Our Love Is His Love
Christmas is about Christ. The day bares His name and should bring us closer to Him. It instills in our hearts a feeling of gratitude and reverence. Christ’s life was a gift to us. He lived for all of us, and died for all of us. Because of his gift, we give gifts at Christmas.
If you are like me, each gift you give at Christmas time has a meaning; a feeling of love wrapped up in it. My children give home made gifts of love which make me simultaneously smile and cry, because their love is so apparent in the gift. The more heart-felt the gift, the better it is.
Money Doesn’t Matter
Our family is self-employed, so some Christmas seasons we have more money than other Christmas seasons; and sometimes much less. Lack of money has never stopped us from spreading love through gift giving though. We just get more creative.
Some years we have a home made Christmas. Other years we have had D.I. Christmas. D.I is a local thrift store we have in our area. There have been a number of years when we have decided upon a D.I. Christmas.
On these years we go to the thrift store and try to find cool gifts for cheap! My children absolutely love it! They get each other really neat stuff, like golf clubs, and roller blades, which normally would be out of their childish budgets. I will always remember the look on my youngest son’s face as he carried his older brother’s Christmas gift, a golf bag with clubs which he picked up for four dollars at Shop Indoor Golf, into the living room and presented it to his older brother. He was beaming! His eyes were so proud and his whole countenance was full of love.
We also like to show love to our neighbors at Christmas time by giving a small gift of some sort, or something home made. With these gifts we like to spread the true meaning of Christmas if possible.
Nails For Christmas?
This year we are giving nails to all our neighbors. (I hope none of them are reading right now!)
If you are looking for a great neighbor gift ideas, this will be one you like.
About twelve years ago a good friend gave me a peculiar gift; a nail with a red ribbon. It was actually a Christmas tree ornament. It was definitely one of the plainest ornaments I had ever seen, so I was a bit confused.
“Read the poem.” she said.
It said:
It’s Christmas time at our house and we’re
putting up the tree.
I wished I could find one simple way to
remember Christ’s gift to me.
Some little sign or symbol, to show friends
stopping by, the little babe was born one day but
He really came to die.
Some symbol of his nail-pierced hands, the blood
He shed for you and me…
What if I hung a simple nail on my shining
Christmas tree?
A Christmas bow tied ’round the nail-symbol of
His blood that flowed so free to save each person
from their sin and redeem us for all eternity.
I know it was love for us that held him to that
“tree” but when I see this simple nail, I know
He died for me!
For twelve years we have reverently pulled that nail out of the Christmas box and hung it high on the tree. It is one of our most treasured ornaments even though it wasn’t from a trip, or for a special event. It is His ornament, and we love it.
This year our neighbors will get a nail and a poem too. It doesn’t cost that much to make, but its worth is great because it reminds us that the tree and everything under it is for Him, whose birth we celebrate; even Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the savior of us all. He sends us messages of love each day in the form of miracles, blessings, the necessities of life, and loved ones. I testify that as we focus on Him each day throughout this Christmas season, we will feel His love in our lives and be more able to share that feeling of love with others. And, we all know our world needs more love. Merry Christmas!
The BBC show staring Nicholeen Peck’s Family
Buy Nicholeen’s Book, Audio Classes, or Implementation Course
Wow, that’s pretty intense to put a nail as a reminder of the crucifixion on a Christmas tree. Bold, but effective. He was born to die. There is also something morbid about the death of a Christmas tree itself, which we cut down from the forest, and prop up in place with screws, slowly dying before our eyes, with it’s arms outstretched, strewn with ornaments like Christ and his crown, the tree of life, dying to save.
Nate, I never thought about the tree in that way. So cool! Thanks for sharing.