Creative Christmas Gifts From The Heart

One of my favorite Christmas gifts that I get every year from my mother-in-law is a beautiful tin of her homemade short bread cookies. She brought them one year to share with the family and after tasting the perfect buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookies, they instantly became a “must have” on my wish list! They are yummy, can’t be replaced by store bought cookies and are made with love.

Here are some other gift ideas that are from the heart.

10. A BUTTERFLY GARDEN - A single butterfly milkweed bush attracts so many butterflies. It's a simple pleasure that will grow in your friend's garden for years to come.

9. A COMPLIMENT JAR - Fill a decorated mason jar with words of affirmation for the one you love. Have your kids participate in this project. They’ll have fun coming up with nice things to say about daddy, nana or a close friend.

8. A PHOTO BOOK - Do you love scrap-booking but don’t have the time? There are so many computer programs now that allow you to create a photo album quickly and at a reasonable price. These are especially great for loved ones that live far away.

7. BABYSITTING/COOKING SERVICE - Who couldn’t use a night out with free babysitting or a home cooked dinner delivered.

6. A LOVE LETTER – Tell your spouse why after all these years he’s still the one or send a letter to a friend listing all the things you admire and love about her. Include a coupon for coffee or her favorite dessert shop.

5. A COOKBOOK - Your friends are always asking you for your latest recipes. Compile a list of your best dishes and pass it on.

4. THE GIFT OF TIME - Tell your daughter-in-law that you’ll babysit for an hour once a week. Get on the floor and play with your kids for an hour every day. Give your husband an hour every night to unwind without asking him do anything. Call your Grandmother once a week and have a nice chat.

3. A CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT - My best friend and I give each other a Christmas ornament every year. We try to find ornaments that reflect the year our friend has had. When my husband and I bought our first home, my friend sent an ornament that said “home sweet home” and when she opened a music school I sent her an ornament shaped like a musical note. Every year when I decorate my tree I think of my friend and the memories we have shared.

2. LESSONS – Have you ever heard a friend say: “I wish I hadn’t quit...fill in the blank”. Do you have a talent for photography, tennis, playing the piano? Give the gift of free lessons.

1. A SPIRITUAL MAKEOVER – Enroll a friend in a bible study with you. An hour at an ACF bible study is like a facial for the soul. Bonus…babysitting is often included! Check out women’s ministry main webpage for a list of upcoming studies.

I would love to hear from YOU! Share your creative gift ideas along with your email address in the comments box. The most creative idea will win a gift certificate to STARBUCKS!

It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35)

Spare A Little Grace?

You’re at the grocery store getting milk, bread and oh you’re here anyway so you might as well pick up a pint of Bluebell ice cream. Make it two. You notice a woman yelling at a beautiful child no bigger than a flowerpot. You don’t hear what she’s saying because you are so taken by this sweet little girl whose large brown eyes seem to say “take me home and be my mommy.” You are angry with the yelling woman and leave the store thinking, “What is wrong with that woman?!”

I

You’re having a lovely dinner out with your husband. The kids are at home tucked in bed and sleeping under the watchful eye of the best babysitter in town. You’ve just talked about the kids, work, and plans for a vacation. There is a pause. Your husband mentions how high the grocery bill has been lately. Another pause. (You know you’ve over spent the budget this month and you need to deflect!) You say, “You wouldn’t believe how many pairs of shoes Mary from down the street has. We’re not talking Target here. For the amount of money she has spent on shoes, we could take our entire family to Disney World! You are so lucky that YOUR wife is not high maintenance.” (You grin and play footsies under the table)

AM

You call your sister with exciting news. You got your first teaching job. Your sister is happy for you but she can’t talk. The kids need dinner. The smallest one is crying into the phone. The dog is eating someone’s library book. She says a quick goodbye and hangs up. You think to yourself about how your sister never has time for a phone conversation and there’s always an interruption if she does. Why have three kids if you can’t handle them! I mean, how hard can it be?

BETTER

You’ve just finished your fifth batch of homemade baby food and placed it in ice cube trays for the freezer labeled and dated. Laundry done. Check. Dinner ready. Check. Kids homemade Halloween costumes made and ironed. Check. You look at the clock. Husband due to arrive home in 15 minutes. Lipstick? Check. Just enough time left over to call your sister and tell her how perfect you are! Check.

THAN

Your best friend hasn’t called in 3 months. You’re thinking it’s time you find a new best friend.

YOU

Romans 12:3
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

Spare a little grace for the women in your life. It’s easy to judge others when you haven’t been in their shoes. If you were the one being misjudged how would you feel? Why do we expect the women in our lives to be perfect when we’re not? The truth is, our friends, mothers, mother in laws, sisters and neighbors are huge supporters of us! If we walk around judging them we diminish the bond we share and alienate ourselves from what we crave most. Connection.
Spare a little grace and ask that a little grace be spared for you -- after all, God will willingly supply us with all the grace we need, we just have to go to Him for it!

By Karen-Ann J. Harrison

What Kind of Beauty Do You Reflect?

If you told your husband that Jesus was coming for dinner and you didn’t have a thing to wear, would the conversation go something like this?

Husband: Didn’t you just go shopping?
You: That was a while ago
Husband: Well what about this?
You: Shrunk
Husband: What’s wrong with that?
You: Stretched out
Husband: And all of these?!
You: Out of style!
Husband: Style? See these jeans of mine? (pointing to the style of which you vaguely remember from the Miami vice era) They are 25 years old AND (he adds rather proudly) they cost me 10 bucks!
Husband: (seeing the crazed look in your eye, he springs into help-my-wife mode and offers what he thinks is a beautiful choice) THIS is the dress!
You: (in a whisper with your head hung low) It’s too sexy…what would Jesus say?

Now the stress of this life changing, most profound and important event of your existence is upon you, you haven’t a thing to wear that is even remotely appropriate and your husband (bless his Miami Vice heart) hasn’t been much help. What to do? Fairy godmother? Sorry. Designer to the stars? (being a “star” to your kids doesn’t count!) Rip down your curtains and pray for the creativity and seamstress skills of Scarlet O'Hara? None of the above will do.

Then you hear an inner voice say: you’ve searched your closet but have you searched your heart? Now you are on the floor sobbing and your poor husband is running for cover.

1 Peter verse 3-5 says:
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.

I asked a group of Christian women to write on a piece of paper what they would wear if Jesus was coming to their home as a guest for dinner. Not one woman deviated from what they would normally wear but rather chose something to wear that revealed the unique woman they are -- reflections of Him.
God wants to see His Son, Jesus reflected in us from the inside out and it doesn't matter whether we choose to wear a formal gown or a cozy track suit. If what you wear does not distract from how pure our heart is in Him, Jesus will greet us at our door and I believe He might smile and say:

There YOU are! You look LOVELY tonight.

And later the conversation with your husband?
You: Jesus came to OUR house for dinner!
Husband: What did you end up wearing?
You: Funny, I don’t remember..…But I DO know I felt beautiful.

If Jesus was coming as YOUR guest, would you be ready? Is your beauty fading?

Trusting God with Our Greatest Treasures

If you are a mom and have sent your child to school this past week, how did you react to saying goodbye? Perhaps you breathed a sigh of relief and ran straight home to have a cup of coffee in peace, or maybe you threw on your tennis gear and headed to the courts for some uninterrupted fun?

Well, if you’re like me, you came home to an oddly quiet house and ran the video of the last 5 years with your child through your mind stopping to edit the places where you might have messed up somehow. Did you play often, love enough, plant the seed of confidence, lay the proper foundation to which your child will navigate through life only to come back full circle blaming you for the times you unjustly made them eat their peas? Did you give them ENOUGH peas? When the blame game is finished you think about the huge building your child is in, alone and with no one to hug if the tears start to flow. What if she gets lost, left out, or horror of all horrors…what if she gets lice?

As the fears flooded my mind, I began to realize that they were MY fears, not my child’s. My daughter practically ran all the way to school. The excitement in her eyes and her eagerness to soak up every word the teacher had to offer told me she was ready.

While looking at the pictures I took of my daughter in her class I thought, there she is, part of me, but also an individual. This huge milestone is just one tiny step she is taking away from me and away from my protective arms. (What must moms of college kids be going through?!)

I take comfort in knowing that although I am letting go for a short while each day, God will never let my little girl go. Knowing HE has his loving arms around my greatest treasure helps me to let go and let God.

And suddenly my “oddly quiet” house is filled with His reassuring words.

“And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Luke 18:28-30 ESV

Posted by Karen Harrison

Women I Admire

A wife of noble character who can find? She is far worth more than rubies.

Proverbs 31:10

This verse paints the picture of the ideal woman. She gets up while it is still dark, provides for her family, speaks wisdom, is clothed in strength and dignity and can laugh at the days ahead. How many of us wake up striving to fit this ideal only to be faced with the daily challenges that unravel us before we’re even dressed for the day. Your 20 minutes of morning solitude with a fresh cup of coffee is suddenly replaced with a crying baby in need of a diaper change, a dog that wants his walk NOW, a husband who tells you he’ll be out of town until Friday and can you please call the repair man because the air conditioner has broken again. What happened to “her children arise and call her blessed” and “her husband also praises her.”! The ideal woman fades behind a sea of laundry, a needy family and an endless day of demands.

I have to admit that while I want to fit the ideals of Proverbs 31, I often fall short and look to women who seem to have it together for the secret of their success! The women I admire would humbly admit that appearances are deceiving, and that being “together” comes not from gleaming floors and the art of the perfect pot roast, but from having faith, believing in something greater than their own accomplishments, and serving others with a humble heart. These women are honest, vulnerable enough to show you the dust in their closets and open enough to share with you the joys and pains of their journey.

My grandmother sets her table with the same dishes she’s had since the day she got married almost 60 years ago. She wants for nothing and waste is not an option in her home. In a throw away society obsessed with quick fixes and material possessions, I admire my grandmothers respect for the environment and how her values have shaped the way she lives. She lives simply and derives her strength through the struggles of growing older from the bible. Admirable.

My other grandmother raised 6 children on her own without the benefit of a tv crew and donations from well wishers. When my grandma found herself overwhelmed, she turned to The Lord who became her guide and comforter. Even now that her children are grown, she is still taking care of others with a servant’s heart. Both grandparents have influenced me greatly and are women who truly know, love and serve the Lord with all their hearts.

I admire my friend Diane who when faced with news of breast cancer and a double mastectomy said “let’s get this over with, I have a beach vacation planned”! Her faith unwavering, she remained positive as her beautiful blond hair fell to the floor and her days became structured around chemo sessions, and constant fatigue. There is a picture of Diane I can’t get out of my head. She is sitting in a hospital chair getting chemo and she’s smiling. Smiling! The thing about it that strikes me is not just that she is smiling in the picture, but that every time I’ve seen her since she’s been diagnosed, she’s smiling. The strength that is in this woman is beyond what we are capable of. She will tell you it comes from “letting go and letting God”. Admirable.

My mother was my first role model and is my constant counselor. She faithfully followed my military father from posting to posting. She always made us feel like we were headed for an exciting adventure and when my sister and I would worry about being the new girls yet again she would fill our heads with confidence, and our lunch bags with love notes. No matter where we went we had the comfort of home thanks to our mom. When my father retired he was the one following her to Hong Kong so my mom could live out her calling as a teacher. She blesses so many families with her positive energy and love for the Lord. The first thing my mom does for me when I go to her with a concern is pray for me, something she’s relied on over the years to carry her through the ups and downs of her life. Admirable.

And the list goes on. I admire the woman who exposes her past so she might be an example to the struggling woman beside her. The woman who shares her pain so another might feel more at ease. There are those too, who I don’t know that I admire from a distance. Women who are raising children in war torn countries. Women of political influence trying to make a difference. Women who know love and serve the Lord in communities that aren’t accepting of faith in Christ or of women’s voices. Admirable. Admirable. Admirable.

I am so thankful for the women who collectively show me what it takes to be amazing and admirable. Women who mirror Proverbs 31 not because they’re perfect, but because they’ve let go and let God, lifted their struggles in prayer, helped others with a servants heart and because they respect the life God has given them and won’t take it for granted. Women worthy of admiration are women who strive to be ideal, but who humbly admit that they alone are not.

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

The next time you are in the company of a friend, mother-in-law or church sister, get to know her beyond the surface and you might be surprised at what you find. Someone with a story, someone hurting, loving, longing, striving…you might find yourself admiring her not because she’s perfect but because she’s human. If you do, please tell her you admire her….she would love to hear it. Women need the support of other women. We need to lift each other up and be honest about what we’re facing on a daily basis. It’s not a competition, it’s a journey. Share it!

Posted by Karen Harrison