I love getting good gifts. I love it when someone has put a lot of thought into a gift for me. A few Christmas' ago, my sister bought me a birds nest necklace with two bird eggs (symbolizing Addison and Finn) and it brought me to tears. She knew that I had complimented her necklace for years and I had always secretly wanted one of my very own. This was a gift that could not be bought in a store because her friend custom makes the necklaces and this one had been customized especially for me. The entire gift brought me to tears and it was my favorite gift that Christmas.
I also really enjoy giving good gifts. It was not so long ago that my husband and I could not afford to give each other gifts for Christmas. Even gifting each other a $20 fast food gift card was too much for us. We sacrificed our gifts to make Christmas a bit sweeter for our children. During those years, we gifted each other hand written letters and placed them in each others stockings. We were fortunate enough to be able to purchase gifts for each other this Christmas. We stuck to the 4 gift limit like we did for our children (which I loved and I will be doing in the future). The 4 gift limit encouraged me to put extra thought into what each person wanted and this was true for my husband as well.
I have noticed that each time we visited the stores at Clemson, SC (his favorite college team) he oohed and ahhed over the sports memorabilia and the photos of the greatest moments of the Clemson football team. He had always said that he wanted pictures like this to grace his office. While searching for a framed picture of the Clemson Stadium in my price range, I quickly discovered that it wasn't going to be possible to purchase this gift for him this Christmas. However, I discovered the framed picture of Hunter Renfrow scoring the winning touchtown for the 2016 National Championship game. This picture was in my price range, but I was still a little uneasy as I was shopping on Amazon and this vendor was not supported by Amazon Prime and there were very little reviews from this vendor. I put my fears aside and purchased the picture anyway. I was so relieved when the picture arrived wrapped in bubble wrap and everything was legit! I showed my children who (thankfully) kept this gift a surprise and we all couldn't wait to gift it to Spunky on Christmas morning. I could not wait to gift it to my husband!!!
I noticed him looking at the picture all day. He was like a little kid with a new bike, he showed everyone who visited our home on Christmas and called his mother in FL to tell her about the gift as well. My heart swelled knowing that he was truly happy with his gift !
My friend, giving good gifts is how God feels when we spend time with him. God delights in us and he loves hearing from us, just like we enjoy receiving good gifts.
"For the Lord takes pleasure in his people. Psalms 149:4A
"The Lord your God is among you, a warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will be quiet in his love. He will delight in you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17
God loves it when we spend time in his word and speaking with him. He loves it when we speak of Him to others and sing his praises. He loves it when we acknowledge Him in the good times and in the bad times.
"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
My sweet friend, may I encourage you to devote a daily quiet time? Spend time falling in love with God. He desires for you to have a relationship with you. Devoting a daily quiet time does not have to take more than 10 minutes of your day. I will be posting more about this in the near future, but for now Check out the First 5 App by Proverbs 31 Ministries. Simply devote 5 minutes out of your day by reading this devotional and praying each day. Just see what a difference this will make each day.
"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." James 4:8A
Until next time....
Oh sweet friend! How touching, encouraging and, most of all, showing YOUR heart to anyone who reads this. You are one special lady! A special gift to anyone who knows you!
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