In addition to the 4 movies over Christmas break, I read two books worthy of passing on recommendations.

Galway Bay - by Mary Pat Kelly

Had actually been suggested by one of my listeners for my annual summer book indulgence list but I never got to it then. A long historical novel that chronicles the life of an Irish family in the early 1800's through the potato blight and ultimately to America, Chicago, and the Civil War. Kelly does a nice job of painting the the scene of life in rural Ireland at the time and makes you care about many of the characters. A long read but one well worth the time.

AHS Grade: B

Great by Choice - by Jim Collins

A follow up book of research to Collins' classic Good to Great. In this work, Collins looks at how the healthiest companies navigate times of great change and/or chaos (appropriate for the time we live in right now). The results of his research and his ability to tell stories regarding businesses and leaders make the book worth reading. A fairly quick read - 150 pages. But 2 or 3 good insights emerge for any leader trying to build a healthy team and organization over the long haul.

AHS Grade: B+

Our Hunt family Christmas movie festival was a blast. Saw 4 movies, and here are the official rankings and reviews. In order of preference.

Mission Impossible 4: Spellbinding suspense from the very beginning. Clean enough to take kids to and great action all woven into a gripping story line. Not a big Tom Cruise fan but gotta give credit where credit is due. This was an excellent experience. 

AHS Grade: A-

War Horse: Supposed to be the best movie since Gone with the Wind according to some reviewers, and it is a good story Spielberg has produced. Think Secretariat meets Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryanas the story traces a horse's journey and its relationswhip with the people around it over a the years of World War I. But it really is a very long (2.5 hours) World War I movie more than anything else. Edit out 30 or 40 minutes and you probably have a great movie, but the final product here is too long for kids and too much war for folks who are not war buffs. 

AHS Grade: B

Newlyweds: Rented this Tribeca low-budget flick and found it to be a good view. NYC couple starts out on their second marriage for each and tries to avoid the mistakes of their first marriages. Goes well until their sisters insert themselves into the relationship. Funny at times, tragic at times, and honest at all times. Actually surprised by how poignant the flick was - and the budget was something smaller than $100,000 as I recall. 

AHS Grade: B

Northeast: Another Tribeca low-budget flick rental. 30 minutes in the movie had already qualified as the winner of the Worst Movie Of All Time. No plot, no interesting characters. Just chronicles the meaningless, passionless, mundane sex life of a 20 something ne-er do well male whose existence can at best be described as gray if not bleak. Boring, repetitious and you invest 90 minutes to get to the end and still could not care less about any character. 

AHS Grade: F 

The founder of the Murphy Harpst Children's Center had a motto: "We'll make room." In a world where adults abuse and discard children, the need to make room grows larger every year.

For years, I have partnered with Murphy Harpst to serve the most traumatized children, little ones who have been violated by the very people who were supposed to care for them. Children like "Dee Dee."

Dee Dee came to the attention of authorities when she was just two, because her five year old brother needed treatment for aggressive behavior, and both children were in the care of their nine year old brother. Their mom was addicted to meth through all three of her pregnancies, and she had allowed the kids to be exposed to people who abused them consistently.

Still fed by a bottle, little Dee De could not eat solid food and would not allow anyone to touch her. She would sit for hours in her stroller with a vacant look in her eyes, and without warning, would become vicious. On one occasion, she clawed the face of her foster mother. Her violent episodes would last for about 60 seconds, and then she would withdraw in dead silence. Worse, her nerve endings had not developed due to her mother's addiction during pregnancy, so Dee Dee felt no pain and walked very awkwardly.

It is amazing how Dee Dee has responded to the professional help of Murphy Harpst and the love of her foster family. She now walks better, enjoys gymnastics and dancing, and can swallow and eat solid foods. Most importantly, Dee Dee now has a gleam in her eyes and will allow others to hug her. 

I am proud of the work Murphy Harpst does to love children who are made in the image of God. Others may have forgotten these kids, but they are valuable human beings who deserve the best care and treatment available. They matter. The world may not make room for them, but Murphy Harpst does.

Will be doing my show live this weekend on SATURDAY (Christmas Eve) from 4:00-6:00 pm as a way to spruce up the Christmas weekend. You will also be able to hear the show replayed several times throughout the weekend on News Talk WSB.

Plan to listen live on Saturday on WSB to these two shows

Santa with Captain Herb  - 2:00-4:00

Allen Hunt Christmas Eve special - 4:00 - 6:00

I get asked it a lot. What's your favorite verse of Scripture?

Easy: John 1:14 - the perfect verse for Christmas (CHRIST-MASS).

The Word became flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

You could even translate that: The Word became flesh and pitched His tent among us. God in Christ set up His tent right here by yours. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus, clothed in flesh, stepped out of eternity into this temporal world as the supreme Christmas gift from God. 

Have a wonderful Christmas, my friend.

I've had a thoroughly Catholic week. First, an interview regarding my own journey on the Journey Home show. And then 3 days with several other Catholic lay people thinking about how we can partner together for good. Reminds me once more how glad I am to be home.

God is good. Merry Christmas!

Being a Christian, at its core, means to lead a generous life. A Christian believes that his life is not his own, that his life and everything in it belongs to God. A Christian follows Jesus, who is the divine embodiment of giving. When a Christian gives her money or her time, she imitates Jesus Himself, who emptied Himself to become a human being at Christmas. God made flesh. The most generous gift of all.

One man made me think about Christmas this way:

The shepherds gave their time. The wise men gave their money.

Joseph gave his reputation and good name. Mary gave her future.

God gave his most valuable possession. And Jesus gave His life.

Yep, Christmas is about generosity because God Himself is the Supreme Giver. Merry Christmas!

Tommie Campbell blew his chances. Over and over again.

An all-state football player in high school, he received a full scholarship to the University of Pittburgh. Bad behavior and poor grades blew that chance in two years. He enrolled at a smaller college to play football, and again failed to perform in class. Blown chance #2.

Twice failed, Tommie went home, hung out in bars, and landed a job as a janitor at the Pittsburgh aiport for $8 per hour to pay his bar tab. He scrubbed toilets and swept the floors. Until he got fired 6 months later. Blown again.

One mentor still believed in Tommie and arranged for a tryout at yet another small college where the coach agreed to give Tommie Campbell one final chance. Most folks wondered why. Here was a guy with bad habits and a worse attitude.

Maybe it was the work ethic he learned scrubbing toilets all day, or maybe something else clicked inside Tommie. He says he decided to cooperate with God and the opportunities he received and start working harder. And this time, Tommie thrived, so much so that the Tennessee Titans drafted Tommie in the 7th round of the NFL draft. Tommie worked hard and made the team. So when the Titans played the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Tommie walked through that Pittsburgh airport again, it served as a living reminder that success usually comes where faith, opportunity, and hard work intersect. 

Listeners are getting creative with ideas for sharing Chick fil A sandwiches in order to be a blessing. This week's winner is Janice. We will be meeting at the Rivermont Station Chick-fil A this week to use Chick fil A sandwiches to assist women veterans and their children. Well done Janice! Merry Christmas!

I was thinking last night around 2am how to multiply 50 sandwiches to help our friends in need and here's what I came up with.  

If I had 50 sandwiches to give away, I'd start an email blitz asking for people to trade in their "treasures" for the sandwiches.

They could donate anything of value (Their treasures) that I could sell on ebay and turn into cash to help Mary Hall's Women Vet program.  I am working with them to help women vets and their children who used to be homeless but for the first time, have an apartment to call their own.  These brave women will be celebrating Christmas and could use some help to make it special for their kids.

This is the stuff that keeps me up at night - Pleasant dreams
J

In response to my last blog post, which also was distributed to my weekly email list, I received one response that should be shared. Not everyone sees the world like I do, and this email from V proves that to be sure.

As a reader, you likely know how I feel - that helping kids is helping kids, whether they are citizens or not. But I always like to hear from those who disagree.

I am so disgusted with Christmas!  This has been brewing for many years.  I always try to buy gifts for children on our church Angel Tree.  I don’t have a clue who decides which families meet the requirements but last year the kids wanted name brand toys, DS games, CD players, bike, skate board and Bratz dolls.  They wanted an outfit of clothes.  I have walked the aisles of Kmart many years with tears in my eyes because a child wanted socks and underwear for Christmas.   All of the children had Spanish names and all of the kids where huge for their ages.  What are the odds that a church with no Mexican members would have Angel Tree kids with Spanish names….. they come here illegally, start having children as soon as they can so they have their anchor baby, we pay for the pre delivery care and the birth, apply for WIC, food stamps, and the baby has a SSN card.  Every free program available they sign up for.  Free food for those who don’t have a job….you have to elbow your way through the Mexicans who are working undercover.  This country talks about human trafficking but look around.  We are supporting it.  If they are here we give them free health care.  We give them jobs, low paying but still jobs that if they hired legal citizens would have to be paid more.  If a baby qualifies for food stamps they give them to the whole family.  The elderly couple down the street can’t get any help because they both get a small social security check each month and neither of them can work part time because they are in ill health.  But the Mexicans can get help for their kids…they can drive the jazzed up cars and truck while they get $200 a child per month to feed them.  Christmas has become another free hand out to those who know how to work the system to get the freebies…same with sending money to children that are starving in other countries.  We send money and the people in charge buy weapons or support their armies.  It’s so disgusting!  When I was a kid we knew who needed help in our community and when gifts showed up on their porches they were thankful for good neighbors but they didn’t expect a hand out.   Now people look for places to sign up and if you give them a gift card and they want cash they just take it to the local shop that will buy them for half face value.  Just heart sickening.  Every driving through has their hand out for $1.00 donation for the needy.  Prove to me they really are needy!  Those who are really in need are hard to find because the free loaders  outnumbered those in real need.