Are the type of person who stays up late and then sleeps late in the morning?  Have you ever been sleep shamed?  Sleep shaming is a passive aggressive thing early risers do to imply that you're lazy or have a psychological problem because you don't get up before sunrise.  In this episode I talk about being a night owl and being sleep shamed.  

Dr Suess Enterprises has decided to stop publishing six of the books in their library due to their opinion that these books "portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong."

One of the books is "And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street".  I read this book to my kids, as did millions of other parents.  I couldn't remember anything offensive in that book, so I wanted to find out why it is now considered offensive after all these years.  In this episode I talk about the decision to stop publication, censorship, and the cancel culture. 

The second impeachment trial of Donald Trump is going on now.  It is such a blatantly political move on the part of the Democrats in Washington, that the whole trial should be dismissed.  I don't believe they can prove the January 6th protest was an actual insurrection, let alone sedition.  If you are a Trump hater, this episode will definitely trigger you, but I hope you listen anyway!  Thanks.

This episode was recorded on January 15, 2021, five days before the inauguration.  This is the first time I've ever talked about politics on the podcast.  Washington just got too ridiculous and I had to get on my soapbox.  This is also the longest episode I've ever done.  Maybe I should start talking about politics!

Thanks for listening!

I think the Covid19 lockdowns are hurting our compassion.  This is a follow up from the last episode "I Feel Your Pain".  Listen to that episode first.

I believe the lockdowns encourage people to NOT help.  We are constantly told to stay away from other people, and I think this is a totally wrong approach.  

 #Covid19

#compassion

You can sympathize with someone when they are hurting, but feeling the pain with them is empathy, which says "I hurt when you hurt."  In this episode I talk about empathy and also about compassion, which is empathy with legs.  I tell the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and a little about the compassion demonstrated by Covid care nurses and first responders.

#Covid

#compassion

This episode includes a little Christmas tree history, and the connection between our Christmas tree and the railroad tracks.   

Has a snake ever gotten inside your house?  We're not fans of snakes, especially one inside the house.  This is the story of the time we had a snake get inside our house and how we dealt with it.

Tell the people you love that you love them!  I never was one to tell people I loved them until my grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer many years ago.  I didn't want him to pass away without me telling him I loved him.  Then he started saying it to me, then I started saying it to other people, and I realized how powerful those three little words really were!

I'm back in the truck for this episode, so please ignore the background road noise.  It's no accident that I have a woodstove.  We didn't just happen to buy a house that had one.  I will never own another house without a woodstove, or at least a fireplace!