Practical tips for keeping Jesus the center of your Christmas! And space to record 6 years worth of precious Christmas memories! Great gift idea for Mothers, Grandmothers, or Teachers. $12.99
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1 Peter 1:15-16
But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Have you ever thought to give Jesus a gift for Christmas? After all, Christmas exists to celebrate His birthday.
I can remember when this was a totally new concept. My Bible study leader challenged us to give Jesus a birthday gift. She encouraged us to take the time to ask Him what He wanted for His birthday – To then follow through and give it to Him.
When I asked Jesus that year what He wanted for His birthday, He immediately brought to mind my potty mouth. It’s so embarrassing to admit. But it was a habitual sin habit and Jesus was making it clear in my heart and mind that it needed to go!
That Christmas I wrote the words, “potty mouth,” on a 3×5 index card. I secured it in a beautiful red envelope and placed it under the Christmas tree.
By the grace of God, I’ve not taken this gift back. (Yesterday was an exception. See below!) That year, Jesus freed me from my potty mouth!
A few gift suggestions:
· Your heart! If you’ve never deliberately taken the time to invite Jesus – your Creator – into your life and heart, take the time to do so!
· A sin habit. Be specific. Name it. Surrender it. It could be: gossip, a critical spirit, complaining, self indulgence, etc…
· A commitment to start to maintain a quiet time each day by reading the Bible and praying.
· A commitment to join a Bible study.
· A commitment to host a Bible study.
· A willingness to cultivate a relationship with an unbeliever. Be deliberate to pray for that person and take every opportunity to share what Jesus is doing in your life.
I’ve started to involve my children in this gift giving as well. Examples of gifts they can give:
· To stop hitting their sibling.
· To promise to say kind words, not hurtful words.
(You can tell the direction I’m heading this year!)
Take time this year to ask Jesus what He wants for His birthday. It will bless His heart AND be a beautiful way to keep Jesus the center of your Christmas! J
(Portions taken from Christmas Keepsake Journal.)
On a personal note:
You may have noticed that my blog posts are far and few between these days. I am experiencing major computer problems. By God’s grace, I recently got one issue fixed, now it’s something else. My computer has decided that it doesn’t want to send outgoing emails. It also freezes up when online. Yesterday was a “gift take back” day.
Many of you send me notes or when you see me, say the kindest words. I firmly believe that God is using these posts to help you in your walk with Jesus. The enemy does not want these posts going out. This has been going on for several weeks. I’m past frustration and am discouraged about this.
PLEASE PRAY for me. The ministry really cannot afford to pay for another computer at this time. I need your prayers.
What a great idea, giving Christ a gift. I love it! I pray for you and your ministry daily. I hope your computer issues get resolved. 🙂 You are precious!
Tara- I was thinking of you and prayed for you as well this morning. I was making some new gold ornaments for my tree and through your Christmas Keepsake Journal "gold" means so much more to me now. I referenced you in my recent post. Hope you get some extra hits from it. You can check it out here. We met at the Holland's MOPS meeting this Tuesday. You are such a blessing!! Here is the post. http://strictly-homemade.blogspot.com/2011/12/day-6-gold-star-ornaments-made-from.html
Tara – I prayed for you and your ministry this morning. Please know that this blog is such a blessing to your readers. *You spoke at my MOPS meeting just a few days ago. It was wonderful; thanks for all that you do.