Episode 73: Why Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years with DJ Stutz

DJ Stutz  0:13  
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You're listening to Episode 73 of Imperfect Heroes, Insights Into Parenting, the perfect podcast for imperfect parents looking to find joy in their experience of raising children in an imperfect world. And I'm your host DJ Stutz, and I love the holidays. And while it can be a bit stressful, it is so inspirational. And it reminds me of who I am and who I need to be. And one of the things I truly love about the holidays, is that reminder of who I am meant to be. I believe that it's not just a coincidence that the holidays come in the order in which they come. Want to know more. There's so much to learn. So let's get started.

As I said before, I love the holidays, even with all the commotion and stress that comes with it. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then New Year's. Isn't it interesting how they are all bunched together? Have you thought about why they come in the order they do? Well, today, I don't have a guest. It's just me. And I'm sharing some things that are very personal to me, I love to do this every year. And I hope that you will connect with me as well. So the order that the holidays come in, I do not believe is a coincidence. First, we have Thanksgiving. And this is a time that we actually concentrate on gratitude, I just did an episode on gratitude. But in order to be grateful, we have to be humble. And being humble comes with understanding that we are part of something that is much bigger than we are. And that there is a force around us that intervenes on our behalf, that knows us that loves us. And that can control some of the things that happen to us. It can't control all of the things that happen to us. But it allows the free agency of us and others to work in our lives. And when I am in the company of a truly humble person, I feel heard. I feel important, and I feel valued. That person will look at me like I'm the only person in the world have you had that experience. There is actually a physical reaction that happens to me, when I am around someone who's truly humble, I relax, I don't stress out, I can be calm or my heart actually will slow down in beating because I am comfortable. And I am safe. And I love being around these people. You know, a few years ago, I was at a convention. And Peter Yarrow spoke. For those of you who don't know, that was Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary. For those of you who are too young to know who Peter Paul and Mary are, they were very famous folk singers. They were anti war. They sang Puff the Magic Dragon. And maybe that's one that I'll let you know a little bit about who you are. And Peter was talking about children who had a certain reading disability and the work that he was doing to support and promote them. Well, I had to run out to the ladies room after he spoke. And as I came back, I could see him in the lobby. The conference was still going on. And he was just standing around with some friends. And I thought I wonder if he really is who he says he is because he had come across as a very humble, caring, insightful person. And so I just kind of stood by the wall and I was a bit away from him. I couldn't hear what he was saying with his friends. But I was watching for the interactions. And what I saw was what he portrayed as he was speaking, you could tell that he was interested in the people that he was talking to, and that they were making some kind of plans. But he, he looked at them in the eye, his body language was not puffed up at all, but you could see in his body, that he was calm, that he was comfortable. And then he was interested in whom he was talking to. Well, after a while, I guess he noticed me. And he actually walked over to talk to me, and he said, Is there something you're waiting for? And I said, Actually, no, I was very touched by your comments today. And I was wondering if you really are who you say you are. And so I was just kind of watching you interact with people. And he said, What did you learn? And I said, I learned that you are who you say you are. wasn't that interesting? Instead of going into a whole tirade about Whoa, yeah, this and that, and this and that. He simply asked a question, what did you learn? And I have found that people who are humble, ask questions, instead of giving a bunch of advice and going on and on, thinking that what they have to say is the most important thing. People who are humble, understand that they are imperfect, and they don't judge others by how they look or how much money they make. They are truly interested in the individual. And they want to understand, they are more generous, they are more helpful. People who are humble, handle stress better than people who are not. And actually studies have shown that people who show and live in humility, actually deal with less mental illness than those who don't. It's interesting to me how humble people have this ability to change their mind. They are teachable. They are willing to listen with out trying to think of the next thing that they're going to say, but truly listen, and at how did you get there? What are some thoughts? What is the process that you went through? In coming to this knowledge or this understanding or whatever I'm not say, Oh, I disagree. Or because even though you may disagree, in the end, what's important is knowing that individual and how they got there. So we like to make broad assumptions on other people with labels on them. Republican, what comes to your mind? Democrat? What comes to your mind? What about Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Mormon, Catholic, Hispanic, Black, white, Asian, Russian, is I give out these labels that we place on people, to those labels. Bring thoughts and images to your mind about what you think those labels mean. I have found that when I am able to sit and talk with someone and get to know them, those labels tend to fade away. Now, Am I perfect at this far, far, far from this. This is something that I have to work on, because it is not in my nature. And so I have to work on this every day. But we know that people who are humble, are more compassionate, and more caring. It's interesting that they are less likely to be aggressive. They're less likely to try to manipulate other people. They're less likely to be dishonest, or destructive. Think of all the destruction that's been going on. Think of all the dishonesty that we are surrounded with constantly to the point that we don't know what to believe. We don't know who to trust anymore. But a humble person will draw away from those associations. Humility isn't something that comes easy. It's a difficult input important trait to nurture and to work on. It is hard, hard work, it is nothing. Act, I am drying I try every day I try every moment. And I fail, way, way, way too often. It is, it is something that I will have to continue to work on for as long as I take breath. So, when we're humble, another thing that happens is that we understand and embrace our human imperfections. We understand that we are all on a journey, including ourselves, we become more mindful about the people that are around us and the opportunities that come our way. And we are present and compassionate. When we are with other people and listening. It's funny that we just did an episode on gratitude. We just had our five day challenge on gratitude. And,

and we talk about living a grateful life. But to be truly grateful to truly have that it's really going to breed, it's really going to be preceded by humble moments. And really, as as hard as I try, some people are naturally humble, I can think of them on my mind. Some that I think that are very influential in the lives of other people, and some are just the Joe down the street. And humility just seems to be a part of them. But for other people, myself included, it does not come naturally. And it is something that we have to work on constantly. And I think that's more of the majority of us. I think those people who are naturally humble and have that disposition. That's a God given trait. And we are so grateful for them. Because what we can do for those of us who don't have that natural trait is to watch someone who's truly humble. And maybe try to get them into our lives, to get them to be a friend or a co worker that we work on projects with someone that we aspire to, and we watch them, and we listen to them, and we learn from them. And so once we become more humble, or we have more humble moments, in our lives, and really, for a lot of us, it's only moments that we are truly humble as we work hard to do it. And we may have several moments and those moments may increase in in the day and in our lives. But when we have those moments, think about how we are then mindful and present and compassionate as we see that in the lives of those who have that wonderful trait. And so once we are truly humble, or at least at our most humbled that we are able to be right, some of us are not gonna get completely there. But it's when we work on that humility, that we are able then to accept Christ into our lives, Christmas. And so there are a few things that I believe that we need to do to accept Christ into our lives. And we must be humble to do any of these things. So the first thing I think, is to recognize that we are all sinners, and we all stand in need of a Savior. Whether that is the homeless person on the street, whether that's someone at work, someone we love, and ourselves, we all sin, we are all coming up short. And within that den, we need to have someone who is greater than us, who loves us, and is willing to intervene on our behalf in this world and in the next. And once we see that we are in sinners and in need of improvement. We are then able to repent, we are able to turn to God and ask for forgiveness and then turn to those whom we have hurt or offended and ask them for forgiveness as well. And then we are going to try to do better. I know that God said that we should forgive 70 times seven. And that's true. But my goal is not to offend someone that many times, especially, to try and I know that I've offended God that many IPS heifer, I know for sure. But I also know that as long as I'm trying, and I am working to be better, that he is by my side, and he is there for me, we need to understand that repentance is only possible, because Christ paid that price in the Garden of Gethsemane, and on the cross. And then he rose again and broke the bonds of death. And in about what five months, we will be celebrating that as well. And so once we have done these things, and we are able to receive Christ into our hearts and into our lives, we draw near to Him. And we invite him to be part of us through prayer, through learning his word, and looking to do his work. And then we must commit ourselves to spend the rest of our lives in his care, and in doing his work. Now, once we have accepted Christ into our lives, we become new beings, New Years. So once we have accepted Christ in our life, we can tell that this has happened because we became kinder, we became more caring, and we care more about other people, we became more understanding, and we care more about other people, we can see that we are patient, we are less judgmental, we are charitable, we are hopeful. And we see opportunities all around us to serve and improve the lives of others around us. So the other day, I'm listening to the radio, and I heard a commercial for another podcast can't remember the name of it, I can't even remember the name of the guy. But what he said, really struck home, he said that you can be successful, or you can make a difference. And his understanding of that was successful, is monetary, right, and you've got the big house, you've got the nice car, and all of that. Or you can make a difference. One person at a time. I do see people who have money, and who are making a difference, who are working hard. But they have that element of wanting to help have not being caught up in their own bigness, the bigness of their success, but looking to spread that to help other people. And that's an amazing thing. Wow, that's what I think. That's what I believe. And that's what I live for, in these holidays. That's why all of the extra things that we do, all of the stress that comes with trying to get everything done is worth it to me, because I am doing that, in the hopes of becoming more humble and grateful, inviting Christ to be a bigger part of my life. And with the desire to become something new. And I am so grateful for these holidays for the order they come in. And the reminder they give to me of what is possible. Now normally at this point in the podcast, I would give you what we call a call to action. And what that means is that I usually will ask you to check out or sign up for something that's on my website, or to join my Facebook group or Instagram or see this latest thing on TikTok. But right now, it feels like that would be the wrong thing to do. So my only call to action for this show is to ask you to consider these holidays as a chance to become better, better parents, better children, better siblings, better friends, better humans and better children of God. And it was with love and with hope that I am so until next time God bless us everyone

Transcribed by https://otter.ai