聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Several elderly nuns were in their second floor convent one night when a fire broke out.
They took their old habits, tied them together and lowered themselves safely on the ground.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A reporter asked them, 鈥淲eren鈥檛 you afraid that the habits could have ripped since they are old?鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 One nun replied, 鈥淣ah, don鈥檛 you know old habits are hard to break?鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The best thing about old habits is that some of them are good habits. It is great to form good habits that will keep on repeating: going to church Sunday morning, learning to bite your tongue and come up with a kind word, or thinking of something good to say to someone before you try to change or criticize something about them.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Then there are nasty habits that seem impossible to break. Let鈥檚 take a tough one like criticizing your spouse or a family member or fellow worker you don鈥檛 get along with.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 You notice that when company is around we usually are a little more courteous to family members. We avoid petty discussions and remarks.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Well, here鈥檚 the thing. God is always around. 鈥淚nvited or not, God is always present,鈥� Carl Jung said. Now suppose you set an extra plate at your dinner table and light a candle. Tell everyone that God is present. He is! Now how would that affect our behaviour?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Making a positive change in the world this Advent is so very simple. It can be a daily effort like saying something positive to someone. I missed a chance the other day as I was jogging. I passed a young lady picking up her charge from a day care. I said, 鈥淗i鈥� as I was passing in the winter snow.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 She was a little more thoughtful and said, 鈥淵ou are a trouper.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I muttered something like, 鈥淚 try.鈥� Then afterwards I realized I should have said, 鈥淣o, you are the trouper.鈥� I have grandchildren and I know how hard their mothers work. They do not easily have time for a leisurely run.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Take the time this Advent to tell God how great the sunrise is. It is much easier to see one this time of year, and you can still sleep in. Another example of the advantages of 小蓝视频 retired.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 All of us can make a great effort to keep Christ in Christmas this Advent. I don鈥檛 mean just in wishing a Merry Christmas, though that is a great start.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I came across the ultimate keep Christ in Christmas message this past week:
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲ant to keep Christ in Christmas?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淔eed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲elcome the stranger and the unwanted child,
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淐are for the ill, love your enemy.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Now that is something we can all work on this Advent.
