'Tis the season.

No doubt somebody's making a list. Millions of peeps are checking it twice. Surely some-body cares if you're naughty or nice. 'Tis the season and Santa Clause is coming to town. But, everything isn't holly jolly for everyone this year. Or, any year, for that matter. We humans celebrate many reasons for the season. It's something of a religious holiday for the Christian community. Still, unbelievers of every sort string up the lights, decorate the trees, listen to and sing the music, give and receive gifts, eat the seasonal goodies, visit family and friends, remember past glories, and participate in charitable causes. The professionals over in the psychology department remind us that some people simply endure the holiday under the weight of the Christmas blues. You know, personal stress and depression magnified by the good cheer everyone else is experiencing. While the world is chanting Ho Ho Ho, these family members, neighbors, and friends are moaning Oh Oh Oh because life has taken a regrettable turn of some sort. Oh Oh Oh indeed..

Of course, Christmas 2020 is loaded with the baggage of that mondo bizarro I wrote about last week, the weird world of 2020. Crowd dynamics, social distancing. face masks, government restrictions, and the continuing dangers of Covid-19 have us all on guard to a certain extent. Even more, personal realities like financial pressure, normal sickness, grief, family tension, loneliness, separation, and every other human emotional crisis weigh heavier when the holiday motif is so visible everywhere. Then, there is SAD, the Seasonal Affective Disorder, the blues of gloomy weather, shorter days, blizzards, and the restraining four close walls of home. While the world around so many people is bursting with bows and ribbons, colorful lights, and tinkling bells, so many others are living in the shadows of dreadful truth. It's not always holly jolly.

Scripture offers guidance in our response to people whose Christmas season is blighted in some way. This Christian worldview we personally claim provides counsel as we live alongside of people whose Christmas isn't so merry---

1. Be understanding of the people around us.

The Apostle Paul reminded the Roman church to "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep" (Romans 12: 15, ESV). You know, a little empathy right now. Simon Peter wrote, "Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind" (1 Peter 3: 8, ESV). During the Christmas season we should all acknowledge the hardships of life and the fact that not everyone is dreaming of a white Christmas. Many are grappling with deep life issues that darken the season. We should be aware and understanding of their emotional stress. We should "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6: 2, ESV).

2. Dispense Joy and hope to the people around us.

Happiness is such a circumstantial emotion. What make things merry and bright may change with life circumstances that test and challenge us. This Christian worldview speaks of joy, hope, and peace as lasting spiritual realities to define the times. Again, the Apostle Paul wrote, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" (Romans 15: 13, ESV). Being filled with joy and peace should overflow our lives so that we can abound in hope. Let that be your influence on the people around you this Christmas.

3. Encourage one another.

I love what the author of Hebrews wrote. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near"

(Hebrews 10: 23-25, ESV). Be an encourager this year, especially to those you know are experiencing a down time at Christmas.

Yes, 'tis the season. Let's help make it the season for those having difficulty too.

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Mondo bizarro & the final stretch

Well, yes, as a metaphor the final stretch can move us in several directions. This week it has been primarily a consideration of the last month of the year, the thirty one days of December, 2020. Most of us have issues we should settle before we encounter the many unknowns of 2021. But, the idea of a final stretch lurks in darker corner themes most often considered morbid and perhaps ghoulish. There is the final stretch of life and those tasks that lead us to it. In many instances those times are hidden from us, the events and circumstances that take our lives unawares. Extended illness, disease, and advanced aging are certainly forecasts of this final stretch as well. That we can't always plot our life end doesn't, however, relieve us of the need for some preparation.

Scripture affirms the certainty of death. The anonymous author of Hebrews reminds us of this truth---"And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment..." (Hebrews 9:27, ESV). Death is our inevitable earthly end. The blessing of life is also depicted in the BIble as a brief sojourn---a mist, vapor, flower that withers, wind that passes, fleeting moments, shadow, and others. Covid-19 and many other elements of mondo bizarro have broadcast frequent life bulletins about the reality of death and the brevity of life. In my seventy-first year I've mourned the passing of many long-time friends, classmates, church and family members. The prayer "now I lay me down to sleep" has a new and ultimate meaning. The real question now is: am I prepared for that moment?

Several years ago Harriet and I became convicted about our preparations for death. Yes, we live every day in the anticipation of a full and rewarding life. But, one day I was convicted about a Bible truth that had always been real but had become more so as we faced advanced age. The Apostle Paul wrote it to Timothy---"But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Timothy 5: 8, ESV). Sure, it was immediately understood in the context of providing the essentials of life to those in our family circle. Further prayer and thought also brought the challenge to provide direction, guidance, and preparation to the family in the event of our death. Several end of life matters confronted us. This information has been assembled into a large file, the location of which has been related to our daughter---

1. Affirming our spiritual well-being and hopes for eternity.

2. Preparation of an up-to-date last will and testament.

3. Expression of our final wishes and desires in a living will.

Harriet and I studied several of these fine documents and chose Fives Wishes as the one that seemed most compatible with our faith and basic approach to life. This form of will gives our selections regarding final services, burial preferences, and other matters of concern to us.

4. Gathering of insurance policies, retirement materials, homeowner information,

asset listings, and liability information.

5. Contact information for individuals to be notified and assist in the event of our

death.

Hey, its the final stretch and we're all headed there. In my heart and mind the preparations, and many that I may have overlooked, are an element of spiritual wisdom. King David indicated that such wisdom is learned when we're aware of this final stretch. He wrote, "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12, ESV).

Mondo bizarro? Yes, a really odd year. Final stretch? Yes, 28 days to finish what we started or bring to conclusion things of value. And, yes, final stretch in preparing for the day we move from this life to eternity.

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Mondo bizarro & quitting

Mondo bizarro has certainly activated the pause button on many goals, objectives, and to do lists this year. Of course, the velocity, complexity, and mobility of exponential times had already transformed us into a culture of also-rans and quitters. Before 2020 the good old American work ethic throbbed the cadence of daily life. We started much but let a good bit of it slide because our plates were in reality too full. Covid-19, election 2020, and the other disruptions of mondo bizarro have given us genuine justification for clearing the calendar and eliminating a few less essential commitments. But, kids, there are still 29 days left in 2020 and some of these abandoned projects need completion before the new year flashes on our screens.

So meet Russian psychologist Bluma Zeignarnik. He did extensive research on the effect of unfinished business on life. The Zeignarik Effect measures the influence of projects, assignments, or aspirations that are incomplete. His work discovered that the human brain continues to remember and function around plans that have not been closed. Perhaps the Zeignarik Effect explains the nagging tug of unresolved goals and actions as we near year end. So, today we're in the final stretch of 2020 and have twenty-nine days to remove these lingering tasks from our to-do lists.

What are these things we typically leave undone. You know, the diet we meant to begin back in January; the long list of friends we haven't contacted in years; the automobile maintenance that flashes lights at us when we drive; the must-read book that's been on the bed-side table all year; the rest we promised to get over the weekend; the stressed relationship we should resolve; the doctors appointment we've been meaning to make; and so many others. We humans usually have a long list of things we want to accomplish ASAP. Still, circumstances intervene. The needs of the moment force us to set our goals and objectives aside. Now, nearing year end, it's the Zeignarik Effect, the brain function that doesn't let go all that easily.

OK, finishing is a personal fixation, perhaps the outflow of being somewhat OCD (look it up). My book Finish Period: Going the Distance in Ministry examines the biblical and spiritual directives regarding pastors and spiritual leaders enduring hardship and conflict in ministry and seeing it through. Of course, the truths in the ministry subset are reliable direction that influence every life experience. Finishing period is lifestyle adjustment for many of us. Forget about finishing strong or well. Finish period is the deal at year end. And, it is a strong biblical theme---

So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.

2 Corinthians 8: 11, ESV

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1: 6, ESV

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

2 Timothy 4: 7, ESV

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Ecclesiastes 7: 8, ESV

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

James 4: 17, ESV

The backstory of unfinished things at year end is the nagging reality of good intentions versus life reality. Sure, back in January, 2020, we could not envision mondo bizarro. The weirdness of 2020 wasn't on our radar screens. But, there it is. And, many things on our plan list have been shoved aside and left undone. Some are inconsequential. Others involve life necessities. Bear down and finish them.

Mondo bizarro has yielded a new crop of quitters. So, there are twenty-nine days. Let's get 'er done.

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