Here is a picture of some of the loot I got for not dying last year. The stuff on the left side of the table is from my kids: 2 Jiffy Pop popcorns, a single chocolate chip cookie, 3 previously-owned figurines in various states of repair, one cracked Narnia snowglobe from McDonalds, some stuffed things, 2 cards and a counterfeit dollar bill. On the right are gifts from my Kolbe students (they went with a coffee theme): a customized travel mug with pictures of my students that are a few years old, a balloon on a stick, an enormous Starbucks mug (which says "Established 1971", like me), a bag of coffee, a can of coffee, German cookies, a ziplock bag of sugar, 2 creamers, and--my favorite--gift wrapped coffee filters.
This is why I love my birthday and why every one is better than the last. You couldn't script better gifts. They're great and they practically beg to be worked into a reflection on how our gifts to God are just like these, but, you're all smart and I don't have the time to write that reflection, so fill in the blanks. I'm just sure that God must be as pleased with our efforts to love Him as I was with these kids' efforts to please their grumpy (now old) teacher.
