It could have easily gone sideways.

But it was Christmas Eve at the market and I was getting a few last minute things. The checkout lines were long as a bobtail.

I chose Lynda’s line because she’s always been cheerful and helpful in many ways.

Fifth in the line of 10 or more, directly behind me, number 6 began complaining and her impatient rant was desperately looking for support among the ranks. But nobody was biting.

“I can’t believe they don’t…blah…blah” she continued.

And as if we’d rehearsed it, we all began talking among ourselves about the joys of our holidays, how Lynda was our favorite checker and we all made light of it when the receipt tape ran out on number 2, the gift cards didn’t validate on number 3 and number 4 could get two more 12 packs for free on the promotion though he didn’t speak enough English to understand her. Number 8 chimed in with a translation and we all laughed and waited for the box boy to return with his other two.

All except number 6. She stood there fuming.

No matter how busy this holiday season, keep your cool, keep your joy, wish Merry Christmas to all your numbers 1-10 but say a little prayer for the number sixes who just aren’t there yet. 

So every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭36‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Being skilled at a particular craft is an endowment from God with intent for you to use it for his glory.

I’ve been a writer all my life.

It wasn’t until the day I was saved from a 25 year prison sentence that I acknowledged the gift and began using it to tell stories of redemption on my website.

Your craft, your trade, your skills—none are your own. They may earn your livelihood, pay the rent, and put food on the table but not until you put them to work for a higher purpose and calling will they make the difference in this world for which they were so generously given.

It took all kinds of skilled workers to construct the intricacies of the Lord’s tabernacle, and hearts responding to the need, each with his or her specialized gift.

People may be capable of great things but miss the blessing of using them for the highest and best purposes.

It begins by knowing Jesus, from whom all blessings flow.

She was like a holiday seasoning.

She swore me to complete secrecy but she’s now gone, and not to be forgotten for her many generous acts of service.

Allison called me the December before she left us to say she wanted to share some kindness with a HopeLink client in great need. I shared one particularly sad case and after we both cried a little on the phone, she was off and running.

She shared her own Christmas Jar tradition with this family under the cover of night, placing it on the doorstep, ringing their bell, then running off. Apparently this has been her holiday habit for many years.

The next day, our client phoned us in tears saying someone had left her a $400 jar of coins on the porch which, coincidentally, was the past due amount on the family’s power bill.

Allison’s secret gesture that evening just before Christmas kept the power on for that family and started them all back to church once again with a renewed belief there is indeed a God who provides.

Allison Copening, the secret’s out.

You earned your angel wings well before you left this earth.

Those of us who knew you aren’t the least bit surprised.

Your years with us seasoned our holidays and everydays and will be remembered for a long, long time.

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34‬:‭29‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Moses was lit.

Some people maintain such a close and personal relationship with God it’s evident even before they speak.

They just light up a room.

They don’t say much, but when they do, it’s gold. Humble but so helpful.

There’s a man I know like this. He spends the bulk of his time in study and prayer. Even a brief chat with him leaves me feeling enlightened, invigorated and challenged.

Seek out people who inspire you.

Be the radiant light for others, yourself like a brilliant gem reflecting the love and wisdom of God gained only by time in Word, prayer, and deed.

Others will see it on your face.

Peace on earth?

We wish it in greetings of prose and song this time each year but is it really possible? Is it just a relic of holiday grammar? An empty, outdated hope from a simpler time long ago that we refuse to abandon?

Giving up on peace would be a resignation of hope and I don’t think most of us are ready for that just yet.

But nowadays, fewer and fewer believe peace on earth is genuinely attainable.

It sounds warm, lovely and hopeful like many season’s greeting cards but is just as quickly drowned out by the next hostile report of murder, act of war or mayhem across the globe or in our own backyard.

I, for one, believe peace on earth is still possible because peace on earth isn’t a state but a movement.

What if we abandoned the impossible thought of global peace and viewed peace on earth emergent as a series of individual efforts which, consistent and connected, create the cause of peace and move it forward, if but an inch with each deliberate effort?

By definition, movements move. They gain momentum. They don’t and can’t stop. Those who pay peace forward do so in small, imaginable, deliberate ways. And not because of a season or words on a greeting card.

Peace is the easing of pain, the healing of wounds, the comfort of the afflicted.

Peace is a warm coat, a hot meal, a ride to the store or a touch to the untouchable?

We can do peace. Each of us can be peace to another.

Peace on earth is a sacrifice.

It takes effort.

Selfish people will never have peace because they never give it, leaving it up to the rest of us.

At this time of year, there is more selfish indulgence than at any other. But conversely, it’s the time when peace-full people make the extra effort.

Stories of individual and family gives, rejection of conformity to the commercialization of the holidays and ensembles of strangers uniting for the purpose of sharing with the impoverished abound.

Peace on earth is deliberate.

Peace on earth won’t ride in on the political coattails of a determined leader. It doesn’t take residence in a world of good intentions. It can’t be legislated or mandated and never arrives in waves of mass conviction.

Peace on earth comes deliberately, in one act of goodwill at a time and it’s never bound to a time of year.

Peace on earth is an all-year commitment.

Truth is, when the holiday season ends, so does much of the giving. Corporate giving is least expected to continue when the PR opportunities are fewer and less available and drops in individual giving follow.

People justify their inaction by complaints of being tapped out.

But authentic movements of peace don’t slow or stop simply because the season is over. It never lacks resources. It doesn’t take a break. It continues to move. It has to.

Very soon, the celebration will be over.

But the cause of peace will go on, feeding the hungry, warming the cold and touching the neglected, with or without you, albeit with less momentum, but never lacking intention and purpose.

Peace is a movement.

At this time and at all times, our wish must be: Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.

Don’t give up the hope. We can get there. Vow with me to do your part to keep the momentum of peace going all year long.

Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭23‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭

Among the many laws for and promises to his people found in Exodus is this simple gem.

God promised health and a full life on condition of faithful worship.

The foundational and fundamental ingredient for vital living is always a robust faithfulness.

It’s clear that God’s perfect plan for his people is to provide not just for their needs but also for their thriving and flourishing.

Healthy living begins with worship but ends with a dispassionate abandonment of our creator as Jehovah Jireh, our provider. God will not stand for neglect nor neglect of the vessel he has provided each of us.

A whole person and a full life is his plan. It’s up to us to get on board.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The only time most of us take an actual day of rest is when we come down sick. And it’s not a day we’ve prepared for. To the contrary, it usually arrives as a thief of our plans and preparations.

Besides, there’s always work to be done no matter what day it is.

God wants us to value down time for its regenerative and reflective properties, both of which are essential to optimal performance the other six days.

But we regard the day of rest as a good suggestion rather than the commandment that it is, on par with not murdering, coveting or sleeping with your next door neighbor’s wife.

Those commandments are a lot easier to keep than taking 14.29% of your week—less than a standard tip you leave as thanks to a stranger— to rejuvenate and reflect.

Preparing the other 85% of the week for a day free of obligations preserves you for performing your best at your actual obligations.

Chill. Keep it holy.