It really is the Thought that Counts

Posted Wednesday, December 16, 2009, at 8:08 AM

A lot of joking takes place at Christmas and birthdays when gifts don't seem to match up with the recipients. There are those who think that as long as you spend a lot of money, the gift should be appreciated. Some folks like handmade gifts; others think it is a sign that the giver has more time than money. Some people fret and fret and still cannot come up with a gift that they feel comfortable in giving to someone. Then, thankfully, there are those who just seem to have a knack for gift-giving and always seem to come up with just the perfect gift.

I wonder if the secret to knowing the perfect gift for someone is knowing someone perfectly well. The better we know someone, the better we know their likes and dislikes. When we wait until the last minute and feel that we simply must find a gift, usually neither the giver nor the recipient enjoys the choice. In fact, there are those wonderful, efficient people who are alert to appropriate Christmas gifts all year long, picking up things they know someone would like when they happen to see them or making things ahead of time for those they love.

I'm glad there are still those folks who enjoy handmade gifts. They are getting scarce as time to make them becomes more and more limited. I've always felt that someone must care for another very much to go to all the trouble to make something. Counted cross stitch, embroidery work, handmade pieces of furniture, crocheted or knitted work, and other handmade items are really priceless.

I recently watched "Christmas in Canaan" on the Hallmark channel. I had never heard the idea that was presented there. The father wrapped up pictures from catalogs of items he wished he had money to buy for the family members. In the story plot, the crops had been bad and money was scarce. The family remembered that special Christmas in the years to come and treasured the love shown by a father who truly wished he could do more. The story was another reminder that Christmas is love, not things.

It is so very noble when people ask that gifts not be given to them, but rather the money for those gifts be used to meet the needs of others. There are needy families who can really use some help. On the other hand, there are those folks who have so much that it is hard to think of anything they don't already have to give to them. It is amusing to look through some catalogs and see some of the unusual creations that are there to lure people to spend money.

When we give to others from the heart, it is like giving to Jesus. After all, it really is his birthday, not ours. We need to teach our children to give from the heart by setting the right example for them. Children need to understand that we give to others to show our love for them. Emphasis needs to be put on what would make the other person happy. We can help children avoid selfishness when we teach them that gifts should be given with a great deal of thought and love.

Train Up a Child

By Pat Lamb

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"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 Pat will have comments and suggestions about raising children based on her training and many years of teaching. Pat first began teaching Sunday School while in 7th grade at Verona, Missouri, where she was born and raised. After high school graduation there, she attended Missouri University and graduated with honors with a degree in Vocational Home Economics. She later completed training and received certification for elementary teaching in New Mexico. She has taught Home Economics (including child care), kindergarten, second grade, and substitute taught at several schools at all grade levels. She was awarded the Missouri Distinguished Adult Basic Education Service Award for distinguished leadership and dedication in all aspects of Adult Basic Education in the community, region, and state. This award was given to one GED teacher in the state. She was also invited to be included in "Who's Who of American Educators" in 2007. She was listed in Who's Who of American Women and Who's Who Among American Business Women. Pat has recently written a book titled, "Let the Children Come" which will be released in the spring. In addition to classroom teaching, Pat has taught in churches and Sunday Schools through the years. She served as Acting Children's Director at First Baptist Church in Albuquerque, NM. She also directed an Office of Navajo Economic Opportunity preschool on the Navajo reservation. She currently teaches GED at Gibson Vocational Technical School in Reeds Spring and taught GED classes for 15 years at Blue Eye and Shell Knob. Pat and her husband, Keith, who presently serves on the Reeds Spring School Board, have four grown children and three grandchildren. They are approaching their 50th wedding anniversary. "Our children and grandchildren have taught us a great deal and are still teaching us," Pat says. "I look forward to sharing some of this information with readers. I don't claim to have all the answers, but perhaps my comments can be of some help. It is not easy to raise children in today's world where they are constantly being bombarded with temptations and varying ideas of what is right and wrong."

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