Stressed and Depressed at Christmas: Bob Lepine

Bob: Right.

Ann: He is the Person, and He is the Gift.

Bob: And there are things/I mean, you can do things:

• Like you can practice intentional gratitude, and that will increase your joy.
• You can volunteer to help other people.
• You can schedule some time for you—Dave, schedule time for Top Flite golf; right?—that brings joy to you. [Laughter]

Ann: Dave just needs to play.

Bob: Right.

Volunteer for something; find a time to do that.

• I would say: “Be really smart about any use of alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant; it’s not designed to make you happy. You may think it gives you momentary happiness; no, it’s a depressant.”

There are things like that we can do. But ultimately, we’re just dealing with managing our sadness as opposed to dealing with the deep down issue; which is: “Where does joy come from?” “Where does real life come from?” Where does meaning and purpose come from?”—it’s not from a holiday—it’s from a Person, like you said; that’s the goal of this book.

In writing this book—again, as we said at the beginning—we’re writing this with non-Christians in mind. My goal is that a non-Christian would read this and go, “Yes, that is what I’m longing for.” Throughout the book, I say: “Could it be that the issue is a spiritual issue?” “Could it be that you need to explore something deeper than just the cosmetic trappings of the holiday?” By the end of the book, I’m talking about where the joy of Christmas comes from: in a relationship with Christ.

I’m hoping we can enlist FamilyLife Today listeners to be a part of an army of people, who are handing this book out, right and left. I would love for you to give this to somebody you know at work, and have them say, “Oh, somebody else gave me a copy of this book!” I’d love to think they’re just inundated with this book. This is about: “How can we take the gospel to as many people as possible?” And Christmas is the perfect time to do it.

Ann: Bob, I would agree with that, too; because we forget how lonely many people are at this time of year. I’m thinking of our cul-de-sac—and how sweet a gift it would be—I usually give some sort of buckeyes, these chocolate peanut butter balls.

Dave: They are awesome.

Ann: They are awesome.

Bob: I’ve never gotten any of those.

Dave: You know, Bob, I think you might get a gift this Christmas.

Ann: I’m going to send those to you.

Bob: I need to move to the cul-de-sac; don’t I? [Laughter]

Ann: I know.

But to put your book in there; there’s a card that come with it that we could give. Also, I’m thinking our one neighbor was just diagnosed with cancer, and how sad this Christmas will be—sad, just dealing with the treatment of that and what’s going to happen in the future—we’re pointing them to the birth of Christ, who really, ultimately, gives us joy and hope.

Bob: You want to change your Christmas season for you? Start focusing on how you can spread the joy to others/how you can share Christ with others: invite people to your Christmas Eve service or your special pageant you have at church. Make that your priority during the Christmas season—if you want to get to December 26, and have somebody say, “What was the best thing about Christmas?”—if you say: “I got a chance to lead the guy at work to faith,” “We took somebody to Christmas Eve service, and they trusted Christ that night.”

Dave: That’s joy.

Bob: That’s what you’ll remember forever!

Shelby: That’s our very own Bob Lepine with Dave and Ann at FamilyLife Today. As you heard, we’ve got Bob’s book available. In fact, we’ve got four copies for you when you give to FamilyLife and help more families hear about the hope of the gospel this Christmas season. You’ll get that, along with six greeting cards, hand-selected by David and Meg Robbins. These make a great tool to share with the loved ones in your life.

Thanks to some generous donors, your gift will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to

$2 million; and that’s awesome. Getting one gift doubled is awesome—but get this—if you sign up to become a monthly Partner right now—that’s giving a gift each month—you’ll have every one of those gifts matched too! That’s 12 gifts matched, dollar for dollar; you can take advantage of this opportunity over at FamilyLifeToday.com.

Tomorrow, on FamilyLife Today, Dave and Ann Wilson talk with Ron and Nan Deal, who walked a tightrope in marriage until they realized that their past baggage—of pride and abandonment—that was the actual problem.

On behalf of Dave and Ann Wilson, I’m Shelby Abbott. We will see you back next time for another edition of FamilyLife Today.

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