The Joy of Giving

Merry Christmas!

This was my 2nd Christmas as a Dad but the first with a child that kind of understands the concept of gifts.  And by understands I mean he likes to play with things.  If you know Beau, you know that there are 3 things he likes right now: Basketball, Mickey, and tents.  I say tents because that is what we got him, but he just likes to crawl into, under, around, and on top of things.

He already had Mickey Mouse that was given to him a while ago but he just discovered it a week or so ago so we got him a basketball goal that sticks to the refrigerator and a play tent.  I didn't know how he would react since he is only 17 months old but I would say that it went over well.  Check out the one minute video below and see what you think. :)

He had a similar reaction to his mini basketball goal but my phone ran out of memory.  Rookie mistake I know.

I've always enjoyed Christmas, giving and receiving gifts.  However, as a Father there is something different, something special about watching your child open gifts.  Seeing Beau excited about the gifts I strategically picked out for him filled me with Joy, probably even more than him, even though he had a better reaction.  I've always heard that it is better to give than receive and I have felt that before but this time it was much more real.  (It was also cool because gift giving is not exactly my love language.  I'm actually not very good at it.  If you want to find out what your love language is click here.)

Those 2 gifts combined cost $20 but his reaction was priceless.  We are certainly taking advantage of the cheap gifts now because we know the teenage years of Beats Headphones, iPhones, laptops, or whatever else they will have invented by then are coming.

When have you experienced the Joy of Giving?

God With Us

Sometimes God shows up in different forms and locations.  Today we celebrate the moment when God showed up as a new born baby over 2000 years ago. Today he also showed up on the side of a major highway, in 26 degree weather with freezing rain.

On the way back home to OKC we got a flat tire.  I pulled off to the side of the road and got all of the luggage and presents out of the trunk in order to get to the spare tire.  It wasn't long before I realized that I didn't have a tire iron needed to change the tire!  Not a good feeling on Christmas day on the side of the road with freezing rain and a 5 month old in the car.  The next thing I know a big truck from the Department of Transportation pulled over to see if we needed help.  They hooked me up with their tire iron and helped me take the wheel off.  As I began to jack up the car I realized that the tire iron was actually hidden in the jack.  The guys saw that I had what I needed and were on their merry way.  

A minute or two later another truck pulled over to see if I needed any help.  It was just a man named Jesse and his son Gavin wanting to help someone on Christmas day.  They walked up and took over.  Maybe they could tell that I wasn't confident in my abilities or perhaps they just wanted to be a blessing.  They certainly were!

You can call it coincidence, good fortune, or luck.  But luck and fortune rarely show up when you're on the side of the road on Christmas day in inclement weather.  God speaks and moves and works all the time in many different ways.  What I realized today is that I rarely notice how much God speaks and moves until I'm in a bind.  And it doesn't matter to God if the need is big or small.  God is with us.

To finish up our story, the roads were getting slick and we didn't want to risk driving with a donut.  No tire places were open as it was Christmas so we decided we would play it safe and check into a hotel.  

So here we are at the Hampton Inn in Shawnee, OK.  No car to unload.  No laundry to do.  No house to clean.  No meals to cook.  No dishes to wash.  No projects.  No to-do list.  Just secluded in a hotel room with my wife and sweet baby boy.  Napping, watching a Christmas Story, eating at the IHOP next door, and making a wonderful Christmas memory as a family.

Perhaps a flat tire in the freezing rain and staying in a hotel room on Christmas Day could be just what I needed as a reminder that God is with me.  It is also a reminder that God answers prayers, but not always how we think He should.  Katy prayed for a safe trip as we left home.  Despite the extreme inconvenience of a flat tire in inclement weather, we are safe and never felt like we were in any danger.  God is constantly with us!

Merry Christmas to you!

May you be reminded of the many ways that God is with you and may you be changed because of it!