Christmas Part 1

OK.  We are now officially in my favorite time of the year in Texas.  It's Christmas time.  It's not X-Mas, etc.  It's Christmas.  What do I like so much about Christmas?  Is it the tree, the lights, all the parties and food?  Is it Santa Claus or decorating the house?  Nope.  My favorite part of this year is carrying on the first Christmas tradition.

See, because God loved the world so much, he sent his son, Jesus to earth so we could reconnect with him.  Jesus came because he wanted to give this gift to God, his Father.  What's the common thread?  God gave Jesus so that the world would be blessed.  Jesus gave himself so that God would be blessed.  That's what this season is all about.  It's about giving, not getting.  I am not sure where but I heard somewhere that it is more blessed to give than receive.  At least in my life, that's really true.

Now we have a lot of traditions and I am thankful for them.  I used to enjoy decorating the Christmas tree.  That stopped when I was a young child though.  Apparently we were making a popcorn string to go around the Christmas tree when some part of the light fixture fell from the ceiling and hit me in the head.  Now my parents were renting that place and I don't know if we had to pay for the fixture after it broke from hitting my hard head or not.  OK - I still enjoy decorating the tree and the story above is true or so my parents tell me.

I love to go looking at the Christmas lights.  One of my favorite memories was going with my cousins in the back of my Uncle's suburban when we were kids.  We went to a place called Interlocken (sp?) in Arlington.  What fun we had that trip.  I can also remember the parties and the family fun.  My Aunt Pat used to have a platter that was shaped like a Christmas tree.  She would fill it with this fancy candy and I loved to get into that platter.  That was something I looked forward to every year.  But the older I get, the more I focus on the only real tradition that matters - giving.

As a matter of fact, I like to think about who I can bless and how.  There have been many times when I did something nice for someone and I could hear God inside me (my Dad) saying how proud he was of me.  Now don't get me wrong, I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting stuff and getting stuff for Christmas.  After all, someone will get blessed by what we do and it's OK to let someone bless you - even though I get really uncomfortable when people bless me.  I must admit, I would really prefer to be the blessor than the blessee.  For me, I am much more concerned with whether people will like what I got them than if I will like what they got me.

So I want to encourage you as you go through this season.  It's good to make your Christmas list and while you look for things for parents, family, friends and that special someone, look around for someone outside your ordinary box to bless. Remember that's the first true tradition of Christmas.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

My Dad

Today I am thankful for my dad.  There is certainly the obvious reason that I without him I would not exist.  So I am thankful for that but I am also very thankful for the job he did raising me.  Now my dad wasn't perfect and I am sure if you asked him, he would tell you that there are things he wishes he would have done differently.  Guess what, we are all like that.

But dad did teach me some things that are really important.  They are things that helped me develop my character.

First of all, don't lie.  I don't remember getting very many spankings from him but if you lied, that was a good way to get one.  I got one for a lie/stealing combo sin once.  That wasn't a fun one.  I had been stealing money out of his wallet and out of mom's purse to go down to the police station and buy candy.  I don't remember why I actually confessed.  I think dad caught me and after I lied for a while, I finally came clean.  I definitely was put on the straight and narrow for that incident.

Second, don't steal.  See paragraph above.

Third, and very important, laugh often.  My dad is a comedian.  When he was in the Navy, he even got paid to do some comedy shows.  This is evident in the way he does things even to this day.  My dad can tell a story that will have everyone around him in stitches laughing.  Now sometimes his stories aren't entirely true.  He was an ambulance driver when I was a very young boy and he still loves to tell the stories from his time driving.  Now all of these stories are definitely rooted in fact but there are normally minor embellishments around the fringe to make them even funnier.  But the bible says, A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.  When someone is in the hospital, he is the guy you want there with them because he is so good at cheering people up.  Now this may seem minor to you but it has always been big to me because I don't think I am near as good at it as him.

Dad is definitely the guy you want around in a crisis situation.  As I mentioned above, he is great at making people laugh and feel better about themselves.  But I will also tell you that he was great at handling other types of crisis.  God forbid you messed with one of Big John's family or friends in his younger days.  That would be the start of a very bad day for you.  I saw this side of him once when a neighbor tried to run me off the road.  That guy has no idea how lucky he is to still be walking this earth today.

My dad also taught me about work ethic.  I saw him work crazy amounts of hours when we were growing up.  My dad taught me that you should always work hard and try your best.  He was a security guard most of my life but he didn't act like most of the security personnel I had ever met.  He acted like a professional.  He did his job to the best of his ability.  He went to work rain, sleet, snow or hail and whether he was sick or not.  It didn't matter, he went and he always did a good job.  He did this right up until the time he retired.  I try to follow his example to this day.

Dad, at our cousin's funeral, I spoke and apparently said some pretty nice things.  After that, I think you were joking but you asked me to speak at your funeral when the time came because you wanted me to say nice things about you too.  Well, I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you them while you were still alive.

There are other things I could mention but I want to leave you with one final thing my dad has taught me.  You are never too old to change.  See, my mom took us to church all our lives.  I don't remember going with my dad more than a handful of times ever.  My mom and I have always been fairly faithful church going people.

It has only been in the last several years that dad started going to church.  Because he started when he did, he showed me that you are never too late to change.  Now a lot of people know me at my church for various reasons but my dad has turned out to be the most faithful church attender of our entire family.

Dad, thanks for all the life lessons: for chevrolets and fords, for eating mashed potatoes with your hands, for the wizard, for MASH and spaghetti, for going bowling with dip in your pocket, for playing spades with us growing up, for showing me how to cheer people up when they are in a tough place, for teaching me to do the right thing and for all the other things.

That's another Opinion of the Minion