Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts

Sunday, December 25, 2011

A Gift of Prayer

We praise you, O Lord, for your goodness! You alone are God; there is no other! We fall down in your presence! You alone come near! You alone are able to work righteousness and justice!


How often it is that we claim to possess what only you can claim! How quick we run to cherish the gifts we receive without recognizing you, O Lord, as the one who gives them to us! How slow we are to see our family as worthy of our sacrifice and time!


Father, open the gifts that we give you today! With every one, we show you our heart one more layer deep! Savior, we wait for your surprises with eagerness. Remind us, Holy Spirit, today when we need to see you most! Encourage us, Lord, to fight ever-present temptations with your energy!


We praise you, O Lord, for your goodness!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The Package

Imagine that you hear the doorbell and run to the door. When you open the door you don't see anyone and are frustrated because you got up from the couch wondering who in the world could be ringing the doorbell at such a time. We've all been there. Then, you look down and notice a box wrapped in duct tape. This little "present" makes your heart skip a beat. The edges are frayed; the duct tape is starting to fall off; and you hear a faint ticking noise coming from this mystery package. "Bomb!" is on the forefront of your mind.

That is until you notice a name on the top of the package betraying from whom this little package came. Written on the top is the name of your best friend. It is obviously this person's handwriting. You are put at ease. You know who sent the gift. You are amazed that you had such a crazy thought as you smile. What is your good friend up to now?

Well, what if we began to view our spouses as this little box? A little frayed, unimpressive, duct tape package. When we look at it inappropriately we might run and hide, thinking the worst. But, realizing that your spouse is a gift not from your best friend, but from God changes things. The focus is no longer on the gift itself; the focus is on the sender. There is no one else that God sent this gift to. My spouse is mine and no one else's. This person has been tailored to fit only me...both with my strengths and my weaknesses.

God has given me Tanya. When I truly see her as God's gift, my attitude changes. I trust the sender rather than the gift itself. Also, if I refuse to accept this gift, I refuse to accept my relationship with the sender. My problem is really with the sender then! Tanya can be like frayed, falling off duct tape, but my heart is put at ease because God is the one who sent this really cool package my way.

Who do you need to view as a true gift from God?

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Thank You, Jesus

Lord, please guide us in your presence as we travel. Let us constantly have you in our minds as we exchange gifts with friends and family. You are the reason that we feel compelled to give. Without your gift, we would not be able to truly live. Without your gift, we would not have hope for eternal life. Without your gift, we would not be empowered with the Holy Spirit to give ourselves.

Thank you, Jesus, for your faithfulness.