• Home
  • My Story
  • Bookish
  • Christian Teaching
  • Thoughts
  • Food For Thought
  • Kim Chronicles
Lilies from Heaven

The Wonder of the Greatest Gift

12/9/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
This lovely little Christmas tree has become a part of our Christmas traditions. Ann Voskamp wrote this book of devotions in response to requests from customers about The Greatest Gift, which I wrote about last week as a poem. The customers wanted something interactive for their children and shorter. This is what she came up with.

When you open it, the tree pops up. The little Christmas tree ornaments all correspond to the story told in the devotions.This is a must-have if you like Jesse tree traditions. These traditions tell the story of Jesus from the Old Testament into the New Testament. Each and every story relates to Jesus and his coming to earth as the greatest gift. 

And this is how it starts:

​"This is the most amazing story ever told about a family - about Jesus' family. The family includes a king named David - and it includes your family too! This is a story about a family that was big like a tree, with branches that reached to the sky!

But this family got into trouble. (You'll be surprised!) This family didn't always love God. (You'll see). And when that happened, it was like their family tree kind of crashed, leaving only a stump.

But guess what? The most fabulous, marvelous, miraculous thing happened. A Baby was born into that family - a Baby who like  a teeny, tiny leaf that grew out of that tree stump that looked dead. And Jesus like the biggest tree full of love you've ever seen! This was God's great plan all along. He wanted to wrap you in the warmest, most amazing love, like the biggest hug you can imagine.

But sometimes miracles don't start big, like a humungous tree. Sometimes miracles start out small, like a new life - or a tiny baby.

That's how it was with the miracle of God's son. Jesus comes to our little-yet-big miracles. He makes himself small - so small He can fit inside our own hearts. 

His love is all around us. Can you feel it?

His miracles are all around us. Can you see them?

His love goes down deep into our hearts, like roots. Can you even believe it?

Dear Jesus, thank you for the miracles all around me. Thank you for bringing good things out of things that look dead. Most of all, thank you for you unstoppable love for me! Amen."
0 Comments

    Author

    Storyteller, 
    Glory Seeker,
    Grace Dweller,
    ​English Teacher.

    Archives

    November 2022
    October 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    September 2016
    April 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    February 2014
    October 2013
    November 2012
    September 2012
    June 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    September 2011

    Categories

    All
    Adder
    Advent
    Advent Art
    Advent Poetry
    Adventure
    Aesceticism
    Africa
    Agency
    Aging
    Alligators
    American South
    Anne Bogel
    Apples
    Art
    Artful Reading
    Asia
    Barn
    Beautiful Bride
    Beauty
    Beauty From Brokenness
    Being Different
    Bells
    Benefits Of Reading
    Bethlehem
    Betrayal
    Birds
    Birth Of Christ
    Birth Of Jesus
    Blessings
    Book-of-luke
    Bread
    Brokenness And Blessing
    Cat
    Charles Williams
    Childhood
    Christian Beauty
    Christianity
    Christian Living
    Christmas
    Christmas Narrative
    Christmas Poetry
    Classic Novels
    Colds
    Community
    Compassion
    Creation
    Creativity
    Cross
    C.S. Lewis
    Dandelion
    Deaconess
    Deliciousness
    Easter
    E.B. White
    Empathy
    Fact
    Faith
    Fall/autumn
    Fellowship
    Firenship
    Food
    God's Unconditional Heart
    Gospel
    Grace
    Grace Upon Grace
    Gratitude
    Great Storytelling
    Grooving
    Growing Older
    Happiness
    Healing
    Holy Week
    Homecoming
    Hope
    Hospitality
    Humility
    Imagination
    Jesus
    Job
    John Wesley
    Joy
    J.R.R. Tolkien
    Kingfisher
    Korean
    Lent
    Life Lessons
    Light
    Linda Sue Park
    Little Boys
    Lost Boys Of Sudan
    Lost Words
    Love
    Malcolm Guite
    Mary
    Mathematics
    Memoir
    Mermaid Child
    Mission Of The Church
    Mr. Putter And Tabby
    Multiculturalism
    Music
    Mystery
    Nazarene Church
    Night
    One Thousand Gifts
    Peace
    Pears
    Perseverance
    Pete The Cat
    Picture Books
    Poetry
    Positive Attitude
    Practical Theology
    Prayer
    Problem Of Pain
    Problem Solving
    Quest
    Reading
    Reading Aloud
    Reading Life
    Refugee Issues
    Responsible Grace
    Salvation
    Savior Prince
    Screen Time
    Simple Living
    Slingshot
    Snow
    Song-writing
    Spirit
    Stories
    Sudan
    Suffering
    Tennyson
    Theology
    Trees
    Truth
    Virginity
    Waiting
    Water
    Weeping
    Wesleyan Holiness
    Widow
    Wine
    Winter
    Woldweller
    Women
    Women In Leadership
    Wood
    Word
    Woundedness
    Writing

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly