Greetings,
This past Father's Day I gave Jorge what I consider to be the greatest gift I have ever given him. It was thoughtful, well-made, and it's definitely an heirloom that can be passed down from generation to generation. In the past, I have been known to hype up something to the point that once folks actually see it or hear about it, they're underwhelmed. (LIKE EVERY MOVIE I HAVE EVER RECOMMENDED!) I suppose we are all susceptible to over-promoting. But this gift? No way I could oversell it. And I tried too.
As soon as family and friends started arriving for our Father's Day lunch, I started bragging about the gift I was about to give Jorge. Mind you, I had already been hiding this surprise for over three months and was super eager to reveal it. But timing is everything, and I thoroughly enjoyed teasing everyone and making them guess.
"Are you pregnant?" (Uh, no. A geriatric pregnancy is not my idea of something you reveal to your husband and everyone else at the same time).
"Did you win the lotto?" (No, and this gift is something the lotto could not buy or replace if anything ever happened to it).
Finally, after two long hours, I presented Jorge with...
A handmade quilt made out of every little league baseball t-shirt that my son ever wore.
The reaction was everything I knew it would be. Everyone thought the quilt was spectacular, and some people even got teary-eyed. And while I can name every single teacher my children have ever had, Jorge can name all the coaches and the stats starting when Jorgie was five years old. Amazing! He spent the rest of the afternoon sharing stories of up-at bats, strikeout pitches, and go-ahead runs.
Wait a second. I need to re-write the first line of this DEVO. The quilt is one of the best gifts I have ever given Jorge, but the greatest gift I have given him is ongoing and infinitely more powerful than any material thing. It is, praise God, PRAYER.
James 5:16 says prayer is, "powerful and effective," "produces wonderful results," "has great power," "accomplishes much," and "exerts a mighty influence on God."
This past Father's Day I gave Jorge what I consider to be the greatest gift I have ever given him. It was thoughtful, well-made, and it's definitely an heirloom that can be passed down from generation to generation. In the past, I have been known to hype up something to the point that once folks actually see it or hear about it, they're underwhelmed. (LIKE EVERY MOVIE I HAVE EVER RECOMMENDED!) I suppose we are all susceptible to over-promoting. But this gift? No way I could oversell it. And I tried too.
As soon as family and friends started arriving for our Father's Day lunch, I started bragging about the gift I was about to give Jorge. Mind you, I had already been hiding this surprise for over three months and was super eager to reveal it. But timing is everything, and I thoroughly enjoyed teasing everyone and making them guess.
"Are you pregnant?" (Uh, no. A geriatric pregnancy is not my idea of something you reveal to your husband and everyone else at the same time).
"Did you win the lotto?" (No, and this gift is something the lotto could not buy or replace if anything ever happened to it).
Finally, after two long hours, I presented Jorge with...
A handmade quilt made out of every little league baseball t-shirt that my son ever wore.
The reaction was everything I knew it would be. Everyone thought the quilt was spectacular, and some people even got teary-eyed. And while I can name every single teacher my children have ever had, Jorge can name all the coaches and the stats starting when Jorgie was five years old. Amazing! He spent the rest of the afternoon sharing stories of up-at bats, strikeout pitches, and go-ahead runs.
Wait a second. I need to re-write the first line of this DEVO. The quilt is one of the best gifts I have ever given Jorge, but the greatest gift I have given him is ongoing and infinitely more powerful than any material thing. It is, praise God, PRAYER.
James 5:16 says prayer is, "powerful and effective," "produces wonderful results," "has great power," "accomplishes much," and "exerts a mighty influence on God."
Who do you love who could use this gift today?
What wonderful results would you like to see in the life of someone special to you?
Really think about it and then let's pray!
PRAYER: Dear Lord, We love you and approach You with confidence. How amazing that this time with You is powerful and effective. How can it be that we, mere humans, exert a mighty influence on You? It doesn't really have much to do with us other than we were smart enough for a moment to realize we can do nothing or bless no one apart from Your power and love. We lift up those we love and pray for them today. We are humbled and excited to give them this gift of prayer because we desire to see wonderful results in their lives. I specifically pray for __________________________ who needs _________________________. In Jesus' beautiful name, Hallelujah and Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment