It’s begun. The official Christmas shopping season is off and running. Awhile back, I rewrote a familiar poem for us all. Enjoy.

‘Twas the night before Black Friday, when all through the house

Some creatures were plotting, “How ‘bout a blouse?”

The Ads were arranged on the table with care,

In hopes the line at Best Buy wouldn’t be a snare.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of Xboxes danced in their heads;

And mamma in her snowsuit, and I in my cap,

Got ready to buy everything but a cat.

When all of a sudden there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my minivan to check out the matter.

The look on her face I knew in a flash,

“Honey,” she said, “we’re low on cash!”

“No worries,” I said. “We’ll just use a card.”

But we’d done that before and it made things hard.

We stood in the kitchen, assessing our need,

Still tasting the turkey, feeling grateful indeed.

And then, in a twinkling, a thought came to mind,

“Maybe Christmas doesn’t have to put us in a bind.”

All the things God has given us, we knew we could share.

There are people in need; we could show that we care.

So slowly with trembling, we threw each Ad away.

Whatever it was, we had no room for it anyway.

She took off her snowsuit, I laid down my cap,

And we went off to bed after giving milk to the cat.


(PS. Due to Black Friday, my regularly scheduled post has been preempted. Look next Friday for “Is there ever a good time to quit?”)

(PPS. The link to “Subscribe” has been fixed! Feel free to share this post with others.)

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Roger Ross

A native of Cambridge, Illinois, Roger has served as a pastor in Texas, the British Channel Island of Guernsey, and Illinois. While in Illinois, he led teams that planted two new churches and served for 10 years as the lead pastor of one of the largest United Methodist Churches in the Midwest. It was his privilege to serve as the Director of Congregational Excellence in the Missouri Conference before coming into his current role with Spiritual Leadership, Inc (SLI).

Roger now comes alongside pastors, non-profit leaders and their leadership teams as an executive coach, specializing in leadership that inspires change. As a side gig, he loves teaching evangelism and church planting as an adjunct professor at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas.

Other passions of his include SCUBA diving in warm blue water, Krispy Kremes, and board games with family and friends. He also has a weakness for golf.

Roger is the author of three books, Meet The Goodpeople: Wesley’s 7 Ways to Share Faith, Come Back: Returning to the Life You Were Made For, and Come Back Participant Guide, all through Abingdon Press.

Now for the best part. Roger is married to Leanne Klein Ross, and they live Bloomington, Illinois. God has blessed them with two adult children, a son-in-law, several tropical fish, and one adorable granddog.