From Linus To FDR: Faith, Duty, And Keeping Christmas All Year

What if the gap between our dreams and our reality isn’t talent, but effort ordered by love? We explore why so many of us crave high reward with low effort and how a clear hierarchy—God, spouse, family, country—reorients our days toward what truly matters. Along the way, we get practical about marriage, drawing on Hebrews 13:4 to show how honor and fidelity aren’t drab rules but the engine of trust, joy, and resilience.

Luke 2 takes center stage through Linus’s timeless recitation from A Charlie Brown Christmas, reminding us that Christmas isn’t a date—it’s a way to live. Hear, hurry, see, share, worship: the shepherds give us a rhythm for the whole year. We dig into why media choices shape our souls, how a recent Grinch adaptation quietly nods toward deeper truths, and why families should seek stories that teach courage, sacrifice, and grace.

We also spotlight Medal of Honor recipient Nicholas S. Bouquet, an immigrant who risked everything at Wilson’s Creek—an example of character forged by virtue, not birthplace. Then we draw strength from FDR’s 1938 Christmas messages to the military and the nation, where he calls America a republic and grounds public hope in the providence of God. The throughline is simple and demanding: if Christ is the point, then our habits must reflect His teachings in our marriages, our work, our entertainment, and our civic life. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs encouragement, and leave a review to help others find the show—what habit will you change first?

Chapters

• 0:02 Welcome And Opening Prayer
• 3:26 Effort, Virtue, And Real Priorities
• 7:40 Marriage Honor And Roles
• 8:20 Charlie Brown And Luke’s Nativity
• 12:53 The Grinch, Music, And Moral Media
• 14:23 Medal Of Honor: Nicholas S. Bouquet
• 15:47 FDR’s 1938 Christmas Messages
• 20:20 Keep Christmas All Year And Closing Blessing

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:02

Hey folks, this is Jesse Cope, back with another episode of the American Soul Podcast. Hope y'all are doing well, wherever y'all are, whatever part of the day you're in. Sure to appreciate you joining me, giving me a little bit of your time and attention. I know for sure y'all have other things pulling, vying for that attention. So thank you. For those of y'all who continue to share the podcast with others, tell others about it. Thank you very much for those of y'all who continue to pray. Excuse me, for me and for the podcast. Thank you. Very, very grateful for your prayers.

SPEAKER_00: 0:38

Obviously, need them and want them. Father, thank you for today. Thank you for your son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for your Holy Spirit. Thank you for this life that you have given us. Help us to carry the sense of Christmas. The sense of Christ with us throughout the entire year.

SPEAKER_01: 1:11

Focus on following the commands of your Son Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_00: 1:17

I love you with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. I love our neighbors as ourselves. Forgive us when we fail, though, Father. Thank you for that ability to seek forgiveness through your son Jesus Christ. Have forgiveness through your son Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_01: 1:46

Help us to do your will though above all else, Father, to follow that example that your son set even when he didn't want to.

SPEAKER_00: 2:00

To say thy will be done and not mine. Be with those who are alone and hurting this season, Father.

SPEAKER_01: 2:11

Those who are anxious, those who are scared, those who are worried, who can't see what's coming over the horizon.

SPEAKER_00: 2:19

Help us to remember that you can. You know what tomorrow is going to bring in the morning, in the evening, in the middle of the day. You are not unconcerned about our trials and tribulations. But you have a picture, a much bigger picture than ours.

SPEAKER_01: 2:49

Help us to do all we can to ease the suffering of those around the world who are suffering for the sake of your son Jesus Christ. And help us to care for the least of these, the widow and the orphan, children, poor and needy. Thank you for those who listen to the podcast. Father, please be with them. Be with their families. Bless their marriages. Guide those who have children in raising them to know you. And please guide my words here.

SPEAKER_00: 3:17

Your son's name we pray.

unknown: 3:19

Amen.

SPEAKER_01: 3:26

So there's somebody that I follow online on X, and they made this comment talking about people today want high reward with very low effort. And it reminds me of the interview done with JJ Watts, who was a professional football player that I saw years ago talking about the fact that everybody wants to be. He used the word beast, right? Common vernacular. Everybody wants to be a superstar. Everybody wants to be an NFL Hall of Famer. Until he said, until it's time to do what a superstar, what an NFL Hall of Famer, what a again he used the word beast has to do in order to be that, to be a beast, to be an NFL Hall of Famer, to be whatever it is you want to fit there. And that's so true today. We want to put in the very minimal effort and we want to have a six-pack.

SPEAKER_00: 4:40

We want to be skinny. We want to look good in a swimsuit. We want to be healthy. We want to be smart. We want to be educated. We want to know a foreign language. We want to be tough. We want to be a good fighter. We want to be a good shot. We want to be well read. We want to be a good husband or wife. We want to be a good servant to God and Jesus Christ. We want to hear God say to us someday, Well done, good and faithful servant. But most of us, my I'm, folks, I am definitely condemning myself here.

SPEAKER_01: 5:40

We want to bury our talent. We don't want to use it. Because it takes too much effort, it takes too much energy. And the worst part is when we want other people to do their job, but we don't want to do ours. We want that person we married, our husband or our wife, to be a phenomenal spouse. We want them to do all the things that they're supposed to do in marriage.

SPEAKER_00: 6:09

But we just want to do a little bit.

SPEAKER_01: 6:14

We want the other people in our congregation at church to all be stalwart Christians.

SPEAKER_00: 6:26

But we just want to show up every once in a while on Sunday. Maybe. You get it, folks.

SPEAKER_01: 6:38

If you really and you need to make sure this is where priorities, because you can't be great at everything, right? That's the lie that feminism has sold for the last century is that women can work inside and outside the house. They can do two full-time jobs and produce the same quality and quantity of output in both, right? It's it's ludicrous. It makes no logical sense at all. You would you would never tell a man that he had to work two full-time jobs, right? Bare minimum 16 hours a day and produce the same quality and quantity of output every single day. It defies logic. Right? And we so we can't be great at everything. So you gotta pick what you really want.

SPEAKER_00: 7:20

What are your priorities, really? God, spouse, family, country, four. I always throw in the Marine Corps just because I'm just an old Marine. So the marriage verse for today fits pretty well.

SPEAKER_01: 7:45

It's Hebrews 13, 4. Right? Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled. For fornicators and adulterers, God will judge. You want your marriage to be great, folks, just like your faith. You gotta follow the roles and responsibilities God gave you. You've got to put in the effort. So for the Bible, the scripture reading today, we're gonna go to Luke chapter 2, the Christmas story. Jesus' birth in Bethlehem. And we're gonna skip down. We're actually gonna read. One of the things that I really decry is the lack of quality in entertainment today, of real meat substance morality. You know, what when I was a kid, even though we had already started this kind of transition to the left, for sure, and feminism. So many of the stories I read, they still had there was a moral. And today, so often it seems like we're just entertained to be entertained, right?

SPEAKER_00: 9:15

One of the great kids' shows at Christmas time to me is Charlie Brown, the Christmas episode.

SPEAKER_01: 9:25

And a lot of y'all probably know it. And so I'm gonna read the text. So Charlie Brown, of course, is frustrated, which is pretty normal. And he's really having trouble finding this Christmas tree. And he's just not doing a good job, and everybody's picking on him. And finally he looks at his best friend, looks at Linus, and goes, I guess you were right, Linus. I shouldn't have picked this little tree. Because he picked this horrible little tree that nobody liked. He said everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I don't really know what Christmas is all about. Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about? Sure, Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about, said Linus. Lights, please, they're in this big auditorium, and so Linus asked for the lights to be turned on the stage. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord, and this shall be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

SPEAKER_00: 11:23

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown. The story goes on in Luke chapter two.

SPEAKER_01: 11:39

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us. So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby, as he lay in the manger. When they had seen this they made known the statement which had been told them about this child. All who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them. Do we treasure Christmas all year round? And do we seek entertainment that's wholesome and moral and teaches us?

SPEAKER_00: 12:37

If you haven't had a chance to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas show this year, I would highly recommend it.

SPEAKER_01: 12:51

And this probably, but while we're talking about movies, kids' movies, I think it's the newest rendition of the Grinch. It's an animated version that they made within the last couple years. And it's really kind of impressive in a lot of little ways. One of my favorite scenes, though, is I believe they hired Pentatonics, the group Pentatonics, to sing the song for the movie. Or maybe they already they just used one that they had already recorded or whatever.

SPEAKER_00: 13:26

But it was God rest you, Mary Gentleman.

SPEAKER_01: 13:33

And it's just a great rendition. And it's just a little part in that show that points to the truth, to God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and the whole point of everything, folks. The point of liberty, the point of America, the point of our marriages, our families, our churches, our communities, the point of Western civilization, whether you're listening in France or Britain or anywhere else across Europe or around the world, Thailand, so many different places that pop up on the podcast.

SPEAKER_00: 14:11

Jesus Christ is the point of everything. So the Medal of Honor for today is I had it.

SPEAKER_01: 14:31

Nicholas S. I'm gonna murder this Boquette Private, highest ranked sergeant, U.S. Civil War Delta Company, 1st Iowa Infantry, U.S. Army, August 10th, 1861. Wilson's Creek, Missouri. Voluntarily left the line of battle and exposing himself to imminent danger from a heavy fire from the enemy. Boquette assisted in capturing a riderless horse at large between the lines, and hitching him to a disabled gun, saved the gun from capture. Accredited to Burlington. Presented february sixteenth, eighteen ninety seven, born november fourteenth, eighteen forty two, Landau, Bavaria, Germany. Died december twenty seventh, nineteen twelve, Burlington, Iowa. Buried Aspen Grove Cemetery, one hundred sixty eight, tack three, tack four, Burlington, Iowa. Folks, the people that we have Nicholas S. Boquette. The people that we have immigrating today, so many of them. Not all. There's some really good ones out there, folks. I had some in the Marine Corps. But man, the ones that that you see the left defending so often, the mass Muslim and the illegals, they are not the same caliber as immigrants of the past. Not even remotely close. And it doesn't have anything to do with geography or ethnicity or race or gender. It has to do with virtue and morality and character and faith and ideology. It all boils down to whether they're striving to follow the principles of Jesus Christ, regardless of if they accept him as his saint their savior or not, which I cannot recommend to y'all anything more.

SPEAKER_00: 16:36

But whether they're following the principles of Christ or not, whether they acknowledge that the principles of Christ are the foundation of our republic or not. That's it, folks. So the uh Christmas message for today. I've got a couple.

SPEAKER_01: 17:07

We'll see what all we get to, but we're gonna start with the Christmas greetings from the President on December 24, 1938, to the Army and Navy. It gives me great pleasure to send my most cordial and hearty Christmas greetings to the Army and the Navy. Events of the past twelve months have served to focus public attention on the national defense and to bring home to all of our people a greater appreciation of the protective missions of our land and sea forces. The nation is grateful as Democratic Armed Forces volunteers to Oman for their wholehearted devotion to duty. It is my sincere hope that this holiday season will bring happiness and good cheer to all who wear the uniform of our republic. We are indeed a republic. There's another one of greeting to disabled veterans, December 19, 1938. To you who in time of national peril have defended your country with courage, fortitude, and heroic self-sacrifice, I extend my heartfelt holiday greetings. It is my earnest wish and that of an ever-grateful nation that for you and those dear to you this Christmas season will be one of happiness and hope. And that the new year will see your restoration and comfort and health in a happy nation long distant, and the providence of God to remain at peace. Providence of God. We're going to come back to that in a minute. But again, anytime you get a chance to thank military law enforcement firefighters, EMS, to encourage them to support them, please do. Last Christmas message for today is from FDR. Again, all of these are the address on the lighting of the community Christmas tree, Washington, D.C., 24 December, 1938. Tonight is Christmas Eve. We are gathered again around our community tree here in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House. Darkness has fallen over the Capitol, but all about us shine a myriad of brilliant lights. All our hearts warmed by the eternal fire of Christmas rejoice, because new life, new hope, new happiness are in them. In this setting I wish my fellow countrymen everywhere a Merry Christmas with peace, content, and friendly cheer to all. I wish also to thank the thousands who have remembered me and my family this Christmas with individual greetings. We shall always treasure these friendly messages. At this time, let us hope that the boom of peace which we in this country and in the whole Western hemisphere enjoy under the providence of God may likewise be vouchsafed to all nations and all peoples. We desire peace. We shall work for peace. We covet neither the lands nor the possessions of any other nation or people. We of the Western world, who have borne witness by works as well as words to our devotion to the cause of peace, ought to take heart tonight from the atmosphere of hope and promise, in which representatives of twenty-one free republics are now assembled in the Pan American Conference at Lima, Peru. I consider it a happy circumstance that these deliberations will be successfully concluded soon after the birthday of the Prince of Peace. It is indeed a holy season in which to work for good will among men. We derive new strength, new courage for our work from the spirit of Christmas. We do not expect a new heaven and a new earth overnight, but in our own land and other lands, wherever men of good will listen to our appeal, we shall work as best we can with the instruments at hand to banish hatred, greed, and covetousness from the heart of mankind. And so the pledge I have so often given to my own countrymen, I renew before all the world on this glad Christmas Eve, that I shall do whatever lies within my own power to hasten the day foretold by Isaiah, when men shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Remember the true spirit of Christmas most of all from Charlie Brown and Linus. Remember Nicholas S. Bouquet to Risk His Life in the Civil War.

SPEAKER_00: 22:01

And remember, as FDR clearly stated, that we are a republic. That we're centered on Christ.

SPEAKER_01: 22:12

That this in our hearts to try and keep, maintain, and build this eternal fire of Christmas that brings hope and happiness. And to work with all of those men around the world who are truly of goodwill, who truly seek peace. And you go back and you remember another message that we recently talked about, right?

SPEAKER_00: 22:43

We can claim to be seekers of peace in as much as we follow Christ's teachings and the Sermon on the Mount. And overall, folks, just remember Christ. And help us all to try and stretch that memory throughout the entire year, not just at Christmas.

SPEAKER_01: 23:27

The Book of the Wise is the first in the series, The Tears of Edina, the second. There's paperback, hardback, Kindle. Often you can get Kindle for 99 cents, but even if not, it's still, I think, just three or four dollars. Find it on Amazon. There's a link at the bottom of the show notes that you can click on. And if you're looking for something, folks, that'll get your kids or your grandkids or even yourself kind of away from the secular lack of morality entertainment that we've gotten to. And then if you feel like you're getting something out of the podcast, whether it's the marriage verses or the scripture or Medal of Honor citations or just the American history heritage showing our nation linked to God and Jesus Christ, if you can find five or ten dollars a month to support the podcast, there's a link down at the bottom of the show notes there where you can click on that too. And I would be grateful for any or all of those and any reviews as well for the books or the podcasts. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. God bless y'all. God bless your families. God bless your marriages if you're married. God bless your nation wherever you are around the world listening. God bless America. We'll talk to y'all again real soon, folks.

SPEAKER_00: 25:16

Looking forward to it.