Christmas Faith & Hope e-letter It’s been wonderful to hear from young ladies literally all over the world! As you all have taken “faith and hope” and passed it along to your friends I have heard back from them. That’s an amazing encouragement to me. I love and do pray for those of you who ask for prayer requests. God bless you as you seek Him in the most important areas of your lives. God bless your hearts. Today I heard from Naomi from Wales. Yesterday I heard from Christine from Malaysia. And Vanessa from the sunny hot south! And so many more.. God bless you all.

It’s the first week of December and so I thought I would write about the beauty of the season and a favorite memory of mine. I hope it inspires you today.

“What Can I Give Him?”

Christmas Eve candlelit services were one of my favorite times of the year. It was in our little church out in the country in between snow-covered fields, luminaries lined the walk up to the front steps of the church. I was a younger girl then and nervously sang a simple solo that night during the service. The song went like this,

“What can I give Him, poor as I am

If I were a shepherd I would give a lamb,

If I were I wise man I would do my part,

But what can I give Him, I’ll give Him my heart”

A few years later…
It was Christmas Eve. Our family was enjoying a relaxing evening at home listening to Christmas music and enjoying the pine tree and lights. Candles burned and kids played near the tree. I remembered our neighbor lady who lived two doors down from ours. She lived in a small house. She was not the friendliest neighbor she was actually a little crabby and mean. I remembered she didn’t seem to have many friends visit her little home, I think I could understand why.

I wanted to do something for her this Christmas even though I was kinda scared about going over to her house. I didn’t know what I could do for her. I didn’t make a lot of money and the money I did have I tried to buy my family some simple gifts. I decided I would make her some cookies. I could do that. We had the chocolate chips and everything I needed for cookies. After they were out of the oven I remember bundling up and asking my sisters to walk with me to her house.

My sister’s and I were laughing at nothing in particular as we made our way across the lawn. The moon was shining brightly that Christmas Eve and I can still remember trudging across the snow-covered ground, the sounds of our footsteps crunching the snow. I held the warm and steaming cookies on a tin Christmas plate. I knew in that moment we were making a Christmas memory I would always remember.

We knocked on the door and it slowly opened. When I told her we had cookies for her and wanted to wish her a merry Christmas she had us inside. We talked to her and tried to make her know and feel that we cared about her as her neighbor. As the girls and I walked back toward the lights of home we had a feeling of peace and joy in our hearts that we helped brighten someone’s Christmas that year…

It reminds me of my favorite scene in “Little Woman”. The girls are up chattering on Christmas morning happy and excited about the beautiful feast for Christmas they are about to enjoy. Then as the girls are talking the maid comes in and talks about a poor family they knew, not having a meal on Christmas. As they sit at the table each girl gets quiet and then each of them reaches out for something she can give away.

As Christian women we should be so in love with our Savior that we look around, search around for something, anything we can get our hands on to offer back to Him. It doesn’t have to be something we can’t afford. What do you have… chocolate chips? We all have something we can give back to Him. He has been so good. And we know that when we give something to someone in His name we ultimately give it to Jesus. What can you give Him this year?

Special Verse:

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Mat 2:11

Quote to Keep:

“I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.” - Charles Dickens

A Practical Tip for Today:

Make a plate of Christmas cookies with your sisters add sprinkles, cookie cutters and anything festive and fun that they will remember. Make enough for the brothers too. (Just make sure to clean up the mess! Yikes) You will make a memory with them while you spread love and joy to someone who needs it. It will brighten your day too and no one will soon forget the memory.

God bless you all with the joy of giving whatever you have in Jesus’ Name.

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