Stop the car...

One of my favorite family memories came during the Christmas season 2006.  We were headed from Louisville to Perryville, Kentucky to visit my grandmother for the afternoon.  Our goal had always been to have something planned for our family to do together to encourage/bless someone else during the holidays.  Somehow this year had not brought any specific ideas to mind.  Katie was home from college and along for the ride was her new fiance, Chris; Kellie - a high school junior; Mollie - 7th grade, Clay - a 3rd grader; driver - Frank, and planner of all the family fun in the passenger seat - ME!  Our van was full to the brim with people.
Our journey to Perryville would normally last about an hour and a half, but on this day, our trip more than doubled.  You see, right before we left town, Frank and I had quite the brainstorm.  We ran by the bank for a little extra cash.  When we were all packed into the van.. giving me quite the captive audience, I handed each passenger $30 - 1 $10 and 1 $20 with only these instructions...

"At any point during this trip, you may yell

 "STOP THE CAR!"  

When anyone yells, we will stop.

  If you yell, you must use your money to bless someone else.  

The only stipulation is that, when you offer your money, you must use the word

 Jesus in your explanation.  Your money must be gone before we reach Perryville."

We offered a family prayer simply that God would bless our efforts and 

allow us to be sensitive to His leading.

And so it began...  as you might imagine, Clay was the first to yell.  So we stopped at a gas station with an old fashioned deli.  I followed Clay in at a distance that allowed him to make his own plan and decision..  He approached an older gentleman who had just ordered a sandwich asking if he could pay for his sandwich.  The man was gracious letting Clay know that he was good to pay.  Clay persisted a bit, and the man looked toward me and accepted his offer.  Clay paid the clerk, said his Jesus loves you, and was out the door.  The next to yell was Katie, just as we passed a Dollar General, so we whipped the car and around and stopped.  She picked out a lady and began following her through the store.  Katie's plan was to buy everything that was in her cart.  We think the lady may have started to get a bit concerned about this blonde stalker, so Katie backed off.  She quickly realized that the cart was filling to more than her $30, so she and Kellie pooled their money as the lady approached the checkout.  The lady was overwhelmed with gratitude.  Chris used his money at McDonald's to bless a family by buying their breakfast.  The stops and stories continued throughout the day, and what a sweet day we had.  

Our joy came in the funny moments we experienced, and the blessing we received as we shared with people just a simple gift and that Jesus loved them.  The idea came literally as we were headed out of town, often I would had just dismissed the thought as silly.  So thankful we followed through and just DID it!  I encourage each of you to find some way this week to bless someone else....one year, we visited a nursing home taking our nativity scene to set up for an older friend.  It doesn't have to cost money at all!

From Acts 20:35b 

"remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

From our family to yours:  A very Merry Christmas and may God's richest blessing lead you into 2015!