him by returning home by a different route in order to keep his location a secret from the madman. This Baby was sheltered during his childhood in Egypt, a country that had fought many wars with his homeland.

When angels sang to shepherds, ‘Peace on Earth, good will to all men,” they announced the simple yet profound truth that enemies can be reconciled; that strangers can become friends; that those who think and believe differently can still be neighbors. Christmas was literally born in strife – but celebrated and protected by “foreigners” who were men and women of peace and good will.

As you experience the Christmas season this year, don’t think that peace is something to be negotiated by politicians between lands and peoples that are thousands of miles from your world. Begin with how you look at those who are different than you. Does your attitude proclaim that you are a person of peace and good will? Move closer to home and ask yourself if there is a relationship where you need to lay down weapons of anger and harmful words? Is there a person with whom you need to call a truce and be reconciled? Not just for a day but from this point forward?

holidays are for games: 3 recommendations

The online video gaming industry is huge and getting huger every year - almost as big as Hollywood and on a growth trajectory that will continue to cut into the TV audience for sports. But for all the realism and sophistication found in the new product launches and annual updates, video games lack something important that can still be found in playing old school board games: face-to-face human interaction and intimacy.

It's almost Christmas. A lot of people will be off work with vacation time and a lot of families and friends will gather to celebrate and catch up. Tis the season when classic board games like Life, Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly. Clue, and Scrabble will be lifted down from top closet shelves and dusted off.

Here are three random game ideas that you might want to try with your friends and family members.

1. Settlers of Catan. My soon to be son-in-law brought this to our family Christmas gathering last year and the award-winning game was an instant hit. Think of Risk on steroids without the cannons and destroyed troops. The board comes in about 30 pieces and can be set up different every time. Up to six can play. The goal is to get 10 'victory points', which are gained by building roads, settlements, cities, and armies. Players have to accumulate wood, bricks, ore, sheep, and grain through strategically building settlements in the right spots - and through good old fashioned barter with other players. Sounds complicated but it only takes 15 to 30 minutes to learn. There are game extensions in the Catan family that can take you on the ocean or to outer space or into particular historical epochs, like the Roman Empire.

2. Fast Scrabble. I like regular Scrabble just fine but if you want an interesting variation try 'fast scrabble.' All tiles are placed in the middle of the table face down. The first player turns over a tile. If it's a one-letter word like 'I' or 'A' then the first player to call out the word gets to keep the tile, face up, in front of him or her. If it's not a word, the tile remains with the person who turned it over as a free letter. The second player turns over a tile and again, whoever calls out a word, made from that letter or that letter and any other letters that are face up, gets all the tiles to make a new word. If 'A' came up first and then 'M' came up second, player three can call out 'Am' and keeps that word in front of him. If the third letter pulled up is 'C' then the first player can call 'Cam' and all letters come back to him or her. If the next letter is an 'E' then someone can yell 'Came' and the tiles are now all theirs. Once a word is formed the letters must stay intact and in that order but can switch to different players throughout the game. 'Oven' can become 'Coven' can become 'Covens' and so on. When all tiles have been turned over, each player adds up the points on their tiles that are formed into words and subtracts any letters that are sitting free. Loud. Fast. Fun.

3. Team Hybrid Game Night. One of our favorite activities during the holidays is a family and/or friend game night where we divide into teams and play a combination of popular games, a new one each round. This works best with four or five teams going four to five rounds. We like to use Trivial Pursuit (each team is asked every question on a single card per round and is awarded 10 to 20 points per correct answer), Pictionary (50 points for identifying the picture), Tabu (20 points per correct word), Outburst (10 points per correct word), Scene-It (all teams compete at once in an 'All Play'), but you can come up with a myriad of other options, like Charades or Family Feud, by adapting your favorite games into the process. One of the nice things about the team approach is that you can enjoy competition but no one gets singled out as not being good at something like Trivial Pursuit. I like to do a final round where points are doubled and each team gets to choose which of the previous games played they want to try.

Whether you're gearing up to drive to Grandma's or are hosting a group of friends on Christmas afternoon, don't get stuck in the rut of staring at the TV screen and missing out on the people around you. Games or no games, find ways to interact face-to-face.

broke for the holidays

You might be broke for the holidays if ...

1. you think Ebeneazor Scrooge is a great role model

2. the cashier at Wal-Mart begins to laugh hysterically after you swipe a credit card that you thought might have a little credit left on it to pay for your purchase

3. you decide that friends and family members really would prefer a homemade present from you even though you've never made anything homemade in your life

4. you ignore the Salvation Army bell ringer and use your pocket change to play the lottery

5. you raid your closet to find unused gifts from last year that you can wrap as presents this year

6. you undercut prices of the kid down the street to grab market share in the snow shoveling business in your neighborhood

7. you show up at your rich cousin's house for Thanksgiving and stay through New Year's Day

8. you volunteer to help at a soup kitchen so you can take your spouse out for dinner

9. you go Christmas caroling in your neighborhood and carry a very large tip jar

10. you head downtown to look for beggars you can borrow money from

11. you decide on a fresh cut Christmas tree this year ... and it's the tree that used to be in your next door neighbor's backyard

12. you announce that hors d' oeuvres for the party at your house will be served in the food section at Sam's Club

Okay, being broke for the holidays really isn't funny and is certainly no laughing matter if you are the one impacted by it. On the other hand, everyone knows that Americans are too materialistic in general and put way too much emphasis on spending money to make the holidays jolly. We also suspect this is going to be a much leaner holiday season for millions.

So this might be the year a number of individuals and families change their priorities and spending habits for the Christmas season out of necessity - and find themselves richer for the experience. That same individual or family will hopefully be reminded of the importance of generosity and giving in future years when they have plenty because they'll remember what it feels like to be without and be much more aware of the needy around them.

Whether broke or rolling dough this year. just remember that the ho ho ho that springs from a generous always sounds better than bah humbug heard from a miserly heart!

So how do you plan to spend the holidays?