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On Saturday, the good folks at First United Methodist Church in Lindstrom are doing something very cool.  They are hosting their annual living nativity scene.  Beginning at 6 p.m., you are invited to the manger in Bethlehem the night when Jesus was born.  Come watch a wonderful re-creation of the most important birth in the history of history.  The re-enactments last around 15 minutes. Even if the weather is chilly, 15 minutes is not that long to spend outside to enjoy this wonderful event.  The shows run every half hour until 8:30 p.m.

It is so odd to lookout over the lakes and see water.  On Sunday I saw a fisherman in his boat fishing on Little Green Lake in Chisago City.  In his boat on December 13.  My daughter and I got passed on Saturday by a motorcycle.  A motorcycle on December 12. 

Something is going on here.  It isn’t for a lack of moisture, have you seen the lakes lately?  They are very high compared to the last few years.  I am not smart enough to get into how much snow we would have had if it would have been cold the last 30 days or so, but I know it would be alot.  

We (the area) is scheduled to host our annual Celebration of the Lakes in a month.  Yes, it can and probably will get cold by then, but we usually have a decent amount of ice by now.

This weather reminds me of when I was in college. We had a warm spell in February and I convinced my roomate to drive me home from Mankato so I could drive my motorcycle back. About Savage or so it began to sleet, and I had to leave the bike in Jordan. The next day it warmed enough to drive it to Mankato. The next day? It snowed 16 inches.  Remember when I said I wasn’t smart?  You were warned.

There is still time to get your family and friends some great presents before Christmas.  Why drive to Maplewood or even (gulp) the Mall of America when you can find an equally neat, even more thoughtful present right here in our area.  While I can’t tell you exactly what to give that someone special, I can tell you that we have virtually every type of business in our area for every type of present. Come on folks, we can do it, let’s make a real effort to shop locally.  

If you are a business owner and would like to increase your bottom dollar in 2016, we want to talk to you.  We have three wonderful advertising representatives who would love nothing more than to help your business flourish.  Unlike other periodicals, we are not trying to make a “quick sell”.  What we want is to see your business here next year, and the year after.   We have many different media streams which we can utilize to get your message to the public.  We are the most read newspaper in the county, and the most read on the internet. Bottom line? We can help.  Please let us help you.  We can come up with some very creative (both imaginative and fiscally) plans that will fit your budget.

As we near the end of the crazy gift buying season, I would like to stress there are other people in our community that need gifts. These are people whom we may never even think of, people who while they are living here in our communities, may be down on their luck.  People who may have lost their jobs, or are struggling to make ends meet.  This holiday season, if at all possible, try to give to the local food shelf.  The food shelves in North Branch and Chisago have helped thousands of families with nothing asked in return.  They have put food onn the table for families who otherwise would be going without food for who knows how long.

Everyone, and I mean everyone has some food items in their pantry that they can donate.  I am not asking you to clean out your pantry, rather just a couple of items will make a difference.
We, as a society can make a difference.

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