gifts

Flashback – Best Christmas Gift Ever

The beautiful young ladies in this video are my daughters.  (Ignore the close-up moments of a teary-eyed me; my son was under strict orders from his sisters to zoom in on my face because they knew it was highly likely that I would cry!).  The song comes from a movie called “The Chipmunk Adventure” that was a childhood favorite of my girls.  The movie stars the Chipmunks – Alvin, Simon and Theodore – as well as their female counterparts, the Chipettes – Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor.  My girls watched the movie CONSTANTLY and loved this song.  And each of them can tell you EXACTLY which Chipette is “theirs”.They decided to surprise me by performing an original three-part arrangement of the song for Christmas this year.  My youngest daughter arranged the piece – with some helpful tweaks from the oldest – and they rehearsed in secret when the two younger girls were home from college for Christmas break.  I am blessed beyond words and humbled that they felt I was worthy of such a priceless gift!

Simple Gestures

My oldest daughter was reduced to tears by a breakfast food yesterday.

Maybe I should give a little back story!  🙂

The eldest child turned 22 yesterday.  Still not sure how that’s possible since I am definitely not old enough to have a 22 year old.  I mean I’m only . . . wait . . . never mind.  Now where was I?

Oh yeah.  Crying over a baked good.

We were on a vacation earlier this month and my eldest child was talking to her paternal grandfather and said, “My birthday is in two weeks.  You should send me some Louie’s nut rolls.”

Louie’s nut rolls.  These are a breakfast delicacy held in great reverence by my husband.  He grew up in a small town in Michigan where these wonderful treats are made and each time we go back to our home state to visit family that live near where hubby grew up, he finds time to make a trip out and buy several to share!  I think they are pretty tasty but I’m not NEARLY as crazy about them as my hubby, my oldest child, my nephew . . . you get the idea.

A package arrived yesterday for the birthday girl.  She opened it and there, in the box, were Louie’s nut rolls.  Her grandpa remembered.  And he touched the heart of a 22 year old young woman in a powerful way.  It didn’t cost him much.  He didn’t have to risk his life to get them for her.  But he remembered and he acted on her request.

This particular grandparent does not have a reputation for being the “sappy, sentimental” type.  No one would ever accuse him of being free with emotional expression.  But he obviously has a soft spot for his grandkids!  The fact that he took her request – which she admits was more of a joke than anything – and acted on it touched her simply because he’s not known for this type of thing.  In her words, “Grandpa remembered.  Of all people, he remembered!”

I know this isn’t a huge revelation for most of us.  But I needed this reminder that sometimes the simplest gesture can speak love powerfully to those around us.  Sometimes all it takes to make someone feel valued is a nutroll.

Doing My Part

There is a saying that keeps cruising around the social networking sites that goes something like – “Do not judge others because they sin differently than you do.”  I agree with that sentiment 100%.

I’d like to add a thought of my own – Don’t get frustrated with others who are called to minister differently than you.

It seems a little silly to me that I even need to say this.  I mean, it’s a concept found in scripture (I. Cor. 12:18-19 to be exact!)-

But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.  If they were all one part, where would the body be?

This passage contains pretty specific examples of just how important each part of the body is.  I mean, you wouldn’t try to hear with your eyeball or taste with your ear would you?

So why do we get frustrated when others aren’t passionate about the same ministries we are passionate about?!  Imagine a church in which every single member is over-the-top excited about children’s ministry.  I would bet that the VBS program would be the best ever and that the Sunday School classes would be the most exciting place to be.  But what would that do to all the other parts of church life?  Ministering to shut-ins?  The music ministry of the church? And what happens when those children outgrow the existing ministry and move into their teen years? Do you see what I’m getting at?

So why do we get so angry with others when they do not get on board the way we think they should?  We may see talents in others that would be perfectly used in a specific ministry.  But we don’t get to make those decisions for them.

It comes down to trust. We have to trust the Holy Spirit to motivate those in our church family to use the gifts HE has provided in the way HE wants them used.  It may not make sense to us.  We may not even like it much.  But if we believe that we are doing our part in the ministry that God wants to do through our local congregation, we need to leave it to Him to get others involved in the way that he sees best.