The Joy of Giving

With the holidays on us I have been reflecting a lot on giving lately. This morning the thought hit me: How empty life would be without giving!!! Let me explain: on Saturday we went to the little Christian bookstore here in town looking for the Veggie Tales Christmas movie, The Toy that Saved Christmas. I LOVE that movie, and Derek had grown a love for Veggie Tales while visiting my parents last week. Anyway, they didn't have that movie, but they did have the newest one called St. Nicholas. I was apprehensive at first. I wasn't sure how much Santa Claus lore would be in it, and those of you who have read my blog at all know exactly how I feel about Santa Claus! But, I bought it and took it home anyway. I watched it first without Derek, and guess what... I LOVED it!!! Santa was in it, but it was all about the story of St. Nicholas and how the Santa Claus legend got started. It was also about giving. It really is hearwarming. It resonated with me because my love language is giving gifts. That's how I show people I love them. I realized that my life would be pretty sad without giving. Nothing makes me happier than when I'm asked to donate a dollar to childhood cancer research, the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, or the Make A Wish Foundation. (In my opinion there's no excuse for not donating the dollar. I mean come on, they ask you at the check out. You're already spending money. Donate the flipping dollar!) Anyway, as Christmas approaches I want to really focus on giving. There's a song on the Veggie Tales movie: "I can love because God loves me, I can give because He gave. Jesus' love it why I'm smiling, why I'm giving every day." I'm not talking about just giving gifts at Christmas, I'm talking about giving of myself. Giving up things that make me comfortable for the sake of my family. Giving up my nights when needed for the sake of my son. Giving up my "me time" to clean the house for the sake of my husband. When I do these things, I glorify God with my giving. That's what giving is all about. Glorifying God and following His example of humbling Himself to the point of death. So let's all think about how we can give of ourselves this Christmas!!!!