In the Zone

I feel truly fortunate this Christmas. Last night, as my family returned home to my mother-in-law's house, we noticed the distinct smell of natural gas.  It was strong, and not the first time we had noticed it that day.  Still, trying to get in from the cold, we hurried to the house. Later, while taking out the garbage, I noticed the smell again, this time even stronger.  I also heard a loud hissing noise coming from the neighbor's home.  Not wanting to take any chances, I asked my wife to call the gas company.  Even on Christmas, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'm so glad we did.  As it turns out, my mother-in-law's neighbor had a broken furnace which was leaking raw natural gas into his home.  When the gas company arrived, it was already at 3 percent.  The gas man informed us that 4 percent was an explosive level of gas.  In his opinion, by morning, the house would have exploded and probably taken ...

A few years ago, someone came to me for advice about her job. Karen, a long-time employee of the company, was having personality and philosophy conflicts with her new boss.  He'd been there less than a  year and within six months, the relationship soured. Personality-wise, they clashed.  His leadership style did not fit Karen's personality.  As a business philosophy, they were on two different pages.  From the way she described things, it became obvious that Karen, and her years of experience at the company and her relationship with her co-workers, intimidated the new boss. Two things quickly became apparent:  First of all, this arranged business relationship wasn't working.  Stress-levels kept increasing, productivity decreased and morale, at least for Karen, spiraled downward.  Each conflict grew more severe than the last.  Karen was at her wit's end. The second thing that became apparent - at least to me - was that this was ...

Why do we use a Christmas tree? I mean, a nativity makes sense, even if some of the items and people in the displays are inaccurate.  But where does a tree come in to the equation? According to legend and tradition, the Christmas tree tradition started with Martin Luther (the Reformation theologian, not the civil rights leader).  He felt the nativity was too Catholic and wanted something protestants could use for Christmas.  He settled on a Christmas tree, which for him, represented the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. He related that to Christ.  The Tree of Life allowed humanity to live in the presence of God.  Similarly, Jesus allows us to restore that relationship and live in God's presence once more.  Having a tree, Martin believed, showed others that Christ was the center of the home and the Christmas celebration. In fact, early tree were decorated with fruits (representing the fruit of the tree of life) and candles (signifying the worship o...