When it comes to Christmas gifts… this one is the best gift ever.

Several weeks ago, before I became swamped with the “to do’s” on my to-do list, I mentioned to my neighbor kids that we could have an ornament making party.  The calendar filled up and the days quickly passed.  My little friends asked about it and I told them we would have our little party on the Saturday before Christmas.  That way they would have fun ornaments on their tree and gifts for their parents.  But then, their dad decided that he wanted to leave on their trip before Christmas not after, so they would be on the road that day.

I assessed my supplies and needed to pick up a few things for making ornaments.  Thomas even knocked on my door before school to make sure that we were going to make ornaments after school.  And then his dad followed up it later, saying the kids were really anxious to do this before their trip.  So off to the store I went.  Actually, three stores, since I was having a hard time finding everything I needed.

On my Meijer run, I cruised through their floral department.  They generally have nice flowers, but usually not the kind of thing I’m looking for.  And then I spied a few bunches of white tulips. I had just read the other day that this is tulip season in the hothouses.  Happy day for me because the tulips were both beautiful and reasonably priced.

Back home, I snipped the ends of the tulip stems and got things ready with Plan B of our ornament making party.

Upon returning from another expedition, I ran into Thomas and his dad who informed me that there was a school concert that night and we were invited to go, and they had to leave because sister singer needed to be back at school to get ready for the concert.

Didn’t anyone know about the concert before 4 PM?  I was confused.  Since I had set aside the time to make ornaments with the kids, I attended.  It was nice and short, but there wasn’t enough of the evening left for ornament making.  So… our ornament making session was postponed until after Christmas.

The tulips… their session came the next day.

After a short walk in the woods, we came home with a few white pine boughs which I trimmed to create a collar for the tulips around the top of the vase.

I used to have a book on flowers and their language and symbolism.  Since that wasn’t at hand, I went online to learn what the symbolism is for white tulips. It was then I learned that white tulips are given to convey forgiveness.

Forgiveness.  How could that possibly tie into Christmas, I wondered.

And then I realized… forgiveness… isn’t that what Christmas is REALLY all about? 

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Advent when we light the candle of LOVE.

And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him. This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven.   1 John 4:9-10 

This verse grabs my heart.

The one who spoke the world into existence humbly and willingly stepped into our time and space as a helpless infant knowing he would be crucified for the sins of the world.

God is perfect and we are anything but.  Yet he loved us so much that he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice so that we could have a relationship with him and be right with him.

This indescribable gift is offered with just one string attached.  We must receive it.  We receive it by simply asking for forgiveness for every wrong thing we’ve done. Immediately we are right with God.  It’s not through anything we’ve done…  Jesus has done it all.

To reject this gift would be pure arrogance on our part.

So lovingly and humbly given… it is the best gift ever.   There is nothing we could do to make ourselves worthy of this gift.  And that makes it even more incredible.

This is a crazy kind of love…

This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.  1 John 4:10

If you’ve never received this love gift from God… would you do so now?

And if you do… please let me know. (AnExtraordinaryDay@gmail.com)

Once we receive God’s gift of love and forgiveness… we want to do the same for others.

It’s easier to let go of hurt and pain caused by others, forgiving what seems unforgivable.  Forgiving even the small inconsiderate acts that trouble us on a daily basis.

The most healing thing we can do for our relationships is to receive God’s forgiveness and forgive others who have wronged us.

There isn’t a better way to experience and celebrate Christmas than with a heart that’s been renewed by simply receiving the greatest gift ever.

Merry Christmas!! 

It’s JoyDay!

On this fourth Sunday of Advent, I hope you’ve been inspired to receive the ultimate gift!  There isn’t anything that will ever give you as much JOY as having Jesus as your Lord and forgiver.  Gratitude will pour from your heart when you receive God’s perfect gift.

Please join me in thinking back over the past week and counting seven things for which you are thankful.

This simple exercise of counting and giving thanks together in this space resets our compasses and put our eyes back on the Lord. And ultimately fills our hearts with JOY!

I’ll start…

Thank you, God for…

1. Your unspeakable gift of LOVE!
2. this incredible fatigue I’ve been experiencing and the reminder that comes with it of the choices I need to make to observe Sabbath and create time boundaries in the new year.
3. friendship and a wonderful tea time with my sweet friend.
4. inspiring me with fun last minute decor ideas for my kitchen.
5. my cozy bedroom decorated for Christmas.
6. white tulips and their symbolism of forgiveness. 
7. Christmas and how it directs us to the ultimate celebration of our redemption at Easter.  

Now…it’s YOUR turn!

List your ‘seven’ in the ‘share your extraordinary thoughts’ section below.  You’ll be glad you did.

For more hopeful advent inspiration click here. 

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