I don’t even know what to call this post. You can decide for yourself.

The other day when my family and I bowed our heads to give thanks to our good Lord for the awesome Thanksgiving meal that my mother prepared, my mom said: “We pray Lord for those who have nothing to eat today and no family to spend this holiday with.”

Now Chris and I pray together before we eat and we always pray for those who go without, but on Thanksgiving, more than ever when my mother said that, my heart really hurt for those who go without. It’s a mean world out there and it’s one thing to pray for those that go without and it’s another thing to do… to take action as we are called to do.

Why am I talking to you about this? Well, two things. Today is Tim Tebow’s last game at the swamp. He was being interviewed and was asked what he thought about the “nay sayers”- the people who want him to fail. Tim said what hurts the most is the people who says that he does what he does for TV (for example, when he went to prison to speak of God’s love to the inmates) And it is sad. He was raised in a family with a deep faith a family who serves as missionaries and he’s doing what comes natural to him.

The press calls them nay sayers and I call them haters. Really. Almost everyone has haters, right? People who hate on you for what you’re doing. You could be doing the most AWESOME thing in the world and they still find something bad to say about you- even if what they have to say is stupid (which it usually is). Look at Tim Tebow: he’s a winner. Because he’s a winner, he’s driven. He is a good student. He is a leader. He is passionate. Passionate about his faith, other people and the game. (The game, of course, being football) What more can you ask for?

I heard an ESPN sportscaster say that Tebow set the bar for where other players want to be. Not because of what kind of football player he is, but for what kind of person he is. Tim Tebow is “one of the great ones in college football.” They said that he is humble, kind and an all-around great person.You just feel good being in his presence.

The great Lou Holtz said today that Tim Tebow has such great character, integrity and a love of the game.

So go ahead haters, hate on Timmy T. You see in him the kind of person you WISH you could be. No, I’m not hanging on Timmy T’s jock, because next year, I’ll still be a Gator fan. This is, after all, Gator Nation. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t have a love for the guy who has a love for my team and a love for the game.

This brings me back to what I was originally saying… taking action. You guys remember Devri, my guest poster? She is doing. Spreading God’s love this holiday season through her Gifts of Hope program. What is Gifts of Hope?

” Blog readers will nominate a family in need in the first annual “Gifts of Hope”, where companies and individuals will donate goods to Santa’s bag to help bring one or more needy families a “Christmas of Hope and Joy” this coming Season. We would appreciate any products or donations that you have to offer a family in need this season.”

Then there’s Angela, owner of the Preppy Poppy, who spent the day before Thanksgiving making a dish for a Thanksgiving meal for families in need. Her OSC (Officer’s Spouses’ Club) delivered meals to five families in need for Thanksgiving. They found out that for some families, it will be their first Thanksgiving- can you imagine that? Never having a Thanksgiving? One family didn’t have a stove and used camping hot plates to cook. I have never not had a stove and I probably never will not have a stove. And even if there is a time in my life when I don’t have a stove- Chris and I are so blessed and fortunate to have so much family that loves us, that they wouldn’t rest until we had  a stove.

On the news tonight I saw a story about a woman whose infant daughter died suddenly of a brain aneurysm. She was asked and agreed to donate her baby girl’s organs to other little children who needed them. Tonight she was meeting one of the children who received her daughter’s organs for the first time. The boy, who is now 8, received a liver from her daughter. She was able to save this young boy’s life. Her daughter was not able to live, but he was. How completely selfless of this family to be able to make a decision like that. Especially in a moment when they were suffering a loss and surely feeling so much pain.

Completely. Selfless.

I’m not trying to proselytize, not by any means. I know I have a whole bunch of shit wrong with me. I have to look at myself in the mirror everyday. There are so many days that I look at myself and ask how can I be a better person? Especially when I hear stories like the ones I’ve mentioned.

Chris and I often remind each other of how blessed we are. We have a home, food, clothes on our back, a beautiful daughter, family (who cares)…

The eye black on Timmy T’s face today had the following bible verse: Hebrews 12: 1-2, it reads:

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

How fitting for his final game in The Swamp?

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