Thank you for making sure that Layla has a Christmas. How sad. A seven year old shouldn’t even have to know what prison, or an overdose is. I pray she finds a family to love her. That is as crucial as the air we breathe.
You are one heck of a nice guy. I truly hope life continues to be good to you. I'm really, really glad that I discovered you. Even moreso that I met you in person. IMHO you're light years above Grizzard & I really loved him.
God has blessed you big and that makes me very happy. Just keep on being the nice guy you are. We are all on your side.
Beginning in 1990 most of clients I saw in my office as their probation officer were all going through very difficult times. Most all of them had children still in school. At Christmas I would get 20-30 solid colored Christmas ornament balls & hang them on the Christmas tree in the sanctuary of the church my husband pastored. Each ornament had the gender, date of birth, & initials of a child who parent(s) I saw in my office.
The parishioners in our little (35 member) church would pick the tree clean the first Sunday the ornaments appeared. The following Sunday there were gifts galore under that same tree. Many of the time church women & men baked “goodies” or smoked some good ole pork butt to go along with every gift. That same afternoon I would distribute all the gifts & food.
Please don’t think I was trying to get all the credit- I just did not was to disclose the names & addresses of my clients to anyone so as not to cause confidentiality issues. These folks were so appreciative & many are what I call “friends” today.
Please always take an Angel, ornament, or name card off a tree. It will show Christ’s love to those in need and as an added bonus your heart will be filled to overflowing with joy.
Thanks Sean, you really get it & I know you found your heart burst with joy!
Your offer of an ongoing friendship is the most valuable gift a child in foster care can receive. I sincerely hope she takes you up on your proposition.
The gifts will go a long way toward making her feel normal, but your words tell Layla Grace she is loved. Both essential and beautiful.
If every person who reads your column would buy three or four toys for one needy child this December, how fantastic this would be! Toys for Tots is still collecting unwrapped toys at various locations, and also many churches like yours have an "angel tree" with names and a wish list. Layla Grace will be delighted with your gifts to her, Sean.
Blessings and prayers for you, Jamie, Layla Grace, and her momma. This little one reminds me of the year I discovered at our carpet read aloud time that I had 6 of my first graders who had parents who were incarcerated (I taught first grade for 30 years at the same school). One precious, quiet little blonde-headed girl had both parents incarcerated. I was brought to tears and was in constant prayer for these children and their parents. After bringing this to the knowledge of our guidance counselor, she had a time each week to encourage and bring joy into these children's lives. They wrote letters and made things to give hope. All this to say that the little girl's mom finally was released and rehabilitated. She now has a great job and is a very responsible parent with joy in her heart. God answers prayers! I'm praying that Layla Grace gets to know that hope and joy with which my little first grader was blessed. Merry Christmas Sean! You are a BLESSING!🥰
When a difficult task is to be faced, "Put on your LYCRA Wonder Woman outfit, and don't let any ALGAE grow on you!" (Took me a while to tie those two words together....)
BTW, Laila is a girl's name of Arabic origin. Meaning “of the night” in Hebrew and Arabic, this striking name is a favorable choice in the Muslim community. Traditionally given to girls born during the night, this can be a great way to celebrate the time of day that baby joined your family".
Most of us have a relatively small circle of influence, and then along comes Sean, showing an ever-widening circle of us how to stretch further and be better. Merry Christmas, Layla Grace. 💜💜
Angel Trees are so great. Wouldn’t it be so fine if there were a way to see Layla Grace, and some of the other kids whose names we’ve picked out, open those gifts? Just a peak to see their faces - without them knowing - and know what kind of excitement there might be in unwrapping those things. Some of the best things we can do are letting a little bit of love go out into the world without ever knowing the surprise, or the thrill, or the warmth it may multiply into for someone else. That is truly grace.
I wonder if Layla Grace, which by the way is a beautiful name, has blue eyes. That would make here extra special. Less than 1% of Red Heads have blue eyes. I was told this by a red headed young lady, with blue eyes, when I was in college. Everybody said the same thing about her. She was very pretty, very funny and also very smart. A good friend of hers told me her parents sent her to an Ivy league school, where she didn't want to go but I'm sure she was doing fine.
The Christmas tree, I used to take a name from at work before I retired, simply said the boys or girls first name and age. It also gave a generic list of gifts. We always complained but we were told some of the kids would receive more than others and a gift was better than nothing. We always said "The Grinch" did our tree.
Merry Christmas Layla Grace may your secret Santa not only give you what you need but also what you want.
A gracious good morning and happy Friday to all yall ! Sean, now thats a nice story to wake up with. Tis the season of giving and the angel tree is an awesome way to do it. Hey you don't have to be a member of the church to participate. Anyway, good lick Sean. Yall have a second cup, I am. And...
Christmas is a warm purple coat for a dear little girl, mittens to match. I’m sure the Giving Tree was bare! Merry Christmas, with love and prayers, Layla Grace and to all children everywhere! ♥️
Thank you for making sure that Layla has a Christmas. How sad. A seven year old shouldn’t even have to know what prison, or an overdose is. I pray she finds a family to love her. That is as crucial as the air we breathe.
You are one heck of a nice guy. I truly hope life continues to be good to you. I'm really, really glad that I discovered you. Even moreso that I met you in person. IMHO you're light years above Grizzard & I really loved him.
God has blessed you big and that makes me very happy. Just keep on being the nice guy you are. We are all on your side.
Beginning in 1990 most of clients I saw in my office as their probation officer were all going through very difficult times. Most all of them had children still in school. At Christmas I would get 20-30 solid colored Christmas ornament balls & hang them on the Christmas tree in the sanctuary of the church my husband pastored. Each ornament had the gender, date of birth, & initials of a child who parent(s) I saw in my office.
The parishioners in our little (35 member) church would pick the tree clean the first Sunday the ornaments appeared. The following Sunday there were gifts galore under that same tree. Many of the time church women & men baked “goodies” or smoked some good ole pork butt to go along with every gift. That same afternoon I would distribute all the gifts & food.
Please don’t think I was trying to get all the credit- I just did not was to disclose the names & addresses of my clients to anyone so as not to cause confidentiality issues. These folks were so appreciative & many are what I call “friends” today.
Please always take an Angel, ornament, or name card off a tree. It will show Christ’s love to those in need and as an added bonus your heart will be filled to overflowing with joy.
Thanks Sean, you really get it & I know you found your heart burst with joy!
Sounds like a beautiful way to celebrate Christmas.
Full of blessings…..not surprised by a bare tree! We do have many caring hearts, don’t we?
Jan, you were an Angel dressed in a Probation Officer’s uniform❣️
❤️😇💚
Your offer of an ongoing friendship is the most valuable gift a child in foster care can receive. I sincerely hope she takes you up on your proposition.
The gifts will go a long way toward making her feel normal, but your words tell Layla Grace she is loved. Both essential and beautiful.
So true! I worked in the Guardian ad litem program for a long time, and there are so many children that need a "friend"!
Friendship really is the greatest gift of all💝
If every person who reads your column would buy three or four toys for one needy child this December, how fantastic this would be! Toys for Tots is still collecting unwrapped toys at various locations, and also many churches like yours have an "angel tree" with names and a wish list. Layla Grace will be delighted with your gifts to her, Sean.
Merry Christmas to you and Jamie.
Blessings and prayers for you, Jamie, Layla Grace, and her momma. This little one reminds me of the year I discovered at our carpet read aloud time that I had 6 of my first graders who had parents who were incarcerated (I taught first grade for 30 years at the same school). One precious, quiet little blonde-headed girl had both parents incarcerated. I was brought to tears and was in constant prayer for these children and their parents. After bringing this to the knowledge of our guidance counselor, she had a time each week to encourage and bring joy into these children's lives. They wrote letters and made things to give hope. All this to say that the little girl's mom finally was released and rehabilitated. She now has a great job and is a very responsible parent with joy in her heart. God answers prayers! I'm praying that Layla Grace gets to know that hope and joy with which my little first grader was blessed. Merry Christmas Sean! You are a BLESSING!🥰
God does answer prayers….thank you for sharing!
“I don’t know if you know this, but the letters in Layla Grace can be rearranged to spell “Lycra Algae.”
I love how your humor just has to burst out, even in serious columns.
Layla Grace will have some Christmas wishes come true, thanks to you and Jamie. My late mother often said, “Christmas is for children.”
When a difficult task is to be faced, "Put on your LYCRA Wonder Woman outfit, and don't let any ALGAE grow on you!" (Took me a while to tie those two words together....)
This just made my heart sing! I can’t think of a nicer thing to do for anyone..child or adult.
Merry Xmas to little "Layla".
BTW, Laila is a girl's name of Arabic origin. Meaning “of the night” in Hebrew and Arabic, this striking name is a favorable choice in the Muslim community. Traditionally given to girls born during the night, this can be a great way to celebrate the time of day that baby joined your family".
The quoted text from google search.
Bless yall 🙏
Most of us have a relatively small circle of influence, and then along comes Sean, showing an ever-widening circle of us how to stretch further and be better. Merry Christmas, Layla Grace. 💜💜
Angel Trees are so great. Wouldn’t it be so fine if there were a way to see Layla Grace, and some of the other kids whose names we’ve picked out, open those gifts? Just a peak to see their faces - without them knowing - and know what kind of excitement there might be in unwrapping those things. Some of the best things we can do are letting a little bit of love go out into the world without ever knowing the surprise, or the thrill, or the warmth it may multiply into for someone else. That is truly grace.
I wonder if Layla Grace, which by the way is a beautiful name, has blue eyes. That would make here extra special. Less than 1% of Red Heads have blue eyes. I was told this by a red headed young lady, with blue eyes, when I was in college. Everybody said the same thing about her. She was very pretty, very funny and also very smart. A good friend of hers told me her parents sent her to an Ivy league school, where she didn't want to go but I'm sure she was doing fine.
The Christmas tree, I used to take a name from at work before I retired, simply said the boys or girls first name and age. It also gave a generic list of gifts. We always complained but we were told some of the kids would receive more than others and a gift was better than nothing. We always said "The Grinch" did our tree.
Merry Christmas Layla Grace may your secret Santa not only give you what you need but also what you want.
A gracious good morning and happy Friday to all yall ! Sean, now thats a nice story to wake up with. Tis the season of giving and the angel tree is an awesome way to do it. Hey you don't have to be a member of the church to participate. Anyway, good lick Sean. Yall have a second cup, I am. And...
Peace
Christmas is a warm purple coat for a dear little girl, mittens to match. I’m sure the Giving Tree was bare! Merry Christmas, with love and prayers, Layla Grace and to all children everywhere! ♥️
I know she will be smiling from ear to ear when she sees her gifts on Christmas morning. God bless you.
Thank you for always looking out for children. We often have to be their voices. You are such a good man, Sean Dietrich.