gifts

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Christmas shopping – I Could Use Some Help

For me, Christmas shopping has always been that task that has been left to the last moments. 

Christmas shopping - I could use some help

Over the years there is probably no other activity I’ve procrastinated over more than Christmas shopping. The biggest reason has always been time. Where do you fit shopping into your schedule? My answer has more than often been, “at the end of it”. 

I’ve had some crazy last minute shopping trips … like the year I spent four hours on Christmas Eve looking for the main gift to give my wife, Lily. 

I travelled to every mall in Edmonton and twice to the West Edmonton Mall (at the time the largest shopping mall in world). I had seen a sweater for Lily but I could not remember where I had seen it. 

By the end, I was pretty sure I had made up that sweater in my head. And the sweater I did get her was a conglomeration of all the sweater ideas I had looked at. 

That day was one of my worst memories. I was stressed!

But now I don’t have time constraints to keep me from shopping early and often.

My problem is nobody is coming up with good ideas for Christmas presents. What I mean by that is, an idea has to pass my approval rating to really be considered as a possible present option. Not every suggestion is worthy of me going to the store. I have to want to give the gift. 

I’m not sure if this is a “me” thing. But unless I’m really feeling it, I can’t lay down the money to purchase it. 

There have been years that family have gotten gifts that they never asked for simply because I didn’t like their suggestions. 

However, I don’t like taking gift giving into my own hands because it’s a lot of work. I have to weave my way through the stores and the other shoppers just hoping something of interest will catch my attention.

That’s a lot of work, especially when you don’t like shopping in the first place.

This year I’m being faced with this kind of scenario because no one is coming up with viable options for me. 

I even put a message up on my sign board for my family to read. It says “Should be shopping for presents, but nobody wants anything.”

Where are the good old days when my son would literally circle every toy in the Sears Christmas wish catalogue? It made things so much easier. 

Now with less that two weeks before Christmas I have to get moving to find just the right gifts to get my family. 

Sure I have the time – I have all afternoon today, in fact – but wandering around a shopping mall is not my idea of fun. 

I want to get gifts that I can walk into a store and grab off the shelf and go directly to the cash register with. 

All I know is I’m going to need a few extra naps after all my shopping trips in the next week or so.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes, like at Christmas, we don’t know what we need, or we think we know what we need but it may not be what we need most. Unlike me trying to figure out Christmas presents for my family, God knows exactly what we need. He sent us the greatest gift of all, His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus is the perfect gift for everyone. We have no greater need than to be made right with God (forgiven) and made part of His family. This year be sure you have God’s gift of Christ for yourself and for others in your life. It’s all there for you by placing your faith in Jesus Christ. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need most this Christmas? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Bread Is Not Just Something That Arrives At The Table

I guess you can call me the breadman now. I’ve started making bread at home.

bread is not just something that arrives at the table

I’ve never really done any baking before and it was never something my mother taught me growing up.

I was always better at eating what she made than I was at helping in the preparations. In fact, I was such a good consumer of baking that my mom would bake cookies and then hide them. If she didn’t there wasn’t any cookies for dessert at dinner time. 

My brother and I would come home from school and scarf down a handful of cookies each. I think my mom got a little discouraged seeing all her hard work gone in a matter of minutes. But she should have been pleased that we liked what she baked. 

I still love those oatmeal cookies with gum drops in them … and her gingerbread cookies were indeed fine.

In our marriage, I’ve carried on that tradition of being a better eater than a baker. Lil has complained a few times how the cookies seem to disappear rather rapidly after she bakes them.

Maybe that’s one of the reasons why she doesn’t make cookies all that often anymore. 

So I have experience in baking – it’s just more on the front end than on the back end.

And one thing I do eat regularly is bread. Two days a week I have toast for breakfast, so we need to have bread in the house for that. 

Years ago Lily took to making bread and so that has been my main source for one piece with a little butter on it and the other with a whack of peanut butter slathered over the surface.

But recently Lily was away. The weekend was approaching and we were out of bread for my traditional Saturday morning grapefruit and toast.

So I took to the phone and got some instructions on how to use the bread machine, including the precise ingredients and the correct order to add them.

Then I got the machine all set and let it rip. I set the time to come on early in the morning so I would have piping hot, fresh bread by breakfast time.

I have to tell you, it was some of the finest toast I have ever had! The loaf itself was perfect in colour and shape. Really, for my first effort, I don’t think I could have done a better job. I mean I must be a natural. 

This may be one of my special talents in life. I wouldn’t call it a spiritual gift, but I think just maybe I’ve been blessed with the ability to make bread.

For sure I impressed myself and figure I’m a baker now. I may start listing my new talent in my LinkedIn profile and with my email handle.

There is a hockey player whose last name is Panarin and they call him the breadman. I don’t think there’s any reason not to refer to me as the breadman now too.

Here’s the thing: When we take a look at what we do well, we can give thanks to God since He has made us with the gifts and skills we possess. And those talents are not just for our own benefit, but also to benefit others. For those who have placed their faith in God, He also gives us spiritual gifts to use to benefit God’s people and His kingdom. Use your talents and gifts well to serve others.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are your top talents and what is your spiritual gift? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Christmas Shopping – Love It Or Hate It

I have a love hate relationship with Christmas shopping. It’s been like this for years.

Christmas Shopping - Love It or hate it

Generally I don’t like shopping. I guess that’s why I don’t do it that often … though there was a time when I would check out the computer shops on Saturday afternoons, not to buy anything but to look at what I might want to purchase in the future. 

My kids like shopping for clothes. I really dislike it and that’s why I only shop for clothes when I’m in desperate need, or when my wife, Lily, has conned me into trying something on.

What I’m saying is you won’t find me in stores very often … well, maybe Costco on occasion. 

However, at Christmas time I make up for a whole year of store neglect. 

You know how many stores go from being in the red all year to getting in the black at Christmas? Well, I’m part of their Christmas statistic.

I have to say that I still don’t like the shopping aspect of Christmas, but I do like purchasing gifts for my loved ones.

And, for that joy, I will drive to the store even if it’s a dollar store to get stocking stuffers.

But what I don’t like is roaming around a mall or store looking for some illusive item that will be the perfect gift for my wife or either of my kids. 

Maybe that’s why I dislike hunting. 

Hunters go in the bush, get a nice comfortable spot and wait and wait and wait. 

Sometimes they come back to the camp at the end of the day and they never took a shot. They never saw anything to shoot or they didn’t have a clear shot when there was something in their sights. 

The thing about hunters is they are okay with that. And the next day they go right back out there to wait and wait all over again. 

I would want to shoot the gun. After a couple of hours I’d been looking for something to shoot. I wouldn’t even care if it was a stump or a tree or even just into the ground. I would want to fire that gun. 

When I Christmas shop I want to bag that gift. I don’t want to look and look and not find anything to buy. I want to get into that store, pick up an item and head to the till with my purchase. 

What gets me all frustrated though is that my family has a difficult time giving me suggestions of what they want. 

Look, I’m going to buy you a present. Don’t tell me you don’t know what you want. 

Give me a target to shoot at. Please!

All I need to see is the twinkle of the lights on the packaging and I will not miss.

I will come home with the trophy.

But sadly this Christmas looks like it is going to be spent waiting and waiting, then looking and looking for the perfect gift for some important people who don’t know what they want or need. 

Here’s the thing: There are a lot of people who don’t know what they need. They seem to be oblivious of their need. They’re happy to go along without knowing what they really need in life. That is when we have to let them know what they are missing out on, what they could have if they were aware. What we all need is Christ in our lives. If someone doesn’t know it, it’s worth telling them so they don’t miss out. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need most this Christmas? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Why Anniversaries Are Special

Special days and anniversaries often come and go without giving them too much thought. There are, however, certain special days that are more special than others.

Pearl-in-a-Shell-psd86432

Though every birthday is special, when someone turns 16 that’s extra special because they can obtain a driver’s license. At eighteen you are considered an adult and get to vote, so that’s special. Depending where you live, 19 or 21 is a special day for dubious reasons.

It seems that span of about five years is littered with extra special days. But after that, the special days like birthdays and anniversaries seem to come in 10 year periods like 30, 40, 50, et cetera.

Some people look forward to these special days; others pretend they didn’t happen.

It’s more likely that someone will want to hide the fact they have reached an age milestone, while being quite proud of reaching an anniversary achievement.

Yesterday I celebrated my 29th wedding anniversary with my wife, Lily. Twenty-nine is not one of those special anniversary dates – 30 is a big deal but 29 is just a run-of-the-mill anniversary.

It doesn’t even have a name or gift associated with it. I figured the gift for the 29th anniversary would be brunch at “Milestones” the restaurant.

It had to be something like that because I have to save up for next year’s anniversary which is “pearl”.

I had a great aunt named “Pearl” and it would’ve been nice to bring her over for tea or something on our 30th … she would be about 115 now. Auntie Pearl passed away 20 years ago so I can’t use her as my “pearl” gift to Lily on our 30th.

It’s a good thing I have a year to figure it out.

But getting back to this no-name 29th anniversary of ours. Though on the surface it doesn’t seem hardly worth getting a card to even acknowledge the day, it is in fact a very special anniversary to me.

On this day I have now been married for exactly half my life – the most recent half, I might add.

That’s significant. Think of all the years you grew up in your home with your family, and then all the years you hung out with friends and went to school, and the years you figured out what career you were going to go for.

Think of all the fun and hardships of the years you spend before you were married, the experiences and adventures, all the people, all the laughter, tears, worry.

Well, all of that, I’ve done all over again with Lily. It’s like I’ve lived life twice, once single and now a second time married.

So you see, my 29th anniversary is a special day. It should be called something, even at the very least, the “corrugated paper” anniversary.

Hey, that’s a great idea! I could get Lily a box, and I could fill the box with hope … hope that next year she’ll get a pearl on her anniversary.

Here’s the thing: Have you ever compared your life before Christ to the time you’ve spent with Him? The experiences, the adventures, the joys, laughter, tears and worry? Have you ever considered just how significant your life with Christ has been so far compared to your life before you knew Him? Take some time to reflect on that, and praise God for your relationship with Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has been a particularly special date or memory you have had with Christ?  Leave your comment below.