Guard Duty

We decided to go chasing after Christmas lights last night.  It was a magnificent time and an excellent way to invest into the family.  We had some crispy chicken sandwiches, fries, frosties…listened to serious and humorous Christmas songs, and shared a lot of laughs…and a few scares.

You see, I’m the kind of guy who may not be able to find my way back to the lights of which we might have caught a glimpse.  There are certainly people out there who once they start down a certain road, will continue down that road, and be able to find their way back to that one house that their kids just had to see.  Me?  Not so much.  I gotta’ turn around right there and then…which means who could be hazardous to those oncoming cars, those behind us, and…us!  I got the impression that an entire host of Angels went pleading to the Lord against guard duty for me last night.  I can picture them in a huddle stating their case of how they must avoid guarding me tonight for fear they are not up to the task, or their too tired, or they can’t handle that amount of stress knowing what a large job it is to keep me and those around me safe considering my impressive history of accidents.

They would huddle in that circle and begin looking back at the new angel who doesn’t know his way around earth or its inhabitants very well.  He’s the new guy, so why not give him the tough jobs, right?  Kind of like the reindeer leaving Rudolph out of their games.  “Oh no, new guy…there’s really not a lot of room over here…why not go guard…oh, I don’t know…check out that crazy, white, fatman down there…I think his name his Toby Baker.  He’d be a great on for you to start on.”  And then God pipes up and says, “Now boys, be nice to the new angel.  It’s his first millennium.  He could use someone to show him the ropes, not show him to his ultimate death.

Then the angels would continue their argument to the Lord of how they saved me from chopping my finger off with a hand mixer, and keeping the old Ford Escort together while “Supposedly” driving over the “speed limit” and saving me from severing my head when I accidentally crashed into the road sign which would have never happened if someone didn’t put it right in the middle of the grass on the side of the road…I digress.

I would like to say a big thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for His provisions and protection, and a big shout out to whomever drew the short straw last night and protecting us from 3 sideswipes, two rear-enders, and a t-bone collision.  We had a great time, and getting into an accident would not have been a fun thing, especially since I had just picked up some Black Forrest Gummy Bears.  Merry Christmas!  And drive safe.

I need stuff for Christmas

Christmas time has certainly arrived in full swing, nearly before Thanksgiving was over.  It was apparent to me that the stores were not necessarily sure that there was a holiday in between Halloween and Christmas.  What’s a Madhatter to do?

I was reading through a list of items to be auctioned in an estate auction and began thinking to myself that this person had spent his/her life accumulating all this STUFF and will now be auctioned off after the relatives, like vulchers, pick through what they want to keep and what they don’t want, won’t need, or can’t give away as an elephant gift in an upcoming gift exchange.  I wondered if the recently deceased had stayed up late at night into the wee hours of the morning finishing a project for work to pay for the TV set, or perhaps the person had sacrificed vacations for the family to help pay for the new sets of tools.  I wondered how often they awoke in the middle of the night, afraid a burglar would sneak in and take their prized, hard earned, family time sacrificed, STUFF.

Is it ok with you if I quote scripture here?  Matthew 6:21 reminds us that we are not to store up for ourselves treasure on earth where moth can destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but rather store up for ourselves treasure in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust can destroy and where thieves can’t even reach it…for where our treasure is…there will our heart be also.

I would like to encourage you this Christmas season to invest your time into your family and friends.  Giving them the gift of your time is more prescious than gold, silver…and perhaps even a fresh bag of Black Forrest Gummy Bears (emphasis on perhaps)  They can get a video game or a toy another time.  What I believe they truly desire is that which once spent…we can never get back…and that is our time.  They will remember the time you spend and invest with them far after the luster of the new,  shiny transformer, or the pretty little dolly seem to fade away.  In a world gone mad, we would like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas!