I have to start this particular entry by saying that my parents are very cool people. Not "cool" in the sense that they keep up with popular music and wear the lastest trends and want to hang out and drink with my friends - but in the sense that they are two of the most honest, open people I know. They are honest and open with their family, they are honest and open with themselves, and they are constantly trying to see things in the best possible way. They have gone through so many changes in the last decade through trials and hardship and have quite simply taken each new problem as an opportunity to grow. I am proud of them, I have learned so much from them, and I continue to benefit from their friendship.

The reason I'm going into all this is to introduce my dad's new blog! Its taken me a while to get him online, but he's doing it, and there's a link to his page on the side (Last Penny is the name - if the title of this post doesn't give it away). I think he's mostly going to talk faith and if you're on the fence or confused or just ill from the spoiled soup of traditions that people try to digest these days, you might want to check it out!

Christmas Cheer

Last night I pulled into the parking lot of my apartment complex and took a moment to gather up my things. I had a few groceries and a collection of papers and books from work. I stepped out into the dark and heard a man say "hello" very near me. He apparently had been waiting for me to get out of my car. He was middle aged, had a casual look about him and he was holding something in his hands. I replied with a cheerful, but hesitant "hi". I assumed he was about to ask me for money. He stepped forward and reached out his hand with a folded piece of paper in it. "I'm not going to touch you," he said cautiously, "but I want to give you this. I'm spreading Christmas cheer". I took the paper. It was a hundred dollar bill. "Really?" "Yes. Merry Christmas". I said a genuine "thank you!" as he turned and walked away.

I was still in shock as I walked into the apartment and told Phillip about it. The whole thing was startling in so many ways. I know people do things like this (like Oprah's recent experiment of giving each of her audience members a thousand dollars to give away when they returned home) and it wasn't so much money but its such a strange thing when it happens to you. Phillip went back outside to thank the man. We were having a debate just that day about which problems with his truck we could afford to get fixed before he tries to make the trip to Bristol this weekend. The man told him that he had been trying to flag down cars, but people just avoided him and drove on. He said they didn't know what they were missing, just like the Bible. Phillip spent the rest of the night worrying about him. Wondering what would make someone do that, and if the man might be unhappy or lonely.

I like to think he just felt called to be generous and he chose that way to do it. I won't go on and on with stories of how God has moved people to give in mine and my family's life but He has in extraordinary ways. What struck me most about this whole thing was the way in which this man chose to be generous. He didn't carefully evaluate a charity based on their financial statement (as I do...) he didn't get pressured into giving in a certain way by his workplace or his church. He didn't ask if I needed the money, or if I was going to go out and spend it frivolously. He just gave to spread joy. And he did.

You could probably go blind watching this painting, but this is what I do when I'm bored at work. I was very inspired by our beautiful drive through Virginia a couple of months ago for Andy & Megan's wedding...I've been trying to capture the feeling of the maple trees ever since.

http://artpad.art.com/gallery/?j9yy19o1lcc

Okay, apparently you could only post to this blog if you were the member of my fan club (thanks Suzy & Justin for pointing that out!) and apparently I was the only member. Now anyone should be able to! Someday I might even make my blog public so more than just two friends and my mom can read it...we'll see.

The website is updated. The songs are there at least.

www.alturego.com/jill



I know there are at least two of you reading this blog. You could comment once and a while to encourage me to keep posting...!