Don’t Be A Scrooge

That cold winter morning I shuffled into typing class and made my way to the table by the window. Once there, I slouched down in the chair that was too small for my long, gangly frame and propped my head into my hands. There was time for just a couple minutes of shuteye before the class started.

“Good morning, George!” It was the voice of the pretty junior cheerleader two rows up.

“I don’t know what’s good about it,” I muttered, not bothering to open my sleepy eyes.

Every morning the cheerleader made the same greeting, and every morning I gave the same response, “I don’t know what’s good about it.” She would just laugh and make the same greeting the next morning.

I seemed to be continually sleep-deprived. The night before was no different than all of the other week-nights. Basketball practice started immediately after school and went until about 7 p.m. After we showered and dressed we went uptown to grab a coke at Grone’s Cafe’ while we waited for our ride to arrive to take us home. In my case, that was 45 minutes north.

I would get home about 8:30 and my mother would have supper ready on the stove. By the time I ate, it was 9 p.m. then I had about an hour or an hour and a half to do my homework. Usually, that wasn’t enough time, so more often than not, about half of my homework didn’t get done.

The next day it all started again with a freezing, 45-minute bus ride to Kelliher High School, where I would again shuffle into typing class a few minutes before 8. I would try to get a couple minutes of shuteye, but I was again awakened by the sun-shiney voice of the cheerleader saying “Good morning, George.”

That greeting, in actuality, may have been the best part of my day.

This is the true story of my life as a five foot, eleven inch sophomore, who was forced to play basketball because the community peer pressure said if you didn’t play basketball, you were a “sissy boy.” You had to play! Tall kids were a premium and “you couldn’t let your community down.”

When I look back at this story and realize it is true and accurate, I wonder how I made it, and how so many boys like me also made it under such gruelling circumstances. It’s no wonder I was depressed half of the time. Sleep deprivation alone will depress you.

Ahh, but this story is not about sleep deprivation and depression. It is about being thankful! Though I have struggled with the concept, I have also learned the value of being thankful, how certain words out of your mouth will affect your countenance and your ability to cope, but not only to cope, but to excel. Still, being thankful does not have at its center the individual’s well-being, but the very basic principle that we are created to be thankful beings. God designed us to be thankful, and when we are thankful, we are operating at a much higher level.

Generally speaking, to be thankful is to be happy!

The point of the story, really, is how our attitude affects who we are, and how the words that come out of our mouth mold us into who we are and what kind of personality we possess.

As tired as I was back there in typing class, my habitual response to the pretty cheerleader was really dumb.

Saying, “I don’t know what’s good about it,” every morning, just made my already challenging day more difficult. It set the tone for my attitude for the day, and it set it in the wrong direction.

A little review about being thankful:

  • It takes fewer muscles to smile than it does to frown.
  • Each day verbally naming three things you are thankful for boosts your immune system.
  • A positive comment encourages your heart; a negative one brings it down.
  • A merry heart does good like a medicine (Proverbs 17:22).
  • Going to church is a form of reverence and thankfulness to God. Churchgoers live an average of six years longer than those who don’t attend church.
  • The natural mind is wired to be six times more likely to believe the negative than the positive. That’s why it is so important to be positive and thankful in a “negative world.”
  • God loves our praise and our thankfulness!
  • Active, prolonged praise and worship often changes our physical circumstances for the better. Why? Because the angels are fueled by praise. When we praise and worship God, they go into motion, working on our behalf. It’s a spiritual law!

Merry Christmas and God Bless Everyone!

By Lorraine

A special thank you to our faithful givers. You are very important to our work for the kingdom and we thank God for you.

We are always looking for new givers and no amount is too small to give. We hope that you would prayerfully consider a one time gift or a monthly gift to this ministry. It is the ministry the Lord has put in our hearts and hands to do for Him. We are honored to be part of the work for Jesus.

Please visit our website if you would like to make a contribution electronically by clicking on the contribute button on the bottom of the homepage. All contributions are tax deductible.

One way to help our ministry is to share our newsletter or our website with someone else. If you are friends with me on Facebook, share our weekly posts and newsletters on your page or send to a friend through messenger. If you are not friends with me on Facebook and would like to be, you can search “Lorraine Lindquist Halama” to make a friend request. It only takes a few minutes of your time to do these things and is greatly appreciated. It helps us evangelize more and possibly opens new doors for ministry opportunities. We want to reach as many people for Christ as we can.

The first thing that our ministry will be producing in the new year is a book that I have written, “The Invitation, The Beginning of Your Adventure with God.” It is currently at a printing company in the Twin Cities.

The cost of producing our newsletter (ink cartridges, paper, envelopes and stamps) is over 400.00 a month. We just purchased a new printer that cost over 400.00. Our previous printer wore out due to the thousands of double-sided copies we make every year. Just like any business, our ministry has overhead expenses. This is only an example of many overhead expenses.

If you would like to make a large contribution and would like to know the projects our ministry is working on and the projected cost, we invite you to contact us on our web site to set up and appointment for us to share with you the things we are working on.

We ask you to consider becoming a monthly giver to our ministry. Consistent monthly givers help us to be the most effective in fulfilling what we are called to do for Jesus. As I mentioned before, no contribution is too small!

The amount of time each week it takes to create a web article or newsletter is substantial. George spends a great amount of time praying about what to write each week. He spends an incredible amount of time researching the materials necessary for every article. George has a large collection of books to glean from and we are always looking for other good resources so we can give the best presentation of Jesus we can give.

Thank you for your prayerful consideration.

In His Service,

George and Lorraine Halama

Photo designed and taken by Lorraine

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