What Brings Me Joy?

Earlier this month our pastor Sarah challenged the congregation to find things that bring them joy this season.

Ever one to jump on a bandwagon, here I am.

What brings me joy?

Teaching the littles at church.  They are absolutely their own little personalities and they don’t always mesh together gently, but they always give me joy.

Christmas music.  Yes, it can be cringe inducing.  (I am looking at you christmas shoes) but also, it can be just the right thing to fit the moment.

Christmas cookies.  I mean, it’s a cookie, and it is for christmas. What is not to love?

Eggnog.  Certainly there are other ways to drink your calories, but unless  you are lactose intolerant, why not indulge yourself?

Christmas cards.  I mean… I haven’t sent Christmas cards since 2000 but I love getting them.  I enjoy the opening of the card, and the reading of the greeting, asking Kathleen who the people are again. Trying to remember if I like them or not.  Then finding a place of honor (or dishonor) on the mantle to display it.

Christmas decorations.  Even if I have no intentions of liberating the ornaments I just enjoy seeing them.  This year my obsession has been the little bottlebrush trees.  They are just so cute!  

All the cute pictures of sweet holiday treats I get from Dedicated.  Daily they send me pictures to post on social media and the combination of the treats and how the staff stages them with the decorations is just a little bolt of serotonin. 

What is bringing you Joy this holiday season?

It’s a hanukkah miracle

Do you ever have that dream where you send out a work email to over 4000 people and you are feeling so accomplished and pleased with how the email turned out, and then after you hit send you realize, to your horror, that you sent it out with the absolute wrong prices?  No? No one has that nightmare? Just me? 

Turns out it wasn't just a nightmare.  Last week I sent an email for Dedicated, my sister’s bakery, to highlight the holiday menu, and to announce that this year the bakery will be featuring gluten free sufganiyot, which are a jelly filled hanukkah donut.  They are not difficult to make, per say, but the gluten free aspect is tricky, plus the bakery does not have a fryer and is not built to accommodate a fryer according to safety codes.  So not only are these sufganiyot gluten free and jelly filled, but they are baked, and yet, they still come out light and golden brown crisp.  They are amazing.  

Which was the point when I sent out the email  And, let me be the first to admit, I am notorious for sending out information and not including the pricing.  This time however, I knew the pricing, Kat and I had researched it,and discussed it, and price analyzed the ingredients,and comparison shopped both in and out of the local market.  I knew the prices like I know my own name.  So I threw them in there at the last minute, and boom sent that email off.

It was literally less than a minute from when I got sent confirmation to when the first reply came into the message box.  A customer was excited about the sufganiyot, but was confused about the pricing. If they were $1.95 for one then the $23 something price for a half dozen hardly made sense?    Then another email came in asking for pricing clarification.  Then another, and then another.  Let me tell you, the sinking feeling in my stomach when I realized I sent the email out with just completely made up, wrong prices.  The singles are $4.95 and half dozen for $27.30.  Absolutely not what I sent out.  

It was 11pm when I realized with absolute clarity what I had done.  Immediately I texted my sister Jen, “hey are you still awake?”  No answer.  So then I sent a follow up text, “I may have made a small mistake on the email”  Then I waited.  And brainstormed, and shared with my beloved wife Kathleen how badly I had messed up.  She assured me that it is not that big of a deal.  Mistakes happen,just come up with a solution.  So then I brainstormed solutions.  Everything from telling Jen she should fire me, to a completely overblown apology promotion that included public humiliation.  Plus everything in between.  When Jen finally answered me back at 7:30am I still had not slept and was in a full blown panic.  

I tentatively shared my solution plan, that if people who wanted to order the sufganiyot came in and paid the real price and told the baristas that “Judson is an idiot” we would give them a free seasonal drink. Jen suggested we give away a piece of the gingerbread because it is delicious and she really wants to promote that.  She also put the kibosh on letting customers say I was an idiot.  Together we settled on “mistakes make great lessons”.  So I sent out an Oops so sorry email with the correct prices and the new offer.  Then I sat back and waited.

I was certain, given my past employment experiences that I was about to get hit with tons of angry emails.  Then I waited some more.  Then a little while longer.  Then the emails started.  Except… they were not angry emails.  Customers that I have never met, that I would not recognize on the street,took the time to send emails to me saying:

        “Don't be so hard on yourself. We all make errors and the fact that you own it is fantastic. Thanks for having such a wonderful bakery and have a happy holiday!”

      

        “No worries. Stuff happens. I did the math, and it didn’t add up. (Who said there’d be math on this diet anyway?!) Looking forward to tasting the sufganiyot — at the prices listed below. Take good care, and keep up the great baking!”

            

        “Very cute way to handle the error. With everything digitized it’s easy for mistakes that involve large numbers to happen. No worries. We have all been there at some point. Wishing you, family and your business a wonderful holiday season! We love your products and appreciate the work and artistry you bring to (and how you serve) our community. Happy Holidays!”

Listen, I am not crying. You are crying.  I have allergies or something. 

I am a professional, I am used to dealing with the uncomfortable customers, and the complicated issues.  I have perfected the absolutely polite, but borderline snarky apology email and I know when not to send it.  And I can honestly say that never, ever, in the 20 plus years I have been doing this, I have never been on the receiving end of such kindness and genuine polite responses to what was absolutely my mistake.  And those were just the first 3 responses that came in.  4000 plus customers got the email with the wrong information, and then the correction email, and not one single one person emailed and demanded that we honor the incorrect prices.

My take away from all of this is that there are still kind hearted understanding people in the universe, and I absolutely love that.  The other take away might be something less open hearted and people embracing that has to do with the indoor tanning world.  Mistakes make good lessons.

What Child is This?

Coming off of the last post I wanted something joyful to share.  Lucky for me God provides.  

Backstory: Readers of the blog and people that know me in the real world have heard me talk about my Bonus son.  In 2018 Kathleen and I became foster parents to a young man who was a friend of Matthew’s.  We had known him for a few years and were already close with him.  He needed a place to stay while he finished high school and figured out what his next steps were.  Then the pandemic hit… So Markese was with us slightly longer than he had planned. In that time, he become part of our family.  

After he moved out, he stayed in touch and would drop by to see us or occasionally hang out with Paul and Matthew.  In June he stopped by because he had something to tell us.  It took him a while, with nervous starts and restarts, but eventually he got it out.  He was going to be a father.

Which brings us to yesterday. In the middle of this complicated world we live in, this 21 year old man who we love so much, became a father.  The pictures, the text messages, the facetime calls, all of it has brought me so much joy.  I do not know that I have ever seen him smile so big.  As a family we are so happy for him, and for that new family.  I haven’t got to meet this sweet baby girl yet, although Kathleen got to be there yesterday to welcome that sweet baby girl.  I am pleased to share that this adorable December baby is, according to her father, a perfect angel.

Say their names

Every year we suffer losses, and every year I think perhaps I'll be better prepared to weather the losses. And, yet here we are with a familiar Christmas shaped feeling of loss. Certainly I may not be the person most affected by their a sense,but I do appreciate the fact that they are gone, and I miss their presence, maybe the most when it's Christmas and I know their loved ones miss them deeply.

So here is my annual attempt to remember those we've lost by remembering them and saying their names.

Karen Cotter Wood

Dale Roberts

Jeffery Thibadoux

Allen Miller

Linda Hicks

Kari Adair

Joyce Keith

Cody Ferguson

Julia Beth Hankins

Betsy Hosley Kirk

Michael Paske

Jim Myles

Pam Barnett

Wylson Dainkau

Gary James

Becky Fox-Akins

Patrick Vaught

Jay Kopp

Chris Young

Karen Hylton

Ann Hankins

Stephanie Dunaway Forrest

Amanda Rohn

Chris Kinkade

Tara Stiner

Jane Rogers Meeks

Geraldine Black

Roy Casares

Nancy Casares

Mike Sutton

Courtney Owens Bond

Barry Hollis

James Swedberg

Donna Keyes

Cindy Stuart

Larry Roberts

Fred Kinkade

Dorothy Kinkade

Archie Horton

Alice Horton

Jan Kinkade

Vera Sotelo

Danny Sotelo

Fausto Sotelo

Max Cook

Charles Eldon Cook

Hints and tricks to stay on budget this holiday season.

I know, it seems like a strange holiday post coming from me.  However, over the years I have really perfected the art of staying on a christmas budget.  And I wanted to share those tips with you. 

*Calculate Costs. Once you know what you need to buy, you can start figuring out the costs. Probably not a good idea to share the total number with Kathleen, as a finance person she really focuses on where the money is going to come from.

*Find Ways to Cut Costs. One way I do this is cutting people off the party list or presents list.  Again, don’t tell Kathleen or Paul about this, because she thinks I’ve stopped doing this and he is horrified that I would even suggest it.

*Save Ahead, Don't Charge. Umm… Ok, I might have googled this list and originally thought this said Stay Ahead! Don’t Change!  IDK, is this an influencer slogan? Like those Gather signs you see in dining rooms?

*Make Saving Easy.  Honestly, I don’t even know what this means.  Have an eggnog with a shot of kahlua.

*Track Your Purchases. Oh this is a good one.  I totally do this!  I have been hiding my holiday purchases from Kathleen in one spot so I can keep track.  I mean I know how many bags I have, I’m fuzzy on the details of what I purchased and who I purchased it for but whatever.

*Comparison Shop and Buy Online. I’m pretty sure none of those words are in the bible.

*Use Cash. Better yet? Eat some cookies and drink some hot chocolate.  Way more enjoyable.

Wow, this budgeting stuff doesn't seem like very much fun. I’ll leave you with one final tip before I doze off. During the holiday season you should carry glitter in your pockets, so if anyone questions your holiday spending, you just throw glitter at them and yell “christmas magic” and then run away in the confusion.

Follow me for more budget planning tips!

What are we teaching again?

I have mentioned before that as a Sunday school teacher of children I often worry I might not be up to the task.  When I taught in the nursery I had it handled, they were all babies,and the lesson was always “Jesus loves you, please don’t pee on Mister Judson”  But yeah, once they get to Kathleen’s class (3 to 6) there is a lot more pressure to “get it right.”

For example, last month when Kathleen and Matthew were at the World Food Championship I taught the lesson about Isaiah in the valley full of bones that get reanimated.  They were very skeptical and the next week when Kathleen was back they wanted to tell her about it, in case I made that one up.  Because 100% they believe I’d tell them a story about zombie bones when I should be teaching them about the bible.

Which brings us to last week. First sunday of advent is always a big deal.  We have an advent banner to make, someone’s family will be lighting the advent candle so we all go and watch that part of the service and listen to some Christmas hymns. The key to the chaos is to just keep telling them what is going on.  Why we celebrate advent, how we celebrate advent, and what it means, along with frequent bathroom breaks. So as we were bathroom breaking and preparing to head to the sanctuary for the advent part of the service, one of the littles wanted to ask a question. It took a few minutes,and you could see that the wheels were turning, but they really struggled to get it out. Eventually, they revealed they wanted to know why our church was focused on God and Jesus all the time?  

It really is a great question. Since Kathleen was MIA I did my best to answer, because I think it's important that the littles ask questions.  So I said, “well, that is one of the things that the adults in the church have in common, we all share the same faith in God and belief in Jesus.”  (So far so good right?)  But then I faltered. “And so it's important to your parents that all the littles are indoctrinated in the same beliefs.  So it's my job to indoctrinate all of you.”  And of course that is when Kathleen returned.  

Apparently Teach is a more appropriate word for what we are doing.  We are teaching the littles, not indoctrinating.   God is in the details.

Prepare A Way

Today was a good day.  I feel like lots got accomplished here at home.  Matthew and I power cleaned the living/dining room at the house.  Now before anyone gets overly excited; it's clean, but not spotless.  There is still some clutter, but most of the clutter was relocated to another room where some sorting will be going on. Hopefully.  Stay tuned for more on that.  It is entirely likely that 10 months from now I will think back and decide I cursed myself by predicting that sorting was going to happen.

This sort of cleaning has to happen right? Because in order to decorate for Christmas you need to clean things and put away the fall decorations and wipe the dust fuzzies off the mantle and bookshelves. That is certainly why I did it.  Last christmas I made a bet with my nephew Christian about who would get their christmas tree decorated first, and not only did he totally beat me, but I never actually got around to getting the tree out, or the clutter put away. I managed to decorate the mantel, and hang stockings, (more on that later). Careful cropping of the photo I took maked it look magazine worthy, but it was just the mantel, nothing else. If I am honest I think it is possible that the buffet table in the dining area was still decorated from Christmas 2020.  

All of that to say, I did the preparation part today.  I mean it isn’t perfect, but it has been done.  Certainly there is a parallel or something to the bigger christmas. Christmas with a capital C.  Whether it is your faith in Christ, your belief in the spirit of the season, the magic of santa, or just the kindness of your fellow person.  You need to make room for it.  Maybe clean out the cobwebs? Relocate some of the other issues,or minor irks and irritations, make peace with the ghosts of Christmas past, maybe not permanently, but just for the season, so that if there is some blessing coming your way, maybe you will have room for it?

Will He or Won't He?

Here it is 12/1 and I am certain that many, some, dozens, a few of you have been wondering if I was going to bring back my christmas blog this year.  Last year I struggled, failed, basically.  8 blogs for 25 days.  That is more of a hanukkah blog than a christmas blog. To be honest they were not even like 8 amazing days, just 8 days in december. I didn’t even show up to post a final, well that’s all for this year post, (basically turning off the lights and locking up).  

I told myself in May that I was going to start doing 2-3 entries a month to kind of keep the skills up and then if any of them were good then I would have them saved up.  Seems like a great plan right?  Well yeah, it didn’t really happen.  I did get 3 written in October, so credit for that.  And I sort of outlined 2-4 more in november.  So that is where we are.  But in the spirit of the season, I am charging forward on blind faith, certain I will get to 25 in a timely and seasonal manner.  So buckle up, and wish me luck.

Also, the book is still available for kindle.  For those of you who want the best of the best.  Even if you don’t have a kindle, you can download the kindle app on your phone for free and then buy the book.  If you are feeling really generous, feel free to review the book for amazon.  I mean clearly I'm not banging on the doors of any best sellers lists, but one review for the 12 copies I sold would be something.  (At this point, that republican princess from arizona who got kicked off the View sold more copies of her book than I did, and everyone mocked her for only selling like 24 hardbacks?)   But I digress.

I hope that you are well, and happy, and swimming in contentment.  If not then keep on moving forward, onehour, one day at a time, till you get past it.  I appreciate you stopping by.