The present is such a gift! My prayer for myself and others is to always live in the moment, aware that it is all we have, but also aware that decisions we make in the present will affect future “presents”. May we always listen to the present “still small voice” steering us in the right direction.

Christmas is a man-made creation of our culture. The word ‘Christmas’ is not in the bible. Knowing the history of how we have come to celebrate the birth of the Messiah helps keep my stress level down during the holidays. There is nothing I HAVE to do. People may expect me to do this or that in honor of the holiday, but that is their problem, not mine. I have a terrible cold or something right now and feel and look awful, and I certainly do not feel like doing the list of things I hoped to finish before Christmas day. But oh well, life will go on, and it will be okay if it does not get done. At present, all is well.

Of course I want friends and family to be happy. Please see paragraph one. I think the secret to happiness is there.