Give a little bit. Give a little bit of your love to me...There's so much that we need to share.

I don't really dig Supertramp, except for their hit Give a Little Bit. I'm not sure a song has captured the Gospel better than that one. I know many that have failed in capturing it. Take this link to hear one of these, J.D.'s least favorite Christmas song.

I promise this is the last of my news report rants...for a while. But this one was like the flipside of the previous posts and needed to be shared.

LONDON (Reuters) - A "Parking Ticket Santa Claus" has been spreading cash as well as Christmas cheer around the English city of Birmingham, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

The mystery Santa has placed Christmas cards containing 30 pounds ($53) on the windscreens of drivers who have received parking tickets, the Daily Telegraph said.

"Don't let this ticket spoil your Christmas," declares a note in each card. "Here's #30 to pay it off. Merry Christmas - Parking Ticket Santa."

Fourteen drivers are believed to have received gifts from the unseen Father Christmas, who has given his profession an image boost after a string of stories about "Bad Santas."

In recent days, men in Santa outfits have been accused of committing armed robbery in Germany, exposing themselves in southern England and going on a drunken rampage in New Zealand.

Santa is working on his public persona. He's gotta keep that Coca-Cola endorsement deal.

This article put me in the mood to reflect on the last acts of unconditional charity I recieved and perfomed. And then it occured to me, most nice things done for me, and all of them I've done for people had some strings attached. You know I helped move a couple friends last month, but all the while I was thinking "now when I move they owe me." I was thinking about this as I turned the radio on and heard that horrible Chrsitmas Shoes song again. I can't tell you how much that song bothers me.

So I decided to get proactive. What was it that bothered me so much about it? A little searching and I discovered in part what bothered me so much about it. Its a metaphor for the whole lost holiday-a glitzy simpler version of a once beautiful thing. I present The Christmas Shoes more holy ancestor:

The Gold Slippers

It was only four days before Christmas. The spirit of the season hadn't yet caught up with me, even though cars packed the parking lot of our local discount store. Inside the store, it was worse. Shopping carts and last minute shoppers jammed the aisles.

Why did I come today? I wondered. My feet ached almost as much as my head. My list contained names of several people who claimed they wanted nothing but I knew their feelings would be hurt if I didn't buy them anything.

Buying for someone who had everything and deploring the high cost of items, I considered gift buying anything but fun. Hurriedly, I filled my shopping cart with last minute items and proceeded to the long checkout lines. I picked the shortest but it looked as if it would mean at least a 20 minute wait.

In front of me were two small children - a boy of about 5 and a younger girl. The boy wore a ragged coat. Enormously large, tattered tennis shoes jutted far out in front of his much too short jeans. He clutched several crumpled dollar bills in his grimy hands. The girl's clothing resembled her brother's. Her head was a matted mass of curly hair. Reminders of an evening meal showed on her small face. She carried a beautiful pair of shiny, gold house slippers. As the Christmas music sounded in the store's stereo system, the girl hummed along, off key but happily.

When we finally approached the checkout register, the girl carefully placed the shoes on the counter. She treated them as though they were a treasure.

The clerk rang up the bill. "That will be $6.09," she said. The boy laid his crumpled dollars atop the stand while he searched his pockets. He finally came up with $3.12. "I guess we will have to put them back, " he bravely said. "We will come back some other time, maybe tomorrow."

With that statement, a soft sob broke from the little girl. "But Jesus would have loved these shoes, " she cried.

"Well, we'll go home and work some more. Don't cry. We'll come back," he said.

Quickly I handed $3.00 to the cashier. These children had waited in line for a long time. And, after all, it was Christmas. Suddenly a pair of arms came around me and a small voice said, "Thank you lady."

"What did you mean when you said Jesus would like the shoes?" I asked.

The boy answered, "Our mommy is sick and going to heaven. Daddy said she might go before Christmas to be with Jesus."

The girl spoke, "My Sunday school teacher said the streets in heaven are shiny gold, just like these shoes. Won't mommy be beautiful walking on those streets to match these shoes?"

My eyes flooded as I looked into her tear streaked face. "Yes" I answered, "I am sure she will."

Silently I thanked God for using these children to remind me of the true spirit of giving."

--Anonymous

For me this story is fuller, deeper in its description and its message. The lady feels how we feel about Christmas and the kid doesn't beg for the money, and his mom isn't dying in minutes while he's out getting her shoes. Plus we don't have to hear that guy BMing his way through the song or those kids. When I hear the song I think that the story is quite beautiful, but it's being used, manipulated to tug at my heart strings. It is a something with strings attached, a hit record maybe and airplay. I hear it and think, they want me to like this just because of its message, when in taking a deeper look I see the cutting and pasting of a larger story.

In much the same way we've made the Christmas story a watered down version of its original. It has become a Sunday evening movie of the week with Rob Lowe and Brad Paisley's wife, and Christmas is just the setting of the scene, not the celebration of a blessed event. We need to remind ourselves this season and all seasons to enact love that comes with no strings attahced. And so I yearn to hear O Holy Night, all verses, the most powerful Christmas hymn for my two cents.

O Holy Night

O Holy Night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees,
O hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born
O night divine, O night divine, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our Friend!
He knows our need; to our weakness is no stranger.
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!

Truly he taught us to love one another!

Turn on whatever music fills you with joy this Christmas. Do whatever makes you happy. Spend time with people you love. But while you are doing this, look around for people you can love with no strings attached. Find ways you can help someone or care for some one for no other reason than he taught us to.

I will probably not be posting the next several days. I'm headed home and the Rents don't have internet access. I'll be roughing it. So let me say to any of you who still read this besides my mom and dad, this has been good for me to rant and explore and explain where I am coming from. I hope it's meaningful to you as well. I wish everyone a blessed holy day season in coming days.