I have several thoughts:
- Remember that God has promised to provide for you and He is in charge. He has given us what we need, even for Christmas gifts. Philippians 4:19--But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory.
- Pray about gift ideas, for God to stretch your budget and to help you find sales for what you need. Matthew 7:7--Ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. I love how this verse even includes seek and ye shall find, I don't think the context is Christmas shopping, but you can claim the verse for this.
- Ask yourself what your motive is--love or pride. Often times, pride comes in, we don't want others to think our gift is cheap, not as fancy as theirs, shows we have a limited budget, etc.
- Be content with your budget, no matter how small.
- Remember that we often worry (which is a sin) about what others will think of our gift (pride) and really, they are just happy to have been remembered.
- Also, I don't know anyone who would want their friends or family to be stressed about what to get them! If you have someone who would want you to be stressed, I recommend taking them off the list completely. :o)
- Remember that when we get stressed about Christmas, we are losing sight of the real meaning of Christmas--God's gift of love for us!
- Remember that there are often seasons in people's lives--there are times when you may struggle financially and someone else gets to be the blessing and times when the roles will be reversed.
- Remember that the person we need to please is the Lord, not others. He asks us to rely on Him and He will do the rest. I think it makes Him really sad when we get stressed about Christmas.
- Read Matthew 6:25-34. I think He includes Christmas in this passage. :o)
Inexpensive gift ideas:
- Coupons to do something for them--could be raking leaves, babysitting, bringing them a meal, etc.
- Buy something small and then make a special card or find a way to make it special just for them. You could include a note about how this made you think of them and why.
- Buy one gift for the whole family--like a game.
1 comment:
There - I knew you would have some helpful things to say! Thanks! :~)
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