The Way of Love

Tommy’s taken some time out of his successful life as a doctor, spending the day out on the golf course with his buddies when he receives an alarming phone call from another part of the world. 

His son, Daniel, is dead. 

And all at once, a life that seemed to have every duck carefully placed in a row was upside down.

And thus begins a father’s journey in the movie The Way with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez.   It is a poignant look at a man who has been caught up in the world’s version of success and has, ironically, become somewhat cynical and bitter.  And when the unthinkable happens we see the ensuing inner struggles of a man who suddenly realizes he doesn’t have things figured out quite the way he thought.   

FYI - If you haven’t seen the movie yet, this will contain some slight spoilers. 

The last time the two men spoke they were engaged in an awkward conversation as Tommy drove his son, Daniel, to the airport. Daniel tells his dad about the journey he’s going to make and, in an effort to try connecting with his dad, asks him to come along.  Tommy cynically laughs it off, saying that not everyone has the luxury of taking time off from work to do such a thing. 

And now the time was gone. 

Tommy makes the pain-staking trip to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to retrieve his son’s body and his belongings.  Daniel had just begun his journey on the road of El camino de Santiago, The Way of St. James, a pilgrimage that millions have traveled over the last thousand years.  The journey can begin on any of a number of paths, but the destination is always Galicia, Spain, where some believe the remains of the apostle James are buried.  Depending on the origin of one’s journey, the pilgrimage can take weeks to months. 

Tommy arrives in France and decides to have his son’s body cremated for the return trip.  He begins looking through his son’s backpack at the things he’d chosen to take with him on his journey of discovery.  It’s perhaps the first time in a long time that Tommy had taken a few moments to really study his son. 

And we can’t help but think about how we’re spending the days of our own short lives. 

Tommy decides to honor his son by taking him on the journey anyway.  He throws the backpack over his shoulders, the box of ashes tucked safely inside, and he sets out to make the 500-mile trek in his son’s stead. 

Tommy reluctantly picks up a few friends along the way, each of whom has their own reasons for traveling The Way.  But their reasons seem rather selfish and superficial compared to the heavy burden that Tommy carries. 

The others approach their goals half-heartedly, but Tommy remains steadfast in his mission to do this last loving act for his son. 

As they all reached their destination together, it occurred to me that the only one who successfully accomplished what he set out to do was the one who, in love, set out to do something for someone else. 

It was too late to reconcile with his son, but through choosing this unselfish and loving act he gains much more—a heart of forgiveness, humility, love, and peace.

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another."  John 13:34

Jesus made this statement to the apostles the evening He had washed their feet.  He didn’t just say He loved them, He became their servant.  That is what God says love really is and this is the way we’re to live our lives. 

It’s love that gives us the strength to do the hard thing--the ability to lay aside our pride and our own lives in order to finish what God’s called us to do. 

We are all on a journey called life, and loving others is what makes life worth living. The specific ways we’re called to sacrifice throughout our lives may sometimes go against all common sense.  Sometimes we may just not feel like it, just like Tommy didn’t feel like going on the trip with his son.  But God says that by choosing to live a life of sacrifice we’ll gain a lot more that we ever gave up.

As I watched the movie I couldn’t help but also make comparison to Christ and the road He walked in our steads, too.  Like the story, while we were dead in our sins, Christ embarked on a journey for us, a journey we couldn’t take ourselves.  He journeyed to the cross and laid down His life for us to purchase our souls from hell. 

It was His love for His Father and for us that kept Him steadfast on the road to an agonizing death.  But to Him, the reward of giving us eternal life made the journey worth it.

Question4U: What is one thing you can do to live your life more unselfishly?

Blessings and Love,

Dorci

The Day Jesus Came In a Tiny, Little Package

I stood at the counter listening to the whir of the blenders thinking about the day ahead.  Dreading the day ahead.  It was going to be one of those days, a day you’d hoped would never come.  And yet, here it was. 

Our dog, Jake, seemed to have gotten old overnight. His eyes were cloudy and his hair was thinning. He no longer pulled the toilet paper from off the roll and into the hallway to chew on for as long as he could get away with it.  Food didn’t interest him anymore.  Except cookies. He always had an appetite for cookies.  His body had lived a good, long fifteen years and now it was time to let him go.

So I stood there, choking back the tears, waiting to drown my sorrows in an iced three-shot espresso with milk and lots of chocolate.   And then I heard a tiny voice behind me say “hello.”

I turned around and saw a little round face sweetly smiling up at me.  I couldn’t help but smile back and return the greeting.  And for a moment my tears were kept at bay.

The kindness of this three-year-old boy shined a light into my dreary day.

He didn’t move mountains; he didn’t lead an army; he didn’t preach a great sermon.  He simply smiled and helped me through a painful day.  And to me, that was a lot. 

I left with my drink and an unexpected shot of strength and hope to get through the day. 

I'll never forget Jake.  I'll miss the way he got under my feet while I was trying to make dinner.  I'll miss the ridiculous mess he made in the three-foot radius around his food dish.  But mostly I’ll miss the unconditional love he gave that got me through many difficult days and how he taught me about Jesus.   

And I'll never forget the day I made another little friend, a friend who helped me smile even when I didn’t think I could.

He’ll never know what that meant to me.  But I hope someday he knows he was Jesus for me in a tiny, cute, little package.

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”

Matthew 25:37-40

Joyfully Living a Sacrificial Life

A few months ago I put up a new gadget on the side of my blog where readers can post their own ideas for blog topics. I was thrilled a few weeks ago when I saw I actually had a taker. And then I saw the topic: joyfully living a sacrificial life. Oh my. Not your typical fluffy topic. I can’t even pretend to be an expert on this, but the Lord is, so I’ve been praying and thinking about it ever since, asking for His wisdom.

Living a life of sacrifice can be difficult enough, but to do it joyfully? Well, that’s a whole other ball of wax. But I’ll tell you what the Lord has shown me. We can sacrifice in the flesh or we can sacrifice in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus tells us, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:9-11)

Jesus said that if we keep His commandments as He kept His Father’s, we will abide in His love and that our joy would be complete. Don’t misunderstand, God’s love for us never waivers. But we leave a degree of our love for Him when we choose to disobey and then we will find a measure of our joy is gone.

What are those commandments?

1. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37)

2. “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13)

The more we love God the more we will love His people. And as we continue showing love for one another, we will abide in Christ’s love and we will be filled with joy. And loving others requires sacrifice.

There is no joy sacrificing in the flesh.

Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The first part of these verses speak to the bondage of sin in our lives. When left unchecked and unrepented of, it becomes a weight, keeping us from moving forward in our spiritual maturity and usefulness in God’s hands.

When we get out of the will of God, either by allowing sin to reside in our lives, or by sacrificing in a way He has not called us to, the power of the Holy Spirit cannot lead us and the sacrifice is done in the flesh--with our own strength and our wisdom, which are no strength or wisdom at all. This is a sure-fire way to burn out in our faith and lose our joy.

Sacrificing in the power of the Holy Spirit brings joy.

When we throw off that weight, choosing not to sin and when we do, being quick to repent, even of those insidious sins that we may think of as harmless, those thoughts that form in our minds that we can nurture, like jealousy or unforgiveness, then we can move forward in our faith, walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, giving our lives as a sacrifice in God’s strength and wisdom.

Jesus lived a life of sacrifice that culminated in the ultimate act of sacrifice: giving of His very own physical life. He fulfilled the commandment to love others as He laid down His life, and not even just for His friends, but for the world, even while we still hated Him.

But He didn’t focus on the suffering of His sacrifice. He obeyed His Father and endured suffering for the joy that was set before Him. He focused on His reward, on the fruit of His suffering. And that reward was us. He knew that because of His obedience to the Father to give up His life He was purchasing our souls from the pit of hell and that ultimate sacrifice brought Him ultimate joy.

God’s ways are always contrary to our nature and to the world’s way of doing things. Our nature and the world tells us that to be happy we must fulfill our own desires.

But God tells us that when we sacrifice our lives, dying to our own personal desires so that we can allow Christ to love others through us on this earth, fulfilling greater missions than our own comfort, we will be filled with real joy.

Conversely, when we focus on self, when we allow sin to govern our lives, we forgo love of others, we do not abide in Christ’s love, and that brings spiritual separation, depression, fear and loneliness.

God doesn’t require most of us to sacrifice to the point of giving our lives through physical death. We are to be living sacrifices for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are hundreds of ways we can sacrifice our lives every day, but each one boils down to showing love for another.

Joni Eareckson Tada

Joni Eareckson Tada, a woman who became a quadriplegic at the age of 17 after diving into shallow water and suffering a spinal cord injury, is a great example of a life given over to the Lord in humble and joyful sacrifice.

Because of her injury, Joni had been forced to sacrifice much of her independence, her previous love of playing sports, even being able to wipe her own nose. You’d think the sacrifice she was forced to make (yet more than willingly and lovingly submits to her Heavenly Father) was enough. But in one particular book I read about her life she says that, among other things, she has given up eating French fries. Why? Because her husband and friends must lift her in and out of her wheelchair and she wants to be mindful of her weight for them. Now that is love. She shows the love she has for others by choosing to give up her right to eat what she wants for them.

When we willingly give our lives to the Lord, sacrificing in the will and power of the Holy Spirit, that is when we look, act, see, think and feel most like the Lord.

We have two choices every day.

1. We can try to fill our lives with temporary, earthly pleasures to try to find happiness—a hollow counterfeit of the real joy we were meant to have in Christ.

2. We can abide in the love of Christ, allowing Him to love others through us as we lay down our own wants and desires for the glory of God and for His kingdom.

Finding joy in sacrifice doesn’t mean it will be fun. Sometimes it will be downright agonizing work. But as we continue walking in the Holy Spirit, praying and reading God's Word and abiding in His love through obedience, the joy we will have will be evident and deeply satisfying within our spirit.  We must remember to keep our focus on heaven, sending up our treasures ahead of us through our sacrifice for the joy set before us--glorifying the Lord now and abiding with Him forever.

I'm All Ears

Larry King recently aired his last show after 25 years. I’ve wondered what made him such a long-standing success. Even he has said that all he’s done is ask questions, but I think that's only part of it.

I think what’s made Larry King and the show so well-received is that he listens. He doesn’t gab, he doesn’t try to steal the limelight; he simply asks a question and then he listens. And that allows the guest to pour out their heart, and we, then, have a chance to hear it.

Jesus is a good listener, too. I think about the time He passed by the pool at the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem where many of the sick went, believing that if they were the first to step into the waters when they were stirred by an angel, they would be healed.

Scripture says that a great multitude of people who were sick, blind, lame and withered lay near the pool, and yet Jesus apparently spoke to only one--a man who had been ill for 38 years. Why did Jesus choose him out of the rest? I believe it’s because Jesus listened to his heart. Jesus knew without a word that this man had laid there for a very long time. He knew that he truly desired to be healed and that he had no one else to help him.

And so He asked him, “Do you desire to be made whole?”

And the man answered, “Sir, when the water is troubled, I have no one to put me into the pool. But while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

Jesus heard his heart--that is, He comprehended the pain and longing in this man’s heart--and He had compassion on him and said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And he did. (John 5:2-9)

Because Jesus slowed down and listened, a man was healed.

We live in a very noisy and busy world with many hurting people. A lot of people talk, but not many listen. I can’t tell you how many times someone has walked past me, asked me how I was doing, and barely slowed down long enough to hear the answer. Many of those times I was hurting and needed a friend. It’s not their fault; I don’t blame them. We all get caught up in our noisy, busy worlds and we forget to listen.

What’s more, we forget to really hear. We forget to listen with real compassion and empathy.

How many hurting people do we pass by every day? How many of those people are members our very own family, whether by blood or by Spirit? Do we hear the struggle in their words or the pain in their voice?

How much strength could another person find to get through their trial, how much joy, how much love could we bless another with who is in pain just by listening?

I know when I’ve been hurting I don’t necessarily need someone to fix the problem for me, I just need someone to listen and to care and maybe even take just a moment to pray with me.  What a tremendous blessing it is when someone does.

We need to be real with one another about the difficulties we’re going through, and we need to allow others to be real with us. We need to live out Galatians 6:2 which says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the Law of Christ.”

Jesus always hears our hearts whether another person does or not. And He always listens with a compassionate ear. We become more like Him when we slow down and show the same love and compassion toward others whose hearts need a friend. 

How has someone blessed you by listening?

Dorci

He Hears You When You're Praying

I thought I had shared this story here before but I couldn’t find it when I searched.  Whether you've heard it or not, I pray the Holy Spirit will speak to your heart in a fresh and personal way.

*       *       *

My husband and I were facing our second Christmas after we became Christians. Just a few months before I had quit my job to stay home and raise our son, who was a little more than a year and a half.

On paper we didn’t have the money to support ourselves, but I felt strongly that God wanted me home and I wanted to be there. We had faith that He would honor our obedience and that He would take care of us.

That faith was tested as Christmas day neared and we had no money to buy gifts for our precious son. He was still so young that he really didn’t understand that he would be missing out on Christmas morning, but we knew. And so I turned to the Lord.

I sat down in the living room one day while my husband was at work and just talked to the Lord. I was open and honest and poured out my heart to Him. I told Him we had no money (of course He already knew that) and that I knew the only way Eric would have any presents on Christmas morning would be if He gave them Himself, and so I asked Him if He would do that very thing. As far as I know, no one else knew about our situation.

Christmas morning came and we still hadn’t found a way to buy presents. My husband and I and our smiley, little Eric got up and started our day like it was any day, making breakfast and going about our usual routine, but joyful to celebrate the birth of our Lord.

And then there was a knock on the door.

All three of us went to the door and opened it. It was our next door neighbor. She explained that they had looked out their front window and noticed that in their driveway there was a Christmas tree and some boxes. When they went outside to have a look, they saw that there were some lights and ornaments for the tree. And there were gifts.

But she said they knew the gifts weren’t for them. They had two daughters who were older. The gifts were for a little boy, our little boy. She said they knew we went to church and thought maybe someone from the congregation had left them for us and just missed our driveway by one. (Personally, I think it was a divine “mistake,” so that God could reveal His grace in the eyes of our neighbors, too.) They handed us the tree and the gifts and I stood there stunned with tears in my eyes.

My Father had heard my prayer. I had reached out to Him in faith and He had blessed me by blessing our son…His son. He hadn’t seen it as a silly or frivolous prayer. What He saw was a heart that believed in Him and was reaching out to Him in faith in a time of need.

We set up the tree, gave our son his gifts and sat in awe as we comprehended the heart of our Lord. It was His birthday and yet He was blessing us. That was 20 years ago and it’s still the most precious Christmas I've ever had. In the world’s eyes we were poor, but in Christ we couldn’t have been richer.

I hope you know God loves you and He hears you when you call out to Him.  And I hope you know the riches of Christ this Christmas and always.

“Blessed be the LORD, because He has heard the voice of my supplications! The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. The LORD is their strength, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed. Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance; shepherd them also, and bear them up forever.” (Psalm 28:6-9)

Blessings!
Dorci

Operation Christmas Child

Can you believe it's November already?  Before you know it'll be Thanksgiving and then Christmas is right around the corner.  Maybe you're thinking about how you can help others who are far less fortunate than we are during this season of giving. 

Samaritan's Purse is a 40-plus year old, non-denominational Christian, philanthropical organization whose President and CEO is Franklin Graham, the son of Billy and Ruth Bell Graham.  Samaritan's Purse works tirelessly throughout the year to bring aid to the poor, sick and suffering around the world. 

At Christmastime every year, Samaritan's Purse launches Operation Christmas Child, an outreach where they take in shoe boxes filled with gifts and send them to children in need all over the world. This is where you come in.  It's simple: 

1. Pack a Shoe Box

Just grab a shoe box or a small plastic container, fill it with simple toys, school supplies, hygiene items, certain types of candy and even a personal note, if you wish.  Include a check for $7 to cover the cost of shipping.  Or use the EZGIVE option below. 

2. Download a Label

Download a label that shows whether your box is for a boy or a girl and the age range the gifts are appropriate for. 

3. Drop It Off

Enter your zip code on the website and it'll show you your nearest drop-off location. 

4. Follow Your Box

If you pay for shipping online using EZGIVE, you can follow your box online. 

And that's it!  Last year Operation Christmas Child fulfilled Christmas dreams for 8 million underprivileged children. I don't know of a more worthy organization and better way to bless others as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and all the ways He's blessed us.

Collection week for the shoe boxes is coming up quickly, November 15-22.

Take a look at just how easy it is:

12 Ways to Help Combat Depression

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13MKJV)

Two weeks ago I posted a blog called Depression in the Believer. I’d like to follow that up with some things that I’ve recognized over the years that have helped me when I’m feeling depressed. Most of these things are just common sense, but I hope they’ll be a reminder and an encouragement to you (and to myself) to put them into practice.

Please understand that I’m not at all trying to simplify depression and I’m not negating the need for a professional counselor or medication when necessary. But I believe that these are absolute imperatives in the believer’s life even when further assistance is needed.

1. Pray
Now, I know that sounds obvious, but remember, wishing is not praying, dreaming is not praying, and thinking about praying is not praying. Sometimes it’s hard to hunker down and really pray because my thoughts can be going a million miles a minute, especially when I’m feeling depressed. So set aside a “date” with the Lord each day, time when you will sit down with Him and let it all out and when you can receive from Him. He will give you wisdom IF you’ll put your trust in Him. And don’t forget to put on that attitude of prayer, so that you learn to talk to Him throughout the day about anything and everything that comes up.
     a. Give Thanks
          Do it often and about everything.
     b. Ask for Forgiveness
          I think we let a lot of sins slide, thinking that since we barely noticed God probably didn’t, either.  But He does and we grieve the Holy Spirit when we sin. Confess those sins so that they don’t separate you from a Holy God; so that the enemy does not gain a foothold in your life; and so that the guilt does not add to your depression.
     c. Forgive
          Not only does God's Word say that if we forgive, then we will be forgiven (Luke 6:37), but unforgiveness will turn to bitterness and will eat you alive.  It will steal your trust and faith and joy. Forgiveness isn't saying that what the other person did is okay.  It's letting go so that they don't continue have control in your life.  As they saying goes, forgiveness sets a prisoner free, and that prisoner is me.  Trust God to take care of the other person in the way that only He can.

2. Read the Bible
Again, very obvious, I know. But are you making time for other reading materials, yet little or no time for God’s Word? The Bible is God’s main avenue of speaking to you. Open His Word every day and let it cleanse your heart.  And don't just read it, study it.  Know it like the back of your hand so that the Holy Spirit can teach you and then bring it to your mind when you need it. 

3. Put Away the Secular Music
I know, a lot of you are booing at me right now and saying there’s nothing wrong with some secular music. But, if you’re feeling depressed, secular music can be to us what junk food is to a person who’s trying to lose weight. You get full on that and have no room for what’s actually good for you. So put away the music of the world and drench yourself in music that will glorify the Lord and will encourage you to sing out in praise and worship of your Lord, too.

4. Speaking of Junk Food…
Put it away, too, and eat food that’s going to nourish your body – lots of protein, fruits and vegetables. Chips and 3 Musketeers bars make us feel good in the moment, but in the long run they’ll make us crash and burn. If you have to have some (chocolate is my buddy) limit it to a very small amount. I’m working on replacing refined sugars with fruit instead.

5. Go to Church
I know when you’re feeling depressed that the last thing you want to do sometimes is get out of the house, even to go to church. But do it anyway. Your body is not the boss of you. You need to be spiritually fed and you need the fellowship. And get out of the house during the week, too. Just breathing in the fresh air and feeling the sun shining down on my face can give me a whole new perspective.  If you don't have a home church, please, pray that God will lead you to one.  The Christian faith was never meant to be lived on individual islands.  We were meant to co-exist and serve one another as part of the body of Christ. 

6. And While You’re Out of the House..
Help Someone. Serve at church. Pray with someone. Mail a letter or a card. You never know how the Lord will use you in the life of another person if you ask Him to. And getting our eyes off of ourselves and onto another person will do wonders for your morale and theirs.

7. Exercise
I didn’t say run a marathon (unless you want to!), but any amount of consistent exercise will increase endorphins and help you feel better. Hey, if you wear an IPod you can combine #s 1, 3, 6 and 7! I’m so resourceful.  :)

8. Get Some Sleep
As a chronic insomniac, I know how hard this is. But I also know how much better I feel on a day when I’ve had decent sleep as opposed to a day when there’s been only a few hours. Night and day. Try to get into a routine of getting ready for bed. Don’t eat sweets before bedtime. Try some herbal things if your doctor approves and if it doesn’t interfere with any prescription medications. (Do your homework and double check with your pharmacist on that one.) Just taking magnesium before bed helps me to relax and get to sleep.

9. Take a Shower and Get Dressed
Depression has a way of sapping our energy even to drag ourselves into the shower sometimes. It’s easier to just stay in the jammies. Do it anyway, you’ll thank yourself.  (And I bet your family will, too!) 

10. Laugh
Throughout my childhood and most of my adulthood, people were always asking me why I laughed so much. If something’s funny, I really do LOL. I never knew what answer to give anyone until well into my adulthood. (Most people I’ve known for a long time now and they don’t ask so much anymore.) But I realize that because of the very difficult circumstances in my life, God has given me a built-in survival mechanism, and that’s a ready laugh. Laughing produces endorphins just like exercising does, it helps you get your mind off your problems, if even for a few moments, and it helps you to see the lighter side of life. So all you people who’ve ever asked me that, that’s why.  So watch a funny movie, hang out with your family and friends and giggle it up.

11. Discover Your Own Personal Stressors
Pay attention to your own body, soul and spirit and recognize those things that bring you down, such as certain types of music or movies, being around certain people, eating or drinking particular types of food or drinks, being too stimulated by technology and not allowing yourself enough quiet time, etc.

12. Get Up Tomorrow and Do It All Again
Once is not enough. You didn’t start feeling this way overnight and you’re not going to feel better overnight. Be disciplined and consistent to participate with the Lord in overcoming feelings of depression. Ask Him if there are things you’re allowing in your life that are contributing to your depression. God made your body, mind and spirit and He knows what you need and if you don’t give your body those things you will feel the consequences. But I believe the Lord will meet us more than half way if we’ll partner with Him. I’m in this with you. If you need prayer, please, please, please let someone know. I would be absolutely honored to pray for you if you would leave a comment or send me an email.

I’d love to hear any of your suggestions on what’s helped you with feelings of depression, too. Don’t forget, we serve the Almighty God Who created the heavens and the earth and you and me. He loves you more than you can imagine.

“But it is just as the Scriptures say, ‘What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!’” (1 Cor. 2:9 CEV)

Are you finding that perfect gift?

We go to amazing lengths to find just the right gifts for our children, our spouses, our parents, and that friend who you really, really want to buy something for, but have no idea what, don’t we?

We scour the ads in the Sunday papers and compare prices. We hunt online, clickity-clicking away till our eyes are bloodshot. We spend hours shopping and braving the crowds and exhaustion, while living on nothing but chips and a 44 oz. thirstbuster on the go. If we remember we throw in a banana to keep our legs from seizing up on us.

And finally, maybe a couple of days before Christmas, we think we’ve found the perfect gifts. We carefully wrap them with the most appropriate paper for each recipient. We thoughtfully word a pretty Christmas card or label a tag and attach it. We put them under the tree or mail them (hopefully on time, and that may mean standing in a long line at the post office).

All that’s done, hopefully, with a heart of love. Sometimes out of obligation, but the amount of work is the same.

I wonder if we spend that much energy seeking the perfect gifts that come from our Heavenly Father?

James tells us in James 1:7 that, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

The interesting thing I found is, the two words “gift” are two different Greek words.

“Good gift” is talking about the act of giving. God gives us what will benefit us, and never out of obligation.

“Perfect gift” is talking about a complete bestowment. God gives us gifts of completeness, in other words, spiritual growth that leads to maturity. Yes, that includes trials.

And God gives us gifts that allow us to be useful in the kingdom of God.

Do we seek after these gifts with as much fervor? Do we ask the Lord to give us power to use our gifts to bless others? I pray we do.

Our Father, our provider, loves us so much that He will give us everything we need for a good life so that we are able to grow up in Him, never lacking a thing. And He is not a fickle God. He never changes, but His goodness and light are as bright as always and ever shall be. We can have confidence in Him and in the gifts He has and will provide for us.

They will sometimes be wrapped in a pretty package that fills us with delight and smiles. And sometimes they’ll be wrapped in pain or sorrow instead of a happy bow, but they are always wrapped in His goodness and faithfulness and love. And they will always fill us with joy if we seek to know the perfect gift within.

Gifting at Christmastime

Hello, bloggy friends.  With the holidays upon us, I'd like to share with you a couple of ways that you can help some precious children enjoy their Christmas a little bit more by blessing them with some basic items and toys that they would not otherwise have the ability to receive.

The first is Operation Christmas Child which is sponsered by Samaritan's Purse.  You can fill a shoebox with the needed items such as school supplies and hygiene items along with small toys and a personal note and then take it to a drop off location in your area.  You can find the instructions here.  The week to drop of your shoebox of smiles is November 16th - November 23rd.  So get a-crackin'!

The other organization I'd like to recommend to you is Compassion International.  Even if you don't normally sponsor a child through them, you can still contribute to their Christmas Gift Program.  100% of your donation will be pooled with all the monies collected and representatives will buy gifts for all the children in the child sponsorship program.  I couldn't find a deadline to give for this on their website, but they are obviously always in need of donations. 

Both of these organizations are based on giving in the name of Jesus Christ and are a wonderful way to not only share the joy of Jesus through giving, but it's also a great way to get our children and grandchildren involved in the joys of giving - and to remind us of those same joys.  

Let the giving begin!

God bless,

Dorci