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I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
Perhaps the day had a few glitches: spilled beverages, Christmas trees knocked over by the cat, or Uncle Joe primed with the same jokes. All of these are sparkles to the stories we share about Christmas day.
Our family celebrated Jesus' birthday in a hotel room. Hubby drew the short stick and had to work the holiday. Two of our children made a festive Christmas meal and brought it to us. We hauled chairs from the hotel's breakfast area up to our room, cleared off the desk and spread out the meal. What a fun way to make Christmas unique and memorable.
The next morning, I sat in the breakfast area to people-watched. Only one family sat down, their laughter and fun conversation could be heard without trying. The dad shared the family Christmas experience with a phone call to "buddy." Later, I figured out this was his dad.
He talked about their gifts and reading the Christmas story, "And the kids wanted to hear the entire story, not just a few verses."
A boy sitting at the table didn't correct him, so it seemed true.
The dad continued, "We sang happy birthday to Jesus and then the kids talked about what gift they wanted to give Jesus."
I listened intently. What gift did the kids say? Was it a physical gift they had given to a family member? What did this family mean by this phrase?"
The dad said, "Yeah, they both decided to set a goal to have devotions every day this year. Yeah--I thought so, too."
I thought this was an amazing idea. Teaching the children to giving a gift to Jesus. The Bible teaches that when something is done for the needy the task is considered done for Jesus. Many men and women offer services and/or finances to the needy knowing this pleases God, but the deed/gift actually means much more! This is an actual gift given to Jesus. The goal set to read the Bible everyday is an actual gift for Jesus.
True, doing these services for others or ourselves is expected because God's Word says He wants us to...but think about this--God considers it an exciting gift from you. One that makes Him proud to have you in His family. One that causes Him to put a token on a heavenly refrigerator to show the angels. One that causes Him to sing (Zephaniah 3:17).
You may have already given Jesus a gift this year. Maybe this is a new thought and ideas are flooding your mind of what you could give still give Jesus for His birthday. It's never too late.
Also, God knows how to think outside the box, and He looks at our heart. So the idea that just popped in your head should be considered instead of rejected.
Perhaps some readers struggle to think of an idea of what to give Jesus. Let's list some ideas to help each other.
My present to Jesus this year was presented to my sister Christmas Eve. She has taken on the bulk of visiting my mom for my siblings and me. Mom is suffering from dementia. My sister was so busy running around getting gifts, mailing them to family, baking, working, visiting Mom, etc that she just seemed lonely and a bit tired. I thought back through our conversations and wanted to be Jesus' servant to her. I remembered she recently said she liked Hawaii. Do you know how hard it is to find things related to Hawaii this time of year?
God pulled out the creative stops for this mission. Step one: I found Hawaiian candies at a hardware store! God shared His happy tears while I drove through a deluge of rain to an outdoor mall. The angel helped a young man, the most unlikely store employee, direct my search for the crazy gift mission. He succeeded! A luau Yankee candle and a few other items. God's perfect timing showed when a grocery store employee happen to be loading the shelf with fresh pineapple the moment I went to the fruit section. Last step, I called my sister to see if she was home. She didn't answer. I drove to her house. All the lights were off. I slipped the gift bag full of Hawaiian goodies in between the screen and the door and walked toward my car. Suddenly, her front door opened. The burst of job well done made me feel good.
So, what gift can you or have you chosen to give Jesus this year? Remember, your idea may help someone else think of what they can give, so be sure to comment.
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