PASTOR RANDY'S BLOG

  Every time I hear “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by Bruce Springsteen, I find myself standing in the back room of the Western Auto store in Linden, Alabama. During high school, I worked at Western Auto for the Christmas season. My job was in the back putting together Christmas presents that people bought for their kids. There were 3 of us guys who worked back there. We were probably more like the 3 Stooges than the 3 Wise Men. There was no heater in the back area. Q 101 was playing Christmas music in the background. They must have played Springsteen’s song every hour as Christmas neared. We spent the days leading up to Christmas putting together Big Wheels and bicycles. It was always a challenge trying to fit 2 bikes and a Big Wheel into a parent’s Ford Pinto (look it up). I had a lot of fun, made a little extra money, and learned a couple of important lessons along the way. One thing I learned is that it is important to follow the instructions. A Big Wheel doesn’t always go t...

  When I was a child, Christmas always seemed so far away. But each year the nearness of Christmas was signaled by the arrival of the Sears and Roebuck Christmas catalog. I anxiously awaited its arrival and wore it out looking at all the incredible toys that it contained. I would lie on the floor in front of the fake Christmas fireplace that we put up in the living room and looked through that catalog almost every day. The lights of the Christmas tree would reflect off the pages as a little boy dreamed of how great it would be on Christmas morning. And Christmas morning never disappointed! There are 4 presents that stand out from my childhood years. A GI Joe that talked when you pulled his dog tags. A Red Ryder BB Gun. I did not shoot my eye out. A puppy that I named Angel. A helicopter that landed on a Styrofoam ship.   Those 4 gifts brought me a lot of joy. There is nothing wrong with that. But I no longer have any of those gifts. GI Joe eventually broke. I outgrew the BB ...

  Thanksgiving 2021 It is a few hours before Thanksgiving Day. This Thanksgiving will be very different from any I have ever experienced. It will be my first Thanksgiving without my mother. My mother, Sandra Creel, passed away a couple of weeks ago on November 7. I must admit that it doesn’t quite seem real to me yet. I almost expect mom to be here in the morning when I wake up. But I know she won’t be. But with all of my heart, I wish she could be. My wife and I spent the day today driving around my hometown. I lived here until I went away to college. My wife and I have l lived here on two separate occasions as I served on staff at my home church. We drove by the house where I grew up and the creek where I played. We saw my kindergarten, elementary school, and high school. We looked at the football field where our team won two state championships. We drove by the house we lived in when we were a young married couple and also the pastorium where we lived when the family was g...