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A Smack Upside the Head – Kevin Spencer

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But if one of you has enough money to live well, and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help—how can God’s love be in that person? 1st John 3:17

The jangling of Salvation Army kettle bell ringers competed, ironically, with the music of Jingle Bells, as the sounds of the season flooded the Wal-Mart parking lot. I really didn’t want to be here with Charlotte, Caleb, and Father Kirby, and what seemed to be every man, woman, and child in greater Middle Tennessee, but at the least, the Christmas shopping was over, and we could go back home.

I was just fastening my seat belt and setting the key in the ignition when a rap-rap-rap came at my window. A man in frayed and faded overalls and a blue plaid flannel shirt, also frayed, stood at my window. I pushed the button to lower the window.

Before the window was halfway down, Mr. Overalls started in on his spiel. He sounded just like Larry the Cable Guy as he rolled his hard luck story of being stranded with a broken car and his wife and kids, and how another kind stranger had put his family and him up for the night at a local motel. He needed money to get the car fixed, he said, and to feed his family for the night.

It was a practiced spiel. Or it sounded practiced to me. I asked him what was wrong with his car. This seemed to throw him off stride, and he mumbled something about a 4-wheel drive being converted to a 2-wheel and…he kind of trailed off toward the end. Abruptly, I told him to call the local Red Cross or a local church; maybe they could help him. I rolled the window up, backed out of the parking space, and headed out of the parking lot.

That’s when the Lord nudged me. A hard nudge, more like a smack upside the head, really. “That money in your wallet is mine,” he reminded me. “I’m just letting you use it.” That was true. The jobs we had were just the spigots He used to dispense His money to us. “And,” he said, “if I wanted that man to have some of my money that you are carrying around, who are you to say no?”

I turned the car around and headed back to Wal-Mart.

“Did you forget something?” Charlotte asked.

“Yeah,” I replied. “I forgot I was a Christian.” I cruised the parking lot until I found Mr. Overalls. He shuffled up to the car window and I pulled some money out of my wallet. Pressing it into his hand, I said “God loves you.” He started in on what I’m sure was a practiced thank you spiel, but I cut him off.

“God loves you,” I repeated. “Remember this, and help someone else when you get a chance.” It wasn’t what I really wanted to say, but then I haven’t had much practice with face-to-face charity. Evidently it’s something I’m supposed to work on.

In this case it wasn’t up to me to judge the man’s truthfulness. God would handle that, in time. I was simply supposed to do what He had told me to do: Give, with love. It took me a couple of tries and a smack upside the head, but at least I eventually got it right.

Kevin Spencer lives in Tennessee with his beautiful wife Charlotte and grandson Caleb. He is a staff writer for ChristianDevotions.us. A former prodigal son, Kevin is now trying to use the gifts God gave him, and by the grace of God has a life far better than he ever deserved.

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Dear Caleb – Kevin Spencer

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For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Dear Caleb,

How are you today Big Guy? You’ve just turned 7-years-old. Can you remember when you first came to live with us when you were only 2? Do you remember we taught you that Oma and Opa meant Grandmother and Grandfather in German, because Oma was German? That was 5 years ago, and in these past 5 years you have turned my life upside down.

You see Big Guy, I never had any children of my own. I didn’t know a thing in the world about raising a little boy when you came into my life, but you and me, well we figured it out together. We really had some fun. Hiking in the woods, throwing rocks in the river, playing in the snow, making up games as we went along just for the heck of it…you are especially good at that. You are one incredibly smart little boy. I love you, Caleb. I love you more than I ever thought possible.

I didn’t get everything right. But I tried. And if I fussed too much over dumb stuff, I’m sorry. Thank you for being patient with me. Your Oma and I, we tried to get you ready for school, helping you learn to read and count and write, and you’ve been at the top of your class these past two years. That’s how smart you are, Caleb. And we taught you about God and Jesus, reading a chapter from your Children’s Bible each night. We taught you how to talk to God, and we’re so proud of you that you do it on your own. And as much as we have taught you, you taught me so much more about love and life.

We always tried to make Christmas extra special for you. Oma and I loved how you learned the story of how Baby Jesus was God’s special Christmas gift to the world.

That’s important, Big Guy, because we have another gift for you this Christmas. Your daddy is coming home. Two days from now, he’ll be coming home to stay, and he is going to be back in your life forever.

And so, Caleb, I’m going to give you the best gift I know how to give you this Christmas. I’m going to give you back to your daddy. I hope as you grow older you’ll remember some of these past 5 years, and I hope you’ll remember how much your Opa loves you. I hope you’ll always know how big a piece of my heart you carry with you.

I love you, Big Guy, and even if I won’t be the main man in your life anymore, I’ll always and forever be your….

Opa.

—————

On a Christmas night 2000 years ago, more or less, our Father loved us so much that He gave his Son as a gift for us. We tend to forget amid all the glamor of the season, how much it must have hurt our Lord to give away such a gift. If you haven’t thanked Him for his gift lately, take a moment this season to do so.

And someone please pass me a tissue. I seem to have something in my eye.

Kevin Spencer lives in Tennessee with his beautiful wife Charlotte and grandson Caleb. He is a staff writer for ChristianDevotions.us. A former prodigal son, Kevin is now trying to use the gifts God gave him, and by the grace of God has a life far better than he ever deserved.

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A Stench in My Nostrils – Kevin Spencer

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Yet they say to each other, ‘Don’t come too close or you will defile me! I am holier than you!’ These people are a stench in my nostrils, an acrid smell that never goes away. Isaiah 65:5

My stomach roiled. An uncontrollable retch erupted, and the dry heaves had me again. Had I not already been on my knees, the retching would have driven me there. I was on the floor of our sparkling new, renovated, bathroom, surrounded by smeared feces. The smell of the pine cleaner, ammonia, and chlorine weren’t enough to cover the smell. And they did nothing for the sight, the awful sight, of the condition of our new bathroom.

My poor 93-year-old father-in-law was having a bad day. Physically healthy (the doctor recently said he had the cardio-vascular system of a 64-year-old man), Father Kirby has Alzheimer’s. And like most semi-advanced Alzheimer’s patients, every once in a while he has an episode of incontinence. Like today. And this one was a doozy.

Evidently he had realized his “uh-oh” and gone to the bathroom to try and clean up. But unfortunately, he only succeeded in smearing it virtually everywhere. Eventually he must have forgotten what he was doing and wandered on out of the bathroom. I discovered him a few minutes later, or rather my nostrils did, and I promptly hustled him into a hot bath. But that still left the bathroom to clean.

So here I was, on my knees, scrubbing the bathroom. Between violent retches, I asked God for help. I thought maybe he would close my nostrils or still my stomach to help me get through this, but instead, something else happened. He showed me sin. In a sudden revelation I realized this was what sin looked like to God. All sin, from “harmless” white lies to mass murder, all carried this awful stench to God.

I had never thought about sin like this. Of course I knew my own past and continuing sins, but they were always sort of an abstract concept. Here was sin as God saw it, up close and personal…and awful. And as I pondered this, I realized a few minutes later, I had finished cleaning the bathroom without really realizing it.

My life has been a series of lessons, some harder than others. Thank you Father, for using this opportunity to teach me, and for your revelation. But it would certainly be okay if we didn’t have to repeat this one.

What mess needs to be cleaned from your life? Let Him clean it for you.

Kevin Spencer lives in Tennessee with his beautiful wife Charlotte and grandson Caleb. He is a staff writer for ChristianDevotions.us. A former prodigal son, Kevin is now trying to use the gifts God gave him, and by the grace of God has a life far better than he ever deserved.

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False Echoes – Kevin Spencer

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I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. Romans 7:15

Our little blue Ford Escape rocked with the sounds of Jimmy Buffett and Radio Margaritaville as we drove to the grocery store. My wife Charlotte, her dad, our grandson Caleb, and I were singing along to one of Buffett’s older, more infamous songs, “Why Don’t We…Eat Lunch In School.” Caleb is only 6, so the song had to acquire some new lyrics for his young ears. Charlotte and I sing loud, whenever Radio Margaritaville plays one of the song’s many versions. Caleb loves the song, although he is somewhat confused as to what the waterbed in the song has to do with eating lunch at school, but he sings along happily anyway.

When I was younger, Jimmy Buffett provided the soundtrack to my life. Before Buffett it was The Beatles, both collectively and separately. But my second year at Montreat College, I discovered Margarittaville, and was hooked. I spent the next 20 years chasing the false echoes of pirates, beaches, boats, bars, frozen concoctions, blond strangers, and spontaneous quick glows. I followed them almost to my ruin.

False echoes are what your local TV weather forecaster will professionally call “virga” while pointing at some colored blob on their $40-million-dollar radar. That colored blob is supposed to mean precipitation, but since it isn’t actually raining anywhere, the smiling blond forecaster explains this by calling it virga. That means, simply, that the $40-million-dollar radar has had what Caleb would enthusiastically call a “brain fart.”

I still feel those occasional false echoes from my earlier life. We all do. Memories of past sins whisper seductively. Even Paul, (the Apostle, not the Beatle) felt them. He said,“I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead I do the thing I hate.” Author Corrie Ten Boom called them “echoes of the past.”

Thankfully Paul also has an answer. He tells us: “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jesus is the true echo of our loving Father. Jesus freed us from our past. Keep your heart and mind on Him, and let those false echoes sweep over you and back into the dust they came from.

Kevin Spencer lives in Tennessee with his beautiful wife Charlotte and grandson Caleb. He is a staff writer for ChristianDevotions.us. A former prodigal son, Kevin is now trying to use the gifts God gave him, and by the grace of God has a life far better than he ever deserved. Read Kevin’s devotions.
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Twister – Kevin Spencer

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Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. Psalm 23:4

God picked up Brenda Jean White.

He picked her up, and laid her down on a small carpeted landing in a stairwell just outside her office.

It was May 25th in Sedalia, Missouri, 12:59 p.m. Tornado sirens sounded off and on all morning, but the weather remained an uneventful dreary gray at Don’s Truck Towing in Sedalia. This was where Brenda worked as an office clerk. She and her fellow assistants worked in a double-wide trailer that served as the office to Don’s. This office was connected to Don’s main building by an enclosed stairwell. 3 steps down to a landing, another 3 steps down, a landing, and a final 3 steps to the door that opened up to the main building.

The tornado siren roared again. Brenda glanced outside. The weather had changed. It was darker. Trees whipped back and forth so they decided to go down to the main building where it was safer. As they headed down the enclosed stairwell, they tried to close the door behind them. It wouldn’t close. Something unseen held it open, something terrible. The tornado.

The next few seconds were recorded by Brenda as a series of mental snapshots: the ceiling being obliterated, wall paneling sliding up the walls, the geodetic shapes swirling around and around in the dark. Through the window she saw her car, here one minute, then gone. And she saw IT. It was the world’s biggest Dirt Devil, Satan’s carrousel. And it was right outside the window. Brenda prayed, “Jesus, save us.”

Brenda didn’t pray out of panic. She prayed as a daughter of God. She is a Christian who has a heart for God and who lives and works her faith.
And God was there. He picked Brenda up and laid her gently down on the carpeted landing. His warm peace covered her and from the safety of His hand she watched her world disintegrate around her. It was, she said, “The hand of God” holding her on that landing. The stairs tore away above her. She felt a tug at her elbow and realized her pocketbook was being sucked away. She saved it and defeated as well, the winds that pulled and grasped at her clothes.

And then it was over.

Brenda’s ears were filled with dirt and she had a souvenir from the paint shop. Green paint had sandblasted through her clothes onto her body. But she and her coworkers were safe.

Brenda Jean White knew where her shelter was in a time of trouble. Without thinking, she prayed and God answered. A lifetime of worship, of studying the Word, of walking and talking with Christ, had prepared her for that single moment of terror.

When terror strikes you, will you be prepared? Lean on Him, always.

(Brenda Jean White is the sister of one of my closest friends, Russ Crider. We are all so very grateful for Brenda’s survival, and for God’s awesome power.)

Kevin Spencer lives in Tennessee with his beautiful wife Charlotte and grandson Caleb. He is a staff writer for ChristianDevotions.us. A former prodigal son, Kevin is now trying to use the gifts God gave him, and by the grace of God has a life far better than he ever deserved.Read Kevin’s devotions.
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The Woodshed – Kevin Spencer

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But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5:44

The blurb running across the bottom of the TV got my immediate attention. The President was going to address the nation. It was 10:30 on a Sunday night. This couldn’t be good. Presidents don’t address the nation at this time of night, especially a Sunday night, just to proclaim National Arbor Day. Nope, this had to be something big, and big usually meant bad.

As I ran through the possibilities I have to admit Osama Bin Laden never crossed my mind. Having just watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind with my grandson Caleb (we have a new HD Flat screen and have been watching some old favorites just to see them in High Definition), I actually thought about UFO’s and aliens first. But the news was quickly out that we had “gotten” Osama Bin Laden. Navy Seals had daringly raided his compound and shot him deader than a doornail. I cheered. I ran to the bedroom and woke my dear wife Charlotte up and dragged her into the living room to see the news. Charlotte gave me one of those raised-eyebrow-over-squinty-eye looks only a German can truly pull off, and went back to bed. But I continued to cheer with the crowd gathering in Lafayette Park and Ground Zero in New York:

“USA, USA, USA…”
“You can run, but you cannot hide!”
”NAVY SEALS…Hoo RAAH.”

(and my personal favorite) “Die you gravy sucking pig!!”

None of which would have ever gotten me convicted of being a Christian.

It wasn’t until later that night as I tossed and turned and tried to sleep, that it dawned on me who had really died Sunday night. A man, a human being, created by God. Loved by God despite his actions. A lost soul, one who was as lost as I once was; who had died, most likely, without knowing of, or accepting, Christ’s forgiving love. A man who deserved my Christian love, not my cheering of his death. I opened my Bible and read:

But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you. In that way you’ll be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and unjust, too.

I’m pretty sure I read something in there about the log in my eye too. In short, I got taken to the woodshed.

This is Christian 101 stuff, and I flunked. I hope you did better last Sunday night than I did.

Kevin Spencer lives in Tennessee with his beautiful wife Charlotte and grandson Caleb. He is a staff writer for ChristianDevotions.us. A former prodigal son, Kevin is now trying to use the gifts God gave him, and by the grace of God has a life far better than he ever deserved.Read Kevin’s devotions
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Traps – Kevin Spencer

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Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock. “Listen you rebels!” he shouted. “Must we bring you water from this rock?”
Numbers 20:10

In the rising sun of an early spring day, I noticed a thousand silvery strands covering my yard. Even though my grass was still more winter brown than spring green, the spiders were out laying their webs — sticky strands that would be death traps for the thousands of insects that would be emerging as the weather warmed.

Satan has laid his sticky webs, his death traps, across my life as well. And, I’m sorry to say, I’ve managed to get entangled in them with a repetition that would be funny if it weren’t so life-threateningly sad.

Example: Halfway through college, on an end-of-year beach trip, a friend hands me a rum and Coke, my first taste of liquor. The next few days in Myrtle Beach are awesome. My natural shyness is washed away by the rum. I discover I’m pretty smooth when I’m not being shy. I get the prettiest girl (her name was Toni) on the beach, and fall head over heels for her. Of course I want that feeling to continue. And in 3 months I’m an alcoholic, living to drink. In another month, as I read the inevitable “Dear John’” letter from Toni, I hear Satan laughing. And I’m trapped in a hell that won’t stop until I’m on my knees before God in a jail cell.

Example: I dated the same girl through my junior and senior years of high school. Her name was Cathy. She was the first girl I seriously kissed. I took her to both the junior and senior proms. We were a good match, comfortable with each other. She was a sweet, innocent soul. But then Satan sent another girl across my path. This girl was not so innocent. And me, being the fine, upstanding guy I was, I dropped Cathy without so much as a goodbye so I could chase after the lusty new girl. I will forever hear Cathy’s last words to me, spoken through tears over the phone: “What did I do?” And I hear Satan’s hideous laughter.

Lately Satan has tried a different tack. He whispers in my ear: “Look at how good a writer you are. Look at how people love your writing. You’re the greatest!”

No, I’m not. The truth is, I only try to write what my Lord tells me to. These are His words, graciously given to me to put down on paper. If my devotions move you, and I hope they do, then praise Him and give Him the glory.

The Lord gave us an instruction manual. He gave us his Word. Use it. For a long time I didn’t do that, and I paid the price. Please put His words in your heart today. Arm yourself against Satan’s laughter.

Kevin Spencer lives in Tennessee with his beautiful wife Charlotte and grandson Caleb. He is a staff writer for ChristianDevotions.us. A former prodigal son, Kevin is now trying to use the gifts God gave him, and by the grace of God has a life far better than he ever deserved.Read Kevin’s devotions
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Honor Thy Father and Mother – Kevin Spencer

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Elizabeth "Lib" Spencer

Elizabeth "Lib" Spencer

You children must always obey your parents, for this is what pleases the Lord. Colossians 3:20

Let me just get this out of the way to start with…I don’t have a good track record with the 10 Commandments. I haven’t broken ALL of them. I don’t think I ever coveted my neighbor’s donkey, and by the grace of God I’ve never killed anybody, but that’s about it. As for the rest of them, well, I’m afraid I’ll be hiding behind Jesus when my judgment time comes.

But while I know I’ve been washed clean of my prodigal past, there is one broken commandment that still weighs heavy on my heart–Honor thy Father and Mother . . . As many ways as you could imagine that commandment could be broken, I’ve managed to do it.

Growing up with my mom was an adventure. Mom wasn’t the stay-at-home type; she worked for Sears and Roebuck most of my childhood. She took care of her family but she didn’t necessarily follow anybody else’s template of how that should be done. Mom made up her own rules, both in parenting, and in life. She did things her way, and we did things her way too.

I resented that. I resented that Mom wasn’t like any of the perfect TV moms that graced the situation comedies. I resented that Mom wasn’t like the mothers of my friends, who stayed at home. I resented that my mom didn’t do things like the other mothers I knew. As I grew older and trouble began to find me, it was easy to blame my parents, especially my mom, for my troubles.

No, Mom wasn’t like other mothers I knew, but not a single one of those other mothers was like Elizabeth Spencer either. It has taken me almost my whole adult life to realize that my dear mom was exactly like God made her to be. HE made my mom just like HE wanted her to be, to suit HIS plan and purpose. God had other plans for Elizabeth Spencer besides being the “perfect mom,” but despite that, she loved me very much and was the best mom she knew how to be.

God made Elizabeth Spencer an irrepressible, larger-than-life force of nature–an occasionally short-tempered force of nature that didn’t handle “stupid” very well, and, unfortunately, I spent a lot of my childhood being exactly that. Sorry, Mom.

As I write this, my mom has spent the last month in the hospital. That force of nature God made has a human body that is slowly winding down. Don’t be like me, and take too long to realize that the loved ones in your life, while they may not be as perfect as you want them to be are, nevertheless, exactly like God made them to be. Don’t take too long to honestly tell a loved one how much they mean to you. Don’t take too long to say “I love you.”

God doesn’t wait. He shows us His love and mercy daily. Say I love you . . . NOW.

(I love you, Mom, I love you so very much.)

**Editor’s note: Kevin wrote this devotion February 2, 2011. He emailed it to his mother who was ill in the hospital. She was thrilled. Kevin’s mother passed away Tuesday, February 8. Our love and prayers extend across the miles to this gentle man whose words melted his mother’s heart. We love you Kevin. – The Staff of Christian Devotions Ministries

Kevin Spencer lives in Tennessee with his beautiful wife Charlotte and grandson Caleb. A former prodigal son, Kevin is now trying to use the gifts God gave him, and by the grace of God has a life far better than he ever deserved.Read Kevin’s devotions
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He Keeps His Promise – Kevin Spencer

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My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. John 10:27 (NIV)

The plastic bottle of vodka sat in the freezer. A plastic bottle, not glass, because the stuff that came in the glass bottles was too expensive. It sat in the freezer because freezing it made it taste less like the cheap rot gut brand of vodka it was. At least that’s what I told myself. I knew it was in the freezer. I knew it sat next to the ice cube bin and next to the 4 frozen trays of ice cubes. I knew almost to the ounce how much vodka was left in the bottle and how many drinks it would make. And I knew it was time for me to start my daily ritual - the one that began sometime after my last cup of coffee – the ritual where I would take my big 32-ounce cup, fill it with ice, take the vodka out of the freezer, splash an ounce or 2 or 3 over the ice, and top it off with a can of Diet Pepsi.

This was my day, every day, more or less. Ice, Vodka, Diet Pepsi, Repeat.

It had been my ritual in various forms for over two decades – except for 7 years in prison. After prison I was convinced I had it beat. Silly me. It took less than 2 years before I started drinking again. And along the way, before and after prison, I had ruined my life several times over, ruined the lives of others, especially those most dear to me. I’d destroyed thousands of dollars in property, left people homeless, almost killed myself in a car wreck, erupted in a drunken hate-filled rage at my own parents, and abused the friendship of my dearest and closest friend. I had deeply hurt and abused the love of a dear woman who had given up her previous life to be with me. I had, almost every day, for as many years I could remember, contemplated suicide.

So here I sat, ready to start my ritual again; to fix the drink I thought I needed to face life, and then to keep ‘em coming until I was buzzed enough to go to sleep a few hours later without having to think too long on what an absolute failure I was. The next day was my birthday. And I was getting married, again, in 3 months. How I had managed to find a woman who wanted to marry me was still something of a mystery. Especially this woman. She was a dear, sweet, loving soul who knew me intimately, and still wanted to marry me. I figured if there were such things as miracles, finding her had pretty much used up my quota. She certainly deserved better than me. She could certainly do better than me. But, amazingly enough, she LOVED me. And I loved her.

I loved her so much I didn’t want her to marry a drunk.

So instead of fixing my daily drink, on this particular day I sank down to my knees and I asked the Lord for help. He and I had talked over the years, from time to time, usually when I was in very deep trouble. I told him I couldn’t stop on my own. I told him I didn’t want to do this anymore, but I couldn’t quit. He knew that of course, because He had watched me try and fail to stop drinking over and over and over for years.

He was just waiting for ME to realize that I really couldn’t do it on my own. The amazing thing is, He answered me. He picked me up. He showed me his love for me was equal to whatever I had to face, and He would always be there if I needed help. Always. That was 5 years ago. I spent the next day, my birthday, sober. I was still sober when I married that wonderful woman 3 months later. I was still sober when we celebrated our first anniversary. I have, in fact, been sober every single day of my marriage for the last 4 plus years, and in 3 months we will celebrate our fifth anniversary. The plastic bottle of cheap vodka sat in the freezer for years until my wife eventually threw it out.

And God has, just as He promised, always been there. He said to listen to His voice, not the voice of the Deceiver. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.” That’s me…a sheep. But I’m His sheep, and He’s my Shepherd. I’m not perfect, and life hasn’t always been a bed of roses since that day. But every single day has been a sober one. Fill your life with His spirit, not spirits.

Kevin Spencer lives in Tennessee with his beautiful wife Charlotte and grandson Caleb. A former prodigal son, Kevin is now trying to use the gifts God gave him, and by the grace of God has a life far better than he ever deserved.Read Kevin’s devotions.

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Joseph, Son of David – Kevin Spencer

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When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded. He brought Mary home to be his wife. Matthew 1:24

Joseph, husband of Mary and father of the infant Jesus, stood in the warm illuminating glow of flickering candles…and itched. Itched mightily, in fact, because the robe he wore was an old burlap potato sack that had been given a second career as a prop in the church Christmas pageant. Worse than the itching though, was a baby Jesus that kept winking at him. Jesus was a plastic baby doll with eyes that were supposed to open and close, but one eye was stuck, with the result that as he and Mary gazed down adoringly, Jesus’ one working eye kept winking up at them. This caused Mary to giggle, and Mary’s giggles were highly distracting. Mary (Mary Ellen Cosgrove) was one of the prettiest girls Joseph knew, and that was distracting enough without the giggles.

I was Joseph, chosen to play the part because I was tall for an 8-year-old and could (more or less) sing. While taking part in our church’s Christmas pageant, I was struggling to remember my lines, trying not to scratch where the itchy burlap was rubbing my skin; trying not to look at the winking Jesus, and trying not to think about that odd tingly feeling I was getting every time Mary Ellen giggled. It was a long night.

It was an even longer night for the real Joseph that glorious night 2000 years ago in Bethlehem–caring for Mary and the newborn Jesus, cleaning out the manger, dealing with a steady stream of shepherds coming out of the darkness to see the infant, and the miraculous sight of a night sky full of singing angels. Not to mention the new star that glimmered above the manger. But Joseph kept the faith, kept doing God’s work, kept fulfilling the purpose the Lord had entrusted to him.

I think about Joseph often. Like him, I’ve been blessed with a child I didn’t father, but whom I love dearly nonetheless. I don’t know what God has planned for my grandson Caleb, but, like Joseph, I know my job is to get him ready for God to use him.

I got through that pageant so many years ago, remembered my lines, and sang my song. This Christmas, as you deal with your own version of itchy burlap, plastic baby stand-ins for Jesus, and cute giggling Mary Ellen’s, try and let His peace guide you through the bright baubles and shiny distractions, and stay focused on the one thing that is important: The wonderful love of our Lord, who has given us the greatest gift of all.

Merry Christmas to you all, and may God’s love be with you always.

Kevin Spencer lives in Tennessee with his beautiful wife Charlotte and grandson Caleb. A former prodigal son, Kevin is now trying to use the gifts God gave him, and by the grace of God has a life far better than he ever deserved.Read Kevin’s devotions