It’s that time of year again. That time when we gather together, eat good food, watch ball games, and nap on the couch. It’s a great time.

If we do the season as it was intended and tradition declares, grace and gratitude will be part of the equation — ideally, a big part.

There will be forces— some of folly, some of malice, some of egotism, some of evil, and some of just plain old meanness — who will do their best to rob our joy

What say we not let them?

Remember misery craves company — The world is filled with lots of unhappy people. Whether at work, on the world stage, on our streets, or even in our home, they define their life by their ability to cast a shadow over those who reach for something better. We can spot them by their tendency to intimidate, manipulate, criticize, whine, complain and introduce intrigue. 

 Fortunately, light has more power than dark. Be a flashlight and walk around the Megan’s. 

 Focus on what you can control and lay down what you can’t — It’s not possible to fret and worry and keep our positive mojo. Managing the world is impossible. Managing ourselves, well, that’s hard, but doable. 

 Trying to control the uncontrollable and the stress that results are highly addictive. Gratitude is an antidote. 

 Step around those who embrace the negative — The shortest and most instinctive path to personal identity development is resistance and that usually comes in a negative form. 

We can feed the ego of habitual naysayers or our joy. Pick the one that makes sense to you and remember that the dog you feed the most is the one that grows.

Minimize your exposure to mass media in every form — Today’s hyper-liberalized “news” outlets are dedicated to two missions:  1) sell a woke-elitist-irresponsible-victim-antitradition script that is against everything the real America is about and (2) addict us by stimulating anger, worry, negativity, fear, powerlessness, paralysis and other ‘bring you back for more’ rubbish. 

We do well to pick our media outlets with care, limit our doses, and take all we hear with a big grain of salt. In doing so, our world view will grow more positive and we’ll lose one of our culture’s primary sources of brain clutter.

 Find some things to laugh about —  Another antidote to attitude is humor. We don’t have to be professional comedians to spot the fact we’re absolutely surrounded in misguided absurdity and self-destructive nonsense. 

Don’t waste time being judgmental – smile at the silliness. Just because the Megan’s of the world treat themselves really, really seriously, doesn’t mean we have to.

Love on somebody — Christianity if grounded in two things – responsibility to God’s stated will and love. In a crazy world, both are body armor of the best sort. 

When we live in God’s shadow, we open the door to his protections. Add that to the statement, “It is better to give than receive,” and we have an irreplaceable source of wind under our wings.  

 Get out of yourself — The most dangerous place in the world is within ourselves. Ironically, the more we think about us the less we are able to keep up with us. Everything gets jumbled and bumbled in the world of self-absorption. See Megan’s quote above for further demonstration of the dangers.

Thank God — America was founded on Christian principles, became a beacon to the world through Christian principles, and will best secure its future with a majority that continues to build on that Christian world view. 

Yes, we have always had implementation failures, but if you find another way that has a track-record of working better, follow it. You won’t, but please let me know if you do.

Lastly, but not leastly, be an example to others — We live in a world of dwindling examples on how to live honestly, courageously, generously, creatively and vigorously. 

People learn from people, and in the absence of people of credibility, conviction, and character, they will pick role-models with the least amount of credibility, conviction, and character. 

Being a man or woman with the disposition of spit will not help anyone. Stand for something good as a counter to the many who stand for nothing or the bad.