The gifts we NEED to give!

First of all:
Don't forget about the playdate this morning at Gymnastiks Unlimited. 

Address is: 3400 Highland Drive, Hudsonville MI 49426

10:00-12:00

$6.00 per child

What gifts are your children getting this year?  Were embracing the Want/Need/Wear/Read system this year, although it really isn't saving us any money, as the kids get older the wants get more expensive I think.  Anyway... I was popping around the web and came upon this post from Janet at Preparing the Soil and I wanted to share it... what we need to be making sure we are giving our children in addition to the material things that are wrapped up under the tree:

The best me.

I want to give my children LOVE: I want them to have a mother who truly loves them and expresses that love not just in words, but also in deeds.  I want my actions and attitude to exhibit my deep love for my kids so that even if the words were gone, they would never question my love.

I want to give my children JOY: I want to create a joyful home—one that is full of laughter and silliness and a true grasp that all things are in God’s control and therefore we can always rejoice.  I want to be a joyful mother, not doing my work grudgingly but with a cheerful heart and attitude.

I want to give my children PEACE: I want our home to be a peaceful place.  I do not want our hours and days to be filled with stress, hurry, and angry words.  I want to be organized, disciplined, and rest-filled so that our home is a place that the children (and Jason) long to be in after time in the “real” harsh world. I want my family to be in our home and just say, “Ahhh….”

I want to give my children PATIENCE: I want my children to have a patient mother—a mother who understands their ages and limitations and extends them loving grace even in the midst of training and discipline. I want to be patient with their short-comings, personality quirks, and childish ways.

I want to give my children KINDNESS: I want my children to have a mother who looks for ways to serve them.  I don’t want to just do the bare minimum while I quietly hope that no one else needs anything.  I want to be intentionally kind—looking for ways to express my love for them.  I want to speak kind words—to them, about them, and about others.

I want to give my children GOODNESS: I want to give my children a mother who is good and who seeks the good for others.  I want to always be above reproach and never afraid that listening ears may pick up on sinful hypocrisy.

I want to give my children GENTLENESS: Oh how I long for gentleness!  I want to give my children a mother who speaks in gentle words and with a gentle tone of voice.  I want my facial expressions to be gentle, my touch to be gentle, and my correction to be gentle.  I don’t ever want my kids to avoid me for fear of harshness.

I want to give my children FAITHFULNESS: I want to give them a mother who is always, always faithful—faithful to them, faithful to their daddy, faithful to my word, and faithful to my work.

I want to give my children SELF-CONTROL: I want my children to have a mother who is strong enough to control her words, her actions, and her body language.  I want my children to see a mother who intentionally chooses to do and/or say what is right even when emotions are high and sleep is low.

Make sure you go check out her site... she has some great insight on Christian parenting