The best gift ever...

Yesterday at church, our pastor gave a great sermon. Part of the sermon was about Christmas Themes. If you'd like to view the sermon click here. It will be Pastor Bill, Acts Chapter 11. Ok, so back to the Christmas themes. He mentioned 3 of them.

1. Surprise - be open to surprises!
2. No favoritism - Be open to all people. 
3. Giving - Give to those who have needs and not just to those who have lists.

# 3 and the way he put it really spoke to me. This Christmas we have very little to give from a financial aspect. And I'm fine with that. We are cutting down which always brings us to remember what Christmas is about...it's about JESUS! Celebrating HIS birthday! If I am celebrating His birthday, doesn't it seem fitting that I give HIM a gift? And so...what would that gift be? If Jesus had a birthday list, what would be at the top of it? I think it would have something to do with loving others. What do you think?

This year on Christmas, we will be going to the Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul. It's a local homeless shelter. We will give each of our Christmas guests, the gift of our time. We are also going to give them each a gift. We'll be giving gifts with gloves, hats, scarves, socks, and a little something. While we are full for our volunteers slots, we do still need help with gifts and food. If you're interested, here's the link to help. You can also donate and specify what you would like the money to go to. Or help someone in your community.

Finally...what is the best gift ever? Well, our pastor said it is your wrapped attention! Yes! That indeed is the best gift. The gift of your love. Love others! Yes, that includes your family. But I'm also talking about those that you don't know. What can you do to love someone who's not expecting it? Surprise someone today!

I would love to hear about ways you surprise someone with love!