Go Ahead and Give Yourself a Gift!

Gift giving to the ones you love and care about is probably the most fun part of Christmas for me. I participated this year in another ornament swap with other Arkansas women bloggers. The administrator of the site takes all the participants’ names and addresses and gives them out randomly to us all.  The catch is that the ornament has to be hand-made. As I went to my recipient’s website to look at her tastes I discovered she has an entire page for crafting! That means she knows how to craft and seems to be quite good at it.  I had to laugh as she will be getting something made by a lady who is excited about it, but maybe not quite as crafty as she is.

As I was perusing Pinterest looking for an ornament idea, I came across a quote that stood out to me.  “If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete”.   We are lovers of gift giving. 

We generally spend a lot of time making sure everyone is happy with their gift. Often in the shuffle we leave ourselves out. This is not only at Christmas, but all through the year. We give and give and give. And that’s good. It’s just part of us. But at the end of the season we are often worn out and done in. We’ve given it our all and there’s nothing left for us.

God began to speak to my heart: You can give yourself gifts too.  In fact I AM the greatest gift giver ever and I have incredibly wonderful gifts that you can appropriate for yourself.  You need gifts and you can enjoy them not just at Christmas, but the whole year through. Give yourself a gift or two or three. But these gifts are special in that you have to give them to yourself with the same gusto you have when you give to others. You have to do it. I have appropriated the gifts but you must allow yourself to receive them and enjoy them. If you do, you will find that your gift giving is more complete. Write your own name on your to do list, for I have written your name on My heart and My hand.

What are these gifts you say? Oh precious one, give yourself the gift of rest. That’s right. It’s okay to rest in fact it’s best for your body, soul and mind if you get plenty of rest.  It’s not spiritual to stay frazzled and worn out.  Rest in God’s promises, rest in His assurance that He will make things right and good for you even if everything is not done. Give yourself the gift of peace. It’s there for you as God gave it all. Remember He said, “Peace I give to you.” Peace is harmony in the midst of turmoil and reconciliation in the midst of imperfection. We need that peace don’t we? Then there’s contentment. I can give myself contentment? What a gift! That is a satisfaction that brings serenity to our hearts. As you give yourself that gift you will find you can relax and let things be more fun than duty.  There are more gifts. As you spend time with the Lord and look into your own heart you will find your most needed presents and give them to yourself liberally without holding back. Joy, blessings, honor and more.

Oh beloved, the greatest gift you can give yourself is to love yourself as God loves you! I know, it’s almost unimaginable, but it’s your gift, hand made by the Father. He delights in you allowing the love of His heart to flow over your entire life – your heart, your mind and your spirit. This love gift you give yourself allows you to be all God intends you to be. The gift will take you farther than your wildest imagination because it allows you to take all the gifts God has for you. As you take time to learn all about the gift of love and you let yourself be loved by God, you will find that all the momentary distractions, nuisances and weariness will melt away.  

This love of God, beloved, is the gift that will keep on giving long after the lights are down, the tree is thrown out, the wrapping paper is discarded and Christmas is gone. Once you experience letting yourself receive God’s love you will never want to live without it again.  His love is extravagant. His love will make your heart soar. His love is like a mirror that reflects your true beauty in Christ.

What wondrous gifts the Giver of Life has prepared for those who love Him.  Whatever you do and wherever you go, open the word daily and read all about the gifts you can give yourself. Then take your gift of love with you and see how it changes everything from your feelings of worth to your perspective on life. Rejoice in the gifts and remember that God loves you and He’s for you and that’s why you can enjoy giving yourself every good and perfect Gift He has for you.

Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.

2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Psalm 62:5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him  (NIV)

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

Immanuel - God is With You

A couple of weeks ago Danny and I had a replacement window demonstration in our home. Everyone who sits through these demonstrations with this company gets a $100 gift card, no matter what.  It didn’t take long to break the ice with the young man and pretty soon he was telling us his life story along with the story of the wonderful windows. Now my husband has built houses and replaced windows in remodels so he knows about windows. And he said these were the best windows he’d ever seen.  They should be at approximately $700 per window.  Anyway, the young man was very nice and we had a good visit, found out where he stood with Christ and made a new friend. We did not buy the windows, at least not yet.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and I cleaned off the pump organ to decorate it for Christmas.  That’s where the gift card had been, along with some more paperwork Danny had just sat up on the shelf.  I moved everything to make way for holiday décor.

When we went to redeem the gift card a few days ago, I discovered I could not find it. I lost something valuable. I couldn’t retrieve it. I couldn’t think where I’d put it. I prayed and prayed. I fussed and fumed. I had no intention of losing it because it was important to me.  Who wants to lose $100 given freely?  Finally I got tired of hunting, going through stacks of Christmas cards and looking over and over again on top of the organ and other high spots where I might have put it.  I vowed I was going to stay up all night if I had to, but I was going to find that card.

Finally, with the help of one of our daughters, together we discovered that it had slipped off the top of the organ and behind it. With the help of a flashlight a card could be seen on the floor.  We pulled the organ just a little bit away from the wall and retrieved the gift card.  I was relieved to say the least. I didn’t buy it, it was simply a gift, but it was valuable, so I gave thanks immediately to the Lord and to my daughter.  This time the thing that was valuable to us was found.

There are many things we hold valuable. Our spouses. Our families. Our friends.  There are also heirlooms, childhood mementos, pieces of jewelry and more. For these things, the value is held in our hearts.

While I found the $100 gift card and it’s just a monetary thing that could have been done without if I hadn’t found it, many have lost things that are such incredible valuable to them and it’s permanent. Some of you are going through loss even now, right in the middle of what should be the most wonderful holiday of the year. Just among our closest friends we see loss.  Loss of jobs, loss of marriage, loss of spouses, loss of health and more. It’s hard to lose what is incredibly valuable to us.  The loss can bring sorrow and mourning and weariness, even in the shiny fun of this holiday.    

As I look around at the sights and sounds of Christmas I am reminded that the most valuable and priceless thing in our life can never be lost.  Jesus is not just for Christmas. He’s Immanuel, God with us. What a promise! When all else is lost, He remains. When the tinsel and the glitter and the wrapping paper is put away, He is with us. When love is lost, finances are lean or friendships grow cold, Immanuel remains.  He’s no icon on a shelf but the Lord of heaven and earth. And He comes to dwell with us, to keep us safe, to heal our hurts, to bind our wounds and give us joy, peace and purpose.  If He were all we had He would be enough.  He would be more than enough.

Oh beloved, as you seek to find purpose in the season, rest your heart in Christ. God sent Him to be all that you need, all that you hope for and all that your heart longs for. He knows your hurts, your pain, your secret sufferings. He wipes the tears as He counts each one that falls. He also gives you joy, the abiding joy of the knowledge that He cares so much for you. Let God show you how valuable you are to Him. He counts you worthy of His presence and all His provision and is promises.  He who made the entire universe and all that we can see and much that we cannot see, has deemed you of great value to Him. He won’t lose you and you won’t lose Him, even when you feel lost in the troubles of the moment. He won’t leave you, even when you feel incredibly alone.  And He will never devalue you, no matter what another person might say or do to make you feel otherwise. And because He is with you no matter what, He will take care of the things that you have lost. He is your redeemer, your ever present help in time of trouble and your reason for living in the light of His Word.  He knew you before the foundation of the world and He will continue His plan for your life.

You are a child of the King and together He will make a way for you to get through the present times and on to His plans for your life. He loves you and He’s for you and that’s worth celebrating every day of the year.

Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”

Isaiah 26:4 So trust in the Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him) forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages]. (Amplified)

Psalm 37:39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble.

Psalm 46:1-2  God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear…

Revelation 21:4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.