motd Sunday December 18, 2011 - Holiday Cheer

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SPREAD IT!

Sunday, 18 December 2011

No, no, no. Don't get all excited! I'm not

talking about spreading a big-old pat of butter onto a

hot roll or some cream cheese dip onto one of your

favorite crackers. There's something else I want you

spreading this

holiday season. I'll get to that in a couple of

minutes.

While most of us are

celebrating the holidays, others find Christmas one of

the most depressing times of the year.

But first, in case you've never thought about it,

while most of us are celebrating these beautiful

holidays, others find Christmas one of the most

depressing times of the year. I hate to mention it

but, every Christmas season, there's actually an

increase in the number of suicides in our country.

And God knows, it always breaks my heart to think

about that. But wait.

These people aren't sad just because they don't have

money to buy nice gifts for their loved ones. See,

they're already sad about something else and the

Christmas season only makes them feel sadder.

For instance, do you know someone who's lost a loved

one this year? They could have lost a parent, a

spouse, a partner or maybe a sibling. And what can

make the holidays really sad is that this may be the very

first Christmas without their loved one. In

fact, many of you reading this message have probably

been through this yourselves, including me. Having

lost both my parents, I know how hard those first

Christmas seasons were for me...without them.

If you know someone who's

been feeling down much of the year, during these

holidays, they're probably feeling especially sad and

blue.

So when I say "spread it," I'm talking about spreading

the Christmas cheer! If you know someone who's

been feeling down much of the year, chances are,

during these holidays, they're probably feeling

especially sad and blue.

Call them up! That's right, tell them you

were thinking about and love them. Maybe you can

offer to get together with them some time over the

holidays. (Wouldn't that be nice?) You'll be

surprised how good your act of kindness can make them

feel.

Yes, Christmas truly is a

magical season, especially for the children. Last

week, I asked you to donate toys to a group that helps

the kids in your city, to make a donation to the

Salvation Army or donate food to a homeless shelter.

But there's one gift you can give that's absolutely

priceless. And that is...the gift of LOVE.

Spread a little holiday

cheer!

Christmas is a week from today, everybody. So you've

got all week long to spread it.

And like I said before, I mean spread some

holiday cheer and love to someone who

can really use it these days.

Love,