Whose Birthday Is It?
I remember one Christmas busying about in preparation for the holidays when I explained to our son whose birthday we were celebrating. 
He posed the question that more than a few Christian kids have asked: What were we giving to the One who had the birthday?
To have something physical to give Jesus, we cut out a paper heart, wrapped it, and placed it under the tree. Like the song goes…”I’ll give Him my heart.”
That’s a good beginning for kids. But how about you? How about actually giving Jesus a gift this Christmas that you know He will really love? But hold on. Let me tell you a story first.
Writing Down the Value of Others
Years ago I was told this interesting story. It influenced me to the point that we actually did this on a family get-together and our adult kids were really impacted. Maybe you could try it this year:
You give everyone in the group a piece of paper. Ask them to write the names of everyone in the group down the left side leaving space after each name. Next, you ask them to write down one characteristic they appreciate about each person they have listed.
After everyone is finished, collect the papers. Cut the papers to separate the names and their appreciation notes from other names with their notes. Then compile all the appreciation notes of one person into a pile, and give that person their pile.
Watch the eagerness, and sometimes unbelief, on their faces. Tears may come. Take some time to go around the room and let each person read the comments that were written about them.
It may seem like a small thing to do, but it is amazing how many will want to save those little papers. In the story I heard, one person put his papers in his wallet and when he died years later they found them on him. Another person put the notes in her diary, others in a safe place of memories.
Writing Down God’s Value on a Scroll
So, back to the gift idea. How about this Christmas giving a th(i)nkful gift to the Lord in writing down “a scroll of thanks.” You can do this by yourself or do it together as a family or as a group gathered at a Christmas party.
Take a piece of paper. Give careful thought and write out five characteristics that you love about your God. Take your time and use words that describe the attribute well. Next, write out five things that He has done this year for which you’re thankful.
So, five about who He is, and five about what He has done. Roll up the paper, tie it with a beautiful Christmas ribbon, and put it under the tree. This is an actually physical gift that you can give to the Lord on the day we celebrate His birthday.
Merry Christmas!
A Merry Christmas to all of you from South Africa where summer is really heating up. May the Lord give you the grace to be truly th(i)nkful this holiday season for His coming, His presence, His meticulous Providence, and His embarrassing goodness to us. We are most blessed!
It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35
Did you know sequoias rely on fire to release the seeds from their cones? Those same fires burn off ground debris exposing soil in which seedlings can take root, open forest canopies through which sunlight can reach young seedlings, reduce competition, recycle nutrients into the soil. Sometimes, fire is necessary.
new fresh growth will slowly happen.
Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. In 1863 President Lincoln proclaimed a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”
It is interesting to note that President Lincoln proclaimed that thanks and praise be directed to God. He recognized that it wasn’t enough for us to just voice our thanks for each other and for things, but it needed to be to our Creator Father who gave us life. We need to remember to be thankful to, not just thankful for.
Hebrews says that praise is a sacrifice. Jesus’ work enables us to take our sacrifice into the very presence of God. In having the opportunity to praise God, what would you say? If you have a small view of God, the sacrifice of praise will bother you, and you will back out of His presence.
One day, people from every ethnic group will join together around the Throne and lift up their praise to the One who is worth it, far above all other people and things (Rev. 7:9-10; 19:1-8). How cool to get a head start here on earth. 🙂 So whether it is thank you, tusen takk, Ngibonga, do jeh, grazie, merci, danke, khop khun, or arigato, let’s give praise and thanks to our God!
I moved there when I was four years old. I have so many fond memories of that little town, two and a half hours north of Oslo. That is where I learned to speak Norwegian. That is where I began to attend the primary school known as Fagerlund Skole. I had the most amazing teacher, Fru Mørland.
No big deal really, it is just the laundry detergent that she used. The look of the box stuck with me.
Everything can be an absolute mess all around you, but when you let yourself get pulled into that moment and the beauty in such a small thing … you can breathe. In such moments, I am always reminded that God gives opportunity for us to stop and appreciate Him and everything He’s given us ALL THE TIME … it’s up to us to take those opportunities, catch those little breathers, be amazed at the world around us, and be thankful for what we have. 
in the wrong order. We tend to look first at our circumstances and try to interpret God’s love and care, which seems missing.
The strength of being th(i)nkful can only come from trust in a sovereign Creator and God that is good and worthy.
that men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it…I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.” C.S. Lewis
The gratitude is unfinished if it finds its end only in your thoughts.
Truth has no elements or shades of unreality. Something that is true is not a lie. It has fidelity (loyalty) to the standard. It is true to the original.
Where I grew up in Norway, snowstorms at times would bring “whiteout” conditions where you couldn’t see a few feet in front of you. If a building near town was 20-50 yards away, a whiteout was dangerous. Some people got lost and their frozen bodies weren’t found until spring. So the town put up a rope fence tying the buildings together.
let me instead be th(i)nkful for my car, for my ability to drive to the shop, push a cart, have the funds, make decisions from often hundreds of choices … and so on. As the familiar meme says, “what if we had tomorrow only what we thanked God for today?”
th(i)nkful 