You know the story. The wise men brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus at his birth.
But why gold? Gold is the stuff of kings. It was a symbol of wealth. If you had it, you showed it off. You covered your palace with it. It was soft enough you could melt it, and make really cool things with it. It was shiny, and it caught people’s attention. Wars were fought over it. Get the gold was the motto of kings, and the object of armies. You could trade with it, and get more stuff.
Wishing You a Merry Christmas Death
Okay, okay, what kind of person wishes death at Christmas? I’m not some kind of gianormous Scrooge either. Let me explain.
Thirty-seven years ago, my father died a week before Christmas. December 18 to be precise. I still remember it like yesterday. I was in the 6th grade, school had just started, and it was one of those cloudy, grey Midwest mornings. My teacher, and the principal called me out of class. They looked grey themselves, concerned and they talked in hushed whispers.
The Cost of Christmas
What is the cost of Christmas? According to a Gallup Poll, Americans are expected to spend $712 million on Christmas this year.
That’s a staggering number, but nothing I’m afraid to the real cost of Christmas. Think back to the first Christmas.
Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile Fundraising
Oldsmobile fundraising. Let’s coin the term.
Oldsmobile learned the hard way. They kept building the same old car, kinda clunky, big, velour seats, all to fit a generation of older people. But as the generations changed, they didn’t. Japan, Korea, Germany all surpassed them. Better quality, sleek designs, better gas mileage became the norm. Oldsmobile didn’t change. Guess who is out of business?
A Snapshot of 2011 Giving Trends
Here’s a sampling of some of the news from the Chronicle of Philanthropy November 17, 2011 issue, and my insights:
A Quiet Revolution
Revolution—sudden, radical or complete change.
In 1970, a revolution began. It just didn’t make the news. A few families were securely planted in a comfortable suburban church, Park Hill Baptist Church. But in their hearts, they heard a call.
The Junkyard Legacy
My dad was a blue collar guy. He grew up in the Ozarks—deep in the Ozarks. It was “Deliverance” kind of stuff. He was poor, and our family was poor….really poor.
Most of cars we owned were a pile of rust and were on their last legs. It got to the point that we’d buy an old car, watch it break down and leave it in the front yard. We’d go buy another junker and cannibalize parts from the ones sitting in the yard. We had some pretty interesting cars to say the least.
You Keep Only What You Give Away
I first got involved with Bryan and Karen as their lawyer. They needed one.
Their insurance company denied treatment for a bone marrow transplant. It was the only hope; it was the last ditch effort to save Karen in her fight against breast cancer. I fought hard against the insurance company. While they called the treatment experimental in Karen’s case, they covered it under government insurance plans. We fought for two months—maybe more before the company finally relented and provided coverage.
Number Your Days App
heard Gary talk about it. He wrote it in his Bible—the number of days before his daughter graduated from high school. He wanted to make sure that he didn’t miss any of them. So it was there for him every single day.
His comment made me wonder. Is there such an app? Sure enough, I searched on my iPhone and found it. The app that gave me the countdown. I could plug in anything.
The Generous Fruit Plate
Okay, so I admit it. We are trying to stay away from donuts, and eat healthy things like, well, fruit. That’s not always easy when you are on the go, and particularly when you go to those special banquets and they tempt you with crazy, luscious kinds of desserts.
So there I was confronted with a chocolate, caramel mousse. My wife led the way and asked our steward for a fruit plate. I agreed as well, and we passed on the mousse thing.