Lily’s Christmas List

She’s been looking at the Compassion Gift Catalog for a while. Well, until Brent squished a huge moth between the magazine and a wall. I had to throw away the moth juice splattered magazine. 

Compassion is a quality I faithfully pray she will have.  

I can’t take credit for anything she said in the bathtub tonight. We serve a God that answers prayers. He’s molding my child in to what He wants her to be: filled with compassion. 

Since Lily was born, Christmas traditions make me cringe. I enjoy them to the fullest, be sure of that! The tree, the pictures with Santa, the food, the crafts, Elvis (my fave Christmas album), the wonder and magic of this season. It’s my favorite time of year because it really is wonderful.

I’m not against the traditions. 

C.S. Lewis said, Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. 

I don’t want the true meaning for Christmas to be moderately important in our family. I want it to be infinitely important, far above all earthly traditions. And I want Jesus to have highest importance in our hearts year round. I’m serious about my Jesus and the great sacrifice He made for me. He’s far too good and faithful to me for me to treat Him like he’s just something worth considering alongside all the other earthly things. 

I think too many of us let Jesus become moderately important. 

I don’t think it’s a mistake to take Him too serious. To take God’s wrath too serious. And to take His love too serious. 

With Black Friday just around the corner, I’m bound to be asked by several people what is on Lily’s Christmas list this year. I have such a hard time with this. One, I’m an anti-clutter freak and don’t want toys to take over my house. Two, I don’t want her to receive a ton of meaningless gifts that she doesn’t need and will only create a short-lived happiness. I like for her gifts to have purpose and/or meet a need, whether that be spiritual, intellectual, physical, etc. But I’m not going to walk the aisles of Target and take note of all the gifts I’m sure she would enjoy.

I’m home alone tonight while Brent is at football game and Lily is with her grandparents. I began writing down a list of gifts for family to get Lily so that I will be prepared Thanksgiving night when we sit down as a family to create our plan of attack for Black Friday. One thing led to another and I found myself looking at Compassion’s website at children who have been waiting over a year to be sponsored.

Over a year.

For 473 (and less) days over a thousand children have been waiting for one of us to sacrifice a mere $38 a month so that they can receive basic needs and receive the good news of Jesus.

Remind me again why Lily needs a Christmas list?

We sponsor sweet Richard in Togo. If I could meet him I think my heart would melt and I would fill a river with my joyful tears.

If you sponsor a child either through Compassion or another similar organization, thank you for sacrificing a portion of your budget to completely change the life of not just a child, but an entire family. Isn’t it a blessing and don’t you LOVE getting letters and pictures from your child?

If you aren’t involved in something like this, what are you waiting on? Because there are faces of precious children  right here that have been waiting for over a year for someone (you) to change their world for just $38. If you have children, picture your child in one of those pictures and see if you can say no to sponsoring a child. I hope you can’t help but say yes.

No, Compassion did not ask me to write this post. This is what’s on my merry little heart.

May we carefully regard Jesus in our lives. To see that He is esteemed and respected above all earthly things.