Good Gifts

I love good gifts. I love giving good gifts, and I love receiving good gifts.

I love it when I think of the PERFECT thing to pass on to someone - the gift fits their personality, it might be something they have mentioned in passing that I quickly wrote down in my planner to not forget about, something they've needed for forever, something they've wanted for forever, something that is just right. Joy!

I love it when I receive gifts which make very evident how much the giver of the gift thought of me, paid attention to my likes/dislikes, proved they know me well, wanted something special and just right for me.

The picture above is of a SPAM coffee mug my good friends, Tony and Amy, gave to me. They know me well. 1) I love SPAM. I would call it my favorite food, but I'm trying to be healthy, so it is my all-time favorite unhealthy food - that I hardly ever, ever eat. 2) I love coffee. 3) I collect coffee mugs. 4) I like simple design without frills - the mug is simple and to the point. This mug is delightful. It is a good gift.

Our friend, Erik, gave us a gift full of coffee mugs, Caribou and iTunes gift cards. Great gifts. My wonderful friend, Kristin, just gave me a great book I had been wanting badly and an awesome scarf from Israel. Love, love both. She knows me well too, and is a great all-around gift giver.

James 1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.

Throughout my life, a few of my favorite, good and perfect gifts, sent from above, are... (in random order)

• Christ living in me - This includes a huge load of things.
• Mark - This includes quite a few things, too.
• 27 hard years of singleness - I learned a lot about depending on the Lord.
• 3 difficult years in full-time church ministry (fresh out of college) - I learned what the Spirit's voice sounds like.
• 2 fantastic families - My family is awesome, and despite what people say, in-laws are great too.
• A small handful of really Godly girlfriends - I heart deep conversation.
• A ministry-sort of income - Plenty, but not so much that I get really hung up on storing up treasures here.
• Artistic and musical sorts of gifts - There's tons and tons of joy in doing the things you love to do for the Lord.
• Health - My dad's struggle with MS and my bout with migraines makes me all the more thankful for this gift.
• My wedding ring - It is pretty cool looking.

There are so many more - just a handful of my favorites today. Though gifts are good and wonderful, the Giver of the gifts is even better. He is so, so good.