Latest / Family Prayer Podcast / 38. Somebody Must Love You - Thursday Evening

Transcript

38. Somebody Must Love You - Thursday Evening · Family Prayer Podcast

• 0:00
  Good evening, Grace Harbor. It’s Dan.
• 0:03
  How was your Christmas?
• 0:04
  I hope your whole family had a day full of fun and surprises!
• 0:08
  I know we sure did.
• 0:10
  We always open a few small things right away because everyone is so excited.
• 0:14
  Then we pause for a breakfast of blueberry muffins and orange juice.
• 0:18
  Then it’s back to the presents.
• 0:20
  We go around opening things in order, starting with the youngest.
• 0:25
  And if we get derailed by a gift the kids want to play
• 0:27
  with before moving on, we take our time.
• 0:31
  Like our prayer last night, we really try not to hurry
• 0:33
  through this thing we’ve so long been hoping and waiting for.
• 0:38
  So, the adults pour another cup of coffee and sit back
• 0:41
  and enjoy the smell of the Christmas tree, the Charlie Brown Christmas
• 0:45
  soundtrack playing in the background, and the sights and sounds of joy.
• 0:49
  Today, like most years, everyone is in their pajamas
• 0:53
  at least until lunch time.
• 0:55
  Then, in the early afternoon, while a few folks begin to prepare
• 0:59
  Christmas dinner, the rest of us put on clothes and venture outside.
• 1:03
  And this is actually my favorite part of Christmas Day.
• 1:07
  Virtually every family is outside playing with something new - bikes,
• 1:12
  scooters, footballs, we even saw the Hendersons flying a drone!
• 1:16
  And the kids who didn’t really get a quote-unquote “outside” toy but were
• 1:20
  sent outside to burn off some energy, they proudly carry around their new stuffy
• 1:25
  or action figure or wear some cool new piece of clothing.
• 1:29
  Here’s why I love it.
• 1:31
  It’s about showing off, for sure, but it’s not a competition -
• 1:35
  trying to prove that our gift is better than anyone else’s gift.
• 1:39
  It’s showing off what joy and gratitude look like in action.
• 1:43
  You hear a lot of, “Wow!
• 1:45
  That’s so cool!
• 1:47
  Do you want to see what I got?”
• 1:49
  And the thing I like to say when one of the neighbor kids shows me
• 1:52
  their brand new thing is, “Somebody must love you!”
• 1:56
  And they almost always respond, “Yeah - my parents got this for me!”
• 2:00
  Or it was from an aunt or uncle, sibling or cousin, or
• 2:04
  maybe Santa really knew what he was doing that year.
• 2:07
  When you get a really great gift, one that is exactly what you wanted,
• 2:12
  or one that was unexpected but turns out to be just what you needed,
• 2:17
  it’s a sign that the gift giver really knows and loves you.
• 2:21
  They’ve been listening to you when you share what you’re interested in.
• 2:24
  They really put thought into it and didn’t just grab the first thing they saw.
• 2:29
  And of course, that’s exactly what happened on the first Christmas.
• 2:33
  When Jesus was born, we all received the gift we needed the most.
• 2:38
  You see, God loved us so much, and God saw that we could
• 2:43
  really use some help figuring out how to really love God and other people.
• 2:47
  So, God got to thinking about what we needed,
• 2:50
  and it turns out that what we needed most was for God to come and be with us.
• 2:55
  Not to deliver a long list of rules or just stand around telling us what to do.
• 3:00
  We needed God to walk alongside of us, to be here in this crazy
• 3:05
  and confusing world with us and show us what love really looks like.
• 3:10
  Why don’t you take a moment together as a family
• 3:12
  and share a moment from today when you felt loved.
• 3:16
  It could be when you opened your favorite present.
• 3:19
  It could be when someone opened a gift from you,
• 3:21
  and you got to see how much it meant to them.
• 3:24
  Or, it could just be these quiet moments you’re spending together
• 3:27
  as Christmas Day ends.
• 3:29
  If you need more time, you can pause the podcast, and I’ll be
• 3:33
  right here when you get back.
• 4:04
  What a day, huh?
• 4:06
  I know I’m pretty wiped out, so I imagine you are too.
• 4:10
  As we settle down our hearts and minds for a good night’s sleep, let pray together.
• 4:15
  If you want to, you can close your eyes and fold your hands.
• 4:19
  Dear God, we thank you for this day full of excitement.
• 4:23
  We thank you that all of the gifts we both gave
• 4:26
  and received today are signs of our love for each other.
• 4:30
  And, of course, we thank you that the whole reason we have a day like
• 4:34
  this is because you first loved us and gave us the gift of Jesus.
• 4:39
  Amen.
• 4:40
  Alright, Grace Harbor.
• 4:41
  Let’s get some rest, and I’ll see you tomorrow.