I have decided on something she really treasures. It's something I have given her before, but she has always been overjoyed whenever I have given her this gift. One of the really cool things about this gift is that she gets to bring it along with her whenever we are together. I call it my "go to" gift.
Have you ever given someone a gift that YOU are really excited about, but when they open it, their facial expression tells you that your gift might not have been the gift they were expecting or really wanted? I have 100 percent confidence, this isn't one of those gifts. This is definitely one of those gifts that even I cannot mess up.
The only thing about this gift is that it is really costly. Fortunately for me, God has given me the ability to afford it. Are your ready to hear what it is? She is going to be SOOOOOO excited!!!
I am going to give her the gift of "action". I found this gift about 20 years ago in the bible. In fact, you can find it throughout the bible, but specifically I found it in 1 Corinthians 13. I got this idea that I would give her the "action" of patience, and the "action" of kindness, and the "action" of being selfless toward her, and the "action" of not keeping a record of anything she does wrong, and the "action" of being truthful and trustworthy. I knew this gift of "action" was going to be costly, but I wanted to make sure that she knew I was going the extra mile. So, I researched and found more "action" in the bible. I found some in Galations 5:22-23. So, I am including the "action" of being joyful about her as my wife. I am also including the "action" of providing a home and a relationship with her that is in peace. I am including the "action" of being good to her and to treat her with the "action" of gentleness and with the "action" of self-control. The bible calls this gift of "action" LOVE.
I have given this gift to my wife very often over the past 10 years. Not just for her birthday:) It's a gift that she is always overjoyed at receiving. It's a gift that is very costly to me because of my selfish nature, but she is totally worth it. It costs me my selfish desires, my time and my energy, but the bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:2, that if I don't have the "action" of LOVE, "I AM NOTHING." And in 1 Corinthians 13:13 it says the "actions" of faith, hope and love are great gifts, but the greatest of these is LOVE.
So, I have made a decision. It's definitely a costly one, but I have decided to not only give my wife this gift of "action" for her birthday, I am going to give her this gift for the next 365 days. In fact, I have decided, I am going to give her this gift of "action" each day, for the rest of her life.:) This is the greatest gift I can give her. It's also the greatest gift I can give to my children and my children's children.
Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife and my best friend, Monica! I hope you "love" your birthday gift.
PS Yes Monica, you are still getting something from Starbucks:)
Terry Langenberg
Twitter: TheLangenberg
Facebook: TheLangenberg
Terry, thank you for always being willing to be led by the Spirit and sharing God's wisdom with us.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you state the "action" of faith, hope and love. These are gifts from the Holy Spirit that are meant to be expressed by action.
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