We only have 23 days left until Christmas Day. Please tell me you are kidding.

Today. It's Friday, December 1, 2017. I came into my regular job today just to open up the shop and then I'll be off to fulfill some Santa Enterprise schedules. I do my best to not have to miss work, but, there are times when it is necessary to fulfill our contracted commitments. We had our little gathering last evening in our home of our Thursday Evening Bible Study group. These people are so beloved to us and we always have a great time of fellowship and sharing. I chose for us to begin to read together a chronological overview of the New Testament birth narrative of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. It basically takes the Luke and Matthew accounts and puts them into a time sequence where we can observe those day by day happenings that brought our Savior into the world. In my Bible teaching, I have done this many times, and, to me, it really does help to enhance our appreciation of all God did to bring salvation to His created human family. The song by the late Fanny Crosby, one of our greatest and most prolific hymn writers, is never out of season,

Tell me the story of Jesus,
Write on my heart every word.
Tell me the story most precious,
Sweetest that ever was heard.
Tell how the angels in chorus,
Sang as they welcomed His birth.
"Glory to God in the highest!
Peace and good tidings to earth."

Refrain

Tell me the story of Jesus,
Write on my heart every word.
Tell me the story most precious,
Sweetest that ever was heard.

I would portray a scanned copy of my calendar for this brand new month, but, it would most likely be viewed as an attempt to get sympathy. It does look something akin to the graphic above. Needless to say, we are going to be the busiest we have ever been, BUT, I do the booking, so, I have no one to blame but me, myself, and I. I'm glad to say we are increasing our charity work this year by providing Santa and Mrs. Claus for a school fundraising event, an appearance at a senior/special needs apartment complex, and, we will be working with the county sheriff's office in their providing of toys to underprivileged kids. There will be lots of opportunities to spread joy to kids of all ages. Kids are so funny. There are some who like to punish their parents. They will not tell the parents what they want for Christmas. When I ask, the kid looks at his parents and then he whispers something in my ear. The parents get all excited waiting for the reveal. Sorry, I have to inform them that he basically just mumbled some unintelligible gibberish. The parents are exasperated. I look at the kid and he has this mischievous grin from ear to ear. I think we used to be promised a bag of switches, but, I'm sure that's either illegal or it could lead to a lawsuit in today's environment.

I've mentioned before that I might be interested in doing customized videos as Santa. I've been looking at a few made by some of my brothers who wear the red. Many of them tend to reinforce the implied bribery aspect of getting gifts at Christmas. "You are doing such a great job. I sure hope you plan to pay more attention to your math homework before Christmas comes." "Family is so much fun. Your little sister looks up to you and I know you will be nice and kind to her because that will make Santa very happy." And, several more had similar kinds of emphasis. It kind of reminded me of some of those scenes from the Godfather Movie. I'm not sure I would want to be the enforcer as a threat maker to the children. When you think about it, it can't be worse than some of the Christmas songs. One says the child's grandmother got run over by a reindeer. Another features Santa as the 24/7 seer of all that happens. He sees everything, all the time. What about Santa coming into your home and grabbing your mom and kissing her? Wow! I haven't even mentioned the Elf on the Shelf. He or she provides the muscle for any who get out of line. Okay. I'm just poking fun at some of the stuff we all encounter, however, the true meaning is still there if we take the time to remember Him. Go back and read Fanny Crosby's lyrics again. That will help put it all into focus. Have a great Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday. I will do my best to catch back up with you again at our regular meeting place. (The Ole Blogger Ranch) May God bless each one. Amen. ....More later.