Where is your greatest poverty?
To give from your poverty is true generosity of faith. To give from your nothingness or barrenness is to give with God’s hands in yours.
So, when you have nothing left to give…give anyway…you are just beginning to truly learn the art of giving.
For if you have nothing to give…you have everything to give!
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The Christmas tree stored or recycled….Stockings taken down and mantles cleared…the Wise Men have come and gone, back home to give witness…the creche is packed up and the pointsettias have been put out by the garden gate.
Christmas is over…or is it?!
For each time we allow God to love others through us…
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Christmas continues.
Through Him, With Him, In Him…
We become a gift…
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A gift that keeps giving…365 days a year.
“Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap.” Luke 7: 38
Jesus was born dying…
Dying to LOVE you.
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The wood of the manger…the wood of the cross.
Christ Child breaking open the virginal womb of Mary…Crucified Christ tearing the temple veil in two.
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Newborn Babe swaddled in clothes…Christ Man mocked in purple cloth.
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Blessed Mother holding the Babe to her chest…Sorrowful Mother holding her Son from the Cross.
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Angels singing triumphantly “Holy, Holy, Holy”…Soldier at cross declaring, “Surely this was the Son of Man.”
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Jesus, God with a human face, born to die for LOVE of You!
When we receive the gift of the Christ Child, we receive the LOVE that came into the world to lay down His life for all.
Do we realize the true message of Christmas is about the Receiving?
The greatest gift we can give to our loved ones is to RECEIVE more deeply the LOVE that knows no bounds…
And LIVE that LOVE passionately.
Have you received the GIFT of Christmas?…Would you lay down your life for another?
May we all more deeply RECEIVE…
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So we may all more deeply GIVE.
RECEIVE and become the GIFT.
Give Christmas away.
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to seperate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8: 38-39
How many times have we forgotten to say thank you? How many people have we forgotten to thank?
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It may be someone living in our house, a dear friend, an acquaintance, or even a perfect stranger.
We may have been too distracted or too busy…
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or thought we deserved it or took it for granted.
But we missed a graced moment…an opportunity to begin a chain of contagious thanks.
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There are many sweet souls in our midst that are doing “little things with great love”.
Do we notice them?
They are the “leaven in the dough” assisting the kingdom of God to rise.
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They are the “salt that has not lost its flavor”.
They come in all shapes and sizes…
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The spouse that brings home carry out when you’ve had a long day…the girl at the sandwich shop that always remembers you like extra onions on your sub…the neighbor who picks up your paper when you are travelling…the bagger at the grocery store who ties the tops of your bags so they are easier to carry…the housekeeper that takes the time to pull the dead leaves off your favorite but forgotten houseplant…the church memeber who often says, “I am praying for you.”…the volunteer who goes the extra mile filling in when others have slacked off…the gas attendant who reminds you to have a blessed day…the gentleman who always opens the door…the teenage child who sends a random I LOVE YOU MOM text…
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It’s all those who stopped to smile and say hello…all those who let you pull in front of them in busy traffic.
It’s all those who have passed on a funny joke, left a “like” on your blog, or pointed out the beauty of the sunset or the clouds in the sky.
For all those little ones too numerous to count who have come in and through my life…
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I thank you!
And to show my thanks I lift you up to heaven and ask the Lord to shower you abundantly with His blessings of peace, love, and joy. May you know how much He loves you for being His hands and feet, His words and heart, in this world sometimes too busy to give thanks.
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Little ones, God knows who you are…and in His eyes you are the great ones.
Will you join me in giving thanks for the “leaven in the dough”ers and the “salt that hasn’t lost their flavor”ers?
Christmas is about giving…let us thank these little, great ones…better yet let us become someone else’s “leaven in the dough” or “salt that hasn’t lost its flavor”.
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Heard it said that gratitude is the foundation of spirituality. How stable is the path you are walking?
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“Blest the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, my soul; do not forget all the gifts of God.”
Ps 103:1-2
Please feel free to add your thanks for the little, great ones in your life in the comment section below.
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Don’t we all have a little bit of the Drummer Boy in our hearts?
We long to give the Lord a gift that truly expresses the uniqueness of who we are, but we feel poor in the offering.
Sometimes we don’t realize that what makes us special is often that one thing we think is not so special.
The childlike within us.
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It must make the Lord smile when we offer him a bit of that child in us as praise to Him.
Be it a song. A dance. A poem. The list is endless.
What will you give as gift to the Christ Child this Christmas?
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Let us discover the Little Drummer Boy within who humbly gives back a gift he has received.
***The news article and accompanying video below REALLY made me smile. A modern day Little Drummer Boy who has touched many with his gift to the Christ Child. I’m passing on the smile. Enjoy : )
CTVNews.ca Staff
Date: Mon. Dec. 5 2011 10:10 AM ET
One month ago, 16-year-old Sean Quigley was just an ordinary student attending Oak Park High School in Winnipeg. Today, Quigley has become a YouTube sensation thanks to his rock rendition of the classic Christmas tune, “The Little Drummer Boy.”
“I had no idea this was going to happen,” Quigley told CTV’s Canada AM on Monday.
Up on YouTube for less than a week, Quigley’s video ode to this holiday standard has been seen in 128 countries and earned more than 165,000 hits as of Monday morning.
The catchy video also pays tribute to the song’s message about the true spirit of Christmas. That resonated deeply with Quigley, a Christian teen who plays drums in his local church.
“About a month ago I started thinking about this song,” said Quigley.
“It’s the story of a little boy going to find Jesus and not having any gifts to bring — he just plays his drum. That spoke to me so much,” he said.
The teen’s production is all the more remarkable considering Quigley played all the instruments, sang the vocals, recorded everything and directed and edited the video. Using a Canon digital camera and with the help of his sister, Quigley’s DIY project plays with surprising quality.
Even the freshly fallen snow that covers Winnipeg’s streets seems made to order.
“God helped us out with the snow,” said Quigley. “The fact that it was perfect was a blessing.”
“I posted this video online and watched and waited,” said Quigley.
“I’m hearing lots of positive things. People love it.”
Do you often think…I must have been the wrong person at the wrong time?!…
But when we are the right person at someone else’s wrong time….
image via cbc.ca
and GIVE from the HEART…
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We become the hands of Christ…
bringing wholeness into the brokenness.
The needy are all about us…
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They come in all shapes and sizes of woundedness.
Let our gifts this Christmas come from the heart…bringing wholeness to the broken.
image via inspired-design-daily.com
Let us find ourselves to be the “Right” person at someone else’s “Wrong” time.
Enjoy this 10 minute video that will inspire and transform your heart. You will not be disappointed.
“Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you. ” Luke 6:38
through Him with Him in Him... 