The day after Christmas is a strange kind of quiet.

The gifts have been opened. The meals are finished. The pictures have been posted. The decorations still glow, but the noise has faded. And in that quiet, we are left with a simple question. Who are we becoming now that the celebration is over?

This is where formation happens. Not on the holidays, but after them. Not in big moments, but in ordinary ones. Between Sundays.

There is a moment in the story of Jesus that often gets overlooked. On the night when He knew everything was about to unravel, He did not give a long speech. He did not protect His image. He picked up a towel. He knelt. He washed feet. He served.

The towel matters because it tells us what leadership and faith really look like when no one is clapping. The towel is not about status. It is about posture. It is the willingness to step into someone else’s need without needing credit. It is choosing love that looks like service, even when you are tired, misunderstood, or on your way to suffering.

The towel is not a one time act. It is a way of life. And the truth is, you cannot walk the way of the towel if you are still protecting your image. You cannot serve freely if you are constantly worried about how you are seen. Formation happens when ego steps aside and love steps forward.

Earlier this year, my oldest daughter, who is fifteen, volunteered with some classmates at Sunshine Place in Sun Prairie. It was not a requirement. It was not a photo opportunity. It was simply a decision to help.

Later, when her school assigned a project, her first instinct was not to build something for herself. It was to organize a gift drive so others could be cared for. Watching her, I was reminded that the way of the towel is learned long before it is explained. It is caught through example. It is practiced through repetition. It is formed through small acts of love done consistently.

That moment took me back to Jesus again. Even knowing what was coming, He still chose to serve. Even facing betrayal, He still knelt. Even at the end, He picked up the towel.

That tells us something important. God cares more about who we are becoming than how far we are climbing. Titles fade. Platforms shift. But formation lasts.

Between Sundays, faith is not measured by what we profess. It is revealed by what we practice. Who we notice. Where we step in. How we respond when love requires effort.

The towel shows up everywhere. At home when patience is thin. At work when credit is scarce. In leadership when stepping back helps someone else grow. In moments when you see a need and choose not to walk past it.

You do not need a title to live this way. You just need eyes to see where love is needed and the humility to step in.

As this year comes to a close, the invitation is simple. Pick up the towel again. Let formation shape you more than ambition. Let service become your posture, not your performance.

Because the way of the towel is still the way forward.

Keep The Faith (K.T.F.)

These stories remind us that the way of the towel is still being lived out in quiet acts of service, where people step in to meet real needs without seeking recognition.

Christmas Day Kidney Transplant Called a Miracle

In Colorado, a man who had battled a rare autoimmune disease for nearly two decades received a lifesaving kidney transplant just in time for Christmas. Doctors said he was within hours of death when the call finally came through, made possible by a paired donor exchange and the generosity of strangers who said yes when it mattered most. Today, he is recovering and looking forward to something simple and sacred, more time with his grandchildren. Stories like this remind us that hope does not always arrive early. Sometimes it shows up at the last possible moment and changes everything.

Source: People Magazine

Huge Donation Brings Unexpected Help to Kids and Families in Wisconsin

Just before Christmas, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County received a remarkable gift, a donation of about 1.1 million dollars worth of personal care products from Dove. The gift came after CEO Michael Johnson shared the need publicly and someone chose to respond with generosity. These items, things like soap, shampoo, and deodorant, are easy to overlook but essential to dignity and daily life. The products will be distributed through food pantries, schools, shelters, and community partners across Wisconsin and beyond, helping families focus on learning, work, and relationships instead of worrying about basic necessities. This is what it looks like when people see a need and refuse to look away.

Source: Madison365

This week at the table, ask this question:

“What is one small task or responsibility you usually avoid, and what would it look like to do it with love instead?”

Maybe it is chores. Maybe it is helping a sibling. Maybe it is listening when you would rather scroll. Maybe it is doing something no one notices.

Talk about how Jesus showed us that serving is not about being seen. It is about choosing humility when ego would rather sit down.

Remind each other that the way of the towel is practiced in small, ordinary moments, long after the celebration is over.

Most of us are being formed by something, whether we realize it or not. Our habits, our priorities and our choices shape the kind of people we become. At its best, service has a way of forming us for the good of others. It pulls us outward, softens our edges and reminds us that our lives are meant to contribute, not just consume.

This is the second Selfless List not because the work is finished, but because there are still people among us quietly choosing others over themselves. These leaders are not chasing attention. They are building people. And because of that, their impact is multiplying.

Click here to meet four leaders whose lives reflect selfless ambition in action.