Monday, December 27, 2010

The best gift ever

Is it wrong for me to have the holiday blues? After all I have gained 10 pounds in a week, my clothes are tight, I’m coming down from a sugar high, and our new puppy has kept me up two nights in a row! I’m already headed back on the road and we still have Christmas presents stacked in every corner of the house. Even better is the thought of making 20 trips to the attic to put up all the Christmas stuff next weekend! You will have to forgive my negative attitude. Give me nine months and I’ll be ready for the next season. I promise honey!

Regardless of my “poor” Christmas spirit, I have to be honest; I love presents. But who doesn’t like getting presents? Not a single one of us, not even the Grinch himself, would want to get rid of presents. This year marked my 35th Christmas and I still receive the same warmth in my heart when my mom passes out presents that I did 25 years ago. But what about giving presents? At what point in our life do we feel this same warmth in our heart from giving a present that we have when we receive a present? Some famous guy, after all, did say "It is more blessed to give than to receive." However, faced with a holiday season that's too often fraught with chaos, stress, waste, and debt, it's easy to lose track of the pleasure and meaning of giving.

This year has probably been my favorite, probably because of my kids. One is four and the other is two. This meant they not only understood the joy of opening presents but they were able to start understanding the true meaning of Christmas. More than ever before I anticipated Christmas morning, not for the gifts I would receive, not for the piles of food, not for the time off from work, but rather the look on our kids’ faces when they saw their new puppy. But, much to my dismay, the kids were less impressed with the cute, cuddly puppy and more excited to give me my Christmas present (a present our daughter personally picked out). It took everything in her power to keep my present a secret. As much as she wanted to open her present, she really wanted me to open my present. I guess you could say I learned a lesson this year from a four year old. To be honest I think I learned several:

  1. It can be more blessed to give than to receive. And why not, the central theme to Christmas is both receiving and giving. How often do we lose sight of this?
  2. The time we spend with our children is priceless. You see, this present (the sled) derived from a summer trip we took to White Sands, New Mexico. During that trip I slid down the sand on my stomach, kids in tow! They haven’t forgotten.
  3. Every child deserves to know someone loves them. We take for granted the value we have as parents and the impact we can have on our children by spending time with them and showing them true love.
  4. The lessons we teach a child today will shape them forever. As a parent I’m overwhelmed with the pressure of having a positive impact on my children. There is no greater opportunity to teach them life’s valuable lessons than the holiday season, especially the true meaning of Christmas and the joy of celebrating this time with family.

Now we find ourselves less than a week away from a New Year. At that point and time we will discard resolutions from the past year, many of which we failed, and replace them with new, improved resolutions. However, before you make those resolutions I ask you to consider joining the Red Page team as we strive to focus on these four things above. Would you consider supporting our ministry financially as we invest in the lives of Romania’s children? Help us show these children the joy of receiving. Help us fill a void for so many children that do not know someone loves them. Help us invest in a team that will spend quality time with them. Help us teach these children life’s lessons that will shape them for the future.

Red Page is new and we have many needs. However, our greatest need is the empowerment to share the Gift of Christ in 2011. Your financial gift will allow us the opportunity to share this gift. Red Page is a 501 (c)(3) and all gifts are tax deductable. You can mail your gift to P.O. Box 53653, Lubbock, TX 79453. For additional information you can email us at contact@redpageministries.org.

From all of us at Red Page Ministries we wish you a Happy New Year. Aspire to new heights. Jon

No comments: