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Christmas Bonus: More Than Lights and Sights

Our family set a personal record this year for getting our Christmas tree up.  Knowing that we would be in Fort Worth, TX the week of Thanksgiving, we got the tree out and decorated it the weekend before Thanksgiving.  In fact our entire house was festively adorned by the time we left Memphis on November 23.  This year, as with previous years, we used a lot of lights in our decorating.  We put multiple strands on our tree.  Our fireplace mantle is covered with greenery and more lights.  Jordan and Jacob each own a small Christmas tree and each has its own lights.  We placed additional lights around the entryway of the house.   We ran lights outside along the roofline.  And this year I wrapped lights around the trunk and branches of one our crepe myrtles in the front yard.  Lights play a large role in the Altrock Christmas tradition.  Perhaps they do for you as well.Read More »Christmas Bonus: More Than Lights and Sights

Christmas Bonus: More Than Friends or Family

I overheard a family talking in The Commons recently about their holiday travel plans.  Their immediate family lives within a few hours of Memphis.  And those immediate family members expect this Highland family to be at each of their homes on each major holiday.  If it’s Thanksgiving, each family member expects this one Highland family to eat turkey and pie at their house.  If it’s Christmas, each family member expects this one Highland family to open presents at their house.Read More »Christmas Bonus: More Than Friends or Family

Fringe: The Fringe Condition of Poverty God Favors (Matt. 5:3)

I recently learned of a book entitled The Other Wes Moore. [1] The book tells the true stories of two men.  Both men are named Wes Moore.   Both grew up in Maryland. Both were raised by single mothers. Both had run-ins with police as youngsters.  But that’s where the similarities end.  One Wes Moore became a graduate of John Hopkins and a Rhodes Scholar.  He eventually served as a White House Fellow under former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.   The other Wes Moore was sent to prison.  He is serving a life sentence for his involvement in the killing of a police officer.  The book The Other Wes Moore tries to understand why these two men with the same name and similar backgrounds had such different lives.  The author concludes that the difference was caused by one thing: one Wes Moore had people on his side, and the other did not.  Though the successful Wes Moore’s father died when Wes was only three, he had other family members and teachers who intervened in his life and supported him.  The imprisoned Wes Moore saw his father only three times. It was during the third and final visit that this Wes Moore’s father looked up from a drunken stupor and asked, “Who are you?”  One Wes Moore grew up with people who were on his side.  The other did not.  That made all the difference.Read More »Fringe: The Fringe Condition of Poverty God Favors (Matt. 5:3)