Showing our Kids a “Great Light” this Christmas

Several years ago, on a rainy August day, two young adventurers decided to scale the highest summit wholly within Switzerland, called Mount Dom, near Zermatt, Switzerland. At 14,942 feet, it's higher even than the Matterhorn.

Even though they were inexperienced in mountain climbing, they were “in shape” college students and they felt confident in their mountain climbing abilities. Too confident, it turned out. For at noon, despite deteriorating weather, they boldly strode forth from the tiny village of Randa at the base of the Dom. Their goal was a house halfway up the mountain called the “High Hut” where they would spend the night before tackling the icy summit the next morning.

The two moved quickly up the forested trail as the rain continued to fall and even intensify. The sky darkened as they climbed upward, and the temperature dropped significantly. Because their goal was the "high hut" staffed by the Swiss Alpine Club, not the summit, they hadn't bothered to bring cold-weather gear. They soon regretted that fact as the constant rain soaked through their inadequate clothing.

At six o'clock P.M. they were still climbing when the rain suddenly turned to snow. They had long since crossed the timberline, and the trail before them was increasingly difficult to follow. By eight o'clock P.M. darkness had fallen, and they both knew they weren't just lost – they were in life-threatening trouble. They were soaked, shivering, and at risk of hypothermia. In the pitch-black darkness they had no way of knowing whether they were still headed toward the "high hut." Their path had disappeared, and they carried no tent or sleeping bags to shelter them from the storm or help them escape the cold.

Suddenly, just when their situation was most desperate, something miraculous happened. From a great distance away, a tiny light began to flicker. Even at a distance the faint glow looked as bright as a lighthouse beacon to those two shivering, frightened young men.

Where did it come from? Before retiring for the night, the keeper of the Dom's "high hut" had decided to step outside and place a kerosene lamp next to the door – just in case a beacon might be needed by anyone caught in the worsening storm. Encouraged, the boys pressed forward and in a few minutes found shelter that saved their lives.

That true story says much about the world our children face – and something we can do to help them. Children begin a journey in life full of high aspirations, often naive to the fact that they are walking right into the gathering darkness of a fallen world. On their own, even with loads of self-confidence and the vitality of youth, they will face a world growing darker and colder to God, His love, and His life.

Those two climbers couldn't find their own way that night; they needed a light to guide them to life and safety ... and someone willing to put that light where it could be seen.

This Christmas season, we can do something similar to what that “High Hut” keeper. In a world” to our children. The “light of the world” Himself was announced by His Father when He put a great “light” (a star) in the sky – and star that Wise Men and shepherds -- and wise men and women today -- still follow. The Child they found would become none other then the savior of all those who would look to Him in faith.

Or put in biblical terms, “The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, and those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a light dawned.” Matthew 4:16.

May the Lord’s light and love shine on you and your family this Christmas season – and may we all keep holding out that light to our children, friends, family and a world that need His light!

Several years ago, I read an incredible story that I put into a book I wrote that’s filled with beautiful pictures by my friend, Thomas Kinkade. The book is called, The Light of Home, and I’ve never put the story online. However, in these challenging times, I hope it encourages you and your family this Christmas. John Trent

God Changes a Marine’s Heart with a Smile on Christmas

It was December 24, 1944. Christmas that year was a tough time for our country, especially for one young Marine sitting stiffly in an overcrowded train. This was day two of four days and four nights that Corporal Edward Andrusko would spend traveling by train from San Diego to New York. Each passenger car was packed with sailors, soldiers, and Marines trying to get home for Christmas.

Already they had traveled through bleak deserts, a blizzard in Denver, and what seemed like endless frozen prairies and farmland. The whole trip inched by under unrelenting gray clouds, but time didn’t seem to matter. Nothing seemed to matter. Recovering from his third wound received in battle, and with a painful cause of malaria, Corporal Andrusko would arrive home in New York the day after Christmas. Even that seemed fitting.

“I would miss Christmas at home by a day,” he wrote afterward. “My parents had split up, and I had no home to go to. My girlfriend of four years sent me a Dear John letter, saying she had waited too long for me to return and found someone else. And worst of all, when I was well enough for duty, I could be sent overseas to battle again.”

Darkness had fallen and the rain had stopped at a small, dimly lit railroad station about two hours outside Chicago. Large snowdrifts blocked any view from the train. In that cold, dark tunnel of a station, peace and light and love – even thoughts of a loving God – seemed nonexistent. Earlier in the evening, Andrusko had spoken with a fellow Marine nicknamed “Ski” who was returning home, minus his right arm. He remembers, “Ski and I agreed that we had both became near atheists and cynics after three years of war.”

For one Marine at least, all that would change with a smile.

“It came upon a midnight clear…”

Few men were awake as they sat at the station, but Andrusko’s latest war wound and the malaria his body fought made sleep a challenge – particularly having to sleep sitting up the entire trip. At that darkest moment in his young life, the door at the other end of the train car opened.

From Andrusko’s seat far in the back, he could barely see a small boy and an elderly lady enter the car. He lost sight of them altogether as they walked slowly down the isle. Apparently they were looking for a seat. Andrusko closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but a noise near him caused him to open his eyes.

Standing right in front of him was the young boy and the elderly lady.

“Welcome home and Merry Christmas, Marine.” The young boy smiled as he extended his little hand. “My grandmother and I would like to give you a gift and thank you for serving our country.” The little boy shook the wounded Marine’s hand and handed him a crumpled one dollar bill. His grandmother put her arm around him and said, “God bless you.” And then they both smiled and said, “Merry Christmas, and goodbye.”

Andrusko asked them to wait and tried to grab his sea bag from under the seat to try to find a candy bar or some kind of gift he could give them, but when he looked up, they were gone – so quickly that he wondered if what had just happened was real or a dream. Later, he asked his friend Ski and two soldiers nearby if they’d seen the young boy and his grandmother come onto the train. No one had. They told him he was dreaming. Yet there in his had was the crumpled one dollar bill.

With that smile and small gift, “I contently fell asleep with my precious gift tucked safely in my pocket,” he recounted, “and a pleasant feeling in my heart, the nicest feeling I had had in a very long time.”

Corporal Andrusko credits that night with changing his bitter feelings after the war. But in his mind, it took another child, many years later, to explain to him why that was true.

More then 50 years passed, and the Marine on the train was now as old as the grandmother he’d met that night. It was Christmastime again, and Corporal Andrusko was surrounded by his family gathered for a Christmas celebration, not a train full of weary soldiers. During a lull in the activity, he recounted to everyone the story of the little boy on the train. He hadn’t shared the story before. It was the reminiscing of a soldier grown old who had struggled a long time with an unanswered question. As he finished, Andrusko asked , really to no one in particular.

“Who was that little boy on the train, and why did he and his grandmother choose me? Why me?”

A young niece was visiting, and she had listened to her uncle’s wartime story and his unanswered questions.

“I know,” she said quietly.

Everyone stopped and looked at her.

The old Marine said, “You know what?”

“I know who the little boy on the train was, and why he picked you.” She paused, very deliberately, and then said,

“The little boy was God, and He chose you because you were very, very sad and disappointed with everyone and everything. He wanted to make you happy again and welcome you home – and He did."

Leave it to a young child to make sense of things – and to The Child named Jesus – to light up our lives and hearts during this challenging Christmas as well.

Merry Christmas from StrongFamilies.com!

Origin of this story and how you can find the book, The Light of Home:

I wrote this story for my book, “The Light of Home, by John Trent, paintings by Thomas Kinkade, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR, 2002, Chapter Eight: Remembering to Smile, pgs 92-96. I adapted it from Michael Shol and Tom Spain, eds., “Miracle on a Train,” in I’ll Be Home for Christmas: The Library of Congress Revisits the Spirit of Christmas During World War II (New York: Delacorte Press, 1999), pp. 127-210. “Miracle on a Train” was originally published as: Edward Andrusko, “Welcome Home and Merry Christmas,” in Navy Times, March 19, 1997. Used in my book by permission.

"The Light of Home" and other great Christmas gifts can be ordered online at the StrongFamilies Bookstore

Dear StrongFamilies Friends!

Don’t look at the date for the last blog posting! Actually, to save you from looking, the last post came after I ran the Rock & Roll Chicago back in August. That’s a little too infrequent, so look for more postings as we move into the holidays and into next year!

Speaking of the Holidays, here’s a Thanksgiving (or Christmas) idea that lets your kids (and their parents) actually write graffiti and it’s a good thing!

Tomorrow (or if want to save the idea until Christmas, anytime in the next several weeks) purchase a new (or if you have time, find a garage sale) light colored fabric tablecloth.

• Place protective plastic or paper between the table and the tablecloth.
• Arrange some permanent laundry markers around the table, but out of the reach of little hands until they can be supervised.
• In the middle of the tablecloth, write Thanksgiving (or Christmas) 2009!
• Before dinner, have everyone choose a marker and write about something they are thankful for this year! Children can draw a picture. You can also include a word of affirmation for someone at the table. “I am thankful for Darrick’s joyful spirit.” Or “Sarah has been a great help to mom in setting the table!” or “It’s awesome having Grandma and Grandpa here!” or “We’re glad the Smith family could join us for Thanksgiving!”
• For a more “colorful” tablecloth, tell every at the beginning that after a few minutes, , “Everybody has to trade markers!” That way you’ll get more colors going.
• You can also write the contributor's name and age next to their masterpiece.
  
• Tuck the tablecloth away after Thanksgiving, and buy a new one every year.
• Bring out cloths from past years to read together. It is fun to remember who was there on a given year, and the visible changes will move you. The writings of a departed grandparent as well as the childish scribbles of your grown offspring will be cherished, and don’t be surprised if the tablecloths become family heirlooms.

Have an awesome Thanksgiving from StrongFamilies.com!

Part II - Dr. Trent Rocks Chicago! (Read this second!)

Here's a picture and video of me walking into "Corral 7" with 1,000 of my new friends, and a video of the start for our group...

My biggest concern was the heat and humidity (Especially coming from Arizona, the land of dry heat). But we started running to early, and the weather was so nice, the race itself was half as hard as the training runs I'd one back home! (On my training runs, I'd run out of water half way, and the heat was brutal. At the Rock and Roll, it seemed like every ten feet someone was handing you water, and because you were running through downtown Chicago, the buildings are so tall, I was in the shade almost the whole time!

Dr. Trent Rocks Chicago! (And finishes the 1/2 Marathon!

Thanks to all those who prayed and supported me as I ran the Chicago Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon this past Sunday, August 2nd! What follows is a blow by blow account -- with an invitation at the end for you to come and join me and Rock Arizona on January 17th at the Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon in Phoenix!

Hi, StrongFamilies Friends!

Race Preparation!

It all started with an early morning plane flight from LAX to Chicago (Cindy and I had been speaking at Forest Home in California, so she fly home to Phoenix and I headed to the Windy City. I stepped off the plane, ran to the rental car desk, and then raced over to "check in" at a convention center near downtown. You can't run if you don't have your "race bib" (the race number you run with)and you have to check in before 5:00pm the day before race day. I made it with all of 45 minutes to spare!


I went to my hotel, about a mile from the start, and here's a picture of the race crew setting up the starting line!


That night, I went to Gino's East for a "carb" (and calorie load) deep dish Chicago pizza! The next morning, at 4:00am, here's what the view looked like from my room.



4:00am is actually 2:00am Pacific time (in Arizona and California where I was coming from) so it was an early start! If you haven't been in a marathon or 1/2 marathon like the Rock & Roll -- you're not alone! In fact, here I am going into my "corral." What that means is that the really good runners get in "Corral 1." And it goes down from there. In all but the first corral, there are roughly 1,000 people! They do this so that they can do what's called a "staggered" start, so you don't bunch up at the starting line. Here too is a video of the start! In the next "post" I'll continue to walk you through the run and post the picture and video of the start!

Instead of turning into the Casino...

Last post, I shared about looking out at the casino near our office. Let's look a little closer at what can keep us from turning into that parking lot -- by being willing to face something as scary as... a gas pump!
Dr. Tony Wheeler, the Director of our Midwest Center for StrongFamilies (www.midwestfamilycenter.com) is fond of sharing an amazing story.
In the state of New Jersey, like everywhere else across the country, the cost of gasoline has gone up and up. It seems that in 2006, in the face of soaring prices, their governor at the time decided to do something that experts calculated would drop the price of gasoline 5 to 10 cents per gallon immediately. There could be huge savings statewide if they could just make that small change – but even the suggestion brought a huge outcry. In fact, the Governor’s office retreated on making this change after being swamped with over 1,400 e-mails and calls that poured in from an outraged public! (That was five times the “outrage emails” they gotten regarding anything else the Governor had proposed).
What was it that fired up people so much that they shouted down making such a small change? The Governor had suggested that people be allowed to pump their own gas! But in New Jersey, motorists haven’t pumped their own gas in 57 years. Cries came that people would put the gas in the wrong hole! That the elderly couldn’t do it and would harm themselves! That gas stations would be blowing up all over the state from smokers filling their tanks!
In short, fear shouted down positive change. Proverbs 16:13 says, “The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A lion in the open square!” You’re not going to take a step outside if there are “lion-sized” problems out there! (Real or imagined). Fear blows up our problems and decreases our feelings that we can do anything about them.
So – if you’ve ever pumped your own gas without harming yourself or others – then you might think about sharing this story with someone you’re working with who is fearful of taking even that first small “step” towards a positive future. Or perhaps, as you think about your own life, you need to ask the hard question yourself. “Have your fears in these difficult times caused you to slow down, stopped you from moving forward, or caused you to question your faith not just in a positive future, but in the God of the future?”
I’ll start by being honest. Our little ministry has been hammered by the economic situation like never before. I’ve faced heart pounding, stomach tightening fears, just like many of you. But I promise I won’t turn into the casino on the way home, and like you, that I’ll keep turning towards a loving God who does have a positive future for us, and who sent His only Son who will “never leave us, nor forsake us.” (Hebrews 13:5b). Write more soon, JT

Where a loss of optimism can lead...

From my office, if I stand close to my upstairs window and look far out towards the horizon, I can see “it” poking it’s head above the trees and buildings. The “it” is a Casino. It’s right in the middle of town, with a parking lot that always looks full when I get on the freeway to go home. In fact, our local paper reported recently that with the economy being so bad and with so many businesses hurting for customers – attendance numbers at the casino was actually increasing!
But that only makes sense, right?
Surely, in these troubled times, people are flocking there who are optimistically thinking to themselves, “My luck is bound change! This time, when I pull the handle on the slot machine, I’m going to win a jackpot that will change everything for the better!”
People who frequently visit casinos are optimists, right? They just have to be it would seem. But if the truth be known, in clinical studies, people who frequent casinos aren’t optimists... they’re major league pessimists!
That took me by surprise when I first read that people weren’t numbly “pulling the handle” of a slot machine because they thought it would lead to a positive future. Most were pulling the handle because they felt they didn’t have a future – or at least a future that they could do anything about changing.
But certainly, that kind of fatalistic view of the future isn’t something Christians have to deal with, right? After all, we can lay claim to verses like Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans for welfare, not calamity, to give you a future and a hope.” And “Phillipians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be make known unto God.”
Those are great verses, and God’s word is absolutely true. But if the truth be known, I think many Christians today – like never before in my lifetime – are getting a chance to hold those verses in one hand, and the incredibly harsh economic and social realities we’re facing in the other. In fact, if I were a betting man, I would “wager” that some of us reading (or writing) this blog right now are fearful about a positive future. What's more, some are questioning whether with so many "rules of life" having changed so quickly... can we really impact our future in a positive way?
Let me start by being honest about being fearful of a positive future. Back in the months after 9/11, our small ministry almost went under. We do roughly 18 to 20 seminars a year, and those seminars at churches across the country represent about 75% of our income as a ministry. After 9/11, we had 14 seminars cancel -- and we nearly went out of ministry. I thought that was the toughest of tough times. However, to put things in perspective, we had our major February conference cancel... then our major March conference... then April... May... and two days ago, I got a call that our July conference had canceled. (Which makes June sound like a good month -- except we didn't have a June seminar!). All that to say that I had to sit down with my precious wife, Cindy, and have the same very challenging talk with her that I did back after 9/11. That is we not only won't be getting paycheck this month... but as it looks I won't be able to hand her a paycheck this summer. That's tough, but I know lots of folks who have had it tougher. And so that leads me back to where we began.
It's 6:13pm and I'm getting ready to go home, looking out my window at the office as I write this... and just barely able to see the casino in the distance. Tune in tomorrow, and I'll share with you what it is that keeps me from turning into that parking lot, and pulling a handle.
Lord bless and write more soon,
John Trent, Ph.D. StrongFamilies.com