MY EARLY CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

My daughter has been torturing me for several weeks now. She has gotten me a couple of Christmas presents that she knows I will just love. Everyone she has told has said, "Wow! Where did you find that?" She is so excited about these gifts...the perfect gifts! What she doesn't know is that she has already given me the best gift...her excitement, her search for just the right things...that is reflective of the love she has for me. It fills me with wonder and awe and gratitude!

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This morning I called a friend to check on her dad's progress. He had been through a serious surgery with complications afterward. He almost died. She shared with me that just the other day, when she went to leave, he told her he loved her. She couldn't remember having ever heard him say that before. It was a precious gift that she received...hearing those words. And sharing in the wonder of this gift with her....well, it just left my heart full and bowed in prayer, if that makes sense. All day, as I have reflected on her story, I have felt the miraculous.

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I know it has been said more eloquently than I can, but sometimes, the best gifts aren't found underneath a tree.

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Image taken from here.

CAN SOMEONE HELP ME UNDERSTAND?

More and more, I am seeing palm trees as stand alone Christmas decorations. I could see if they are placed by a nativity scene to more accurately reflect the plant life from the region where Jesus was born. But what is the significance of a stand alone palm tree? Can anyone help me out here?

Image taken from here.

HAVE YOURSELF A RADICAL LITTLE CHRISTMAS!

All the streets are filled with laughter and light

And the music of the season

And the merchant's windows are all bright

With the faces of the children

And the families hurry into their homes

As the sky darkens and freezes

We'll be gathering around our hearths and tables

Giving thanks for all God's graces

And the birth of the rebel Jesus

O they call Him by the Prince of Peace

And they call Him by the Savior

And they pray to Him upon the seas

And in every bold endeavor

As they fill His churches with their pride and gold

And their faith in Him increases

But they've turned the nature that I worship in

From a temple to a robber's den

In the words of the rebel Jesus

We guard our world with locks and guns

And we guard our fine possessions

And once a year when Christmas comes

We give to our relations

And perhaps we give a little to the poor

If the generosity should seize us

But if any one of us should interfere

In the business of why they are poor

They get the same as the rebel Jesus

But pardon me if I have seemed

To take the tone of judgement

For I've no wish to come between

This day and your enjoyment

In this life of hardship and of earthly toil

There's a need for anything that frees us

So I bid you pleasure

And I bid you cheer

From a heathen and a pagan

On the side of the rebel Jesus.

WORDS BY JACKSON BROWNE

Image taken from here.

I LIKED IT

I just finished reading this book and I really liked it! I have read alot of books on marriage and relationships and this is by far, the best! This book does a great job of applying the gospel to marriage, or any relationship for that matter, and puts Jesus Christ right at the center.

Image taken from here.

CONFESSION OF A SINNER

The other day in a post, I encouraged the giving of the gift of mercy this Christmas season. So, today I thought I might put a picture of a present for each time I have extended mercy since Monday, the day of my post. There were the ones I gave to my co-workers, a couple extended to friends and family.

And then, I had a thought that HORRIFIED me. I began to wonder how many of these "gifts of mercy" might have been gifted to me without my awareness? What if these gifts were overflowing from underneath my Christmas tree as I smugly sat recounting the half dozen or so I had gifted? I also thought of the many, many mercies You have gifted to me. If I took the rest of my life, I could not even begin to recount them all.

And I wept.

THESAURICALLY SPEAKING.....

Last night my daughter and I were on our way home from a Bible study. She said, "Mom, did you realize you talk like a Thesaurus?!" She went on to describe how I added synonym after synonym while expressing my thoughts.

My daughter, offspring, heir, descendant had me laughing, jovially expressing myself so hard, vigorously, intensely at her depiction, representation, portrayal of me talking, discussing, conversing.

But seriously, I have no clue as to why she would think that!

Image taken from here

CONSIDER GIVING THIS FOR CHRISTMAS

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:

It blesses him that gives and him that takes.

-William Shakespeare "The Merchant of Venice"

BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEY SHALL RECEIVE MERCY. - Matthew 5:7

image taken from here