Tag: Gifts

Give the gift of improbability

December 15, 2025

Once again, the Missouri Lottery is running commercials with the tag line of “Give the gift of possibility.” Keep in mind that I would rather have the money you spend on this. Read the disclaimer on the ticket telling what the odds are. If you give me the few dollars you would spend, I will put it in my IRA, and in a few years, it will be worth something.

I like to remind players of the lottery that this is a self-imposed tax. I was happy when you voted for this many years ago. I am also pleased each time you approve a gambling issue on the Missouri ballot. It never costs me anything and may keep the legislators from increasing my taxes.

I have purchased lottery tickets when the prizes have increased to multiple millions of dollars. I believe God blesses me. He has given us prizes in drawings. I’ve never won if I had to pay for the chance to win. There is a difference between what is possible and what is probable.

Your probability of winning these games is in the millions to one. You are more likely to be hit by lightning or by a satellite falling out of orbit. If you want to give me a gift, then give me the money. Once, I was in a family gift exchange where our suggested limit was ten dollars. I received a gift that I knew had only cost one dollar. I felt cheated. At least at the end of the day, I had something.

When the receiver scratches off a losing card, they are not the only losers. You have lost the respect and possibly even the friendship of not just the person you gave it to. You may also offend everyone who hears what your present was.

I know that some of the scratcher’s cards cost more than a few dollars. I’ve been told that ten- and twenty-dollar tickets are given as gifts frequently. That makes it ten or twenty times as bad because you gave the money that you could have given to me to the government.

May I suggest that you burn that bill and put the ashes in an envelope with a note stating that before you burned it what it would have been worth. I think I will start making some gifts like this and keeping them with me, and when I open a gift with a lottery ticket in it, I will hand them my gift. When they thank me, I will return the sentiment.

I have participated in gag gift exchanges before. If you haven’t, the idea is to give something humorous or of little to no value. This would be a perfect time to give lottery tickets or envelopes with burned paper and a note that tells them you burned a one-hundred-dollar bill. These will both bring a laugh, rather than a groan.

©Copyright 2025 by Charles Kensinger

Gifts from God

January 18, 2025

When we think about gifts from God, I am not sure that we all think of the things listed in this song. Your job, whether you like it or not, is given by God. James 1:17 tells us that every perfect gift comes from above.

This song is not talking about gifts of the spirit. It is speaking of the daily blessings that each of us receive and do not recognize as gifts. Let’s talk about some of the things that are not mentioned in the list given in the song. Or maybe we can talk about some of those in it as well.

Most of us take life for granted. The Declaration of Independence, which we celebrate in this country every July 4th, calls it one of the self-evident truths. Thomas Jefferson put it as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Those who take the lives of others do not seem to agree with this.

When I was unemployed for over three years, I came to realize that a job was another thing I should always be thankful for. Getting up in the morning and doing work for a day or two at a time is wonderful. I was thankful for each temporary position that I acquired. I still wanted the security of a place to go each day and a regular paycheck.

My family is a gift that this song points out. There are also my friends and my church that I must mention. They are in my life to keep me focused on the things that I need to appreciate. Someone I can joke with is also a gift that I often overlook. Do you have anyone that will take all your grief and give it back to you?

I can walk into a room, approach a perfect stranger, and begin a conversation like I have known them all my life. Some of my friends have witnessed this ability and asked me how long we have known each other. They comment on this from time to time. They look amazed when I say that we just met.

I know many people who do not read very much. I know some writers, but most of my friends are not into the things that I am into. My love for words, research, and turning the appropriate phrase are gifts that make me who I am. Many authors talk about how easily they can find viable ideas. This is one more way that I am blessed.

It is amazing how many gifts I have taken for granted all these years. In listening to the many iterations of “Gifts of God,” I have discovered how wonderful it is to be the recipient of everything large and small that He gives me every day. I hope you see this in your life as well.

©Copyright 2025 by Charles Kensinger