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The Unfolding

Page 146: Mike Donehey of Tenth Avenue North: The Christmas Without Presents

The Unfolding

Northwestern Media

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.9867 Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2022

⏱️ 30 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When Mike Donehey thinks about Christmas as a kid, he can't remember the gifts he received most years.  But one Christmas stands out.  It was the year there were no presents in the Donehey family.  His parents came to the Donehey kids with a proposition – they could afford Christmas presents or surgery to save their dog, Sam. Mike talks about how sometimes, not getting what we hope for, can be a gift.  Mike is the former lead singer of Tenth Avenue North and author of "Finding God's Life for My Will."  

Transcript

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0:00.0

Page 146 of the unfolding is a Christmas story with Mike Donahey.

0:05.0

Christmas, it's supposed to be about Jesus and it's so about us.

0:09.2

And that was the first Christmas I can remember.

0:12.1

I mean, I was probably in high school, but I remember going, oh, yeah, Christmas isn't about me.

0:17.4

Look what we did.

0:18.2

That was so great.

0:19.2

We saved the dog.

0:20.9

God's story has been unfolding.

0:24.3

Since the beginning of time.

0:27.5

He invites you to be a part of it.

0:33.7

Another page in the unfolding.

0:46.8

Yeah. Another page in the unfolding. Hey, this is Meredith Foster.

0:55.9

When Mike Donahey thinks about Christmas as a kid, most years he can't remember the presents he got, but one Christmas he remembers well, the year there were no gifts in the Donahey family. You may know Mike as the former lead singer of 10th Avenue

1:01.0

North or from his book, Finding God's Life for My Will. He is a creative, thoughtful, very fun guy,

1:07.4

and you're definitely going to hear that in this interview. We talked one afternoon at

1:11.2

Central Christian Church in Mount Vernon, Illinois, a few hours before his concert with Mac Powell,

1:16.0

David Leonard, and Josh Baldwin. So a little bonus, you can actually hear those guys in the

1:20.8

background as they were doing sound check. This is a conversation about Christmas and gratitude

1:25.9

and selflessness in a season where so much is focused

1:29.6

on gifts and giving and receiving, what if we navigate this Christmas with contentment as our

1:35.8

goal? A word of caution to parents, we are talking about Christmas gifts and where they come from

1:40.4

and this might not be a conversation for young kids hello hello we're backstage here you

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