Back in January of 2017, my wife Leela June and I were driving from Washington, D.C., to the Snowshoe ski resort in West Virginia.  Just two months earlier, then New York City businessman Donald J. Trump had shocked the nation and the world with his well-deserved – and desperately needed – election as president of the United States.

As I have written about in the past for this site, I had long been a fan of businessman Trump. In 1987, while a writer in the White House of President Ronald Reagan, I read Trump’s book “The Art of the Deal” and honestly believed it to be one of the best “real-world” business books ever written.

As my wife and I continued our drive that day in 2017, most of the conversation centered on Trump and his pending transition to president. As my wife drove, I went into my regular lecture that “Billionaire Trump needed none of this.”

“Why should he enter the political arena when he can live a life of peace and luxury while growing his global business empire?” I asked. “Why should he subject himself to partisan attacks, false hoaxes and personal smears by an entrenched elite fearful that they could not control or sway him? Why should he risk all that he built over the last few decades in the pursuit of an office so many told him was unattainable?”

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While watching the road, my wife smiled and said: “Now go ahead and answer your own questions.”

I smiled back and gave her the answer she had heard numerous times before: “Because, as then businessman Trump looked around and saw the country he loved falling apart at the seams, he asked himself two questions: ‘If not me, who? If not now, when?’ Precisely because he had decades of unrivaled success and experience and precisely because he had made himself a multibillionaire, he did come to believe he had the gifts, the intelligence, the experience, the connections, and the patriotism to turn the country around.”

As we continued our drive and got deeper into – and higher – into West Virginia, the temperature continued to drop while the landscape transitioned into a winter wonderland of snow-covered trees as far as the eye could see. That spectacular vision immediately refocused my mind on Christmas.

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As a child, I grew up in abject poverty and was homeless often. As a 6-year-old, I had obtained a tiny plastic Nativity scene that came to mean everything to me and launched my spirituality. That same year, during the Christmas season, when the constables came to evict us yet again, they found me hiding in a closet clutching that Nativity scene to my chest.

As I got older, Christmas for me became about helping the least among us. 

President Trump speaks on the phone sharing updates to track Santa’s movements from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Santa Tracker on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Jumping back to the drive to the ski resort in West Virginia, as I continued to look in awe at the snow-covered landscape, I suddenly turned to my wife and blurted out: “What if a multi-billionaire used his gifts to save Christmas for the neediest among us?”

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We had printed out driving directions and I immediately flipped the paper over to its blank side and began to furiously sketch out the plot for such a story.

That plot involved multibillionaire main character Christian Nicholas, whose life has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. As Christian struggles to find real meaning in life despite his vast wealth, his older brother Paul, a minister in Texas, reminds him of the one and only time in Christian’s life when he was truly happy.

That time was when, as a small boy, he saved every penny all year to buy and deliver Christmas presents for needy children on the Army base he lived on with his military parents. His brother then implored Christian to “become like Santa Claus all over again. Save yourself by helping others.”

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“Saved” by his minister brother’s desperately needed reminder, the literal-minded billionaire decides that his life’s mission will now be to build a real-life “Santa’s Workshop” at the North Pole. A flight of imagination that will not only save him, but also a select number of adults from around the world who have applied to be his “Santa’s Elves.” Adults from every walk of life who have also lost their way and are in anguished need of salvation.

The multibillionaire then uses his vast experience, wealth and drive to reach out to his vast array of contacts in the private and governmental sector to assemble the team needed to build such a complex. Together, all soon experience firsthand the faith, hope and charity that unites us as human beings, while bringing joy to thousands of needy and abandoned children the world over.

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump cheer after lighting the 2017 National Christmas Tree. (AP)

That story, inspired by the conversation about then President-elect Trump, became the book: “The North Pole Project: In Search of the True Meaning of Christmas.”

We all have gifts which can make a difference. Fictional Billionaire Christian Nicholas used his to bring hope and joy to thousands of children and adults. President Trump is using his to try and save a nation.

This Christmas season – and beyond – which gifts of yours can make a difference for those most in need? Merry Christmas.

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When we focus on survival, life becomes pretty straightforward. Food, water, shelter, health, and hopefully the warm embrace of a loved one. That’s what we truly need.

If we are blessed to have all those, then I know you agree we have a lot to be grateful for this Christmas. 

But what if a less evident, less material, and largely unrecognized factor is equally important to human survival? Based on my experience as a faith-based leader who’s traveled to more than 50 countries, mobilizing churches to respond to wars and natural disasters, I believe there is. 

That less evident factor is hope. If we truly understood its power, we’d package it up and stuff it into every survival kit the world over. 

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Hope was actually the focus of this past Sunday of Advent, on December 1, for Christians around the world, and it was a pivotal part of the Angel’s announcement to the shepherds of the birth of Christ.

In Luke 2:9-12 we read, “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.’” 

In their day, shepherds were outcasts, poor, and downtrodden. Their lives were hard, and they had little to look forward to. But the fact that God chose to reveal the birth of Christ to them gave them hope. And this news spurred the shepherds to action. 

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I’ve personally witnessed how hope empowers the human spirit to prevail. People can weather just about anything. As long as they have hope. Hope gives human beings the confident expectation that a better day is coming. It enables us to live victorious through life’s tsunamis with our heads above the water, rather than under it.

For one very recent example, just consider Chimney Rock, North Carolina. 

In September, Hurricane Helene’s intense rains triggered catastrophic flooding in Chimney Rock and all throughout parts of Appalachia. Roads were washed out; homes and businesses were flooded. Residents in remote regions were literally cut off from civilization, and a staggering 126,000 homes sustained damage.

Flash forward to today, and when you make your way down Main street in Chimney Rock you’ll still see that most of the businesses that are fortunate to be standing are still boarded up. Peek inside, however, and you’ll see a flurry of activity. 

The town’s alive with a glorious orchestra of pounding nails. Fresh two-by-four framing has gone up, and pristine drywall has already replaced the damaged interiors. 

As Chimney Rock Mayor Pete O’Leary recently said, “It’s been constant construction, constant cleaning, constant traffic on the road with dump trucks and big vehicles. We were hit hard and we need a lot of assistance to get back on our feet, and we’re very hopeful that assistance will be forthcoming.”

Did you notice that he said “hopeful”? It’s what all of us desperately need in times of adversity. 

Our team at CityServe has been active in a five-state region hit by the storm, with a special focus on western North Carolina and Chimney Rock. We’ve mobilized chainsaw crews to clear out debris and set up aid stations to distribute food and water. We also helped coordinate the delivery of special cargo that Ivanka Trump brought to North Carolina: 300 StarLink devices requested by President-elect Trump and provided by Elon Musk. They were distributed to first responders who used them to reconnect with residents who’d lost communications.

But I’d submit that Ivanka’s arrival, and the arrival of many other philanthropists and charitable organizations, brought something that — while less tangible — may have been even more important. They brought hope. Residents of North Carolina’s wild and beautiful hill country knew they’d not been forgotten; that helped sustain their hope.

To be clear, much work remains and countless repairs are still needed. Mayor O’Leary estimates Chimney Rock’s Main Street will not reopen until sometime this spring. 

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But here’s what I can tell you: In the face of heartbreak and devastation, Chimney Rock will ultimately emerge bigger and better than ever. How can I be so sure? 

Because while it’s true many there have lost loved ones, their homes and businesses, their hope is alive and well. If you think Helene can keep them from celebrating the Holidays this year, think again. 

Want to take stock this Christmas of all our blessed nation has to be grateful for? I’d say start with the resilient residents of Chimney Rock. Their hopeful spirit in the wake of a devastating flood stands as a shining example for all of us. With the help of friends and neighbors, they’re piecing their community back together one nail, one dry-wall section, one plywood slab at a time. 

For the shepherds at the very first Christmas, the Lord made it a point to reveal himself to those who needed good news the most. So, as Americans help those who need it most right now, we’re learning an important lesson about hope this Christmas. We’re learning that no matter the hurdles, hope is always possible. 

May the people of Chimney Rock be a lesson to us all. Their endurance shows us that as long as the beacon of hope shines bright, nothing can stop a people blessed by Providence with a spirit to endure. 

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As the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the high-profile transgender case this past week, a prominent detransitioner and public speaker emphasized the importance of the case and said it could change everything about the gender ideology they fight in the United States.  

U.S. v. Skrmetti revolves around a Tennessee law that bans sex-change treatments and surgeries for children. Experts believe the Supreme Court’s decision in the case could set a precedent that will shape laws about transgender treatments for children across the country.

“It’s incredibly important that this law goes through so that other states, not just Tennessee, who have these protective laws, can uphold them in courts and maybe states that are more on the fence, like blue states or purple states, can have pressure put on them to put in these laws to protect children in their area as well,” Chloe Cole told Fox News Digital in the frigid cold outside the Supreme Court building

“This is an identity crisis that is plaguing my generation right now,” she continued. “Children are losing their health, they’re losing their ability to grow up into adults, are losing their ability to have children when they become adults. It’s unconscionable.”  

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Cole, who is 20 years old and began transitioning from a female into a male at the age of 12 and stopped at 17, said that she continues to suffer daily pain and faces serious health issues from the long-term effects of the sex-change treatments and surgery she received as a child.

“I’ve been on the puberty blockers, the testosterone injections, and I’ve had a double mastectomy, and all three of these treatments have irreversibly and permanently affected my health,” she said.

“I basically went through an artificial menopause while I was young,” Cole explained. “So, I was experiencing hot flashes and these other uncomfortable, painful symptoms that are not too dissimilar to what women naturally experience when they’re in their 40s, 50s, 60s, not before they’re even teenagers.“

Chloe Cole began the gender transition process at age 12 and received a double mastectomy surgery at 15. (Fox News Digital)

Some activists, including attorneys arguing against Tennessee’s law, posit that sex-change treatments help children suffering from gender confusion, improving their mental health and preventing suicide. However, many former transgender individuals – often called “detransitioners” – dispute the claim that sex-change treatments solve mental health issues. Instead, they say that in addition to causing physical problems, treatments can also lead to serious psychological damage.

Besides having to live with the reality of having both her breasts cut off at the age of 15, Cole said that testosterone has also “made it so that I have permanent changes to my bone structure.”

“I have a left-over Adam’s apple and facial hair growth, but I also have issues with my urinary tract, with pelvic pain [and] with things like sexual function, which, now, as an adult woman, that is something that has been both physically and psychologically incredibly painful,” she explained.

“I’m a woman,” she went on. “I aspire to become a mother one day, I want to get married, and this is something that is going to undoubtedly affect my marriage, my romantic life, and potentially my ability to have children.”

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Activists hold a rally outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., as the court hears oral arguments in the transgender treatments case of U.S. v. Skrmetti on Dec. 4, 2024. (Fox News Digital)

Although gender transition treatment is promoted by doctors and hospital systems across the country, Cole said that there are still many unanswered questions about the long-term effects of these treatments.

“I don’t know what the lasting effects are on my fertility. There are so many unknowns about my health, I have no idea what the future of my health is going to look like,” she said. “It’s been years after the fact, and I’m still experiencing reeling effects from all of this when I could have just grown up into a healthy young woman with a body intact.”

Although she continues to suffer the aftereffects of the treatments, Cole said she is resolved to stop more children from suffering what she underwent.  

“This is not what children deserve,” she concluded. “Children deserve to be allowed to grow up with their bodies fully intact, they deserve a chance to learn how to love themselves the way that they are, the way they were born, the way that God beautifully crafted them in their mother’s womb.”