12/20/23 - 2021: Your Merry Mission

Jim: You've tuned in to iWork4Him , the voice of collaboration for the faith and work movement.

Martha: We are your hosts, Jim and Martha Brangenberg, and our mission is to transform the workplace of every Christian into a mission field. What does that look like in your workplace? Well, let's find out right now.

Jim: And of course, the workplace we're talking about is your Christmas workplace because there's no other day of the year that Martha loves to celebrate more than Christmas. She likes to celebrate it for many months. In fact, we've got a rule at our house. You can't start celebrating Christmas and playing Christmas music until there's eggnog on the shelves.

But over the years, I've learned to embrace that Martha loves Christmas. It's not how I grew up, but we've been together a lot longer than the years that I grew up in my parents household. When we celebrate Christmas and the Festival of Lights, the light of the world, this celebration is such a great opportunity to invite people to meet Jesus.

Very few people on the planet aren't excited about a three day weekend, but also about a time with family. a time to get presents. Just a time to celebrate the magic of the season. And where did that magic come from? I don't think it came from Santa Claus. I think it came from Jesus. If Jesus hadn't come at Christmas time, and I know "don't get all theological on me."

We don't know the day that Jesus was born, but if we didn't celebrate it at Christmas time, we'd have nothing to celebrate. As we gather with our family and friends this week to celebrate Christmas, we want to challenge you to involve those who will be alone. In your celebration. As Martha and I reminisce on Christmas past and Christmas future, and of course, Christmas present - what did you get me for Christmas? I want to know - we will offer up some challenges on how you can live out your faith at work vibrantly this week at Christmas. Welcome to our Christmas show - iWork4Him style.

Martha: You know, I just want to say Merry Christmas because I do love this time of year. And you know, I think the thing that makes it so special for me is just that there's an energy about it, and people that don't even realize they're celebrating the birth of Christ get to be exposed to that. Get to see nativity set up, people gathering at church, a lot of things that we've created as tradition.

Jim, they all have the ability to point to Jesus, and I think that's why I love it so much. And of course, I love decorating. I love things around us feeling pretty in a special way. If you're watching our video, we've got our Christmas shirts on, we've got a pretty background with a pretty tree, all of those things.

Jim: Yes, we do. We're in a building with seven Christmas trees. We've got seven Christmas trees in our iWork4Him headquarters. Is that what you said we had? Seven? Yeah, and we're on the way to number eight. Yeah, number eight arrives before Christmas Any day, but you I mean you're freakishly excited about Christmastime. Now as a kid growing up what was your mom and your dad, were they as excited about Christmas? I mean, like, did you celebrate for two months like we do now?

Martha: Well, I'm not sure what the time frame looked like, but to me, I mean, my parents were great about, probably, and you know what? I never thought about this before, but my dad was a photographer. And so, you had to take, back in the time of my childhood when you had film and not digital...

Jim: back when the running water was a new thing in the house,

Martha: you had to really plan ahead to get your family photo done for Christmas. So I'm thinking that that's maybe where that influence came from. Because my dad started taking Christmas pictures, you know, early in the fall so that people could get their pictures taken and all that.

So yeah, I think I can blame my parents. Thank you, mom and dad, because it's a good thing. But then my mom is a seamstress, so she would be sewing things for people and getting things ready and we would entertain. And so all of those things were part of the, the holiday season in our home. And I loved it.

Jim: You know, growing up in Minnesota from the time I was 8 on, you know, Christmas, the minute there was snow on the ground, I started thinking about Christmas. And in some years, that was October. In some years, it wasn't even at Christmas. I mean, there was nothing worse in Minnesota then a brown Christmas because for crying out loud why would you live in the frozen tundra of Minnesota if you can't have snow on the ground at Christmas time?

But that's what made it fun because there's nothing more gorgeous than lights outside on a tree Covered with snow, especially lights that you put on before there was snow. So then they glowed out through the snow. I love that part.

My parents weren't freakishly excited about Christmas, but I loved Christmas and it was always, it was always fun. In fact, one of my traditions - because I loved the magic of Christmas and I understood there wasn't a Santa Claus. Sorry, if there are kids listening to today's podcast,

Martha: Good job that you're listening.

Jim: That's right. Talk to your parents about this Santa Claus thing. You know, but, but what I understood was that there's still that, just that thrill, that anticipation of the cool stuff you're gonna get Christmas morning and for some it's very simple but for everybody it's still really exciting. So on Christmas eve, somewhere late in the evening when kids are going to bed, I would get on my bike regardless of what the roads would look like and i'd put our Sleigh bells on my bike, and I would ride around the block shaking the sleigh bells and playing because I swore as a kid, I heard sleigh bells.

Martha: I don't think I knew this.

Jim: So I get on my bike and in Minnesota, that could be a treacherous thing. That's very dangerous. I'd ride around the block and two or three blocks. I don't even remember how far, but I remember One night when the roads were icy, just totally icy.

Martha: Were you slipping and sliding?

Jim: No, because I was an expert biker. Oh, of course. So, going around the block, shaking those bells, and just hoping that, I'm hoping that some kids hearing this stuff.

Martha: That's awesome. That would be kind of fun. So you're creating a little magic for other people.

Jim: Yes. Yes. All right. So, but then. You know, we moved from the frozen tundra, Minnesota, and, I don't know, did we have traditions when our kids are growing up? Did we have traditions that, I mean - it's just kind of, this is a transparent Jim and Martha time right here, on iWork4Him.

Martha: Sure we did. So some of the things that we had traditions with our kids, like they had little trees in their bedroom that had their own special ornaments on it.

Jim: Because you were too embarrassed to put them on our big tree?

Martha: Well, no, but I did like a design to my tree and order. So, you know, you have the, the now Pinterest worthy tree and then the cute kids trees where they put on their homemade ornaments.

Jim: Our kids are still going to counseling about the fact that their ornaments were never good enough for a tree, but it's okay, honey.

Martha: No, I let them have their own special trees.

So making cookies, of course. Can I tell one of my favorite traditions? Okay. Okay. So, my dad's birthday was December 13th. My mom is Swedish and a Swedish holiday is Santa Lucia, which has a beautiful story of her bringing in light and, and feeding the needy.

And so my family incorporated the two. We would celebrate my dad's birthday and Santa Lucia. We would wear a crown of candles on our head, yes, live, melting, flaming candles, and bring in breakfast to my dad in bed every year . And as recently as this last year, our granddaughters served Santa Lucia to my dad on his birthday.

And so to me, that's a beautiful start of the season. You know, it's another excuse to be celebrating 12 days before Christmas. And really, that was a favorite tradition.

Jim: And putting flames on top of your head.

Martha: Well, yeah, because, you know, you had to be brave and trusting and

Jim: how many times did one of your sister's hair catch on fire?

Martha: Actually, I don't think it ever caught on fire, but we ended up with a lot of melted wax.

Jim: Not true. I witnessed it at least one time in the last,

Martha: maybe I have a selective memory, but we had lots of wax drip on our heads. And now our granddaughters have felt candles. So it's not.

Jim: And when you try to light those, they don't light very well. They really don't.

But what's really cool is that, so we moved to Florida. We lived in Florida for 20 years at Christmas time. It's just a little different, but you can still celebrate Christmas in your shorts. You can. I think probably my favorite one was the year that Martha, your parents came down. We spent Christmas at the beach and I remember having shrimp and spending time at the beach at Christmas time.

Martha: And we said, well. We're going to do it. We're going to do it different. We're going to do it Florida style. I remember that very well.

Jim: And the best part about Christmas in Florida is the boat parades. Where they, where everybody decorated their boats and went in and out of the canals celebrating their boats.

Kind of like people decorate sleighs up here in the Northland. Or even decorate houses. That's right. They decorated their Boats. Yes. Yes. All right. But we live in Missouri now again. Well, we're in the Midwest again is what I mean, but we live in Missouri. And we're developing new traditions. We don't have what they are this year, except for yet, because it's only been 18 months, but we did decorate our newly rehabbed 1880 building with seven Christmas trees. And we've had a lot of people from the community come in our community here in Marionville, Missouri celebrating. We've got the ninth we're doing a Christmas parade where there'll be santa claus and there'll be all kinds of the reading

Martha: They actually, this is a beautiful thing because the community has a tradition of reading the actual Christmas story.

And I love that. I love that they're not afraid to declare what the reason for the season is. And so they read the Christmas story, celebrated in lots of different ways. but all coming together as a community. So that's just one of our new traditions that we get to embrace here in Missouri.

Jim: Well, and just recently we did the drive through Santa. So where all the downtown businesses, which was right now only four. It was the library. It was the pharmacy, which used to be downtown. They came back down. Our ministry and the local insurance agency and the bank, which used to be downtown, but it's now out on the highway. We all got together and people lined up for about a quarter mile to come in and get a free turkey.

They brought canned goods to share with others and we gave them gifts to take home for people that maybe wouldn't have as much to take home. And so that was kind of fun.

Martha: And that was an opportunity to share the Christmas story also because we gave a bag that had a little kind of a family home night in it. And it was the Christmas story, an ornament that related to it to put on the tree, some hot cocoa and just an encouragement for them to spend a little time together as a family remembering the reason for the season.

Jim: For those of you that live in Florida or the, our Southeastern United States listeners and maybe the desert Southwest - hot cocoa. It's like chocolate milk that you warm up because it's freezing cold outside.

Martha: That you need to get your insides warm.

Jim: Yesterday for drive through Santa, it was 40. Which is not bad, but it was still chilly.

All right. So Martha in today's show we're talking about intentionality at Christmas time at work And there are two things that we have intentionally done this year We as a ministry have subscribed to SaferNet vpn to provide our digital security for digital activity, which is on so many devices for the ministry.

SaferNet.com has provided antivirus and web filters and also a VPN so that when we're out surfing, nobody's out watching, which is just great. And it's, they can't get access and tunnel into our computers and wreak havoc, but we've also subscribed to Patriot Mobile for our cellular services. Both of these companies very intentionally live out their mission.

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Martha, we both love Christmas, but Christmas isn't everybody's favorite. Is it?

Martha: No, it's not. And you know, sometimes it's, there's other things in our life that we connect with Christmas that are hurtful or painful. Sometimes there's a loss in a family that happens around that time of year, or it's the first time you've had Christmas without a family member.

There's a lot of reasons and some people are, you know, they're mad at God. and they don't understand what Christmas really means. So there's a lot of reasons that people don't love Christmas. But what should we do about that, Jim?

Jim: You know, I don't know. I just really feel right now prompted to shout out to a friend of mine who's going to celebrate his first Christmas with Jesus. My Buddy, my good friend of mine, John Norsworthy, went to be with the Lord unexpectedly on Thanksgiving Day this year. But I want to thank John's family for letting John be a part of my life, be a part of iWork4Him. I don't remember if we've ever interviewed him on iWork4Him. Now it's too late because they don't have podcast studios in heaven at least that we find out yet.

But you know John's family's gonna be without John this year at Christmas and Laura and the girls just know that we're praying for you, and We are so grateful that John was a part of our lives for a lot of years. And he went to be Lord young but you know some people get lucky. And that's a tough one.

But I, I know that Martha, what we've learned is that companies have, they celebrate Christmas differently, but we've seen companies that honor God at their Christmas celebration by sharing the Christmas story. We've had many companies we've talked to that give great gifts at Christmas time to honor those that work for them that maybe don't have very much. It's just Christmas is a time to introduce people to Jesus. And the question is, is that legal? Heck yeah! We don't care what everybody says, this is a free country, for now.

And you can tell people about Jesus. You can't force people to follow Jesus. But if you're paying their payroll, or if you work alongside of them, nobody can tell you to shut up and don't tell me about Jesus. We want to be respectful, of course. If you're running your own business, this is a time for you to be transparent, to let people know everything that drives you is centered on Jesus.

And if it doesn't make sense to them because they've seen how you work, it just gives you an opportunity in 2024 to work a lot harder on making Jesus a connection to your work.

Martha: You know, I just think it's a time to encourage you as listeners and encourage ourselves. What can I do more intentionally around the holiday season?

And it's not too late, even in these last days leading up to Christmas, or you may even be listening to this after Christmas. It's not too late. There are ways that we can, you know, With the cards that we send, the messages that we give, the if you have a decision making role, what are you know, I'm thinking of some of the things that when you have a Christmas party, a lot of people love to do that to, to bless their employees and their coworkers with a time away from the office. You can bless the meal and thank them and remind them why we're having this celebration. And you know, I just think there's so many ways that we can very easily miss those opportunities. So I think this is a good challenge, Jim, to just say. What else can we do? What can we do with more intention?

I know a lot of companies do the shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. It's, you know, already done for this year because they're out distributing them now. But that's a really intentional thing that you can do. Also, the every community has local things where they're helping the less fortunate and or the kids whose parents are in jail or the, you know, there's so many things. And again, it's not about the gift, but it's what you can do with that.

I'm giving you this because Jesus loves me and I want to love you. And whatever that message might be, being really intentional with it. It's a, we don't get that kind of a open door any other time of the year as beautifully set up. We do every day, but it's beautifully set up at Christmas.

Jim: And we work all year long alongside people. And we know what their likes are, we know what their dislikes are, we know what their family, who their family members are. And if you don't, it gives you an opportunity in 2024 to be way more intentional, find out who they all are. Giving a gift really means something to somebody.

Now, am I saying to all of you, you got to give gifts to everybody you work with? No, but if the Lord leads you, it's something you should do. It is. This is a time of year to let people know that you really love them, that you've been praying for them. And if you've been praying for your co workers and employees, your bosses, your vendors, your customers during the year, you now know them better than you've ever known them.

And it gives you an opportunity to match that gift with the heart that God has given you for that person. But Martha, it's I mean, it's just such a special time of year. And, and, I mean, do you have any other ideas of how do we make, what do we do to make it special for someone you work with?

Martha: I actually do, Jim, and a lot of us do struggle with that. And on our website, we have, actually have a popular download that we think might be helpful to any one of you. It's called The 21 Ways to Care for Your Coworkers. And you can just go to, iWork4Him.com/workplace Tools. And you can find that in the dropdown too. But that's just a place where you can go and download this 21 Ways to Care for your Coworkers.

We just brainstormed, came up with some ideas and it just might launch you and say. Oh, that's something I can do, you know, and whether it's now at Christmas or sometime as you're looking into the new year, this might be a resource that helps you to think differently about your co workers and encouraging them. So I hope you'll check it out!

Jim: So that Link is iWork4Him.com/workplace-tools , and it's on our resource. Is that in a resource page?

Martha: It is and it's also in the show notes for today.

Jim: Oh the show notes the Ultimate, the infamous show notes. We're gonna have show notes. We're gonna picture of us in our show notes!

Martha: Oh, we can't do that.

Jim: We can't?

Martha: Look at the video On YouTube to see our great Christmas t shirts.

Jim: That's right. Martha made them for us. No, she bought them for us. All right. Okay. All right. So here's our ideas. We close out today's show and we just want to make today's show fun. But Martha and I love when it's just us just to be transparent and share stuff. One of the things that we hate to hear about -And we're now that we're back in a small town, you can hear about this stuff way easier - is to find out that somebody's going to be alone at Christmastime.

You know what? There's just one word for that: that stinks. Okay, that's two words, but it stinks. And so how do we find out if somebody we work with is going to be alone at Christmastime or one of our neighbors is going to be alone at Christmastime?

Ask them!

Martha: Ask them! You know what? You don't have to come out and say, Hey, are you going to be alone?

Just say, Hey, what are your plans? Like, open up a conversation. This is part of building that relationship with the people that you are with. But, if they say, Well, I don't really have any, or they avoid answering you, dig a little deeper, and find out if there's really an opportunity for them to need a place to go.

And even if they don't end up needing a place, Open it up, invite them so that they know that you were willing to make that step in your relationship. I think it's key. I would, I'd be curious, Jim. I don't know how many people decline, you know, but knowing that somebody actually offered is huge. Whether they accept it or not, but be willing to let them accept it.

Jim: You're saying it's worth the bonus points. Just ask. Absolutely. Definitely. So we need to, we need to involve, because this is one of those things, taking your relationship, you know, and the iWork4Him Nation pledge, part three is, you know, invite people into your life.

Spend, I can't even think the words right now because I'm doing them out of order. You know, first you're praying for people that you work with every day. Then you're looking for ways to serve them over and above what you're required to do. But then you look for ways to befriend them outside of your workplace, because that's where real relationships begin.

This is one of those ways to do that. Yes. And whether it's part of your Christmas celebration, your Thanksgiving celebration, or maybe your new year's celebration, which we'll talk about in the next podcast. Inviting people into your life outside of work allows you to be real with them and to share with them who you really are without restraint that you sometimes have to display when you're at work.

Martha: I just had an idea. A lot of churches have Christmas Eve services. If you, maybe they already have plans for Christmas Day or they're reluctant to tell you or whatever, but Christmas Eve is a very special time to invite people that may never enter the doors of a church, but that's a time when they're willing to do so, Jim.

And I think that it is true. I think that taking that challenge of just saying, Hey, would you, you know, just meet me at church or I'll pick you up or whatever it might be, but do that and then go have some cookies.

Jim: Involve food with it. Hey, go to church with us and then come back and we're going to play games. We're going to have pie. Yeah. Because almost everybody loves pie. And if you don't have anybody to invite over for pie, just send Martha an email. Martha@iWork4Him.com because Jim loves pie and we'll come over for pie.

Martha: You would love that. Wouldn't you? You would love it if we could have pie with every one of our listeners. Although you wouldn't be able to get through the door.

Jim: Yeah, that's not a good idea, but it's a nice thought. But we do have a village inn in a town near us. If you'd like to send, iWork4Him any gift cards this year for Christmas, the address is on our website. iWork4Him. com. I do like the French silk.

And we don't live next to our old favorite neighbor, Lorna. And she always got me a French silk pie at Christmas. We do miss Lorna. All right. So we're, you've got an opportunity as a workplace missionary to extend the gift of friendship at Christmas. Do that.

Involve people that you work with in your personal life invite them over for Christmas. And as we prepare for Christmas and anticipate 2024, We just want to say thank you to our listeners and our supporters who make this ministry possible. You are equipping workplace believers to see their workplace as a mission field and we're grateful to have you as part of our support team.

And also a thank you to SaferNet, SaferNet.com, bringing security to your internet exposure each and every day at work and at home. And to Patriot Mobile. Check them out because they'll change your life. PatriotMobile.com/iWork4Him .

You've been listening to iWork4Him with your host, Jim and Martha Brangenberg. We're Christ followers, and we want to wish you a Merry Christmas because our workplace, it's our mission field, but ultimately iWork4Him.