Gifts from the Heart

"It's not the gift, but the thought that counts" rings so true to me.  Sometimes a gift can be... well... a let down, but when we know the giver's heart is in the right place, it can mean so much to us.  A well thought out gift, however, is the very best kind.  It's the kind of gift that the giver has put a LOT of thought into.  They wanted to give you something YOU love, not just something they'd love to give you.

  My dad is a great gift-giver.  He's one who puts a lot of thought into the gift he's giving.  In most cases, he puts a lot of time into his gifts as well.  Two gifts that stick out to me this year reached my heart in ways that typical gifts usually don't.  I'm not really a gift person.  I love giving them when I can.  It's fun receiving them, but I definitely wouldn't consider it to be my love language. However, when the gift is suited to my interests and who I am as a person, I am blown away.

  I'm not super into sports.  My husband is.  I resisted as long as I could, but one fateful day, not so long ago (a couple years, maybe?) I realized how much I enjoyed watching baseball.  Weird, right?  Of all the sports, baseball is my choice. However, I don't watch it unless the Detroit Tigers are playing, and even then, I don't know that they're playing unless Jeff tells me they're playing.  I'm one of those fans that knows very little about schedules and logistics, but I enjoy a good game.

  Jeff works long hours in the summer and it's hard for us to get away, so I hadn't been to a Tigers game and really really wanted to go.  My dad knew this and blessed my socks off by taking me to a game in October.  I was beyond excited!!!  If you know me, you know I'm a very reserved person while in a public/crowded place.  I kept my cool while at the game, but I soaked everything in like a sponge.  Inside, I was jumping up and down, doing cartwheels, and screaming at the top of my lungs.  I hope my dad could see the excitement in my eyes.  I hope I thanked him enough... although a thousand thank yous could not cover it!

  It wasn't just the game that was exciting to me. It wasn't just the sweatshirt or the snacks or the fact that I was being spoiled to the max.  I got to spend the day with my dad.  That doesn't happen often.  He's a grandpa and my kids like to hog him. ;)  It is always nice to have a heart to heart with one of your best friends.  It was awesome to share an exciting adventure and to become a kid again.  I often miss the good ol' days, and this definitely brought me back.  My dad knew I would be blessed by his generous gift.  He knew I'd enjoy the game.  I don't think he has any idea of the impact that gesture and that quality time had on my spirit.

  I also have this slight obsession with peacocks... especially the feathers.  They're so pretty and they have significant meaning to me beyond the beautiful appearance.  I love them so much I have one permanently stamped on my arm.  My husband had spotted some real peacock feathers in our former landlord's garage and mentioned that I love feathers.  He said Jeff and the kids could take them home so I could enjoy them. I was blessed not only by Jeff and the fact that he'd think of me when seeing those feathers, but I was blessed by our landlord and his kindness in allowing Jeff to give me such a pretty gift.

  We're currently working on decorating our bedroom in a peacock theme.  I'm trying to keep it classy and not go overboard, but I may very well end up on an episode of hoarders for having a room filled to the brim with peacock accessories. The peacocks have spilled over into our bathroom as well. If Jeff spots something, he picks it up for me.  Isn't that sweet?

  We had an entire wall behind our bed that was completely bare.  I mentioned to my dad that I'd love a painting to go above my bed. I threw out a couple ideas, but didn't want to push it.  I could always go shopping for a picture or two.

  I was blown away the other day when he brought in TWO paintings that he had lovingly crafted for me.  The time and effort and patience that he must have put into them goes above and beyond anything I would have ever expected.  He painted with beautiful colors on black backgrounds (my all time favorite "color").  I could just stare at them all day.  A picture of his paintings just won't do them justice.  They are beautiful and detailed and so far beyond what I could have ever imagined.  Anyone can go buy any old painting and it will look great.  A painting, made with love by a father for his daughter.... stunning!

  As we purchase Christmas gifts this year, let us remember who we are blessing.  Let us put forth true effort to bless others in ways that really touch their hearts and really show how much we care.  We can use our talents to bless someone.  We can give them our time.  We can go all out if we have the money, or we can dig down deep and find a way to bless our loved ones with priceless acts of kindness.  Let us be gift givers all year round.  Let us seek out opportunities to bless those we hold dear and let us not forget that we too can be blessed by giving our hearts to another.

~Em

Christmas Doesn't Have to Be Crazy!

  It used to be that when Christmas season came around, my stress levels would sky rocket. I have always loved Christmas, but I soon began to despise the pressure that would come along with this beloved holiday.  There were so many presents to wrap, so many parties to attend, and I felt like I was being swallowed up by lights and ornaments and bows.  

  A couple years ago, it dawned on me: I don't have to do it all to make Christmas special for my kids.  I don't have to buy a million presents.  I don't have to please everyone by attending every holiday open house known to man.  I don't have to decorate so much that I could qualify as a hoarder.  I can pick and choose what is of importance to my family and I.

  When we lose focus on what this season is really all about, we add so much unnecessary stress to our lives.  My goal this Christmas is to keep my focus on what really matters. I will Christmas it up, but when Christmas starts to lose its magic, I will have no problem stepping back and keeping it simple.

~ Jesus is the reason for the Christmas season.  I'll choose to make His birth top priority in our home.  Any time we focus on Him, all else seems trivial.  That doesn't just happen during Christmas.  I need to remind myself to keep Him at the center of my vision all year round. 

  It is so easy to get caught up in Santa Claus and the Elf on the Shelf and the Grinch and <fill in the blank>.  Those things are so much fun and there is absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating that way.  But when Jesus gets lost in the celebration, we have a problem.  I choose to keep Him first, always! 

~ It's love and family and fellowship that is important, not presents.  I used to feel pressured to find gifts for everyone we see on a regular basis.  When our budget couldn't handle my expectations (which happened pretty much every year), I ended up disappointed and somehow felt that I had let my friends and family down.  When I couldn't buy the best of the best for my kids and fill that space under the tree, I loathed the very concept of gift giving in the first place.  

  Once I gave up those expectations and asked God what I could do to make the season bright for my friends and family, I realized that it's not about the presents anyway.  And if it is, maybe I don't need to see those particular people until the Christmas season is over. ;)  

  For our kids, we have decided to limit gifts.  We've done this for a few years now, but sometimes go a bit overboard.  Our goal is to buy one main gift for each child, a family gift, pajamas with snacks and a movie for Christmas Eve, and stocking stuffers.  That is more than enough.  Our kids are happy with whatever they get, and if they choose not to be, I choose not to take on any guilt.  We do what we can and we have decided that our focus needs to be on Jesus and loved ones, not presents. 

~All the hulabaloo can hit the road. The second I become overwhelmed with Christmas, I decide what needs to go.  If I feel like making cookies with the kids to give as gifts, I'll do it.  If that thought is too much for me on a particular day...or season... I will nix it.  It's really quite simple.  Why stress ourselves over things that don't have to be done?  I LOVE Christmas, and more often than not, I DO want to do it all.  But now, when I do it all, I'm doing so because I CHOOSE to, not because I feel like I have to.  See?  If we start making our own rules instead of trying to keep up with what everyone around us is doing, we'll be much happier.  Hang that extra wreath in the hall...or don't.  Go caroling with your family...or don't. Make gifts for all of your neighbors...or don't. Put a Christmas house in every corner of your home...or don't. 

~We focus on our traditions. There are so many fun and exciting traditions out there.  I love hearing all about the activities people embrace this time of year.  Sometimes our family adopts new traditions.  Sometimes we nix some old ones that just don't work for us anymore.  Here are a few traditions we love:

• Cutting down the Christmas tree.  Okay, this is more of a love/hate, but it happens every year.  After Thanksgiving, we'll go to Jeff's Grandma's and choose a tree.  Then, when we get home, Jeff and I struggle to put it up.  He asks if it is straight, while tightening the screws in the stand.  I say, "yes."  He stands back and sees that it is clearly not straight. In fact, it could be downright horizontal.  I shrug my shoulders and make a joke about having crooked eyes. We try again... and sometimes again and again. The smell, the beauty, the nostalgia that comes from that tree makes all of the struggle worth it. 
• Decorating the house.  We've mostly done the interior.  Now that we're in a neighborhood again, I have evil plans of enlisting Jeff to put lights up outside this year.  The kids and I usually decorate inside while Jeff sits back and watches.  He knows that I'm the one in charge of decorations, so he lets me have at it. It is glorious! I like to torture him by playing Amy Grant's "A Christmas Album."  The exact album I listened to as a kid.  If you know my husband, you know that he is far from being the Amy Grant type of fan. I'm a wonderful wife, eh? 
• Looking for Santa.  My kids know Santa is just pretend... or at least two of them do.  We still have fun staring up into the sky on our ride home from my parents' house every Christmas Eve.  Every phone tower, airplane, imaginary light is a potential sighting.  We love it.  I love it.  I used to do this with my parents as a kid.  It was exciting.  Magical.
• Leaving treats for Santa and his reindeer... and Jesus.  Sometimes we make a birthday cake for Jesus, but more often than not, Mommy likes to combine the treats and stick them all on one plate for Santa and Jesus to share.  Because sharing is good. Yes, I know, I'm stretching it. We usually leave cookies and carrots.  Last year we left out donuts... and may have forgotten about Rudolph and his friends.  I can't remember.  The point is, Mommy and Daddy... I mean... Jesus and Santa have a delightful treat to enjoy after the kids go to bed. 
• Listening to the Christmas Story. I want the story of Jesus' birth to be first and foremost Christmas morning.  Before we open presents, Daddy reads straight from the Word of God and we pray together as a family.  Then the kids go crazy and our living room is filled with tiny pieces of pain for our feet to step on, shreds of wrapping paper for mommy to throw away, and lots and lots of cheer. 
• My heart this year is to make someone else's Christmas special.  We haven't done that enough.  My kids need to know the true joy of giving to others.  We haven't always had the finances to help in such a way, but I am determined to make it happen, even if it's just a small gift of hope.  I want to extend kindness and love to a deserving family. I want someone to know that there are people in this world who care about them. 

There is no need to live up to other people's expectations when it comes to Christmas.  Why do we allow ourselves to carry silly little burdens during the most wonderful time of the year?  We don't have to drive ourselves crazy by going overboard.  If going overboard is your thing, go for it! Go all out!! Soak it all in!!  If you want to keep it simple, then do just that.  Be at peace and relax this Holiday Season.  Do whatever feels right to you and your family.  

  I personally have a goal of shoving as much Christmas cheer into this season as possible.  However, I will let go of whatever gets in the way of my budget, our happiness, or my time spent with the ones I cherish most.  

  Tell me about your favorite Christmas traditions.  Do you keep it simple or go all out?  What makes you happy and stress free during the Christmas season?

~Em