Taylor Swift is noted for giving gifts that only she can give. Jori Hope is a twelve-year-old fan of Swift’s music. She lives in Australia and has been diagnosed with a disease that will cause her to lose her hearing. A local radio station found out about the family’s desire to take Jori to a Taylor Swift concert while she was still able to hear her favorite artist sing.
A radio station contacted Taylor Swift’s organization and let them know about the #HelpJoriMeetTaylorSwift campaign set up by Jori Hope’s sister. The community and Taylor Swift made it possible for Jori to meet her favorite artist and see her live in concert.
Taylor Swift is noted for giving gifts that only she can give. Jori Hope is a twelve-year-old fan of Swift’s music. She lives in Australia and has been diagnosed with a disease that will cause her to lose her hearing. A local radio station found out about the family’s desire to take Jori to a Taylor Swift concert while she was still able to hear her favorite artist sing.
A radio station contacted Taylor Swift‘s organization and let them know about the #HelpJoriMeetTaylorSwift campaign set up by Jori Hope’s sister. The community and Taylor Swift made it possible for Jori to meet her favorite artist and see her live in concert.
Swift has gone out of her way to give many gifts of kindness to her fans. She loves to make homemade gifts and mail them to her fans, and she has even crashed a few bridal showers to deliver what she has made. Those gifts will never end up in a garage sale or Goodwill donation. There is something special about a gift that is unique to the giver.
The Christmas season is a rush of searching, buying, and wrapping what we hope will be a perfect gift for someone we care about. I feel hugely disadvantaged at this point. I raised two sons. I’ve never been particularly good at looking fashionable, and now I have two beautiful daughters-in-law that I want to buy for. I wish Taylor Swift would come to my rescue!
Maybe we all need to think about what Taylor Swift teaches us about giving. What can we give that only we can give? What is that one special gift to go with the annual pajamas and other store-bought stuff? I don’t have my answer to those questions yet, but I want to think about that! The regular gifts are fun but we don’t always remember them or use them a year or two later. What can we give that will be kept, treasured, and talked about years from now? A gift with a legacy attached—is that possible?
I found this statement the other day that I will use at a speaking engagement this week: “Christmas celebrates the moment God walked down the stairs of heaven with a baby in his arms.” I read those words and enjoyed the picture of John 3:16 that came to mind. I realized that God always gives gifts that only He can give. Maybe we should work hard to give like God has given to us.
should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
I want to follow God’s perfect example and offer someone the chance to receive Jesus this Christmas. One trip to a shopping mall reminds us that there are a lot of people who don’t understand or have forgotten the true meaning of this holiday. We can live as their reminder, every time we are out in public. But we will have to make a commitment and an effort to remember to do that. Even as I type those words I realize that should be my birthday gift to Jesus this Christmas. It is a gift that only I can give him.
I wrote the Advent book for our ministry again this year. Our donors receive one, but everyone can download a copy on our site. I hope it will inspire all of us to keep our focus on the “reason for the season.”
My thanks to Taylor Swift and her reminder of what it means to give a special gift. You might be the most important person in someone’s life this year. You might be the one who tells them about Christ. Who are you uniquely positioned to speak to about the gift of salvation? Will you pray about the chance to offer that gift?
Pajamas, kitchenware, and other stuff are fun to open on Christmas, and I know that my family will be receiving some of those gifts. I will think and pray about the unique gifts, and hope that those answers arrive before the 25th!
My family knows Jesus already and my grandkids will each have the chance to accept his salvation. Come to think of it, maybe you all should pray for my kids. They have to figure out what to give me— and I already have everything I most want and need.
Join us at www.christianparenting.org and chime in on this week’s discussion question: Do you have specific hopes or dreams for your children as they grow up? What are they?
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