"You better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout, I'm telling you why—Santa Claus is coming to town." — Haven Gillespie

I can tell by the clock on the wall it's not Howdy Doody time, but, it is time to sling some keystrokes onto the electronic page. Welcome, welcome, one and all, those near and far, out there at your specific location connecting via the worldwide web. Today is Wednesday, February 18, 2026, and, as the song goes, God is good all the time, All the time God is good. Amen. I may share too much about my Santa adventures, however, think about it. I've spent the past sixteen years doing Santa, with the season during those 16 years amounting to approximately 40 months or 1,240 days, therefore, it has occupied a significant amount of my time breathing air here on the planet. The photo above was taken at an outdoor setting. The mom brought the little girl with great expectations for a wonderful photo with Santa. The set was organized and ready. She wasn't. No way. Forget about it. Whatever it was, she was not having anything to do with it. May I tell you this? That happens with little ones. We often hear how they can hardly contain their excitement until they actually see the Real Santa and Mrs. Claus. She went from singing 'Here comes Santa Claus, Here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa lane', to 'But, I'm leavin' on a jet plane Don't know when I'll be back again', and to her, that was that. The photographer and the mom promised everything they could think of, however, this little girl was fixed, "I ain't gonna do it." The photographer came up with the idea to let her roam around the yard on her own and I could just follow behind her. She took many photos and this one became one of our favorites, and, her mom loved it too. Finally. A keeper. There you were thinking Santa Claus has the easiest job in town. As they say on that game show, wanna find out, Come on down!

 

As many of you know, my connection to having a dog is fairly recent, just in the past 8 years. I didn't know that I would fall head over hills in bonding with first, five years with our Sir Bentley Barksalot, Esq., and, now with Lil Miss Biscuit. I didn't hate the idea of having a dog but it just didn't seem to fit into our busy lifestyle. I did often say I would enjoy having a pup to ride with me in my truck. And, that I did have with Bentley before we lost him to an incurable liver ailment and now with Lil Miss Biscuit who can't get enough of hanging her head out the window. Maybe I had a sleeper cell hiding in the background somewhere in my DNA. That photo is of my dad, Cecil, (1923-1954), with his dog. This was likely taken in the late 1940's. See the look on that pup's face, I've actually seen that exact same look. Often. Oh well, it seems like I've become a dog lover. Okay. I now have it on the record. I admit it. And, since I am one I can easily identify with this quote from Orhan Pamuk, "Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen." I quickly add in closing out today's visit, God also speaks through His Word and those who are willing can hear His voice. Having heard His voice, I then, you then, have to make a choice in our response. We do. We really do. Let's pray for one another that we will choose as He would have us to. Amen.