Gift giving can be a challenge. Some people enjoy it. Others tolerate it. Some simply resort to swapping money and gift cards!<\/p>\n
I have said on numerous occasions that I need a plan in the gift-giving department. I am one of six children. All of my siblings are married. Twenty-one nieces and nephews have blessed my world. So if you want to celebrate, it turns into lots of dates and people to remember\u2014not to mention moments of panic when Mom announces another birthday is on the horizon.<\/p>\n
Last Christmas, I decided to make a gift of sleepovers at my apartment for my in-state nieces and nephews\u2014that is, for those old enough to be away from their moms and dads overnight.<\/p>\n
The most recent one was held near the end of February. It was for the youngest group. (So young that one didn\u2019t come! Maybe next year, Katelyn.) My sister-in-law Jen had made a calendar for two of her children, Megan and Simon, so they could \u201cX off\u201d the days until it was time to come. They were so excited! Megan wanted to begin the sleepover days early. Signs of a good gift!<\/p>\n
I arrived home on the appointed day with about an hour until showtime. There was a lot to be done: clearing clutter, putting up groceries, and preparing for a treasure hunt. With help from neighbors (my parents), I soon was ready for my guests.<\/p>\n
Samantha was the first to arrive. She stood at my door wearing a little backpack while her father carried in the rest of her things. Then Megan and her mom came, reporting that Simon had woken up from his nap grumpy and would arrive at the party when he was happy. It didn\u2019t take him long. We were playing the game Memory when he arrived.<\/p>\n
Activities included reading several favorite books, playing Memory, putting together puzzles, sitting at the \u201ccinema,\u201d eating at the kitchen bar, hunting for treasures, clowning around and singing in the car, and sleeping. (I discovered it\u2019s not so easy for me to sleep on the floor anymore.)<\/p>\n
Samantha, Simon, and Megan are treasures. What gifts they are to me. I gave and, in turn, received.<\/p>\n
Some lessons (if we are willing to be taught and willing to see) can be learned from a couple of 4-year-old girls and a little 3-year-old boy.<\/p>\n
We had just completed the treasure hunt. Their bags were full of treats, and Simon rushed downstairs to show his mother. (They live in the main house below.) I didn\u2019t stop him. He was so eager to show what he had received.<\/p>\n
Lesson:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0When blessed, do we rush to tell someone? Words penned by the psalmist read: \u201cBlessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah\u201d (Ps. 68:19, KJV). I love the word daily in that verse. It\u2019s not just a special occasion. It\u2019s day in and day out. It\u2019s load after load of benefits. The challenge is that we see the blessings, that we run to tell what God is doing. Line up behind Simon and show off your God to others.<\/p>\n She was sitting on the floor with root beer in her Tupperware jug. (Parents, hold on. No caffeine. But yes, sugar . . . let\u2019s not talk about that.) In a pitiful voice, she told me she had spilled her soda. I looked and saw that some of the root beer was heading toward the closet door. Quickly, I grabbed the wipes and was down on the floor wiping and sopping up the sugar\u2014I mean soda. Megan was sorry.<\/p>\n Lesson:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Be willing to admit mistakes. If you live long enough, you will \u201cspill soda,\u201d too. Be alert to the problem, admit it, be sorry, move on. We are human. Why pretend otherwise? The Philippians were encouraged with words in a letter from Apostle Paul: \u201cBeloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus\u201d (Phil. 3:13-14).<\/p>\n As Megan and Samantha were talking together, the subject of spanking came up. I pursued it further. And then Samantha asked her question about grownups getting spanked. I thought it would be good because some folks act like they need it.<\/p>\n Imagine, a time of spanking on Sunday mornings for all those adult Christians who were \u201cthrowing fits\u201d about whatever situations. That might change a few things. I imagine that some of us adults would be in the line for a good spanking. Some of us more often than others.<\/p>\n Lesson:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Good parents ask obedience from their children. So does God. How\u2019s it going, child of God? Are you listening to God\u2019s instructions? Are you obeying them? Is your will submitted to God\u2019s? The writer of Hebrews proclaims, \u201c. . . for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts\u201d (Heb. 12:6). If you are being spanked\u2014 or if you need one\u2014remember that God\u2019s love for you is beyond knowledge. God \u201cspanks\u201d you because God loves you.<\/p>\n We were in another round of playing Memory. Simon and I had started; Samantha joined in. For some reason, Samantha left the game a couple of times. Once she made it back in time for her turn. Another time she was still \u201cmissing in action.\u201d I encouraged Simon to take his turn. He answered, \u201cIt\u2019s Samantha\u2019s turn.\u201d I persisted. He relented. Seriously, it was a sleepover, not the Indy 500. I could have waited.<\/p>\n Lesson:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Really? Are we in that much of a hurry? If you aren\u2019t there, do we just zoom on without you? Too bad for you! How are we doing following Philippians 2:4? \u201cLet each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.\u201d Do we take the time to care about others, to consider others\u2019 feelings, to tarry for others?<\/p>\n We were traveling to BJ\u2019s to connect with Samantha\u2019s ride home. I wanted to take a right turn on a red arrow and remembered that I needed to stop and wait for a green light at this particular signal. I exclaimed out loud about having to wait, and a little voice from the backseat said, \u201cSometimes in life you have to wait.\u201d It was Samantha, but it could have been God!<\/p>\n Lesson:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0I came across a verse in Psalms I needed. \u201cWait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord\u201d (Psalms 27:14). The challenge: It\u2019s God\u2019s timing, purposes, plans, and paths, not ours. God knows what is best and wants us to trust God enough to be at peace, even in the midst of our storms. Don\u2019t be anxious at the red light. Take time to rest in God.<\/p>\n We were less than a mile from home, and Megan wanted to unbuckle her seatbelt. The law doesn\u2019t allow it, although she may not have known that. I told her no, explaining that we weren\u2019t home yet.<\/p>\n Lesson:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0We aren\u2019t home yet. Stay in the saddle until you arrive. Don\u2019t coast, grow weary, or quit. Remain strapped into the faith, stand fast in the Lord, serve the Lord with gladness. Run hard for the finish line, don\u2019t hold back. May you unbuckle? No way, friend, not on your life! Run your race to win!<\/p>\n \u201cDo you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it\u201d (1 Cor. 9:24).<\/p>\n You just never know what you will receive when you give a gift. Give, friend, give.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Some lessons (if we are willing to be taught and willing to see) can be learned from a couple of 4-year-old girls and a little 3-year-old boy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":53,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[8,10],"class_list":["post-52","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-study","tag-bible-study","tag-melody-keller"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52\/revisions\/54"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\u201cI spilled my soda.\u201d \u2014Megan<\/h3>\n
\u201cWhat if grownups got spanked?\u201d \u2014Samantha<\/h3>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Samantha\u2019s turn.\u201d \u2014Simon<\/h3>\n
\u201cSometimes in life you have to wait.\u201d \u2014Samantha<\/h3>\n
\u201cMay I unbuckle?\u201d \u2014Megan<\/h3>\n