• Welcome!
  • Me
    • My Hope
  • My Books
  • Thoughts . .

cherylriesauthor

cherylriesauthor

Monthly Archives: November 2015

Giving From Our Gratitude . .

28 Saturday Nov 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Christmas, Compassion, Fullness, Giving, God, Goodness, Gratitude

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Generosity, God, Stewardship

Giving isn’t just monetary; there are opportunities to give our time, to share our talents, our abilities, to make meals, to help friends as well as soon-to-be new friends who we know need a hand. There are ways to give from the heart at every turn of the calendar, clock face and sun rising. Giving of oneself is a way to truly show gratitude for life’s bounty! For it is by our acknowledgement of how truly blessed we are in all manners and ways, that we grow in our desire to share with others our blessings of all kinds!

a594c1b9ccc4cd079388f433426734de

I enjoy baking, cooking and providing comfort for others, so when I have that opportunity, I do so with a happy heart and a glad spirit! I often bake dozens of cookies for a local long-term care nursing facility at Christmas, as the patients and staff appreciate such gestures. Whatever way it is that you can give from the heart to all those around you, can truly provide a great way to share with others the many blessings in which your life has been enriched! Some of us are amply blessed monetarily, and so we have the chance to share in money. Others have time to give to people who need a hand, and so they share their time by being a blessing to others. Some might make gifts or treasures by which they might either directly offer gifts or raise funds.

a604dc9431c26cc60ac69cd91e852cfd

Gratitude in spirit always leads to giving, for it is only in sharing that we can truly appreciate the value and meaning of our blessings! God has been so good to us, providing all His richness of bounty to us over our lifetimes in the form of materials goods, possessions, comforts and wealth; our gratitude and giving is the way we exemplify our stewardship for those treasures to Him!  Signature02

Advertisement

The Very Reason For the Season!

20 Friday Nov 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Celebration, Christianity, Christmas, Faithfulness, Joy, Traditons

≈ Leave a comment

Watching some local television show this morning with a gift-giving expert explaining about the tradition of Christmas gift giving, reminds me that many are always willingly taking Christ out of Christmas. There was absolutely no mention during her historical summation of the tradition of Christmas gift-giving, of the fact that Christmas gifts were and are still given at Christmas to represent the gifts presented by the Magi to the newborn baby Jesus . . himself the ultimate gift of love to the world! I am sure gifts are also now given habitually by those who aren’t believers; the commercialized and secular world, uninterested in the traditional reasons, having joined in the event because of the national holiday. But I think we have moved too far from the reason we started celebrating or partaking of Christ’s Mass in the first place; if we no longer even want to mention His name in our “historical” explanations regarding Christmas. Jesus is the reason for the season! Does the mere mention of Jesus Christ cause harm somehow? Are some so afraid to mention Him in context of a national event and national history, that they prefer to dilute truths and alter facts?  christmas

 

And somewhere right now, in reading this, someone will want to attack me for explaining that Christmas is even a Christian event or for “picking on” this gift-giving expert! Yet, the very root of the word, Christmas, means a mass or remembrance to honor and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Which I must admit, to Christians, is the most significant part of our timeline of history, prophesy, faith, hope and tenets of belief other than the crucifixion of Christ upon the cross! The birth of Jesus Christ represents to us a long-awaited, hoped-for and promised gift of God’s love and forgiveness; so great was and is this gift, because Jesus is the lamb of salvation and redemption! So before we go completely forgetting that fact in our contemporary, more secularized, world version of the history of this big day and season, let us honor the history, which for generations we have established in this nation for Christmas.  In this nation, we’ve a national holiday specifically because enough of us held a prevalent mind to want to unite in such a celebratory time of worship and praise for the sake of our Christian beliefs! And so a national holiday was created to allow us to have our masses, time of worship and praise together with family and friends, for the great joy and celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ!  images christmas2

 

 

I don’t mind any nonbelievers or secularists, or those of other faiths, enjoying Christmas as their favorite holiday – as it is a national holiday now set aside and celebrated by believers and nonbelievers alike; but please don’t forget, or omit on purpose, the origin of the word or what the celebrations, worship services and mass historically and actually mean to those of us who do believe! Please don’t leave out the reason for the season, or any of our purposeful, specific behaviors during Christmas in any context, especially when those help in explaining its history! It negates the very reason Christmas came to be a national holiday in the first place; that so many held – and still hold – within their hearts, a desire to worship in unity and to give praise through celebrations, the birth of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Christians are to be givers by nature, as we were taught to do so by the example of Jesus; and that is the most important part of this story. He gave Himself for us so unselfishly and so lovingly, it is beyond our ability to grasp. God gave to His children the ultimate gift of eternal life with our Father through the New Covenant fulfilled through Jesus Christ. Please don’t leave that out of your story when describing the very meaning and reason for Christmas, or the joy in gifting at Christmas-time to others!

 Signature02

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Archives

  • February 2021
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • July 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • October 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • January 2014
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • September 2012
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
Follow cherylriesauthor on WordPress.com

Blog Stats

  • 4,084 hits

Cheryl Ries-Author & Model

Cheryl Ries-Author & Model

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • cherylriesauthor
    • Join 109 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • cherylriesauthor
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...