Need before Greed

By Charis Seeley

I’ve never gone shopping on Black Friday. The crowds, the lines, the chaos, none of it appeals to me. I’m not a very aggressive person. Every year there’s a terrible story of someone who was injured at a Black Friday sale. If I went, that person would likely be me.

It is amazing to me that an event that started as a way to get lots of Christmas shopping done has turned into a day of buying as much as we can. And not because we need it or really want it, but because it’s there and, well, we can.

When my mom asked me what I’d like for Christmas this year, I gave her an unexpected response. Since leaving the house and starting my own family, Christmas gifts have become an awkward dance. My husband and I have been blessed and if we really need something, we go buy it. We don’t wait for Christmas to come around. So, really, there’s nothing I truly need; I already have enough.

I know so many adults who say the same thing. What do you give someone that can easily afford what you’re giving them? I’m exhausted of buying gifts that I know the receiver doesn’t need and very well may not use. So I proposed a solution to my mom.

I told her about a Christian organization called World Vision. They work in impoverished parts of the world, helping struggling communities and families. On their website, you can purchase farm animals like chickens, goats, ducks, rabbits, and World Vision will give them to struggling families. The animals provide food, clothing, fertilizer for crops, and can be sold at market to cover the cost of other basics a family needs.

What would I like for Christmas this year? For myself, nothing. My mom feels the same as I do. Our lives are already so blessed. What more do we need? We won’t be exchanging physical gifts this year. Instead, we’re giving our business to World Vision and celebrate the birth of Christ (while skipping all the lines and chaos) and remembering that in Christ, we already have everything we need.

And, honestly? I think it may be the best Christmas yet.

God's Gracious Gifts

By Sharon Wilhite


Photographing a delicate snowflake,

a fuzzy pussy willow,

a glistening dew drop,

or a pollen-coated bee emerging from a flower gives me indescribable pleasure. It doesn't matter if my right hand is numb with cold, my backside frozen to its icy perch, my elbows and knees muddy from kneeling, or my neck stiff from looking upwards too long.
I'm doing what I love to do. What gives you great pleasure? What do you endure for your passions?

Is one passion better than another? It is pointless and unwise to try and compare oneself with others. God is the One who gives the desires and determination tailor made for the individual. In fact, God's gifts are to be likened to the most unique, personalized present one could ever receive. It can be a lengthy but wonder-filled process to unwrap layer after layer of beautiful wrapping paper to finally see the gift in all its glory nestled inside...then, to carefully take it out, gaze upon it, enjoy it privately and share it publicly.

One can only contemplate in amazement- in awe- the thought that went into the gift. (Psalm 40:5, 139:14,17) God Himself picked out this gift especially for ME! No sense of inflated self-importance or pride here. One doesn't choose, buy, or even give to others these unique talents. One just receives them.

Many unwise individuals choose to leave their gift(s), still wrapped and collecting dust, on a dark closet shelf. Others actually unwrap and discover their beautiful gift only to ensconce it forever in a glass display case. Admired but unused.


UNWRAP! ENJOY! USE!!! God delights in giving "good and perfect gifts." (James 1:17) In return, appreciate and delight in the GIVER and His gifts!

Further thoughts on gifts:

God's Best Gift - John 3:16, Romans 6:23

Use/Misuse of Gifts - Matthew 25:14-29

Valentine’s Day: Trivial and Not So Trivial

By Robin J. Steinweg

*15% of American women send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day.

*3% of pet owners give their pets valentines. (awww)

*Do you wear your heart on your sleeve? The expression started in the Middle Ages; young men and women drew names from a bowl to discover who would be their valentine. They wore these names on their sleeves for one week.

*I add a little red food coloring to the batter for pink heart-shaped pancakes on Valentine’s Day. For supper. With crispy bacon, sausages, and real Wisconsin maple syrup, candles, and my choice of music (just this once, please). And no boy-type body noises at the table.

*64% of men in the U. S. don’t make advance plans for a Valentine’s date with their sweeties. (Hurry! You still have twenty-four hours, fellas!)

*Sir Alexander Fleming introduced penicillin on February 14, 1929, the same day as Chicago’s Valentine’s Day Massacre. Same year the stock market crashed. On the upside, TinTin and Popeye made their debuts that year.

*People spend millions on Valentine’s Day for food, flowers, cards, gifts, and—chocolate!

*Some of the most expensive gifts:

• A six and a half million dollar pink diamond ring by Harry Winston. (’wonder how much a white one is?)

• A purse by Chanel for over two hundred thousand dollars. (no loose change inside)

• A Guerlain lipstick for over sixty thousand dollars. (doesn’t include poofy lips)

• Nearly three thousand for Manolo Blahnik alligator halter shoes. (I never saw an alligator in a halter, nor in shoes) (uff-da)

One of history’s great gifts of love is the Taj Mahal, built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in memorial of his wife. It took nearly 22 years to build.

The costliest and greatest gift ever? Freedom from sin and the grave!

“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Now…

…love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Peter 1:18-21, 22b NIV).

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Robin J. Steinweg thinks life is sweet right in the middle of homeschooling, writing children’s books, directing, writing and arranging music, teaching music, and listening for the Music of the Master’s voice. Among other things, Robin writes devotionals for the online magazine The Christian Pulse.