I know I say this every year, but I am so thankful for each and every friend I've kept, and every new acquaintance who's become a good friend. Friends are not as easily found as they used to be, and in the stage I'm in right now, I'm trying to hold on to as many as possible

 

Now, you might ask, "So Tim. Whats the deal with all the sentimentality?" Well, a very old (in the sense we've been friends since forever) and dear friend of mine once told me that sentimentality is not a bad thing. In my view, there isn't enough of it! :) It is also my belief that the reason we teenagers don't like sentiment "stuff," is because we see how its been abused by our endearing friends from Hollywood. Indeed, they have abused it. But let me ask you this: because someone abuses God's Holy Name, does that mean we shouldn't use it anymore? As Paul says, "may it never be!"  See, we need to be way more proactive, people. Instead of letting the Hollywood agenda run us over much like an old VW van, lets take a stand. When your local Home Depot refrains from using the phrase "Merry Christmas" because its too religiously exclusive, be the first to say "Merry Christmas" back!

 

This is not meant to be a seen-next-to-RiteAid-and-its-so-profound church marque, but merely to give y'all some encouragement over this Holiday season. I've just been feeling so convicted of late that I need to take a  more proactive role in not only my church, but also my community. At the same time, I'm also very aware of the cheerleader-shallow approach to Advent that is so prevalent in not only my County, but the State and Nation as well. Its so hard to take a really good stand for something, when you know that the person you're responding to has a built-in response to your religous zealousness because of what they've been fed over the years by an "all-frosting-no-cake" society. So this time of year,thank God that you've been raised in a Christian home, and that your parents haven't fallen prey to the Santa Clausean culture.

 

Well, I've made a few sizeable jumps to get from "friends" to "Santa;" but for me, its not very hard to follow. Friends are those that keep you sane throughout this time of year, whether its your immediate family, your debate circles, campaign groups, your church, or your best friends. I know that I've have many friends in each of those areas, without whom I could not be sane. So this year, this Christmas, I thank God for each and every friend of mine. You have put up with me, and somehow, we're still friends. So thanks!

God Bless your Christmas!

Tim

 

   

 Oh, and if you have time, visit my Johari...plz :)