A Package From Kansas

Like a lot of American families these days, my family does a Christmas gift exchange thing where one person buys for another. Most of us are spread out across the state and across the country, so the exchange sometimes gets about as complicated as a pyramid scheme bonus plan.

My oldest brother is in Kansas. He and his wife and two youngest daughters participate. His youngest daughter has my name. Now, I have only met my niece four or five times so I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that her gift was going to fit nicely in the "its the thought that counts category". I was wrong.

I received a package from Kansas last Friday afternoon and my niece had filled it with stuff for me and my family. She made ornaments for each of my children and the kids loved them. She also included three whistle straws that produce a sound that I can only describe as being similar to the scream a coyote makes when it runs through a cactus patch.

My wife surveyed the situation and calmly collected each whistle and that's the last I heard of those wretched devices.

At the bottom of this package was the book "Quiet Strength" by Tony Dungy. Tony Dungy is the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. I had heard somewhere that he was a Christian but beyond that I knew very little about him. I don't follow football like I used to and aside from listening to my friend Eric attempt to educate me about the goings on in the world of sports I know very little about the NFL, NHL or any other L. So, I appreciated my niece's gift but I did not anticipate enjoying the book. As I mentioned earlier, I was wrong.

The book was excellent. I would never have bought it for myself but I am firmly convinced that the Lord used my niece to place that book in my hands. I will write more about that soon when I have enough time to do it justice. For now, I highly recommend it. Especially if you are a sports fan. Keep in mind that I opened the book with the impression that the Colts were still in Baltimore.