Less is more. That’s a great motto for life.

Christmas time is here. This is the time when we celebrate with family and friends, and enjoy each other’s company. Christmas is quite commercialized in our culture (for a long time) and seems to have lost it’s meaning.

This year we wanted to focus on the meaning and replicated “A Charlie Brown Christmas” by putting up a #charliebrown tree. Our tree is awesome! (If I must say so myself.)

The “A Charlie Brown Christmas” movie reminds you of the true meaning of Christmas, which to me is goodwill towards others, promoting peace on Earth, love and thanks, and of course the birth of Christ. We watch this movie every year and I’ve been doing so as long as I can remember. Best Christmas movie ever. (Lucy is one of my favorite sarcastic characters.)

We try to keep things simple as much as possible now. And that simple #charliebrown tree was a great idea.

Christmas is also an important time to reach out to others who are in need and is a good time to volunteer. Not everyone has it so easy. Be engaged with a cause that means something to you. (And don’t be like Lucy.)

On a sad note, there was some bad news received this past weekend. One of my high school friends lost their son unexpectedly at the age of 18 after being hit by a vehicle. I can’t imagine what the family is dealing with. We don’t know all the details to what happened and that doesn’t matter. What matters in situations like this is we need to reach out and provide support. Our community is there for them. This will help them move forward as a family.

I only shared this to remind you to embrace life. Embrace it while you can.*

Peace and love to you and your family.

*Embrace it while you can. It dawned on me that this phrase is the common thread with both my books. Duh.