From the famous song: "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Soon the bells will start And the thing that will make 'em ring is the carol that you sing Right within your heart."

Good morning and welcome. It's Wednesday, November 20, 2019, and I bid you a hearty hello from my laptop to your receiving device. Last Sunday afternoon we did a photo engagement with a new-to-us professional photographer. She sent us the address. It was a beautiful public park. She had a couch set up in front of some trees with decorations all around. It was slightly boggy because of all the recent rains. She had her clients scheduled for every 10 minutes for two hours. We were busy. I was up and down, down and up, changing positions, standing behind the couch, holding a baby in one arm and a toddler in the other. Mrs. Claus was also in many of the photos. It was taxing, to say the least. But, the thing I didn't like about it was all the little kids in the park who were naturally drawn to Santa and Mrs. Claus but they were not invited to the party. Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, and, I am so thankful that, as Santa, I do too. I could deal with folks on the sidewalk taking pictures of us taking pictures. I could deal with those shooting video from their cars. But, I didn't like to see so many beautiful longing faces that I couldn't touch. Believe me, if at any time I was not engaged with a client I was doing my best to reach out to as many of the other kids as possible. They had candy for the clients but not for the bystanders. We loved doing this booking, however, I would hope we could think about the situation involving all the other children if we do it again. Just me. You are right. I am a paid Christmas performer and I do follow the lead of the person who engaged us, however, I can still have an opinion, and especially so as The Santa Claus!

And, the season is upon us. I am always fascinated with how people recognize me as we get closer and closer to Christmas Day. Just a few weeks ago they may have looked at me and wondered if I had wandered in off the street. But, that perception changes. After doing the Bible time service for the folks in the apartment complex on Monday, the wife and I headed to the hospitals to visit ailing folks from our Sunday Bible Study class. Nearly everywhere we went, down the halls, in the rooms themselves, folks were greeting me as Santa. Nurses, aids, cleaning people, many wanted to say hello to Santa. I passed out several of our souvenir business cards. One nurse asked as we walked by if I played Santa. I handed her a card and told her I didn't play at all. She nearly yelled. After all, my card does pronounce me to be The Real Santa. After making our last stop, we got on the elevator with a wonderful African American lady pushing her cleaning cart. She loved traveling with Santa and Mrs. Claus. As we walked the halls she would call out to her cleaning buddies and ask them to look who she was with. She loved that we do charity work. She said God would bless us for doing so. She was a real fan and I later told the wife it's folks like her that make me proud to wear the white beard.

Andy Warhol's words "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes" was a commentary on the short-lived nature of celebrity. I get that, however, we do get to reprise our roles each Christmas and to tell the truth, it feels pretty good to be loved by so many. I may be naïve, but, to me, we often are the recipients of the joy and we feel blessed as a result. It's good to be recognized for doing the portrayal in a way that allows folks to make memories. We are glad we are often complimented on our presentation and approach. Yet, there is a joy in seeing the faces of children of all ages and I'm not sure this would be worth doing without that. I do read from some who sit in the chair and they see it mostly as a paid gig. Because of that, they do it, but, based on their own testimony, they don't enjoy it that much. I can still remember over nine years ago the first time they picked up a frail young boy from his wheelchair and laid him in my arms. The breath nearly left my body and I had to hold back the tears as a huge smile came over his face. For less than a minute I had been privileged to brighten the day of a little kid who had mostly struggles in his life. I have a photo of that little boy somewhere in our archives. It's a reminder of why we do what we do. And, yes, for our paid events, the funds are welcomed. However, even at those, we get to ride the joy train. And, I say Amen to that! As I so often ask, "Is this a great country or what?" Amen. ....More later.