December 3 It is Easy to Get Wrapped Up…
Affirmation: I am gentle with myself and my mistakes. I treat myself with love and respect.
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;”1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV
December 3It is easy to get wrapped up in holiday expectations. Remember that Love is on everyone’s wish list.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves, break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths, and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19–21.
Here’s how a Christmas list shifts over a person’s life: when we are young, we make the list; when we are middle aged, we fund the list; when we are old, no one can figure out what should be on the list.
I think for all of us, the first phase is the best. When you are a kid, you know exactly what you want for Christmas. You make different categories to show Santa which gifts are the priority and which ones he can cut off if he needs to get to the next house. Eventually we graduate from the list making stage right around the time we fund Santa’s list.
But as we get older, we don’t really value stuff on Christmas morning. Sure, it is fun to unwrap a present, but what we want is more availability, connection, and more love. As gifts decline in value, things like time together and family traditions become the real present.
None of us wants to get to the finish line and realize all we are carrying is a bunch of stuff that all goes to Goodwill anyway. As Christmas approaches, don’t get bogged down in the shopping list. Don’t get lured by advertisements saying you’ll find happiness behind one more thing or that there is a toy your kid “has to have.” Get weighed down by the impressive weight of love instead. That is the real door buster. Show the people around you what they mean to you. Give a lot of love and ask nothing in return. That is a gift worth giving. It is on everyone’s wish list.
What gifts of love, can you put on your shopping list for the people in your life?
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;”1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV
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Ponder, Personalize, Practice: Spend time today pondering the light that God brings to you…Ask Him to help you see His light in your darkness. Lord, show us Your light and give us hope. Amen
John 1:5. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
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“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32 NIV
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Reading for Today
Walk in Grace. Live in Love by Bob Goff
December 3It is easy to get wrapped up in holiday expectations. Remember that Love is on everyone’s wish list.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves, break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths, and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19–21.
Here’s how a Christmas list shifts over a person’s life: when we are young, we make the list; when we are middle aged, we fund the list; when we are old, no one can figure out what should be on the list.
I think for all of us, the first phase is the best. When you are a kid, you know exactly what you want for Christmas. You make different categories to show Santa which gifts are the priority and which ones he can cut off if he needs to get to the next house. Eventually we graduate from the list making stage right around the time we fund Santa’s list.
But as we get older, we don’t really value stuff on Christmas morning. Sure, it is fun to unwrap a present, but what we want is more availability, connection, and more love. As gifts decline in value, things like time together and family traditions become the real present.
None of us wants to get to the finish line and realize all we are carrying is a bunch of stuff that all goes to Goodwill anyway. As Christmas approaches, don’t get bogged down in the shopping list. Don’t get lured by advertisements saying you’ll find happiness behind one more thing or that there is a toy your kid “has to have.” Get weighed down by the impressive weight of love instead. That is the real door buster. Show the people around you what they mean to you. Give a lot of love and ask nothing in return. That is a gift worth giving. It is on everyone’s wish list.
What gifts of love, can you put on your shopping list for the people in your life?
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