Santa's Lesser Known Reindeer ...

My son Max is full of Christmas spirit. From every orafice of his little body he oozes Christmas. At any given moment he could break into Jingle Bells or Away in a Manger. The other day he was doing the LP version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - where it starts with Burl Ives naming all the reindeer leading up to Rudolph. You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and PUKEIT and Donder and Blitzen. Yes Max calls Cupid, Pukeit (pronounced Puke It). I laugh every dang time he does it and I can't bring myself to correct him because it won't be as funny if he gets it right. I know he'll eventually figure it out but I'm in no hurry to exorcise Pukeit from Santa's team of reindeer.
I have always believed that God must have a sense of humor that's as infinite as His love. There are so many things that He gives us to laugh at and to find joy in. We're told to "Be Still and Know" that He is God. Yes, sometimes we need to find quiet time to meditate and think deeply and exercise our spiritual muscles. But don't you think it's possible that we have to be still and know that those silly little things that happen everyday - whether they manifest themselves in other people or if they're just things that make us laugh for no reason - those are God things too. Part of leading an abundant life is to experience joy in the world around us; the world that God created. In my prayers tonight, I thank God for the pure joy and laughter that Pukeit has brought to my Christmas season!

We laughed, we sang,
we couldn't believe our good fortune.
We were the talk of the nations—
"God was wonderful to them!"
God was wonderful to us;
we are one happy people.
- Psalm 126:2