Putting the H.O.P.E. back in the holidays

Manfred Richter from Pixabay

This holiday season is unlike any in the recent past. Whatever your New Year 2020 goals were, this year has likely looked differently than what you planned or anticipated. With mental health concerns, high societal stress, and the post-election strains, intentionally talking hope is helpful.

And crucial.

But how can you intentionally put the hope back in the holidays?

I'd like to share an acronym—one that will help you break down, clarify, and remember how you can adopt hope.

H: Helpful

Service can help serve the server. The cliché of getting back more than is given is so true. Find ways to help a neighbor, serve a stranger, or support an organization you care about and suddenly your worries feel lighter. From coat drives to good old-fashioned caroling with your household, the season becomes brighter when the focus goes from self to selfless. Don't make it too complicated. Simple is best this time of year.

O: Optimism

What you focus on increases. What you think, you become. With limited minutes in a day, consider what thoughts you are fostering. If you are lacking optimism, refocusing on positive thoughts increases positive thinking.

Start a gratitude Christmas chain or simply sit around the Christmas tree at night and have a family chat about what you are grateful for. If you live alone, consider a nightly text with a friend who may also be alone this season.

P: People

Humans are wired for connection. With COVID restrictions this year, intentional effort may be needed in our relationships. Consider reconnecting with someone with whom you have lost touch. Write a HOPE letter. Let them know what you "hope" for them. What you appreciate and admire. Old-fashioned stamps and paper last long after a text.

E: Experiences

Stuff or people? What if instead of buying more things that need batteries or wrapping, expand your list to include experiences instead of just things. Putting together puzzles, going on vacation, or taking a class together enable you to cultivate memories. So instead of more wrapping, slow down to connect.

Maybe these ideas aren't the exact ones you'd like to implement, but hopefully they will inspire you with things you can do to put more H.O.P.E. in your holidays. Start a new tradition or revisit an old one with an emphasis on hope. If ever there was a year hope is needed, it is this year as we start over, go to Plan B, and make some real connections.

POLL: What did YOU think about the 2nd GOP presidential debate?

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

Wednesday was a big night for the Republican presidential candidates during the second GOP debate... OR WAS IT?

Glenn wasn't impressed with the debate. In fact, he went as far as to say it was the worst Presidential debate BY FAR he had ever seen for THIS reason: NO ONE discussed the major issues that Americans are actually facing.

Inflation has doubled Americans' grocery bills. Gas is nearing a historic record of $100/barrel. We have DOUBLED our national deficit. Bidenomics and the globalists' green agenda pose an existential threat to core American industries while we continue to fund the Ukrainian people's pensions and small businesses. It is as if our government has forgotten the American people.

It is as if our government has forgotten the American people.

Do YOU think the candidates hit the mark during the second GOP debate? Do you support Trump's decision to skip two debates in a row? Let us know in the poll below!

Do you think the 2nd GOP debate was overall positive?

Did the candidates debate issues you are concerned about?

Do you think the "real" debate was between Trump and Biden in Michigan?

Do you think any of the other GOP candidates can beat Trump? 

Do you think Trump can beat Biden? 

Do you think any other candidate besides Trump can beat Biden?

Do you think it was a mistake for Trump to miss the first debate?

Do you think it was a mistake for Trump to miss the second debate?

COVID is back! Or that is what we’re being told anyway...

A recent spike in COVID cases has triggered the left's alarm bells, and the following institutions have begun to reinstate COVID-era mandates. You might want to avoid them if you enjoy breathing freely...

Do YOU think institutions should bring back COVID-era mandates if cases increase? Let us know your thoughts HERE.

Morris Brown College

Both of Upstate Medical's hospitals in Syracuse, New York

Corey Henry / Senior Staff Photographer | The Daily Orange

Auburn Community Hospital, New York

Kevin Rivoli / The Citizen | Auburn Pub

Lionsgate Studio

AaronP/Bauer-Griffin / Contributor | GETTY IMAGES

United Health Services in New York

Kaiser Permanente in California

Justin Sullivan / Staff | GETTY IMAGES

There was a time when both the Left and the Right agreed that parents have the final say in raising their children... Not anymore.

In the People's Republic of California, the STATE, not parents, will determine whether children should undergo transgender treatments. The California state legislature just passed a law that will require judges in child custody cases to consider whether parents support a child’s gender transition. According to the law, the state now thinks total affirmation is an integral part of a child’s “health, safety, and welfare.”

We are inching closer to a dystopia where the state, not the parents, have ultimate rights over their children, a history that people from former Soviet nations would feign repeating.

Glenn dove into the law AND MORE in this episode titled, "Parental Advisory: The EXPLICIT plot to control YOUR kids." To get all the research that went into this episode AND information on how YOU can fight back, enter your email address below:

If you didn't catch Wednesday night's Glenn TV special, be sure to check it out HERE!

The Biden admin has let in MORE illegal aliens than the populations of THESE 15 states

GUILLERMO ARIAS / Contributor | Getty Images

There are currently an estimated 16.8 MILLION illegal aliens residing in the United States as of June 2023, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). This number is already 1.3 million higher than FAIR's January 2022 estimate of 15.5 million and a 2.3 million increase from its end-of-2020 estimate. Even Democrats like New York City's Mayor Adams Mayor Adams are waking up to what Conservatives have been warning for years: we are in a border CRISIS.

However, this isn't the same border crisis that Republicans were warning about back in 2010. In the first two years of the Biden administration alone, the illegal alien population increased by 16 PERCENT nationwide, imposing a whopping net cost of $150.6 BILLION PER YEAR on American taxpayers. That is nearly DOUBLE the total amount that the Biden administration has sent to Ukraine.

This isn't the same border crisis that Republicans were warning about back in 2010.

These large numbers often make it difficult to conceptualize the sheer impact of illegal immigration on the United States. To put it in perspective, we have listed ALL 15 states and the District of Colombia that have smaller populations than the 2.3 MILLION illegal immigrants, who have entered the U.S. under the Biden administration. That is more than the entire populations of Wyoming, Vermont, and South Dakota COMBINED—and the American taxpayers have to pay the price.

Here are all 16 states/districts that have FEWER people than the illegal immigrants who have entered the U.S. under the Biden administration.

1. New Mexico

Population: 2,110,011

2. Idaho

Population: 1,973,752

3. Nebraska

Population: 1,972,292

4. West Virginia

Population: 1,764,786

5. Hawaii

Population: 1,433,238

6. New Hampshire

Population: 1,402,957

7. Maine

Population: 1,393,442

8. Montana

Population: 1,139,507

9. Rhode Island

Population: 1,090,483

10. Delaware

Population: 1,031,985

11. South Dakota

Population: 923,484

12. North Dakota

Population: 780,588

13. Alaska

Population: 732,984

14. Washington DC

Population: 674,815

15. Vermont

Population: 647,156

16. Wyoming

Population: 583,279