Christmas for me is not my favorite time of year by a long shot. My strained relationship with my mother through the years did not help this at all. My Mom was very materialistic and Christmas to her was all about who got what and how much. With me being a Christian, this just turned me off to the holiday in general, I mean really there is nothing about Jesus in Christmas if you want to get technical about it, but a lot of people do not know this and to them it's Jesus' birthday.

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So what should I do?

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For me to just not want to celebrate Christmas because of what I know and think when it is such an important time of year for others would be selfish I suppose., and with my being the Manager in the Ministry that I work at, I can't just Bah Humbug my way out of it. I mean the guys that I manage are new to recovery and a lot of them are not reconciled with their families at this time. It can be very lonely for someone new to recovery when your family doesn't believe that you mean it when you say your wanting to change, and that you have hurt over the years.

So I reluctantly celebrate a pagan holiday that has been erroneously passed off as my saviors birthday...

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Gotta have gifts!

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The ministry I work for has decided to discount the program fees for this month by $50 a piece. Of course it falls to me to actually write out the Christmas cards and tell the guys. I am cool with that, but it isn't that same as actually getting a gift you know?

So I went out and spent $160 of my own money to buy gift cards to a store that is right down the road from us. At least that way the guys can go and get something they need. I know $10 is not a lot in the big scheme of things, but some of these guys don't have anything and are coming right off of the street. We have had a turnover in the last couple of months and most of our guys are really new.

I really hope that the guys see my act of giving in the right light and realize that I don't have a lot of money myself and that $160 represents a significant amount of my monthly income. Hopefully they will see something that they want to pass on to others...

And for what it is worth...Merry Christmas!

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Please Read...

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If you have enjoyed this post and would like to read more about a hard-core drug addict that has been redeemed by Jesus, please follow and support me. Also, we have succeeded in creating a chat room on Discord for Recovery and Addiction issues! Please go --HERE-- to join and be a part of our online support network.

My Bosses have given me permission to mention the name of our Ministry in my blogs. I work at Endeavor House Ministries Inc. in Lansing, Michigan. If you look us up you can see us on Facebook, and at https://endeavorhouseministries.com You can donate to the Ministry through PayPal if you want to.

Thank you and God Bless!