Favorite Christmas Gift

The best gift I've ever received?! That question was too hard to decide alone, so I asked all the gals in our homegroup to help me out! ~ Allie Olsen

And here they are, in alphabetical order, for your reading enjoyment:

Allie- "When I was 7, Krissy and I woke up at 4:30 and couldn't talk our parents into getting up that early... so we opened all our gifts without them, played with them in our new Jessica McClintock dresses and then fell asleep watching the Nutcracker Ballet. I hope my kids don't do that!!"
Amber- "I decided on the compact ESV Bible my parents gave me in 2002... I still use it on a regular basis. I love it because it's easy to take anywhere with me! Oh...the other thing would be a silver necklace with a silver heart charm on it that I never take off."
Gini- "A german short-haired pointer. I had no idea but really wanted a dog! I named her Lady."
Julie R- "I think it was called the "zero-gravity race car set"...It was super cool and it glowed in the dark (fluorescent green!)"
Kelly- "The first thing that came to mind was P.J. Sparkles. When you hug her, she lights up!"
Kim- "Let's go with a bright blue hippety-hop!" :-)
Lana- "There was this watercolor art book that came with paints and a brush that I LOVED. And then there was the American girl doll, Kirsten, that I received when I was younger... she came with her adventure story book, which was my favorite part and my grandfather had two special wooden trunks made for my sister and I to put our dolls' clothes in. I still have them!"
Sarah- "Seth had Emma's portrait painted for me. I didn't have a clue. I had just made the comment that I never got surprised for Christmas anymore and when I opened it, I burst into tears. It was the biggest surprise, I had no idea. And I love it."

Favorite Christmas Gift

Deciding on the perfect gift has been somewhat challenging. I have received so many great and thoughtful gifts throughout the years and picking just one is very difficult! Like the year that Craig & I received a new toilet and sink from his parents for the kids bathroom. Believe me, it was a huge blessing….I even cried! And when you’re new homeowners in need of new fixtures it’s the perfect gift. But I have to say that my most favorite is when Craig asked me to marry him. He was in the Navy at the time and living in San Diego. It was Christmas Eve and he was due to come home for the holidays. He sent me a dozen red roses at work and that evening we went out to a very nice restaurant. One thing I remember about that night is how nervous he was. Unfortunately, I knew something was up because he was acting a bit out of character. He had a roll of Rolaids in his pocket that he was eating like candy and even drank a cup of coffee (which he doesn’t like). At the end of dinner he excused himself and shortly after he returned the waiter brought my ring over on a silver platter. And Craig asked me to marry him……I, of course, said yes and the rest is history.
~ Sharlyn Eddy

Favorite Christmas Gift

What little girl hasn’t spent weeks...even months....leading up to Christmas anticipating her gifts? From the time I could walk, I knew what I wanted for Christmas, for my birthday...the ultimate gift for a little girl. Not a Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle, but something even better: a pony. My mother took me for rides on her horse before I could walk, so I came by this pony obsession honestly. The first thing I learned to draw was a pony. I could think of nothing else. I practiced drawing ponies, tried out pony names, and practiced riding on the full-sized wooden pony my mother had built me in the back yard.

Every Christmas, every birthday, I left my wish list out for my parents, adorned with my drawing of a pony named Chester, my friend Tootie’s little pony. Every birthday, every Christmas, it was the same list: “1. I want a ponie.” There never was a “Number 2” on my list.

Every birthday, every Christmas, my hope went unfulfilled. No pony. But one very special Christmas, when I was six, I received the most amazing gift: a western pony saddle. It was rich caramel colored, with fancy carving and a brass horn. It wasn’t the pony I longed for, but it was a gift of hope for a day to come. This pony saddle was a sort of deposit in my heart. I now knew one day, I would get a pony.

Not too many months later, I did get that pony. How happy I was to put my little saddle—the symbol of a hope--on her back for the first time!

God sends us symbols of hope at Christmas. He reminds us that He sent His only son, a baby, who would one day die for us. The most wonderful news is that we don’t have to wait.

~ Adrea Thomas

Favorite Christmas Gift

Numerous things come to mind when I ask myself the question, “What is one of the greatest gifts I’ve been given?” I could share about many wonderful Christmas gifts I’ve received over the years, about the precious blessing my family is to me or about my salvation, but as I really considered what has been a great gift to me, I had to choose “trials of various kinds”. I know that sounds awfully boring and maybe even a bit ridiculous, but it has been through these hard times that I have learned to know and love God more. Let me clarify that my difficulties by no means compare to those of others. I know God doesn’t give us more than we can handle so mine have been very minor. And yet, often times they have looked large in my eyes because I’ve had a small view of God.

The greatest lesson I have learned through the difficulties and trials God has sovereignly placed in my life has been that it always has a purpose for my good and His glory. J.R. Miller said that, “His purpose concerning us is not to make things easy for us, but to make something of us.” I’ve learned that everyday I should expect to see God’s commitment to dying to self. And everyday I must strive to seize every opportunity to become more like Christ, no matter the pain involved. Charles Spurgeon said, “Some people have learned to trust the smiles of God’s face, but they must also learn to trust the blows of His fists.” I see that as true in my own life. It’s through difficulties that I have grown to love more and love deeper. It’s through difficulties that I have seen what truly matters and what doesn’t. It’s through difficulties that God is refining and molding me. It’s through difficulties that I have seen God’s unchanging faithfulness and power. So even though I love when everything is going well in my life and I am certainly not asking for trial upon trial, I see that it’s through the fire that God’s work has been most affective in making me more like Christ. In a book called “Stepping Heavenward” the author writes, “There is a chain in between us and God.” God is on one end and we are on the other. He is using every trial and difficulty in our lives to remove link after link in order to shorten the chain and draw us closer to Him. With every link removed, He often brings new blessings better than we could have imagined. When I choose to rely on God first and foremost instead of myself, the “hard things” He is calling me to do, not only become easier, but often become a joy as well. Doing hard things may look like climbing up the face of a scary mountain to us, but unlike earthly harnesses that can break and fail, God will never fail and will never let us fall. There is always a beautiful and breathtaking view to be enjoyed after a hard climb and often times, the harder and longer the climb, the more amazing the view. So, this Christmas season, I am thanking God anew for all the tough things I have faced over this past year. The blessings have been priceless.

When I think I can't make it through another trial, I have to remind myself that I have enough grace to make it until tomorrow. " Life does not come to us in lifetimes, it comes only one day at a time." – J.R. Miller

~ Lana Calabello

Favorite Christmas Gift

It is so much fun to give and receive presents at Christmastime. Half the fun is finding something on sale that you know a special person would love to have. It almost feels like you're multiplying your money! But there are certain presents that don't go on sale. Although I have received many wonderful gifts over the years I think the most meaningful gift came from my husband two years ago. Several years ago I noticed a watercolor illustration in a children's book and it inspired me to want to learn to paint. I would check out children's books from the library by the armload and try to copy the work of other artists I admired. I was making a little headway but still stumbling along. Along came Christmas of 2006. That morning I opened a portable artist's easel and an envelope from the Cummer Art Museum. At first I thought it must be a year's membership so I could go to the museum to be inspired by the wonderful paintings they have there. But nothing could have surprised me more than when I discovered that Ed had enrolled me in a 6 week long drawing class. He had paid full price for this which made it even more precious. He had done his homework by talking to Kyle Keith, an art teacher at UNF, and taking his advice. Kyle had shared with him that before I could be comfortable painting I needed to learn the fundamentals of drawing. I was overwhelmed with such joy when I received this gift because my husband had taken such care to be aware of my desires and wanted to encourage me in an area that brought me such delight. Rather than treating my desire to paint as a frivolous hobby he let me know that he considered it to be a creative outlet worth pursuing. The drawing classes gave me the confidence and training I needed to begin to draw and paint the animal illustrations for a music curriculum I am working on. I have always enjoyed doing creative things like knitting, embroidery, sewing, crocheting, etc. But none of these compares to the joy I have when I am bringing to life on paper the images that live in my mind. My animal friends have been living in my imagination and waiting to be born. Thanks to my dear husband musical skunks and mice and snails and a whole host of others are now gracing the pages of my music stories and hopefully will encourage many children to want to learn more about the gift of music. I am so thankful for my Godly, caring husband who is paying attention even when I think he's not interested in my little concerns. This gift encouraged me more than he will ever be able to understand. And I know that all good gifts come from our heavenly Father which makes it even more special! The Lord does give us the desires of our heart and is such a tender and compassionate God. Such thoughtful, loving care makes me feel very humble and so very grateful! Brenda Edwards