Monday, December 10, 2007

Gift Ideas...

This is an exert form a devotional Shorty Bear sent me...


1. A homemade gift. Giving something you make represents time and effort invested on the recipient’s behalf. Each year, we make hot chocolate for our neighbors, scoop it into decorated mason jars and deliver it to their doorstep. The best part is ringing the doorbell and the running like crazy! Our neighbors love it and it has become a prized family tradition.

2. A treasured gift. Give something you already have, something that is of special value to you. Not your junk, but your treasure. Don’t ask the question, “What can I buy for Sally?” Ask the question, “What do I have that would mean a lot to Sally?” My pastor husband once mentioned in a sermon that he collects old Bibles. The next Christmas, one of our church members gave him an old and cherished family Bible. It is still one of Dan’s most precious gifts.

3. A gift of time. When we give thirty minutes of time, we are giving thirty minutes of life. While Dan was in seminary, we were always short on time and money. When Christmas came, one of our friends handed us a Christmas card with his gift inside, a coupon good for one afternoon of babysitting each week for the whole year. To this day, I still remember how thrilled I was when Scott handed us that card. Give a gift of time spent in prayer for a friend or an afternoon of errands run for an older friend. Time is a precious gift.

4. A gift of encouragement. Tell someone what they mean to you. Write it down so they can read your encouraging words several times. Writing it down can help you say it better and requires more time and thought. You can also make a tape or CD of encouraging words and thoughts for those who can’t see well or for that hurried mom who spends much of her life in a car. In my bible, I have several notes tucked as bookmarks for special verses; notes of encouragement that have keep me on my feet during difficult times.

5. A blind gift. Give a gift to someone you don’t even know; a gift that is given in Jesus’ name, just because you love Him. I recently read an article about a millionaire who sets aside large sums of money at Christmas. Dressed in a disguise, he then walks the streets, pressing $100 bills into the hands of the needy. “It makes my whole year,” he says.

6. A secret gift. Give a gift to someone you know without them knowing who gave it. Give with no hidden motive and with no possible benefit to yourself. Like most newlyweds, Dan and I were on an extremely tight budget during the first years of marriage. At one point, we had no money for groceries, a fact we shared with no one but God. We wanted to see what He would do. Returning from church one Sunday night, we started up the steps to our mobile home. There, on the sidewalk, was a brown package. We hurriedly ripped off the paper to find a brick with two $100 bills taped to each side. We still don’t know who gave us that gift, but every time I think of them, I ask God to bless them for their secret gift.

I thought this was a great list of ideas.
~d

1 comment:

Denise said...

I love you dear one.

Older women likewise teach the younger women...

• how to love their husbands
• how to love their children
• how to be self-controlled
• how to be pure
• how to be keepers at home
• how to be kind and submissive (not subservient) to their own husbands. (See Titus 2:3-5)

Blog Archive

By Maya Angelou

'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ
That a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not shouting 'I'm clean living,'
I'm whispering 'I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say.. 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain...
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace, somehow!

Words have power. Here are a few of my favorite sayings.

  • A warm cup of tea is like a cuddle with a friend.
  • The North American Indians have a more eloquent word for ‘friend’ than we do in English. In their language, the word for friend literally means, “the one who carries my sorrows on his back.”
  • Return with Honor
  • The sage anticipates things that are difficult while they are easy, and does things that would become great while they are small. All difficult things in the world are sure to arise from a previous state in which they were easy, and all great things from one in which they were small. Therefore the sage, while he never does what is great, is able on that account to accomplish the greatest things."
  • "HOME IS WHERE YOUR STORY BEGINS"
  • “Live so that when your children hear these words they think of you… Fairness Caring Integrity Honesty Love Trust.”
  • "O Lord help my words to be gracious and tender today, for tomarrow I may have to eat them."
  • "No man has ever been shot while doing the dishes"
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This was given to me for the third time in just a few weeks.

Zephaniah 3:17 NLT
"For the LORD your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song."

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