starbuckscupIt’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you …

This is what is serenading me at Starbucks on November 10, just a few days after a former pastor from Arizona named Joshua Feuerstein made a video that went viral essentially telling us that the coffee company hates Jesus and has caved to political correctness by making their holiday season cups plain red.

I’m sharing Joshua’s name because — as I hum along with “Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring ting tingling, too” — I want to express my appreciation to him for a few things, so here goes:

~ Thank you for exposing the sane Christians out there, so many of whom stepped up to distance themselves from your petty-minded mission and question why you seem to feel the need to have your savior mixed with your caffeine habit.

~ Thank you for helping some of us weed our Facebook friends list.

~ Thank you for bringing out wicked humor in so many people. It’s my very favorite kind of funny.

~ Thank you for shining a light on how absurd this manufactured “war” on Christmas is.

~ Thank you for giving us a textbook example of how media works today. Nothing like knee-jerk outrage about outrage to keep our minds off vital issues of the day.

~ Thank you for sharing your vision of America with us and reminding us that there are actually people who can link their Christianity with the Second Amendment in under a minute and a half.

~ Thank you for providing a natural conversation starter at Starbucks locations everywhere. We had a fun chat at mine, with the baristas and customers chiming in. “I’m Jewish,” said one customer, “The world is dominated by Catholics and Christians. People say ‘Merry Christmas’ to me all the time and I just smile and say ‘thank you.’” Imagine that. Unfazed by other religious traditions. Not expecting everyone to adapt to hers. And yet, do we see the irony here? One faction complaining no one is allowed to say “Merry Christmas” and the other hearing it on a constant basis. Oy vey.

~ Thank you for making me realize pretty quickly that while your  coffee cup “issue” is a mere blip on the media landscape and mostly a source of amusement, another company needed my more serious attention – American Girl.

Within the last few weeks, a group called One Million Moms, whose ‘about’ page explaining its mission of morality has so many exclamation points it’s dizzying, posted this on its website and Facebook page:

One Million Moms is extremely disappointed that American Girl, owned by Mattel, is promoting sin in the November/December 2015 issue of its magazine. On pages 28-31 of the magazine is an article titled “Forever Family” about adoption from foster care, which would have been wonderful if they had not decided to include a large picture of a girl with her two dads, Daddy and Dada, and three other adopted children. 1MM supports adoption and taking care of orphans as we are biblically instructed to do in Psalm 82:3, but American Girl could have focused the article on the child and not about the parents since it is a magazine for children. American Girl is attempting to desensitize our youth by featuring a family with two dads. If your child has not seen this yet, then be careful she is not exposed and can avoid a premature conversation she is far too young to understand. Scripture says multiple times that homosexuality is wrong, and God will not tolerate this sinful nature. American Girl doesn’t highlight other sins in their magazine. Tell them as long as American Girl is pushing the homosexual agenda to children, your family will no longer be able to support the company, its magazine, or purchase its products. Click on link to Take Action!

Naturally I fully support their right to believe this and express it. But if we’re in a shouting match about morality, I needed my voice in the mix. Fortunately One Million Moms provided the contact info for American Girl, so I pulled out my best stationery and crafted a note thanking the company for its inclusiveness. From what I saw of the comments section, lots of other kindred spirits did the same.

Those inclined to helping out children in need this Christmas (or any other holiday) might consider that American Girl is donating a doll to the Children’s Hospital Association for each one purchased by the end of this month. I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that Jesus might really like this idea.

Oh, and one last tip of the Santa cap to Joshua Feuerstein:

I left Starbucks with a free sample of Christmas Blend ground coffee today. Thank you.