Ah . . . Christmas. There is just something special about the privilege of making or getting gifts for those we love. There is a secret inner delight of trying to discover what our loved ones desire and finding that item they truly need.
When my children were little, I would pick out gifts that I knew they would delight in and gifts that I knew would help them be delightful. As my kids grew, they knew I was always going to give them gifts to help grow their character and to help them get to know Jesus better. From little Christian storybooks and coloring books to wholesome DVDs and simply reading the Bible to them, I wanted my home to be a refuge and Christmas to be a time about Jesus, not things.
My adult children tease me now about the relentless devotionals I got them each year when they were teens and now they also thank me so very much for them. You see if I just gave them an object to delight in, rather than providing a gift that would help them to delight in God, the delight in the objects would fade, but the relationship discovered in devotionals, Bibles, Christian music, etc., would cultivate an inner delight that nothing in this world could take away.
Each year the task of getting gifts for others for Christmas can either be a daunting one or an opportunity to encourage those we love with the good news of our salvation. I thought I would share a Christmas gift idea list of some of my favorite timeless delightful ideas that God used to draw my children nearer to Himself. Happy shopping! There’s no guilt in giving these gifts. š