Marc Estes

This year will mark my 51st Christmas. Over the past half of a century, I have had many memorable moments. I vividly remember hitting a parked car on my brand new bike at age six; that was definitely memorable. I also remember the time throwing up at my Aunt’s house from eating too much fudge and peanuts; yep, that was a memory. I also reflect back on all the special moments with my children being snowed in at Lake Tahoe, sharing those precious moments as a young family; definitely memorable. But this year will have to go on record as the the Christmas that I will remember for a lifetime.

Last summer, our church decided to take Christmas to a different level. We dreamed, “What would it be like to bring Christmas to over 1,000 children, who may not have a Christmas due to their difficult life circumstances?”  The dream was turned into an action plan led by Melissa Vogel and Dot Tobey, and these two incredible ladies raised over $40,000 in gifts, donations and food to serve hundreds of families in need.

Yesterday, the dream became reality as we hosted our First Annual Live Love Christmas. 280 volunteers showed and transformed our lobby and gymnasium into a huge shopping center, complete with shopping aisles, wrapping centers, hospitality section and places for people to sit and enjoy special music.  Parents came in and shopped for over 1,000 kids. (See TV News video below).

The day was filled with tears of joy and gratefulness  as families filled their bags with toys for their children. We also gave out fifteen bikes to specially selected families, who were overwhelmed with the reality that their child would receive their Christmas wish. I wish I could publish the incredible stories that unfolded throughout the day, but the list would be too long. Needless to say, many life changing moments took place throughout the day.

Presents were all donated by  KGW TV, Zing Toys, Toys for Tots, KOHL’S Department stores and many private business people. Starbucks and Panera Cares supplied all the coffee and pastries. CBC members donated wrapping paper, and we even were given 150 Christmas Trees  for any family needing a tree.

After two days of set up, thirty hours on my feet, a steady diet of cookies, coffee and pizza, I have to say this will be a Christmas to remember.  I do understand that the actual day of Christmas is still a few days a way,  but I have to confess, I feel like I already had the best Christmas ever. Living to give, not to get is the best way to spend Christmas. We are already dreaming of our next Live Love Christmas. Hope you will be a part, or start a Live Love Christmas in your town!

Creation itself show the genius of God. You can see it all around you, but if you look closely, you can even see it right in front of you in the things you put in your mouth.

Here are some interesting thoughts that may inspire you to believe more in the Genius of God as well as maybe eat a little healthier!

• A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye… And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
• A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.
• Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
• A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
• Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
• Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
• Avocados, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female – they look just like these organs. Today’s research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
• Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.
• Onions look like the body’s cells. Today’s research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.
• Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries
• Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
• Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

The following is a guest post from Jon Gordon. For those of you who have not had the privilege of being introduced to his books, blog and articles, you may want to take a few minutes and acquaint yourself with his great leadership insights. You will also really enjoy his newest book, The Seed: Finding Purpose and Happiness in Life and Work. Please enjoy the post and you can find more information about him and his materials at the end of this post.

Failing Forward

By Jon Gordon
Like most people, I have failed more times than I care to remember. I’ve struck out playing baseball, I’ve failed to win the client, I’ve lost the big opportunity at work, I’ve had to close two of my restaurants, I lost my race for city council of Atlanta when I was 26, I was fired once, I was once a month away from bankruptcy, I was initially rejected by over 100 publishers, I’ve made mistakes as a parent and boss and the list goes on and on and on.
Yet, when I look back, I realize that every failure has moved me forward. Every failure taught me a lesson and made me stronger, wiser and better. I failed many times but I failed forward (I first heard this term from John Maxwell).
Failing to win a client taught me what not to do so I could start winning more business. Shutting-down restaurants taught me to be smarter about picking the right locations. Losing the race for city council led to me leaving Atlanta, moving to the beach in Florida and doing the work I do now.

I’ve realized that sometimes we have to lose a goal to find our destiny. Sometimes we have to fail to move forward.

I know some of you might be saying, “Well that’s you Jon. You’re just lucky. It doesn’t work that way in my life. You have no idea what failure has done to me.” I hear these comments often and I always respectfully disagree.

I believe there are two kinds of people in the world: those who fail and those who fail forward. We all fail but what we do with our failures is our choice. At any moment we can stop being someone who fails and become someone who fails forward.

Through each challenge and failure we must stay hopeful and know that failure always leads to a better future if we have an attitude of faith, are open to the possibilities and trust that new and exciting opportunities are coming our way. We have to look at failure not as a dead end but rather as a detour to a better outcome than we could have ever imagined.
If you are experiencing a failure right now at work or home, please know that you are not alone. If you haven’t failed, you haven’t lived. It’s time to ask what you can learn from your failure. What is it teaching you about yourself and your team?

Don’t be afraid to fail; just make the choice to fail forward. Use it to learn, grow and become the you who you were meant to be.

About Jon Gordon:

This post is a guest post by Jon Gordon. Jon is the Wall Street Journal and international bestselling author of a number of books including The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work and Team with Positive Energy, and his latest, The Seed: Finding Purpose and Happiness in Life and Work. Learn more at www.JonGordon.com. Follow Jon on Twitter @JonGordon11 or Facebook www.facebook.com/jongordonpage.

One of the things I detest most about this special season are the very few that choose to use this as a time as a time to create conflict regarding the very reason for the season. Here is a case that is worth keeping a close eye on. I tip my hat to the residents of Elwood City who say, “Enough is Enough.” I would love to be there for this showdown!

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, located in Wisconsin, is threatening legal action here, but the people of Ellwood City aren’t backing down from their 50-year-old tradition. (See video below).

KDKA’s Marty Griffin has been told the anti-religion group is headed to Ellwood City in busloads. They’re expected to arrive on Friday.For now, the nativity scene is sitting in the basement of the Ellwood City Municipal Building covered in garbage bags. Standing over it is the town’s defiant mayor Anthony Court. Hundreds stormed the court house today. SEE STORY HERE.

“It’s a belief that we have dating back probably 50 or 60 years,” he told KDKA-TV. “It’s a loveable tradition and we’re not going to be bullied.”The crèche will be set up Friday morning on a patch of grass outside City Hall – regardless of the possible lawsuits, court-ordered injunctions or busloads of protestors.

“I can tell you this,” Court said. “I [will] not back down. If they come that’s fine. If they don’t come, that’s also fine, but I can tell you this – the nativity scene will be going up.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has targeted Ellwood City and its crèche, claiming the placement at City Hall violates the Constitution.

“We believe it is impermissible, it’s improper, not what the founders had in mind to have nativity displays in front of city halls and county courthouses,” Annie Gaylor, a spokesperson for the foundation, said.Just down the street is Pastor Cynthia Antinossi. She runs Dayspring Harvest Ministries, a faith-based ministry where she plans to fight any protest with prayer.

“For a whole year we’ve been praying and we’ve been walking around the city – we walked to the municipal building and we’ve just been God’s will and God’s presence to be brought forth in our city,” she said.

In this mostly Catholic, mostly Italian town, you’re hard-pressed to find an atheist, agnostic or anyone not committee to the crèche at City Hall.“Why should any outside source interfere with what’s going on in a small town in western Pennsylvania?” Ralph Chiapetta said.