Quote Your Dad

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

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Merry Christmas!

The Christmas season is one that causes us to be drawn to those things that really matter. It happens without us realizing it, so I would challenge you to make it happen intentionally. At this time of the year, think about what really matters. Start with faith – if you don’t already have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Savior, would you please consider speaking to someone about it? – and then think about the value of your family and your friends. Allow this season to be one that helps you to purposefully identify those things that really matter, and make them a priority in your life.

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

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The Christmas Story

Matthew 1:18-25

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” 24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

Luke 2:1-20

1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” 15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Matthew 2:1-12

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ” 7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” 9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

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Quote Your Dad

“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

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Podcast Season 3, Episode 23: The Truth About Christmas

Have you wondered what Christmas is really about? On today’s episode, that’s the question we are going to explore. In this holiday season of activity and celebration, it’s easy for the real meaning behind Christmas to become lost or buried beneath it all. That makes it important to intentionally step back every Christmas and remind ourselves of what Christmas is all about.

Here is the link to the podcast.

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The Truth About Christmas

Have you wondered what Christmas is really about? In this holiday season of activity and celebration, it’s easy for the real meaning behind Christmas to become lost or buried beneath it all. That makes it important to intentionally step back every Christmas and remind ourselves of what Christmas is all about.

I have so many wonderful childhood memories and traditions surrounding Christmas. Some of them are specific individual memories like the year my parents got us a family gift of an air hockey table. We had so much fun playing with that game as a family. Others are traditions that we repeated every year, like opening one present on Christmas Eve, and then on Christmas morning, opening stockings, followed by eating a big breakfast that my dad cooked, and then opening presents, and finally a Christmas dinner later that afternoon with extended family. My wife, meanwhile, grew up with different traditions, which included a big Christmas Eve dinner (often with extended family), and in addition to Christmas Day, celebrated Three Kings on January 6, a Puerto Rican celebration of the three wise men following the star to find baby Jesus.

When we got married and had kids, we blended some of those traditions together, and created new ones. Over the years, we would typically have a big dinner on Christmas Eve, and open one present before going to bed.  The next morning, we would open stockings and have a big breakfast of homemade Belgian waffles (recipe courtesy of my sister-in-law Lynnette) with strawberries and ice cream, along with bacon and eggs. I also always have half of a grapefruit because my dad always had grapefruit on Christmas morning, and it reminds me of him. Then we finally would open the presents.  Two weeks later, we celebrate Three Kings with our children.

But as meaningful as those things are, they miss the true, underlying meaning behind why we even celebrate Christmas in the first place, which is why we also always read the Christmas story during this season, usually on Christmas Eve before opening that first present.

What’s the Christmas Story? It’s found in Luke 1 and Matthew 1 and 2. It’s the story of when God, the Creator of the universe, sent His one and only Son to be born as a living human being, to live and walk this earth for about 33 years as both fully God and fully man. In doing that, He was able to live as a person like you and me, but live sinlessly in order to be the sacrifice for our sins when He paid the price on the cross with His death, burial, and subsequent resurrection. And His life on earth began as a baby born in a manger in Bethlehem. That’s what we are really celebrating at Christmas. 

What that means for you is that the real story behind Christmas points to the means of salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Baby Jesus in the manger is the beginning of the whole story that ends at Easter, and it is of eternal significance to you.

Therefore, here’s what you need to take away. Jesus came as an innocent baby in order to become the perfect sacrifice for you and for me. Behind all the joys of family, gift-giving, and celebration that happen all throughout this season, this is the most important thing that we need to remember.

The bottom line is that we are sinners and, therefore, will be eternally separated from God, who is perfect. But Jesus paid the price so that we could be reconciled to God through Jesus’ sacrifice. My friend, if you have never placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior, can I encourage you to take that step? Because that’s the real meaning and purpose of Christmas.

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Quote Your Dad

“If you do what you’ve always done, you will get what you’ve always gotten.”

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Podcast Season 3, Episode 22: Lessons on Leadership from the Little Things in Life (Use Your Imagination)

Life is full of examples that teach us lessons. That’s why stories and illustrations make learning so much more effective. When a story can be used to illustrate or demonstrate a valuable lesson, the story makes it much more understandable, relatable, and memorable. With that in mind, I want to take some time to do just that – share examples of circumstances and stories experienced in everyday life which illustrate leadership lessons that we can learn and apply. This is one of those examples, and it teaches us about the value of using your imagination.

Here is the link to the podcast.

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Lessons on Leadership from the Little Things in Life: Use Your Imagination

Life is full of examples that teach us lessons. That’s why stories and illustrations make learning so much more effective. When a story can be used to illustrate or demonstrate a valuable lesson, the story makes it much more understandable, relatable, and memorable. With that in mind, I want to take some time to do just that – share examples of circumstances and stories experienced in everyday life which illustrate leadership lessons that we can learn and apply. This is one of those examples, and it teaches us about the value of using your imagination.

My toddler granddaughter loves to play doctor. She has a toy medical bag with all the necessary equipment that a doctor might use, and often likes to pretend that one of her dolls (or one of her family members) is sick or injured, and she needs to help them get better. She will pull different tools out of the bag so that she can check everything and provide the right treatment, then pronounce that the injured toy, or person, is all better.

In one particular instance, she saw that I had a scrape on one of my knuckles and exclaimed, “Oh no, it hurts!” So, she had me lie down on the floor so she could treat me, and this treatment included a full physical. She checked my blood pressure, tapped my knees with a hammer to check my reflexes, looked in my ears and nose and throat, put a Band-Aid on my knuckle, and listened to my heart with her toy stethoscope. As she was “listening” to my heart, she started, saying, “thump, thump, thump,” but then that changed to “squeak, squeak, squeak.” She told me I had a mouse in my heart, and she had to chase the mouse out of me, so she got some cheese for the mouse to follow.

I am grateful that she is developing the character trait of empathy, but that’s not the primary thing I want to point out with this illustration. What I want to emphasize is the imagination that was at work, on two different levels. First was the role-play as she was pretending to be a doctor. She was doing the things that she imagined a doctor would do, and trying to put herself into that role. And she was doing it with sincerity and enthusiasm. Beyond that, she was also thinking outside of the normal by bringing a mouse problem into the checkup.

Those are two things that we ought to be doing in the leadership of our organizations. First, is that we ought to role-play. I don’t mean by that that we need to pretend to be someone we are not, but rather that we put ourselves in other people’s shoes and try to see things from their perspective. People have different experiences and perspectives, and it is beneficial for us to understand that because that will help us have a better picture of the circumstances, issues, and needs. Second, we ought to explore different ways of thinking about things. It’s easy for us, without realizing it, to see things the way that we always have, through the lens that we have always used. But removing that lens and looking at things from a different angle, even one that might not make sense, can change our perspective and our options.

And that’s the lesson on leadership from this little thing in life, from this story of my granddaughter, checking my heart with her toy stethoscope, and hearing a mouse. Too often, our vision is limited because we’re not seeing things from another perspective, and we do what we’ve always done without thinking differently. Sometimes, we need to set aside our normal thought process, see from someone else’s point of view, and be willing to use some imagination and think creatively. In order to grow both personally and organizationally (and, in some cases, find your way past a difficult challenge), you need to be ready and willing to use your imagination.

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Quote Your Dad

“If you’re good, you don’t have to tell people, they’ll tell you.”

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