A case of the Blues and Ding Dong Ditch

Kloee has been feeling a little down lately and so we are trying to be very creative in the "cheer up and laugh" area of life. Growing up our family was blessed during the holidays by a secret family that would leave gifts at our door, ring the bell and then ditch out. We have begun this tradition during the holidays with my whole family and would take turns with the family we have adopted. It is always so fun to drop something off, ring the door bell and run as fast as you can to get into the getaway car while, the crazy driver speeds off! The trick is to then circle around and see if you got them. We did this to a few people in our neighborhood and Kloee got the biggest kick out of it. Soooo....we thought why wait until the holidays, it is fun, can be cheap and who doesn't like an unexpected gift? We are lucky enough to have several friends and family within a few mile radius of our house. We picked up some chocolate, made cards and proceeded to make Kloee laugh. Well, it worked! She sprained her ankle, lost a tooth and had to get stitches but it was really worth it! Ok, just kidding none of that happened but I had you going didn't I? We had so much fun and were able to bless people in the process. It is amazing when you do things for others or serve them, how in turn God blesses you more than you can imagine.

We are really trying to embrace the verse

The Joy of the Lord is our strength

Not just in a cliche manner, but in real life when things are difficult and you can't imagine having hope or joy, yet it is possible. There are moments when the clouds part and the storm stops that you realize that God will bring you through it. It doesn't make it easy, or enjoyable but it allows us to focus on true deep rooted joy. There are always things that come out of hard times even if you don't see it at first. Kloee went to school the other day after a long absence. She was very anxious of what the other children might say and do. She arrived at school to her teacher's huge smile and a cubby overflowing with cards, candy and small gifts. She told me that even the mean girl hugged her. God is good. We told her that is one good thing out of this, maybe the mean girl is learning compassion.

A