February 5th, 2007| 
Last year at Children’s Institutes, we reintroduced the “Gift for God” craft. This was a simple little craft – only a small gift box, a bow, a tag, and strips of paper inside. Simple – yet the lesson it taught is deep. The children were encouraged to write on pieces of paper those things [rights] that they needed to yield to the Lord. As they yielded those to the Lord, the little strips could be put into the gift boxes and then given to the Lord in prayer.
Everything that I have and am is a gift from God. The greatest gift the Father has given was the life of His Son. Having been created for His glory, I am created to be HIS. The greatest joys and truest peace of life will come not through hanging on to my life, but through yielding it to the Father. Then I find myself right where I was created to be.
Well, this Sarah Perkins has given her life to the Lord. I am His own.
To me, one of the profound aspects of this craft is that the lid on the gift box is never sealed. Whenever you discover another something that needs to be yielded to the Lord, there the box is – ready to be opened, ready to add another “right.” Interesting thing about me though is that my box would contain not just one paper that says “life” or “desires” or any number of other things. My box would contain certain identical papers a thousand times – as over and over I come back to the Lord and say, “Father, here I am again. Here is my life. Here are my desires. Here is ‘me’.”
Amazingly, Father never slams shut the lid to that box and says, “No more!!” He only receives. And then receives again. And then blesses. He is so patient with me.
Regardless of all that is in my heart and head, my greatest desire is to be WHOLLY His. To be so satisfied in Christ that the pleasures of this world and of my flesh, have no power to attract or distract. He is working that in me. And as hard as it may be at times, I pray that He keeps working [I know He will]. It is good.
Psalm 103:1 says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name.”
Emotions…Bless the Lord
Heart…Bless the Lord
Desires…Bless the Lord
Actions…Bless the Lord
Mind…Bless the Lord
ALL that is within me.
and….. I am home again. :) Here’s me and my lovely sis. Moving is hard work :P
But the rewards are s-w-e-e-t! :)
