Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Chris Sandel’s birthday (1980)
(click here to listen to or read today’s scriptures)
Getting closer
You, Judah, shall your brothers praise
–your hand on the neck of your enemies;
the sons of your father shall bow down to you.
You just never know, when your son or daughter is born, what will happen next. Judah was fourth-born, but Jacob’s earlier sons Reuben, Simeon and Levi did not match the character of Judah, and Judah became the ancestor of King David and Jesus.
Chris will always be our first-born, and we love him whether his descendants become kings or not. What a great husband and dad he has become! His light touch and freedom from obvious anxieties and fears provide stability to his family, his church and his friends. Of course we don’t see what goes on inside, but he shares those less visible places with us when we ask.
Melissa and Chris decided in 2004 when they married to dedicate their family to God. Give it away early, and then it won’t be so difficult later when the kids grow up and move away. Their future “empty nest” promises to be full of the Spirit on any given day when Jack (17 in February) and Aly (14 in May) wave goodbye. This family will be one the kids want to return to, to visit, to share their own lives, to pray together.
Last night we watched Springfield Christian School’s basketball team win their semi-final game in Illinois’ 2A 8th grade basketball Final Four. They won, 45-27, against a team which lost only twice this year.  Aly practiced well and played even better. She is her team’s starting point guard (following in her mom’s footsteps), and like the Illini’s point guard Kylan Boswell, wears #4 on her jersey.
The published stats don’t include assists, steals or rebounds, but they do show that in this game Aly made 5 out 6 three-point shots and scored 21 of her team’s 45 points. This year the team’s record so far (not including their summer schedule) so far is 21-3. Their opponent in the championship game at 7:30 tomorrow night went undefeated as 7th graders last year and are 25-2 as 8th graders this year. Can’t wait!
We watched several games this summer and fall in person, and on the GameChanger app we can watch from Austin. SCS brings a bunch of fans to every game, and we holler and shout along with them. Aly in basketball and Jack in scholastic bowl both practice every day, and they win nearly time they compete. Being part of their lives since they were born has been fulfilling, joyful and now exciting! Like I said, we holler and scream! So thankful we are.
Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace forever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son.
Today’s lectionary readings include the genealogy of Jesus from Matthew 1. Like all of us, we have our own personal genealogy; some of us have traced ours back a ways, a few centuries even. I don’t know much about our folks hundreds of years ago, but we’re really happy to have spent time with our sons and daughter, to have held their kids, to have shared ourselves, our time, our thoughts often with all of them. The stories keep on coming, richer than rich.
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
(Genesis 49, Psalm 72, Matthew 1)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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