What a wonderful ending to 2010.  We had an amazing Christmas season and feel blessed to welcome all the new members of The Santa Club.  So many of you have gotten in touch with us about how the story of The Santa Club has impacted your family.  Each and every one of your stories is very special, thank you for sharing.  We are honored that The Santa Club is the answer you all were looking for.

One of the amazing stories we were told is so marvelous, I would like to share it with you.  It is a story about Faith.  A grandmother in the UK who was sent The Santa Club told of how this book gave her faith.  She said that she had been struggling with her faith and after reading the book she was given “her faith back”.  We all realize that something magical is going on with this book.  But her admission that the book helped restore her faith was truly a gift.  Faith is something that our family lives by every day and we believe that it is one of the most important aspects of being human.

Faith is defined by dictionary.com as confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof.  It is also defined as Faith in God and his promises, which is the Faith that the Grandmother had lost until this past Christmas and our family lives by every day.  Even those of us with great faith can have it waiver.  We all go thru it.  We can lose faith in ourselves, or each other.  We can lose faith in God.  The terrible scene in Tucson is a perfect example of a time when our faith is tested but yet redeemed.

Jared Loughner is a very disturbed, mentally ill human being.  His actions are one of those things in life that tests our faith.  Some may even lose their faith. Hearing the evil acts this young man did tests our faith in humanity, in people and in God.  Many question why.  Why would anyone do this?  Why would someone inflict so much evil on another or others?  Why would God allow this?  Mental illness is something that those of us who are healthy cannot explain, or even rationalize.  As I hear all the news people, the politicians, and others rationalizing why this man did this, I cringe.  For us to rationalize at something we cannot fathom is futile.  There is evil in this world and as much as we wish to stop all evil, it is something that cannot always be stopped.  Evil things happen here on this earth.  Just as I cannot begin to know the mind of a truly mentally ill person, I cannot know why evil happens here.  My faith tells me that God has a plan and bigger things are going on than what we see.  That just as the story of Santa Claus has much more going on than the fat guy in a red suit, hard times have much more going on behind the scenes as well.  What I do is let go of the questions I cannot answer.  I let go of things like why did he do it, and why did this happen.  I let go but I cling to one thing…..

I hold on to God.  Pretty simple but my faith is just that.  I am no different than anyone else.  We all question our faith or we wouldn’t be human.  Knowing I am human and cannot begin to know some things or understand them, I pray.  I pray for strength and then I look for the amazing stories that I know will come from the evil and unexplained.

Like the story of Dorwin Stoddard who thru saving his wife he perished. His story of sacrifice and love is amazing as well as the life he lived every day.  And Mary Reed who protecting her daughter was shot three times and is recovering.  A mom who during what must have been some horrendous moments thought of her family and daughter first.  Not to mention the story of the nine year old Christina Taylor Green. Here is a little girl who could be a member of The Santa Club. At nine she is at the right age to ask, Is Santa Real and had told her mom she wanted to help those less fortunate.  She is one life that makes you ask why.  Why her and why so young? Even in her young age she touched so many lives and that is an amazing story we need to remember.   There are many other stories of that day in Tucson and even though this unspeakable evil is still fresh, I promise more amazing stories will come.  It doesn’t change the pain that we all or they feel, nor will it take it away.  But Faith is fighting thru the pain and the unfathomable to realize what is beyond.

The grandmother in the UK said she lost her faith, but reading the book, brought it back.  I can only imagine why the book was the catalyst to bring it back.  I believe that the simple story of a baby, who becomes an amazing man that changes history and continues to change the world 2 thousand years later is the reason.  Whether you believe in Jesus as the son of God or not, his story changes lives.  It redeems our faith that there is more to life than unspeakable evils.  It is Faith personified.  His sacrifice is what redeems our faith. Just as the stories of sacrifice in Tucson bring us hope. Their actions redeem our faith in the good.

We thank you for an amazing 2010.  We are praying for the community of Tucson and for the victims.  We pray that 2011 becomes the year you always wished for.  That even thru the tough times we all endure your faith is restored by some wonderful act of giving.  We pray that the spirit of Santa is with you all year.

May God Keep You and Bless You,

Kelly, Joe, and all of us at The Santa Club

Merry Christmas Everyone and Happy Birthday Jesus!  WHoo HOO  From Everyone at The Santa Club

These past few days have been such a blessing.  Last Friday, or so…days flow together so fast, I talked to Sister Joan from the Bureau of Exceptional Adults and Children in Holyoke, MA.  Sister Joan is running an amazing program, locally called Jericho, which supports Exceptional Adults, Children and their families.  When we lived in Simsbury, CT we attended mass at Jericho making the 45 minute drive so our kids could be part of something very special.  This was 19 years ago and during that time kids were not usually a big player in everyday Sunday service.  We would see kids sing in the chorus, or every so often have a kid’s service or mass but generally speaking kids were usually seen but hopefully not heard.

Father Wagner, who ran Jericho at the time, believed that every person should be an integral part of Sunday worship and not only included children but also adjusted his service to make it “user” friendly so to speak to challenges other may have.  Our boys would sit at desks, the makeshift altar, with kids of all ages and differences in learning.  A child with Down’s Syndrome, or Autism, sat next to other kids and diversity was truly a blessing.  Not only did they sit right next to where Father Wagner said mass but they were asked questions during the homily and actively brought Father the gifts when needed.  It was an amazing time for our guys.  They learned so much about God, Jesus, and loving others in a truly unconditional place where judgment of others was thrown out the door.  We can never thank Father Wagner or Sister Joan enough for that. God was there in that mass, you could feel his presence.  Once you feel that, then things are never the same.

After living in Simsbury, we had to move, first to Ohio and then to Alpharetta, Georgia.  With every move we felt the desire to find a home church that God was working thru like Jericho.  We ended up at Northpoint Community Church where Andy Stanley is the pastor. Again we found a place that not only preached God’s love but actually lived it as a community.  A place where you could “feel” God’s presence.  A place where giving is truly a gift, not a hardship.

When I wrote The Santa Club Book, it was in the middle of the night, about 2 am to be exact.  I ended up writing until 5 am and at one point Joe came downstairs and said, “What are you doing”?  When I write I get hyper focused and literally said I was writing a book and went back to writing, not missing a beat.  I believe that the book was divine intervention.  It was during those hours, when I was” in the zone” everything clicked.  Athletes know what I mean about the Zone. So does anyone who has a passion and has those moments of true almost perfection.  That is how the book began in written form.  Bertie, Joe’s mom, actually started it in oral form and I knew that what she said was a gift.  With a bit of divine tweaking the book now is exactly what we hoped for.  A true parenting gift, a way to answer the question is Santa Real truthfully and with a bit of magic.  Magic we hope that is like Jericho and Northpoint Community Church. Something bigger is going on.  There is more than just truth; there is a feeling of unconditional love in this little story.  It is not about a church or a religion; it is about the story that most of us spent time with at Christmas, the Story of Jesus, and the true meaning of Santa Claus, The Gift of Giving.

 Back to an amazing few days, Sister Joan would like to sell the books in her bookstore.  She loves the book and I couldn’t be thankful. We also are working with Karla Olson, a truly gifted book Consultant in finding a distributor who would like to support us with the book. Our first distributor meeting was today. Amy from New Shelves Distribution was so supportive and honest in what it takes to let people know about this book.  She also sees how special this little book is. Thanks Amy.  No matter where we go with distribution, to have a great meeting with someone like Amy was a blessing.  So big things are happening and thru this all of our family wants you to know that we are very thankful to be given such a gift in this wonderful little book.  We believe in the story of Christmas and believe in love God, love others.  We pray that this book will bring forth a way to start new traditions for your new “Members” at Christmas.  As most of us know getting gifts is wonderful, but actually giving them is way better. Have a great Santa Club Day.

Kelly

Christmas is a very special time.  It is a time of family, traditions, great food, and getting gifts. Who doesn’t love getting gifts?  There is time off from work, seeing old friends, beautiful decorations and something we all take for granted….giving gifts.  Who doesn’t love to give gifts?  When I was little we always attended church on Christmas Eve.  I remember this was a big deal because we got to stay up late, wear really cool clothes and see all our friends.  The church was warm inside as it was usually freezing outside and we would all sit in awe listening to  the story of Jesus being born. I remember how everyone smiled.  Christmas is a time of kindness.  It is a time when bah humbug is not considered a good thing.  The season starts with Thanksgiving and being thankful and runs straight through to that magically time of Christmas. Kindness and helping others is just cool.  Why can’t that happen every day?

As I woke up this morning I heard the story about Maura Kelly a blogger from Marie Claire. Her blog was Should “Fatties” Get a Room (Even on TV).  The TV stations had heard about this blog and as content has a way of moving thru time and space (twilight zone music cue) it was all that was being talked about.  Her blog was scathing against people that were heavy.  It was pretty brutal and honestly it frustrated me very much.  Not because she had written it, but because she felt she could.  She felt it was OK to write such harsh words.  Who knows why someone does the things that they do.  I am a pretty simple girl, don’t judge others. Again as I have said before, I am not perfect.  But, since I like to follow Jesus, I figure he said, Do not judge others, or you too will be judged…Matt7:1NIV so I do my best to repeat that when needed.  As I struggle with not judging Maura Kelly (say the verse), I was reminded about THINK.  Jud Whilhite, a pastor at Central Christian Church in Las Vegas once said, before you say anything THINK. THINK is a way to test if what you say is worth being said at all…  Remember THINK…. is what I am about to say Truthful, Helpful, Inspirational, Needed, and Kind….THINK. Read the rest of this entry »

The Gift of Giving can be given in many ways.  We all have stories that show giving in small ways, like a smile or kind word, to giving in big ways, like a doctor who spends all their time helping cancer patients.  I am sure we all have stories…this one is mine.

My youngest brother was always the calm, fairly quiet, sweet brother of the family.  Not that all my brother’s are not sweet, but Kevin’s demeanor and affectuous smile completed his kindness.  He was a teacher and a coach, both giving professions as well as the type of guy who always stopped to make sure you were OK, even if he was not feeling well or busy. Read the rest of this entry »