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2024 is soon to be over. For some of you, it was a great year. But for others, it was a year to forget.

It doesn’t make sense, but it was my favorite Christmas. It especially doesn’t make sense that it was our kids’ favorite Christmas…but it was. It was a difficult year financially. Our expenses were high and income was low. We had a capital campaign at church and we committed a gift over and above our regular giving that was a stretch for us. And then we had some medical bills not covered by insurance.

When the type on his printer began to grow faint, Bob called a local repair shop where a friendly clerk informed him the printer probably only needed to be cleaned. Because the store charged $50 for cleanings, the clerk told Bob he could read the printer's manual and try to do it himself.

A young woman was complaining to her father about how difficult her life had become. He said nothing, but took her to the kitchen and set three pans of water to boiling. To the first pan, he added carrots; to the second, eggs; and to the third, ground coffee. After all three had cooked, he put their contents into separate bowls and asked his daughter to cut into the eggs and carrots and smell the coffee.

Christmas is coming! Parents, how will you approach the Santa thing this year?

You should skip Thanksgiving this year if you are a grumbler, complainer, or a generally negative person. After all, you’ll just be a hypocrite. Why would you celebrate a day that you don't believe in? If your modus operandi is to look for what you think is wrong and voice it, just forget the day. Everyone will be looking at you like, “What’s she doing here?”

At dinner time when our kids were little, we would take turns praying before eating. It was 5-year-old Brock’s turn to pray. When Brock prayed, he never prayed only for the food. I tend to get right to the point, thank God for the food, say “Amen,” and we start eating. Brock, however, liked to talk to God.

Officials in China recently cited 35 restaurants for adding opioids to their entrées in an attempt to engender customer loyalty through addiction. I have to wonder who came up with the idea and how it spread to other nearby restaurants.

Friday was All Saints’ Day, or officially, All Hallows' Day. We actually get Halloween from this holiday as the night before was called Hallowed Evening, and then shortened to Halloween. No, Halloween is not Satan’s birthday…Satan wouldn’t have a birthday, but that’s a whole ‘nother blog.

Most Christians I know struggle with how to share their faith. I have something for you that will revolutionize your opportunities to show that Christ is real in your life.

On a local TV talk show program, a paramedic was asked, “What was your most unusual and challenging 911 call?”

Some have misunderstood our church’s apolitical involvement as, “politics is not important.” That’s not true. Politics is important. It’s just not the church’s mission.

One word…GRATITUDE.

Jean-Jacques Guiony, CFO of French luxury multinational LVMH supplier of fine wines, says that champagne sales are down because people are too sad about the state of the world to celebrate. Guiony said, “Maybe the current global situation, be it geopolitical or macroeconomic, does not lead people to cheer up and to open bottles of champagne.” With prices seemingly up for everything else, champagne prices are down 20% over the past two years and sales continue to drop.

Self-denial. Delayed gratification. I know, not exactly the best thoughts to draw readers in.

“I have doubts. Does that mean I don’t have faith?” I’ve been asked this dozens of times.

How you manage your emotions has more of an impact on your marriage, raising kids, and doing well at work than just about anything else. In his book, Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman demonstrates how a person’s ability to manage his or her emotions has more influence on their success in life than IQ.

It seemed like an impossible distance. I was 19 years old, walking along Texas State Highway 69 just outside of Tyler, Texas. I put my thumb out, hoping to get a ride to Alvin, Texas, about 230 miles away. I didn’t think I’d ever get there. But after 30 hours of hitchhiking and walking, I made it, exhausted, and fell asleep on the lawn of a church.

If you are new to The Bridge, you may be wondering what kind of church we are. And if you are new to the church world, you might be wondering what a church is for.

I don’t have any tattoos. I often tell people that I have a conviction against them, because I have a conviction against unnecessary pain! And yet, sometimes, I choose pain. I did at the dentist a month or so ago. I chose short-term pain in order to avoid long-term tooth loss. Every time I workout, I choose pain. You know the saying, “No pain, no gain.” It’s painful to have tough conversations, but it’s usually best to have them anyway.