Happy Winter Solstice Celebration of your choosing

Specifically, merry Christmas, but in general, I hope you, my dear readers, are enjoying whatever excuse you have this weekend to surround yourselves with friends and family.

Two things. Since we are, ostensibly, celebrating the birth of Jesus today, I'll pass along a little bit of wisdom from the man himself that I think is worth remembering not just today, but every day.

Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven times."

Even if you don't go to church or believe in God or believe in anything, it's still a good idea to forgive your brother when he sins against you.

Secondly, I had a chance to talk to my friend Rich yesterday. He's with the army in Iraq, and his brother brought a laptop to a Christmas party I was at and hooked us all up via Skype. Whatever your politics, there's no denying the hardship that soldiers serving overseas and their families back home have to go through, and that sort of thing is only heightened during the holidays. So if you're in a position to comfortably sit back and count your blessings today, please don't forget that there are people out there who have been put in harm's way for our sake.