A couple of radio stations in Kentucky played “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” on a two-hour loop over the weekend, announcing on Facebook, “We’re not afraid to play it.”

Here’s a link to the editorial at the Chicago Tribune.

When You Look Up, Things Will Look Up
by Rick Warren — December 19, 2018

“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? . . . O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!” (Psalm 8:3-4, 9 NLT).

We’ve all heard the phrase “Things are looking up!”

But what does it mean?
It means the situation is improving. Your problems are decreasing, and your opportunities are increasing.
This Christmas I want you to remember an important truth: Things will start to look up for you when you start looking up.
In other words, your circumstances will improve when you stop looking at them and start looking at God.
Over and over in the Bible, we see this phrase: “Lift up your eyes.” It’s another way to say, “Look up. Get your eyes off yourself and onto God.”
God said it to Moses. He said it Abraham. Jesus said it to his followers.
There’s an old rhyme that says, “Two men looked out from prison bars. One saw mud, the other saw stars.” In other words, one inmate looked down in despair, but the other one looked up in hope.
You have that same choice, and I hope that you choose to see the stars. God created every one of them. And those stars are the exact same ones that were shining on the night of Jesus’ birth 2,000 years ago—and King David saw the same stars 1,000 years before that, when he wrote these words:
“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? . . . O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!” (Psalm 8:3-4, 9 NLT).
When we look up and see how big God is, it shrinks the size of our problems. Our problems never seem as big or as overwhelming when compared to the greatness of God.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
Talk It Over

When facing a problem, why is it easier to focus on the problem instead of focusing on God?
How does looking at the vastness of creation make your problems feel smaller?
What action can you take this week to take in the beauty of God’s creation so you can take your eyes off your problems?

Give hope, prayer, and encouragement below. Post a comment & talk about it.

We all need a little Christmas, and the Clintons are the gifts that keep on giving – this time on the discount retail website Groupon. “An Evening with the Clintons,” their 13 city speaking tour, recently opened to a sea of empty seats prompting them to hawk their tickets on the site.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.

A Prayer to Magnify the Lord
By James MacDonald
“Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!” – Psalm 34:3, ESV
Over and over in Scripture, when people came to a critical juncture in their lives, they got a fresh view of God. Moses got it. Elijah got it. Abraham, Isaiah, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, got it. And guess what? You’ve got to get it too.

Your Heavenly Father may be saying to you right now, “All right. Let’s get back to who I am.” Pulling over brings perspective.

That’s why the psalmist says, “Oh, magnify the Lord with me!” It’s not that we need to make God bigger than He is. We need to see God for His actual greatness. We need to see our problems in proportion to the majesty of Almighty God. Small God? Big problems. Big God? Small problems.
“Greatness” and “majesty” are good words to describe God, but an even better word is “transcendence.” The word transcendence means surpassing, beyond, above in excellence, in splendor, in majesty, in attribute, in beauty. Beyond all else. Beyond compare. It’s what you feel on a mountaintop, looking out over a valley or an ocean. It’s what you feel standing on the edge of a volcano at sunrise.

You need a fresh view of the greatness of God, or you’re not going to have the strength for what’s to come. Let God take you apart. See His majesty. Hear His Word.
Pray

Holy God, I agree with the psalmist who wrote, “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised” (Psalm 48)! Thank You for lovingly pulling me over to give me a renewed view of Yourself. I confess that I am tempted to see my problems as big and You as small. But You are a good Father who knows how to give good gifts to Your children, so give me a fresh glimpse of Your transcendence today, I pray. In the matchless name of Jesus, Amen.

The old man with the red suit and white beard trudged dejectedly into the psychiatrist’s office. The psychiatrist motioned him to lie down on the couch.

Here’s a link to the editorial at the Chicago Tribune.

Illinois was born 200 years ago this week. But another significant birthday should provoke pause, because it points the way forward for our struggling state.

Here’s a link to the editorial at Illinois News Network.

Open enrollment in the 39 states that use the federal HealthCare.gov insurance exchange looks like it will end with a whimper this Saturday. Through the first month, sign-ups are down 11 percent compared to the same period last year.

Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.

The “Fight for $15” an hour is back in Illinois, although it’s not likely to be much of a fight and this time there’s a bit of a twist.

Here’s a link to the editorial at Illinois News Network.

Back in August, protestors at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill took it upon themselves to pull down a Confederate statue. The “Silent Sam” statue honored UNC students who had fought for the Confederacy in the civil war.

Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.