One Gift

December 23, 2011


"For God loved the world so much that He gave His one
and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but
have eternal life." John 3:16

How many gifts will you receive this Christmas? I know, I know, that's a highly inappropriate question. Perhaps an even more ill-suited conversation starter is, how many gifts will your children receive on Christmas day?

Our children will receive an abundance of loot over the next forty-eight hours. They'll move from one gift to the next unable to fully embrace or appreciate any one particular item because their internal drive forces them to keep going, to keep unwrapping, to keep searching for the next best thing. Each year I witness our children's gratitude weaken; the significance of each gift minimized as they make their way through a multitude of presents.

I experience the same dilemma. The abundance of activity during the holiday season--shopping, buying, wrapping, decorating, caroling, baking, visiting, packing, more shopping and wrapping, traveling--causes me to lose sight of the true reason for the season. Rather than focusing on the most significant gift I've ever received--the gift of my salvation--the hysteria of the holidays robs me of my focus and adoration for my Savior.

God loved the world so much that He gave us one gift--His one and only Son--so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Feeling overwhelmed this past week I prayed that God would hush the world around me and remind me of His one true Gift. I recently taught a four-week Bible study which revealed multiple treasures God bestowed us through the birth of His Son (see the Free Resources tab to download the handout from each lesson). But each of those gifts came from the same hand, from the life of One.

As my thoughts grew still I realized it isn't until everything else--the shopping, the gifts, the packing list--is removed that I truly appreciate my one gift. I recognized a similarity between my children and me, and for the first time I began to consider what would happen if my children received just one gift for Christmas.

Did you roll your eyes? I thought some might but I invite you to stay with me for a moment.

My children receive gifts from family members. I am grateful for the generosity of family and friends, and I wouldn't begin to tell others to exclude our children at Christmastime. I realize that the giving and exchanging of gifts is one way to demonstrate our love for others.

I'm suggesting that our children receive one gift from my husband and me.

What if?

What if, when we celebrate Christmas with our immediate family, we each received one gift?

Two years ago my husband and I trimmed our children's Christmas list down to three gifts--after all, the wise men brought Jesus three gifts upon His birth (Matthew 2:1-11), why should we receive more than our King? But this year, we've trimmed our tree even more.

God gave us one gift at Christmas--not three, not one hundred and three. To my earlier point, many treasures came to us through that one gift--the gift of life, hope and peace to name a few. When my children receive one gift from mom and dad, won't they also receive the gift of simplification? of gratitude? of learning to embrace and appreciate one gift?

What if I follow God's lead?

What if we give our children one gift and give Jesus three?

Maybe you've seen the image circulating on Facebook--the one with a picture of starving children on one side and a picture of holiday shoppers with full carts (and full arms) on the other side. Beneath the photo reads, "Define necessity."

Just think of what we could do with the money made available by narrowing down our shopping list.

Yesterday our family chose to return this

$10 Barbie clothes

in exchange for this

feeding a hungry baby for a week.
(Photo courtesy of Samaritan's Purse 2011 Gift Catalog)

I share snapshots of our giving neither to boast nor to depict myself as a saint, but rather to demonstrate the power of a dollar . . . or in this case, of ten dollars.

Malachi 3:10 reads, "'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,' says the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies, 'I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will
pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in!
Try it! Put me to the test!'" Its the only place in Scripture God tells us to test Him. In essence God says, "Share generously with those in need. When you do, I will bless you so much you won't have room for it all." I know my God. He's an A+ student. He'll pass this test every time!

As the conclusion of a busy holiday season fast approaches I invite you to consider one gift. May God help us to unwrap the gift of Jesus on Christmas day as well as each day of the coming new year.

I'd love to hear from you. If you had to choose, what one gift would you like to receive this Christmas? How does your family take time to recognize the significance of each gift at Christmastime?

A Glimpse Into a Mother's Heart

December 22, 2011


"But Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often." Luke 2:19

Earlier this week I tagged along with my husband as he traveled to Dallas for a business trip. Back-to-back meetings for my husband left me free to roam our old stomping grounds. My first stop? The cemetery--to pay our daughter a Christmas visit.

On account of our relocation to Central Texas, nearly two years have passed since I last visited her. I arrived to the cemetery just after eight o'clock in the morning. Just me. No one else. No bereaved family members or friends visiting loved ones. Just an opportunity for some quality mother/daughter time.

I realize my daughter isn't really there. My faith allows me to rest knowing that her spirit, her soul, the part of her which God made to last for eternity is alive and very well in Heaven. The cemetery is simply the place I go to visit the most tangible memory of my daughter.

"Your flowers look weathered," I tell her. "I'll buy a replacement and return in a bit." As a mother, the chance to care for my child, to do something for her brought my heart tremendous joy.

Amidst visits with old friends and neighbors throughout the day I eventually made it to the store and returned to the cemetery with flowers--and a full heart--in hand.

"I'm back," I said to her. I placed the new flowers in her vase and pulled out a small wind-chime I purchased years ago and hung it on one of the stems. Sweet music chimed in the gentle breeze. Resting my hand on the ground one last time I whispered my goodbyes.

I hate that the body of one of my children resides in a cemetery. Driving down the dirt road which leads to my daughter's grave site fills my mind with wonderment and disbelief. But to visit my daughter at Christmas time is a gift I'll treasure this year. A simple gift. Just a mama caring for her child the best she knows how.

Merry Christmas my sweet one. May you rest in His arms tonight.

Telling Our Children

December 16, 2011


"And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you
are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and
when you are getting up." Deuteronomy 6:6-7

My husband and I did the deed last night--we told our children the truth about Santa Claus. They took the news quite well. To my husband's credit, he began by telling our children the true story of Saint Nicholas.

According to the St. Nicholas Center, Saint Nicholas, better known at an early age as simply Nicholas, became an orphan after his parents died in an epidemic. Nicholas' parents left him with a sizable sum of money, and enough godly faith and character to match his inheritance. Following the generosity of his Savior, Nicholas anonymously gave all he had to the poor. Eventually the church named Nicholas a Bishop; the day of his death still remembered as St. Nicholas day. Generations have honored Saint Nicholas by the exchanging of gifts; children by hanging socks over the fireplace in hopes that the generous Saint Nicholas might pay them, or at least their stockings, a visit.

It's a good story. The generosity of one man inspired countless others to give in a similar manner.

As I pondered the origins of our modern-day Santa Claus, I sat amazed by the influence of one man. Enamored by Saint Nicholas, parents told their children about him, and those children told their children, and so on. Hardly a Christmas passes without mention of the name St. Nick. Amazingly, born just 270 years after the birth of Christ, the story of Saint Nicholas continues strong today. We've told the story, and we've told it well.

But as I considered the faithfulness with which we've passed down the story of jolly ol' St. Nick, my heart sank with grief. For there exists a greater story which deserves to be told.

God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel--which means, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).

The legacy of Santa honors one who lived a generous life. How do we choose to honor the One who gave the most generous gift of all? We pass down through generations the story of a man who is deceased. What about the story of the Man who died on the cross for our sin but who rose again to live forever with God, interceding on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25)?

The prominence of Santa in our modern-day society proves that stories can indeed be passed from generation to generation. Good news withstands the test of time.

Let us not be remiss this Christmas, and every Christmas, when we
are at home and when we are on the road, when we are going to bed and
when we are getting up, to tell our children the true Good News, the Greatest story ever told.

Mary's Obedience

December 14, 2011


"And Mary said, 'Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from her." Luke 1:38 NASB

I recently asked the Lord to take me to the next place, to the next level in our relationship. I love the Lord but I want to love Him more. I trust God but I want to know Him by another name--ELOHIM (the Hebrew name for God), ADONAI (my Lord), EL-SHADDAI (God Almighty).

I knew my request would come with discomfort, challenge and discipline, as drawing nearer to God will always require further surrender myself and my ways. The past two weeks have been difficult. Two nights ago I cried myself to sleep. The Lord has burdened my heart for many things--scary things. My response? "But Lord, what about my kids?" It goes without saying that I would never intentionally place my children in the path of danger. However, as I consider reaching out to those bound by the enemy, my mommy-mind runs amuck with the potential harm that could come my family's way.

A few years ago I struggled to transition into the role of stay-at-home mom. It wasn't that I didn't want to be with my children, it was that staying at home meant that I had to surrender my idea of sustaining a career. Six years into the SAHM journey, I love serving as the primary caregiver and teacher of these precious ones. I love my role almost to a fault. I love my children. I want to be with them, provide for them, protect them at all costs. In my quest to go deeper with the Lord He has revealed to me that I have placed my children in a most precarious place: above my love and concern for Him.

Matthew 10:37 reads, "If you love your son or daughter more than Me, you are not worthy of being mine."

Ouch.

Its okay that I love my children. As parents God calls us to teach and to train our children, and to serve as a vessel through which He can pour His love for them. But God loves my children more than I ever could. His plans for my children exceed anything I can think to ask or imagine. Why, then, do I think God would call me to serve in a manner which would cause my children to fall out of the protection of His will for them? Why do I think that His will for me includes anything less than His best for my children?

In light of Christmas, I couldn't help but ponder the example of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

God sent the angel Gabriel to tell Mary that she would conceive and give birth to Jesus, the Son of God.

Consider Mary's plight. Wasn't she familiar with Scripture? God's Word is so deep and so wide that none can fully comprehend its meaning. However, I must believe that because of the prophets Mary knew enough of the Holy Writ to have an inkling as to what her--and her child's--future might hold if she followed in obedience.

Didn't Mary know the rejection and utter disdain that her Son would face? Didn't Mary know that her Son would endure a horrid death upon a cross? Didn't Mary know?

Mary could have said, "But God, if I fulfill the call you've placed on my life, my child (whose child?) will suffer. I think instead I'll spare Him the suffering by refusing to follow your lead."

But that's not how Mary responded. Mary recognized her place of humility before God. She surrendered to the fact that she could not change God's will for His Son. Mary did not challenge God's authority or question His plan or petition Him for another way. She simply responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true."

Oh, that I may respond to God's call with similar words. "Behold your bondslave; may it be done to me according to your word."

On account of Mary's obedience, God delivered Salvation to the world. Who knows what God may accomplish through our obedience?

I do not know what God has in store for my children (whose children?). I do know God will never call them to suffer as much as He did His own Son--to bear the sins of the world.

My
earnest prayer for my children is Colossians 1:9-11, which read, "We
have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about
you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give
you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will
always honor and please the Lord, and your
lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will
grow as you learn to know God better and better.
We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power
so you will have all the endurance and patience you need."

I beleive the most abundant life we'll ever live is the life God ordained for us. The one sure way for my children to fulfill God's call on
their lives is to watch their mama walk in obedience to fulfill God's call on her own life.

Father, I must ask forgiveness for my lack of trust in You. Thank you for revealing an area of my heart which offends you. Help me to trust you with your children. Help me to love you so much that I am willing to follow you wherever you go. In Jesus name, Amen.