Tag: Adobe Illustrator

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Christmas holiday

How can you be good at Christmas?

Cartoon of a boy and an annoyed girl

 

Cartoon of a boy sticking out his tongue and an annoyed girl. The girl says, “How do you expect me to be good for Christmas with him in the same room?”

It’s not easy, is it? I’m ashamed to say I was probably that antagonist to my sisters a few times. If I could go back in time thirty years ago and advise my sisters, I’d say, “Just stay away from that guy. And if he persists, remind him he’ll be on the naughty list before you will.” If he believes he is already on the naughty list, remind him there is grace. Yes, Santa gives grace to, but don’t push it!

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Christmas holiday webcomic

How to teach your kids about Christmas Joy

Cartoon of an annoyed girl and a boy with a santa hat

Cartoon of an annoyed girl and a boy with a santa hat

It’s inevitable. The Christmas schedule is crazy, you want peace on Earth, goodwill towards men. Then you hear your kids start to argue. They’ve only been on Christmas break for one day and they are driving each other crazy!

It is difficult to have the holiday spirit when your kids are bickering with each other. How can you teach your kids about joy and have a little yourself?

Take a deep breath and consider some of these points:

  • Happiness and joy are two different things.
    • Happiness is a feeling that ebbs and flows.
    • Joy is based on what we know-our convictions. Even when things don’t go our way, we can have joy.
  • Our joy isn’t based on the perfect Christmas.
    • Let’s face it, people won’t cooperate
    • Things break down
    • Schedules become crazier than the flight schedule at O’Hare on Thanksgiving weekend
    • And said to say, tragedies happen
      • We remember loved ones who passed away
      • A separation or divorce hurts even more this time of year
  • Joy comes when we stop being self-centered and become others-centered
    • Get a present for someone in need
    • Volunteer at a soup kitchen
    • Consider why the other person is grumpy
      • Have they gone through a tragedy?
      • Are they lonely?
      • Have they spent all day working retail at the biggest Christmas sale ever?

Our happiness can go up and down with the thermometer. But we can have joy and teach our kids to have it during this busy Christmas season.

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webcomic wisdom

Why who you hang around with makes a difference

Spear 3975

Cartoon of two boys observing a dog. One boy says, “If he likes it that much, I think you should try it.”

Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble. Proverbs 13:20

When I was a kid, I had met some friends in our town park. One of the boys in the group claimed he had eaten dog food before and it was delicious. He encouraged all of us to join him at his house and have a feast Fido would be proud of.

All of us knew this kid liked to brag and we also knew he had a tendency to kid other kids to do outlandish things. Still, for a moment, all of us were hesitant to turn him down. Nobody wanted to look like a coward.

One person you hang around with can make all the difference in where your life will head. If you’re in school, do you hang around with people who will bring out the best in you, or the worse? If you’re in business, do you hang out with people that will inspire you to move up and succeed or do they prod you to gripe and procrastinate?

Whatever group you hang out with, you will begin to exhibit some of the same characteristics of that group. Be careful who you hang out with!

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webcomic

Why it is so hard to face our fears cartoon

cartoon of a girl and a monster. The monster is eating someone

Cartoon of a girl and a monster. The monster is eating someone. The girl says, “You see, Roger? This is why I don’t like facing my fears!”

Fears, whether real or imagined can stop us in our tracks. We adults forget that children’s fears are just as real and debilitating to them as any adult-sized fears. They can consume anyone (and either our friends). What do you do?

  • Acknowledge you have the fear. It does no good to pretend a fear isn’t there when it is affecting us. Denying the fear monster doesn’t make it go away.
  • Realize courage doesn’t come from the absence of fear. Many a person has broken through a fear because they chose to be courageous in the midst of their fear.
  • Talk about it with a trusted friend, teacher or pastor. You may be surprised to learn you are not the only one facing that same fear. And acknowledging a phobia or anxiety with someone else breaks the power of the fear monster
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webcomic

Find Your Purpose

Cartoon of a girl and an arrow
©2013 Speartoons, Inc

Cartoon of an anthropomorphized arrow. It says, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I feel so pointless.”

We all want a point. We all want to do something meaningful. How do you do that when you have a feeling that tells you, “What’s the point?”

We all have a point. But we won’t find it by looking to please ourselves. There are over seven billion people on this planet with needs. And it can get overwhelming thinking about that mass of humanity with needs just like you.

But I found when I reach out to just one of those seven billion and lend a kind word or deed, I discover a purpose far greater than ourselves. We weren’t born to aimlessly take care of our own needs. We were made to learn how to serve the needs of each other.