“Every man I meet is my superior in some way.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Every Christmas Eve, I think about George Bailey. He dreamed of escaping Bedford Falls—of shaking off the dust of a small town, building skyscrapers, exploring the world. Instead, he stayed. He ran the Building & Loan his father left behind. He sacrificed his college money, his honeymoon savings, his chance to see the world, over and over, because people needed him. By the time the crisis hits, George feels like a failure. His life looks like one long series of missed opportunities, thwarted ambitions, and quiet resentments. He stands on the bridge, convinced the world would be better without him. Then Clarence shows him the truth: a Bedford Falls without George Bailey is a darker, meaner, hollowed-out place. The people he quietly helped, the small acts of integrity he performed without recognition, the risks he took to protect others—those weren’t detours. They were the substance of his life. The film’s deepest insight isn’t just that “no man is a failure who has friends.” It’s that real impact is almost always invisible in the moment. The lives you steady, the small kindnesses you extend, the responsibilities you shoulder when no one else will—these things ripple outward in ways you may never see. A strong sense of purpose doesn’t erase pain; it transforms it. It doesn’t merely explain why hard things happened. It asks: What are you now responsible for because they happened? Faith, at its best, does the same. It doesn’t promise that everything was “meant to be” in order to make suffering palatable. It invites you to look at what has been entrusted to you in light of what you’ve endured. George’s story reminds us that meaning is rarely found in the grand escape, but in the faithful presence. The dreams we surrender don’t always vanish—they often become the raw material for something more enduring than we imagined. If you’re carrying the weight of roads not taken, of dreams deferred, of a life that feels smaller than you once hoped—watch It’s a Wonderful Life again tonight. Not as nostalgia, but as revelation. You may not see the full difference you’ve made yet. But it’s there. And it matters more than you know. Merry Christmas, friends. 🎄🇨🇽🎅🦌☃️⛪️✝️❤️

"Breaking Bad" star Aaron Paul tells WSJ Tech Live about the moment he realized his smartphone was compromising his relationships.

"Put the Quarterfinal games on campus." @joelklatt feels the College Football Playoff should give teams the reward they earn during the regular season – home field advantage.

No one is supposed to come to Death Valley and do that...but we did

Another profound insight here: the Sabbath is a gift to be treasured, not cast aside.

"I'm just flesh and bone, but more importantly, I'm a soul, and that soul is accountable to one being." "I've had an unbelievably blessed life... So praise God. I've been all across the world. I've met with world leaders." "I've flown Air Force One, got to know a president. I have an amazing family, the podcast Turning Point USA... And so you experienced that, and you're like, 'What actually matters?'" "What matters is your relationship with the divine, your relationship with your family, your kids, and maybe a close collection of friends, and your relationship with the truth." So much wisdom and taken way too soon. Charlie Kirk will never be forgotten.

How Great the Chasm that Lay Between Us. digitalliturgies.net/p/how-g…

Pearls of wisdom from @RepTroyDowning

Today was my first Montana Coffee as YOUR representative for MT-02. Thank you to all the Montanans who came out for the Inauguration and stuck around for this one-of-a-kind tradition. I was proud to have my DC staff join in attendance.

“Remember no man is a failure who has friends.”

NEW @DC_Reporter: #MT02’s incoming member of Congress, @DowningForMT, has been on a nationwide campaign tour with @SpeakerJohnson and @SteveScaliseGOP — and the incoming lawmaker has donated over $200,000 to Republicans *already* washingtonreporter.news/edit…

I absolutely LOVE that entire country is waking up on the first Saturday of CFB and witnessing the magic of Aggieland. 😍

What an incredibly powerful video

The latest in a sad episode of Congress. Scalise is a statesman.

Summer nights at The Jonathan House. Stay updated via our new IG @TuesdaysOnTheHill