The Best Gift of All

Have you ever been excited to give someone a present? Ever anticipated seeing their face when they open it? There have been several presents over the years I've been excited to give (maybe even more excited than the person I've given them to!). I remember when we were first married, money was tight. I had left Channel 16 and they were suing me. I was using every bit of money I had to pay the attorney. During that year, I was working 4 part-time jobs but I was able to tuck away $20 here and there to prepare for Christmas. Someone had given me a tip that my husband wanted a new set of golf clubs but would never ask for them. After doing some shopping and sneaking around, I bought a set of new Callaway Golf Clubs for $700 and hid them. I couldn't wait until Christmas because I wanted to see his face when he opened the box. I was more excited about seeing his reaction and the smile on his face. Sure enough, his reaction didn't disappoint me. In my opinion, that was a great gift!

Over the last few weeks, I've been reminded about how God must've felt in sending Jesus to earth as a baby. I wondered, "Was God excited? Was He peeking around the corner waiting and watching for our reaction? Did God wonder if we would like His gift?"

What makes giving a gift special? When I gave the golf clubs to my husband, my gift was special because times were tough financially and it was a sacrifice on my part. Did God the Father feel that way? Think about it...He had one Son to give...that's it. God knew His Son would bring you much joy and comfort. God knew His Son would save you from your sins so you could have eternal life. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life." You don't give special, sacrificial gifts to someone you don't love. What a waste of your time and effort! But you'll give whatever you can afford to someone you love dearly.

See God's gift for what is it--sacrificial, one-of-a-kind, full of love and adoration. And just imagine God peeking around the corner of your life to see how you react to His gift!

Merry Christmas!

(I'll return on January 2, 2008.)

What About the Baby Jesus?

There is a commercial running on WLBT which shows a home all decked out for Christmas. The sister is rushing around getting ready for a Christmas party; the father is busy working on his palm pilot; and the mother is yelling at them about getting the presents wrapped and her casserole out of the oven. The camera then shows the little brother sitting on the floor asking, "What about the baby Jesus?" When that commercial came on the other day, Gracie was sitting beside me. I noticed her face and her eyes filled up with tears. "They forgot about baby Jesus, mom. You can't forget about baby Jesus and his manger friends at Christmas!" This commercial obviously caused her concern.

How true it is. This is a busy time of year and if we aren't vigilant, we will forget about the baby Jesus. The sad fact is, most people want to keep Jesus as a baby in the manger. They don't let him grow up. They don't see him for the Savior he is. They don't see him as God in the flesh. They don't see him as coming to die on the cross for their sins. They don't let baby Jesus ever get out of the manger in their life.

For me, the baby Jesus signifies hope. Romans 15:4 says, "Everything that was written in the past was written to teach me, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures I might have hope."

If we don't slow down and take it all in, we will totally miss the "Christ" in Christmas. We will totally miss the whole purpose for God sending His Son.

God's Favorite Things To Say

Who doesn't love a surprise? Gracie has this game she plays---she goes to get something from my bathroom drawer or my jewelry box, she puts it in tissue paper, then brings it to me. "I have something for you, mommy....Surprise!" Of course, the object of the game is for me to act surprised and not point out that the item is something that was already mine.

I think of God as having two favorite sayings:
"Surprise!" and
"My grace is sufficient for you!"

Think back on some of the people in the Bible to whom God said "surprise" to: Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Job, Ester, Mary, David, Paul...the list goes on and on. Sure, it probably wasn't the surprise they wanted as they probably saw it as adversity or trials God was allowing to come their way. But God always walked through every trial with them and comforted them. You can almost hear Him say, "My grace is sufficient for YOU!"

So has God said "surprise!" to you lately and completely caught you off guard with a new challenge? You may not think of it as a present right now or a pleasant experience (then again, it may be), but remember...His grace is sufficient to get you through it!

Fear Not

I love the childrens programs this time of the year. There are always plenty of children to act out the roles of shepherds, wise men, sheep, cattle, Mary & Joseph...and don't forget the angels. Gracie played an angel in our church program a few weeks ago and had more fun with the costume than should be allowed. She really thought once she put the wings on, she was immediately transformed to an angelic state of mind. When I asked her what did the angels say when Jesus was born, I thought she would say something like "Glory to God" or "Jesus is born"; something like that. But the thing that stuck out in her mind the angels said was "Fear not!".

Have you ever noticed when God had good news to give to someone, He sent His angels to proclaim "Fear not"? Obviously, seeing an angel was enough to bring anyone to their knees, but God wanted to let it be known He had good news to share in the middle of adversity. When Mary was told she would bear God's Son, the angel told her "Fear not" (Luke 1:30); when the shepherds saw the star announcing Jesus' birth, the angel told them "Fear not" (Luke 2:10); when Isaiah learned of the job he had before him in being a helper to Israel, he was told "Do not fear" (Isaiah 41:10). In all of these examples, as well as many others, I noticed God always had a plan to deliver the person He was talking to. He didn't make them shake in their boots for nothing! God wanted them to know that He understood their concern and their anxiety, but He would see them through it all.

Hebrews 13:5-6 says it best, "God Himself has said He will not in way fail me nor give me up not leave me without support. He will not in any degree leave me helpless nor forsake me let me down. So I take comfort and am encouraged and confidently and boldly say, 'The Lord is my Helper. I will not be seized with alarm.'"

Happy Birthday Will!

Today is a special day in the Bassett home--it is Will's 2nd birthday. It seems like yesterday when my water broke just minutes before the 5pm newscast. Will was breech so we had a scheduled c-section date planned, however Will didn't know that. All I could think was "I can't have this baby right here! He's not turned right!" Not to mention, I didn't want Bert Case to be the one to delivery him! (For all of you out-of-staters, Bert is our 5pm news anchor--a legend newsman in these parts). I drove myself to the emergency room while fighting the contractions and the plans that were put in place to do a c-section a few days later were sped up to do the procedure right then. Over the last 2 years, things haven't always gone as planned, but we've had more fun with this little boy. I've laughed more times than I begin to count; and cried over a few broken items. Boys are definitely different than little girls. So today, I'm taking off to be with my children and to enjoy this time which appears to be flying by now more than ever.

I'll leave you with the scripture the Lord put on my heart when I found out we were expecting Will. Zephaniah 3:17, "The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing."

The Dance

The other night, 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' was on. One of my favorite characters in the whole cartoon series is Snoopy. What makes Snoopy so unique is that he shows his joy. Have you ever seen his Snoopy dance? His feet go 90 miles an hour, his paws are up in the air, he tilts his head back and his ears flop all around him. Snoopy knows how to rejoice.

Several years ago, my husband bought me a car for Christmas. It was the car I had always wanted and the one I still have today. He gave me a box to open and at the bottom of the box was a set of keys. He escorted me outside, lifted up the garage door and there it was! He claims I did a 'Snoopy dance' right there on the driveway and says the neighbors watched it all (I don't remember such an event).

Psalm 30:11 says, "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness." Rejoicing is a demonstration of our faith in God. The Lord is turning things around for our good. If you don't rejoice through your circumstances, Satan will think he's winning.

The next time something happens you're not expecting or when you find yourself down and out about a situation, do a 'Snoopy dance'--rejoice in the Lord! Act like you are winning in Christ!

The Inconvenient Truth

I traveled to Utica last Sunday to sing at Utica Baptist Church. My good friends and pastor of the church, Ben and Laura Leigh James, always ask me to come sing for their church about this time of the year. I took the children with me and had loaded them back in the car, said our good-byes, and headed back home. Sunday was going to be a busy one with our Christmas program Gracie was to be in that night and other things we needed to do, so my mind was focused on the day ahead. Just as I was about to leave the town, one of Utica's finest pulled me over. "Why is the police car behind you, mommy? He has his lights on!" Gracie said.

The officer approached my car, looked at my license and said, "Ma'am, I clocked you doing 40 in a 35 mile per hour zone." I admitted I wasn't from that town and didn't see the sign; my mind was somewhere else. He looked at my license and said, "You're a long way from home. What brings you to Utica?" I explained I had just sang at the church and was heading home with my children. "I'm sorry I missed that," he said. So I took the liberty to say, "Well, I'm sure the church would love to have you come visit next time you're off work." The officer smiled and said, "I'll do that. Be careful and slow down." (Whew! No ticket....this time!)

I pleaded ignorant because I truly was. It was my fault I was speeding, if even it was just a few miles over the speed limit. Romans 2:8 says, "God will pour out his wrath and anger on those who live for themselves." There may be some verses in the Bible that we don't fully comprehend, but this one is straight forward. If we are not serving others, doing only what is convenient for us, God makes it very clear how He feels---a verse we won't be able to plead ignorant to because we didn't understand what the scripture was saying.

A speeding ticket would surely have been an inconvenience and ding on my driving record. Will you serve someone else today, even if it isn't convenient for you? Or will you plead ignorant to God's Word?