Merry Christmas
Season's greetings to you and yours!
We were deeply reflective of our relationship with you during this past Thanksgiving Day observance. Having you as part of our lives and counting you among our trusted friends and/or customers is one of the great blessings for which we are continually grateful and mindful.
As an extension of this consideration, we wish you a very joyful and memorable Christmas Day. May it be a cheerful gathering of loved ones where new and formidable memories are forged in love and warmth.
Finally, may the New Year's Day celebration be one of joy and optimism for a great 2017. We hope that the new year is filled with much peace and happiness, much prosperity, good health and many blessings.
Please enjoy our Christmas Message below!
Sincerely,
CALCULATED CONTROLS
www.calculatedcontrols.com
(888) 790-9398
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KEEPING CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS
The Christmas Day Bells
In 1863, Henry 's oldest son, Charles, joined the Union cause during the Civil War... as a soldier without his father's blessing.
It was through reading a letter after Charles had already left that Henry learned of his son ' s decision. In a letter dated March 14, 1863 Henry read these words of his oldest son, "I have tried hard to resist the temptation of going without your leave but I cannot any longer ... I feel it to be my first duty to do what I can for my country and I would willingly lay down my life for it if it would be of any good ."
During that year, Charles was quickly appointed as a lieutenant.
In November however, Henry ' s son was severely wounded in the Battle of New Hope Church (in Virginia) during the Mine Run Campaign. Earlier that year, Henry had already lost his beloved wife, Frances, in an accidental fire.
On the morn of Christmas Day of that same year, all that Henry could think about was the grave condition of his son and the recent loss of his wife. Having endured the day in despair, he later wrote these all too familiar words:
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
and wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how,
as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Having expressed his obvious anguish by now, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow continued his work:
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."
And so the familiar and treasured carol, having been put to music in 1872, concludes with the bells carrying renewed hope for peace among mankind.
A Celebration of Thanksgiving... Intended to Usher in the Season of Peace and Goodwill
Although with admittedly much varying degrees of severity, almost anyone can relate to the dejection that Longfellow first described in his carol. With such sorrows as lost and missed loved ones, financial difficulties, health trials, occupational challenges and relationships in peril... to even the very worry over humanity, it can be very difficult to hear the message intended to be found in the season.
I experienced it myself a few years ago.
You see, I have long thought it appropriate that Thanksgiving Day preceeds Christmas so closely. I've always thought it no small coincidence that the season of peace and good will is ushered in by a day of pause and reflection for those many blessings that we have received from God.
Having its roots in celebrating the harvest of the year, Thanksgiving Day became a national observance when President George Washington proclaimed the first nation-wide thanksgiving celebration in America marking November 26, 1789, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God."
However, to me this particular Thanksgiving Day a few years ago was much different from others in the past. You see, somehow Black Friday crept upon us and began early on Thanksgiving Day. So, if you were to benefit from the bargains only being offered on that day, part or most of your Thanksgiving Day was devoted to knowing which stores offered those "can't do without" deals. Then further attention went into the planning of what everyone knew would be a chaotic free-for-all during the shopping experience.
As expected, the aforementioned shopping adventure that night was anything but peaceful and full of goodwill. From pushing and shoving to spiteful rudeness and fighting, I believe this day may have been the single largest gathering of self-centered people since the history of time. For in the very act of what was in some cases assuredly thinking about a neighbor or a loved one, there was total disregard for another neighbor. Black Friday, the name intended to represent an accounting success for the retailers, may as well have been called Black Thanksgiving, something more of a societal reversion.
Hearing the Message Found in the Bells at Christmastime
In this holiday season, how do we hear the message of hope found in the ringing of the bells? How do we keep from being distracted by the many opportunities to take our eyes off the true meaning of Christmas? How do we keep Christ the center of Christmas?
In browsing the many varieties of Christmas decorations found in some stores as early as October, I am grieved by the difficulty in finding almost anything that reflects the true meaning of Christmas. There are decorations depicting a commercialized Santa in almost every scene one can conjure, from planes, trains, motorcycles and automobiles to alligators, RV's and snowmobiles. Trying to find what used to be a staple item in Christmas décor, a nativity scene, is near impossible.
And yet, despite all of the distractions, we can still see to it that Christ is at the center of our observance of the Christmas season. After all, Christmas is very much what we make of it.
Love One Another... The New Commandment
In his final hours with his disciples, after eating their last supper together Christ instituted the sacrament and then washed each of their feet and dried them, one by one.
About this act He said:
If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
(New Testament | John 13:14 - 15)
Then later in the evening, in his final instruction to disciples everywhere, he gave a new commandment:
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another;
as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
(New Testament | John 13:34 - 35)
As the night progressed, as if to emphasize his earlier instruction yet once more, Jesus again told His apostles:
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love;
even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
These things I command you, that ye love one another.
(New Testament | John 15:9 - 17)
Loving Our Neighbors... Keeping Christ in Christmas
There are many people within our realm of influence, whom we come across in the daily paths of life, who for some reason or another cannot hear the message that should be ringing from the bell towers throughout the season. Indeed in their state of despair, the familiar carols of the season may very well be greeted with the uncertainty that, "There is no peace on earth" ... and that, "hate is strong, and mocks the very song of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
I believe that one of the best ways to keep Jesus Christ the center of our Christmas celebrations is to have Him present in our daily life. I believe that to keep Christ in Christmas means to reveal daily the spirit, character and love of Christ that dwells within us... by allowing these traits to shine through our actions. By following in Christ's footsteps and doing the things that we learn that He did, we ring those bells loud and deep, "God is not dead, nor doth he sleep!"
A Christmas Tradition of Service to Our Fellowman
So may we keep alive a Christmas tradition of Christlike service to our neighbors. And may we do so in a manner that give the attention and glory where it belongs. That, admittedly, is the tricky part. For we read from the Sermon on the Mount how the Savior expects us to emulate Him:
Ye are the alight of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel,
but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
And then the cautionary counsel:
Let your alight so shine before men,
that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
(New Testament | Matthew 5:14 - 16... emphasis added)
That the Focus Be On and the Glory Be To God
The challenge is to provide service and to perform acts of love without drawing attention or recognition to ourselves. The result of Christ like service and actions should be that those who see it or receive it give the recognition to God.
The Savior reiterates this counsel later in the same sermon:
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them...
Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets,
that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
That thine alms may be in secret:
and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
(New Testament | Matthew 6:1 - 6)
If done properly, with the right intent, our Christlike service during the Christmas season will keep the focus of attention on Christ, the true reason for and meaning behind the season.
I found it refreshing to hear the lead singer of a popular Grammy award-winning rock group* recently say,
"... judging from scripture I can only conclude that our God is much more interested in how I treat the poor and the broken and the hungry than the personal pronouns I use when I sing."
In closing, please allow me to share the story with you of a young woman who truly understands and gets the whole concept of loving her neighbors. This young lady decided in her teen years that rather than celebrate her birthdays in traditional fanfare style, she would from henceforth spend her birthdays on the streets of the nearby metropolis city, providing service to the homeless. Having purchased most of it with her allocated birthday money and other money she had previously saved, she spent the night with her family and friends handing out food, water and blankets to those who were less fortunate. Without a single desire for recognition, this young woman extended this act of kindness in such a manner, in the dark and quiet of the cold November night, that there is no doubt that the recipients praised God that evening. Her story is truly an example to me.
For, We Can Be The Bells
That we may be the bells that ring loud the message that God loves all of His children this Christmas season and that the greatest Christmas gift ever given was the offering of His perfect Son... is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Respectfully Yours,
Chris Pettitt
CEO
Calculated Controls
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* Switchfoot
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To our friends and associates whom do not share our belief/faith, we hope our message has touched you in some small way and that it has been received in the same spirit in which it was intended to be shared... in peace, love and kindness.
To our Jewish friends, Happy Hanukkah!
To our Native American friends, a very Happy Winter Solstice celebration!
To our Japanese friends, a very Happy Omisoka celebration!
To our Buddhist friends, Happy Bodhi Day!
To our Muslim friends, although the celebrations of Id al-Adha and Hajj are no longer aligned with December in the Gregorian calendar, we hope that you have had or will have a happy celebration of your prophet Muhammad's birthday this month.
To our Hindu friends, we hope you had a great Diwali celebration!