Merry Christmas to all!

Hello everyone! It is the last week before Christmas and the travel time for many is upon us. Many will be taking to the roadways, trains, and airplanes to visit families across the globe. It is a beautiful time of year in most of the world.

I personally have friends in several countries thanks to WA and my other business ventures and I am thankful for every single one of the people I have met. You all hold a very special place in my heart. I do not just write this lightly. Those that know me well understand when I say this too. I am a quiet person in general but you guys will never know it for here I am not too shy. Here, I am more outgoing and friendly with you.

I am more outgoing than normal especially during the Christmas season too because I have been homeless during the Christmas season before. I have lived in a shelter alone, without my friends and family near. It made for a cold season. But surprisingly, during that time is when I truly learned the value of giving.

We at the shelter took care of each other for we had no one else. We looked out for each other and helped each other get through each day. It is a hard thing to watch when grown men are crying when they feel alone in a room full of men. If you ever felt this deep of a depression, you may understand. There are only a couple ways out of a shelter. You can jump through their hoops (one task was literally copy the entire yellow pages for a "class" assignment) to say you passed their "reeducation classes" and they help you get clothes, a job, and a place to live. The other way is to stay 4 days without taking a class..then you met your limit for the month and they kick you out. Simple..no hope after that.

So at Christmas time, when it is cold, they allow you to stay while it is under 35 and waive the 4 day rule. This is where you met others in the shelter. I never made a friend that I stayed friends with for no one had the desire like me to stay out of the shelters. I did the hoop jumping just once and never returned. Thank God for the lesson. It was a Christmas lesson. I learned that it is not about spending money. It is not about getting the biggest gift. It is about Christ and how HE was homeless when he was born. A bunch of strangers took care of Him when He needed it and He repaid them when He was older and able to.

The rest is religious so I will leave it for you to interpret for yourself as my belief may not be yours. I Know what I believe and I believe that everything happens for a reason. I needed to see the inside of that shelter on Christmas that year. I needed to feel what it was like so I would never want to be there again.

Because of that experience, I am here with you today. I am better off today than I was then and I tell you now.. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!! MAY YOU ALL HAVE SAFE TRAVELS TO SEE YOUR LOVED ONES!!

That felt good! I hope it will feel good for all of you too this year. Again, Merry Christmas everyone.

Mike