Serve by Design

This past week, we just concluded the season on the Christian calendar referred to as Twelfthtide or the 12 Days of Christmas. One of our pastors reminded us on Sunday, New Years Eve, that technically, Christmas was not yet over! I suspect that he had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he addressed primarily the youth and children and suggested that they could still take advantage of this in the remaining days leading up to Epiphany on January 6th!😉  "This was marked down and I couldn't pass it up!" Marc texted. What was your favorite gift of the Christmas season? What gift did you give to another that received a special response? I doubt that it was a fruitcake! Am I right? Just a few days ago, I received a picture and text from our good-humored son, Marc. He was weighing in after Christmas as to why he was able to just now purchase a discounted fruitcake at the local Texas HEB grocery store. I teased him by responding, “You do know why it was discounted, don’t you?!...

It took me two attempts this morning at the nearby Texas Target to get the sign right! Monique has been doing her daily walk at this store for years now while we are on vacation and visiting family. It is a convenient and spacious setting for her to begin the daily count toward her goal of 10,000 steps! When I drove into the store parking area, I noticed that the upright portion of the “Stop for Pedestrians” crosswalk sign was lying flat on the pavement. It was obvious that it had already been run over by cars passing through the marked caution zone. Apparently, no one had cared to put it back on its stand. My Boy Scout instincts kicked in as I approached the store entrance. I couldn’t pass this poor sign again and not intervene. I reached down, picked up the separated information piece, and took my foot and gently pressed it down into its place perpendicular to the base. It took seconds to accomplish the task! Just as I had completed my mission and turned toward the entrance, I he...