The Greatest Gift -- Unwrapping The Full Love Story of Christmas (Book Review)

A few weeks ago, I entered a book giveaway that Caryn Jenkins Christensen was hosting over at her blog, State of the Heart Living. Not long after entering, I had the joy of learning I was the winner of the copy of author Ann Voskamp’s latest book, ‘The Greatest Gift – Unwrapping The Full Love Story of Christmas.’ I was so excited!

After hearing I'd won, a friend of mine suggested I consider writing a review of the book.  And so I did.

In this Advent devotional book, those familiar with Ann Voskamp's writing (from her One Thousand Gifts book, small group study and devotional and her blog, 'A Holy Experience'), will find that, as usual, she paints stunningly beautiful and breathtaking word portraits, dipping into both vibrant and muted color palettes, and using brush strokes that are as bold as they are delicate; as broad as they are intricately detailed.  All blending together perfectly to point us to and present us with the Greatest Gift:  Jesus Christ, the masterpiece of the Master Himself. God, swaddled in fragile flesh; the newborn King and Savior of the world, lying in the muck of a dirty feeding trough for barnyard animals.

Each devotional narrative is carefully woven with a sincere love for and pure awe of Jesus, and Ann writes in such a way that will touch your heart, no matter what you were or who you are now; where you’ve been or what your life’s circumstances are presently. The chapters are not so wordy that you feel they drag on endlessly, nor so short that you come away feeling empty and unsatisfied. 

For me, this book has the feel of her personally taking us, her readers, by the hand and inviting us to come walk with her to the humble foot of the manger, and to join her in gazing in childlike delight and wonder upon the sweet face of the infant Savior.

At the beginning of every chapter, you’ll find a picture of a Jesse Tree ornament (if you’ve never heard of a Jesse Tree or its ornaments, go here to learn what it's all about) with a Scripture verse underneath.  

Next comes a passage of Scripture -- Today’s Reading-- relevant to that chapter’s devotional content.

The devotional narrative follows, and then, at the end of each chapter, Ann issues a daily challenge entitled, ‘Unwrapping More of His Love In This World.’  Below are a few examples:

• write down something for which you need to repent 
• surprise someone with a simple gift of love – a homemade treat, a card or a handwritten letter
• serve someone who cannot help themselves                  

After this comes an inspiring quote, and in the section called ‘A Moment For Reflection,’  Ann includes some deep questions for you to consider which will help personalize what you've just read. You can answer them in the book itself or if you’d rather, write them in a separate journal.

Ann writes in the beginning of ‘The Greatest Gift:’

“Anticipate Christ…and celebrate Christmas, His coming.”

While this book is categorized as an Advent/Christmas devotional, I'd like to suggest that the anticipation, preparation and celebration that is associated with both Advent and Christmas need not be a once-a-year event for us. 

In fact, I would go so far to say that ANY time of the year, when you believe that God is in the process of preparing you for SOMETHING new, different and necessary in your life, this devotional book will be a welcome companion to reach for and bring along for the journey.

I read A LOT of books. Whenever I’m in the midst of one that is meaningful and has a great impact on me, I tend to carry it with me wherever I go during the course of a day.

And that is exactly what I did with Ann Voskamp’s ‘The Greatest Gift.’ 

I absolutely loved this book, would highly recommend it as the very next book on your reading list, or one to buy as a gift for someone else, and I look forward to reading through it again.

Many thanks to Caryn Jenkins Christensen, for choosing this book for her giveaway, and to Ann Voskamp for writing it!

A Cry In The Wilderness (Random Journal Day Link Up #2)

‘The angel of the LORD found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur.  The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”  “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied.  The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.”  Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”  And the angel also said, “ You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son.  You are to name him Ishmael (which means, ‘God hears’), for the LORD has heard your cry of distress.”  Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD, who had spoken to her.  She said, “You are the God who sees me.” (Hebrew, El-Roi) ~ Genesis 16:7-11;13

I'm linking up again today with Dawn, over at 'Beneath The Surface:Breath of Faith', and with Susie, from 'Recovering Church Lady - Pleasing God is Simply Not As Hard As You Think' for Random Journal Day. 

This journal is from 2009 and thankfully, looks quite a bit more like a journal should look (in my opinion, anyway).  One of my sweet friends, Mary, a fellow journaler, gave it to me as a gift.  It is purple (my favorite color), the front cover is decorated with a delightful picture of a teapot and teacup (I do believe I like tea almost as much as coffee) and is inscribed with the words of the Serenity Prayer, which, as a woman who has battled more than one addiction and obsession, and continues to do so, have become so very special to me.

 
This morning, I came across this short entry I wrote, dated February 11, 2009:

‘No matter what -- whatever is happening, however my life may look -- I MUST believe that God knows, God sees and God hears the troubles, the anguish and the cries of a mother’s heart and soul.

And that He will protect, He will intervene, He will rescue, He will deliver, redeem and restore my family…..’

How very appropriate an entry this turned out to be.  I read this today, knowing that God is faithful to do the above mentioned things, even while my heart is breaking for two people in my extended family -- my nephew and my niece, both of whom are in their early 20‘s.

My nephew’s girlfriend ended their relationship a few days ago and right before she did, she informed him that she had also just aborted the baby he didn't know she was carrying.  To say that my nephew is devastated would be an understatement.  He is in pain and is talking like he wants to die. His mother, my sister-in-law, cannot be with him.  She and the rest of her family drove to visit other family, located many hours and states away.  She and her husband take turns, every few hours, calling and texting him, to make sure he is okay.  Two family friends are taking turns staying with him.  My sister-in-law has shared with me about how helpless she feels to do anything.

While she does believe in God, I know from discussions with her over the years that she does not have any kind of loving, personal relationship with Jesus.  Just as I’ve been guilty of countless times in my life, running to the LORD is not her first response, but her last resort.   As a mother, I am interceding in prayer on her behalf.  

Believing that God knows, God sees and that God hears everything that is going on in this situation and that He will be faithful to protect. To intervene. To rescue. To deliver, redeem and restore.

Then there’s my niece, sister to aforementioned nephew in crisis.  Some time ago, she had a major falling out with an uncle.  Ugly, hate-filled words were exchanged between the two. They both drank deeply from the poisonous cup of unforgiveness.  Grudges were held onto tightly, like kites on a windy day. Lines were drawn in the sand, and have yet to be crossed by either one of them, although my niece does claim she sent him a Facebook message soon afterwards to say that she was sorry (certainly not THE BEST method for repentance), which her uncle claims he never received.  At the time, my niece was about 19, and she never felt the need to inform her parents about what had transpired between her and her uncle.  Yesterday, when her family came to visit this uncle and aunt, and she stepped out of the car, it was quite the surprise.   And not of the happy variety.

Her uncle lost his temper and bombarded her with hurtful, unforgiving words that cannot be taken back.  My niece’s parents were shocked, since they had no idea what had happened between them.  All in all, it was quite an ugly scene and my niece has been refused entrance to the uncle’s home.  Instead, she spent the day in her family’s car, while other family members brought food and refreshments out to her.  Her aunt had to sneak her into the house to use the bathroom or had to drive her to a food establishment to use theirs (believe me, I'm creative, but I cannot make up stuff like this).  She was able to spend the night at another aunt’s and uncle’s home a few miles away,  but because they were both working the next day, they told her she couldn’t stay at their house.  So once again, my niece has found herself sitting in the car today, waiting until it’s time for them all to leave.  The uncle, despite his wife's pleading and prayers, is resistant to changing his mind, refusing to offer mercy and forgiveness.  It is extremely windy and cold where they are visiting.   Her parents are already overwhelmed by their son’s issues, and now this has been added to their already full plate. My brother-in-law seems to be of the  ‘you reap what you sow’ attitude, while my sister-in-law is just at wit’s end over all of this and doesn’t know what to do.

Myself, I am absolutely livid to know that a travesty such as this is going on in my family (yes, they’re my in-laws, but they are still my family).  It is dysfunction to the max and my heart aches, because, as off-the-hook as they can be, I do love them.  

In my Life Recovery Bible, there is a sidebar with this life application for Genesis 16:7-13:

"When Hagar could not help herself and recognized her powerlessness over her situation, the angel of the LORD came and ministered to her. ....when we are ready to admit our need and cry out to Him, He is ready to step in." 

I know that I am helpless; powerless to do anything in this situation. But oh -- I can pray.  I have been. And will continue doing so.

Praying to El-Roi -- the God who knows, hears and sees the troubles, the anguish and the cries of THIS mother’s heart and soul -- not only for my own children, but for my nephew and niece as well. 

Believing that He will protect.  Believing that He will intervene. Believing that He will rescue, deliver, redeem and restore this family. My family.

God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything. ~ 1 John 3:20

The Journaling Genesis

My bloggy BFF Dawn, over at Beneath The Surface  and HER bloggy pal Susie, from Recovering Church Lady  have joined forces (picture a bloggy Justice League!) to create "Random Journal Day" (insert fanfare here), where those of us out here in the blogosphere who also journal can select a random entry from one of our journals (be it new or ancient) and share it with each other.


I must admit, I initially balked at Dawn's invitation to give it a shot, post an entry and link up.  Who, me?  Really?  I know this sounds ridiculously childish. Because it is.  I mean, c'mon -- what's the big deal?  Here I am with a blog to which I frequently post stories of tears, fears, joys, victories, blessings and burdens -- and sometimes, things I'd much rather keep hidden away in the deeper, darker recesses of my heart and soul.  So what's the problem? 


Maybe I'm afraid that I'm not going to do this linking up thingie right. I've never done that before.  It's all new to me, and while I know that change is good, I generally shy away from it. 

Or maybe it's because I'm slightly embarrassed. When I began journaling in earnest, back in 2002, I hadn't really written ANYTHING since my high school days (way back before there was electricity, according to my darling teen daughter).  Looking over these early journal entries, they look so....crude, adolescent and amateurish.  I shared with Dawn that to me, this was akin to me jumping off the high dive -- but not being able to swim, while the hunky lifeguard is distracted, totally engrossed in convo with some little bikini babe.


But -- enough whining and hedging. I'm holding my breath and diving in!

Ok, seriously now....how pathetic is THIS?? My first journal
and this is what I grabbed for?  My creative spirit must have
been in a dead slumber at that moment.  Not a picture or sticker
to be found on this bad boy. 

November 7, 2002 -- My first journal and an entry made two weeks after receiving my diagnosis of an aggressive form of breast cancer at age 45 AND less than a year after coming to know Jesus as my Savior.  A dear friend who was my neighbor and the director of my children's preschool, had been given her own cancer diagnosis not long before mine.  She encouraged me to start a journal, simply writing down what was going on in my life, what I was thinking and how I felt, etc.  But it actually became so much more than that; it became my journey to a closer walk with Jesus:


"Happiness comes from smooth and happy circumstances; but real joy comes from trusting in Christ.  Joy is a quiet confidence, an inner peace that comes from knowing Christ.  We can lose our happiness when trouble comes into our lives -- and it WILL come! -- but it can't take our joy away.  As long as we have faith, hope and trust in the Lord, and continue to seek His face.


The most powerful testimony I can give is a godly life -- to let my life be an example of Jesus and His love.  Especially now, with this diagnosis of breast cancer.  What a curve ball I've been hit with that could fell me if I let it.  I could turn inward and become an angry, bitter person, shaking my fist at God and handing out engraved invitations to my pity party.  Or, I could give this ALL to the Lord -- leaning on Him, trusting that He knows what's best for me, and showing everyone, by how I present myself to them, (how I talk and how I react to the sure-to-come difficult situations), that Christ is in me.

Wow -- that was 10 years ago, and I'm happy to say, I'm still cancer-free, praise God!  But WHAT a long, unexpected journey that turned out to be. There were lots of dark, mountainous roads, pitfalls and scary detours.  Many, many times my walk with Christ looked more like a limp and on my worst days, a slow crawl. Yet those were the days that I felt His Presence the most, carrying me through.  And there were also so many joys, blessings, victories and lessons learned along the way. Journaling through it all helped me to keep my perspective -- my mind centered on what and Who was most important, my eyes on Jesus.


I often wonder what my life would have looked like, dealing with cancer, had I turned down Jesus's invitation to come to Him and turned away from His promise that "you will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13), choosing instead to do it all on my own.


I shudder to think of how things could have turned out. And thank God for how they actually did.     

My Precious Moments keepsake statue; a gift from a friend
during my time in Cancer Land. It's called, appropriately
enough, "Life Is Worth Fighting For."

And even though I’m walkin’ through 
The valley of the shadow 
I will hold tight to the hand of Him 
Whose love will comfort me 
And when all hope is gone 
And I’ve been wounded in the battle 
He is all the strength that I will 
Ever need 
And He will carry me ~ He Will Carry Me, by Mark Schultz