A Holiday Shopper’s Guide to Peace on Earth
Café Menu for Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Today’s Special is: The Best Kind of Gifts Don’t Cost a Thing!
Carefully prepared just for you by your friend, Dawn Neely
Main Ingredient:
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence.
1 John 3:18-19 NIV
Entrée:
It’s the holidays. The most wonderful time of the year… right?
Traffic jams, road rage, long lines, more money that month, and people that just annoy, irritate and offend us! I’ve learned a secret from God’s Word that sets my mind at ease and makes the holidays a pleasure.
The greatest among you will be your servant.
Matthew 23:11 NIV
It is so simple, but obviously not the norm. It actually startles people and causes them to smile and sometimes say, “Thank you.” It is a choice you can make that allows you to give a gift to anyone you meet that costs nothing.
Rather than being annoyed and irritated at people, just look for ways to be their servant.
You will love people’s reactions when you ask them to go ahead of you in a long checkout line.
Politely motion "go ahead" to the person waiting to get out of a shopping center parking lot.
Leave a donation for Salvation Army and then bring the volunteer a hot drink as you exit the store.
Clean off your table at the food court at the mall.
Hand a cup of hot chocolate to the staff member at your child’s school who is standing in the cold for car duty.
Take your shopping buggy back to the cart holder in the parking lot.
Just say “Thanks” to the people who wait on you and serve you throughout the holidays. Take a moment to shake their hands and tell them how much you appreciate their service.
I bet you will find that the more you seek out ways to serve others, the more adventurous it will become. Your holiday season will be spent thinking of others instead of yourself. And I believe that would be what Jesus would want us to do!
Take Out:
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
Mahatma Gandhi
Dessert:
Dear Heavenly Father, I have come to realize that the more I think of myself, the more irritated and offended I can become. Let me lose myself in the service of others. Let me keep Christ in Christmas by looking for ways to be Your hands and feet to those I meet along life’s paths. Allow me the privilege to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive as I have been forgiven, care for the sick, and do unto others as You would have done unto You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
© 2015 by Dawn Neely. All rights reserved.
Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Pull up a chair… He’s been waiting for you.
Need a refill? Please join us at the Encouragement Café with Luann and Friends.
The conversation at the Café is always hot and fresh. We invite you to listen inas we gather around the table to discuss everyday life.
Comfort food for your soul is always on our menu, and friends are always close enough to hug. We invite you to join us daily, as our writer’s share how the Lord continues to transform them into His glorious image.
Still craving more…Join us as we grow together in grace and truth through our online bible study.
Stop by Encouragement Café and listen as the girls share life. Find podcasts, videos, Bible studies, prayer, resources and daily helpings of hope, laughter and friendship around our table. We've saved a seat just for you!
Originally published Wednesday, 16 December 2015.
SHARE
