These are pics from Friday of Colt (4 months), Sarah (7 months), and Jacob, Sarah’s brother, (8 years old).
Since we are on the topic of Christmas again, I bought a gift certificate to a restaraunt for someone’s Christmas present the other day that had a catchy slogan on the front. However, I don’t think I quite liked it! It went something like: “It’s good to give, but it’s even better to receive!” Of course, I shouldn’t expect the world to promote the mind of Christ, but it also made me not want to promote that restaraunt anymore! . . . but I just crossed it out 
haha It was a good reminder of what Christmas is really about though. the Father GAVE the most precious and priceless gift . . . but what did He RECEIVE in return? What am I giving back to Him? What will He say of me when I stand before Him? The Word says “it’s more blessed to give than to receive.” It also says “our righteousness is as filthy rags.” He is worthy of anything we could give, but we are so unworthy of His gift to us. Yet, I am sooo thankful for it! So. . . “giving.”. . . I was reading in my devotions this week in Luke and this same verse continues to stick with me on a daily basis: Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
The two areas where many of us can be the stingiest are money and forgiveness. So after all that Jesus taught in the previous verses of Luke 6 about graciousness and generosity, He now sums it up with these two principles: 1) our blessings will be based upon our willingness to bless others, and 2) our measure of treating and judging others will be the basis used for measuring and treating us by others and by the Father In other words, the Father has been gracious with us; we can either share that graciousness or abuse it. It was so encouraging to know that the Father’s Word tells us that we’ll receive back what we give – whether it be time, money, forgiveness, kindness or love, etc. . . it may not be right at that moment, but He will give it back – and so much more abundantly!!