Blessed Christmas! =)

Hey all!

Just wanna wish all of you a blessed christmas!
I'm suppose to be packing nowwww~! HUGE is tmr and i've not packed! CORRECTION. HUGE is in a few hours time, TODAY and i've not packed!

But i suddenly had this thought, and i felt like 'penning' it down. =)

GIFTS.

when we give, anything at all. Be it presents, be it money, be it random stuffs. When the person we give, dont appreciate it. Or rather, dont show any appreciation or whatsoever, Dont we all feel like.. " Ngeeehhh, i bagi u present, u macam tak appreciate, tahun hadapan, tak nak bagi lagi.*folds arms, HMMPH*! " Dont we do tht? We feel like, "ohhh ok la, be tht way. nxt year no more prezzies for you!" Hahaha deny all u want k. But its only human to feel tht way when u feel like your effort is not appreciated.

I know quite a few people who are like that.
Every time, when i buy them gifts,
#1. When i give, they receive like .. " Ohh kk thx. *put present aside, continue doing their stuff* "
#2. They NEVER use whatever you buy them.
#3. They just dont appreciate lah!

So, to be honest, it can be quite discouraging. Very potong steam and potong semangat one la k. Really. Even just now, i was just thinking about it. " CYKM, why do u still give every year, when you know they just generally dont appreciate gifts?! why do you still waste your time,your money, your effort preparing gifts every year? if they dont appreciate, dont give la? not like they use it anyway? even if they do, not like they appreciate it anyways? well, they dont show that they appreciate it la. So why still give? so potong u know. =(  u dont even get to see their smile when they receive it. thats like, the most priceless thing when giving someone a gift. "

AND THEN.. i started to think.
" But eyh, maybe outside they act macho and all, but actually inside they really appreciate it? Maybe they do, but just dont show it? "

Friends,
What do you have in mind when you Give?
Do you have any expectations or whtsoever? What is your definition of a Gift?
Shouldn't gifts be given, without expectations, without expecting anything in return?
what is your motive when you give?

I know it is only human to expect at LEAST, a smile. That one smile that could brighten up your day, telling you, " definitely worth it. coz the feeling of seeing them smile is priceless! "

But still,
Isn't it true? That despite their reaction when they receive it, despite whether they do appreciate it or not, isn't it still called, a Gift?
freely given, with no strings attached?

When God gave us His only begotten son, Did he say, "Hey look here, my son, my ONLY son, is going to die for all your sins, Because of that, you MUST worship me, or AT LEAST, give credits to my son's name. His name must be publicized, his suffering must be acknowledged! U SHALL do this and tht and tht, because He died in your place, your soul is now mine.... "

He did not. He sent His ONLY son, to be born as human, and to die, a painful death on the cross, taking our place for all the sins we humans have done, just so that we could be connected with God again, without sin, being the barrier.

This I call, a Gift.

One that is given freely, with no strings attached.
One that is given out of Love.
One that is given not because of the works you have done, But one that is given by the Grace of God.

The misconception of the word "Gift" nowadays is quite sad.
They go " BUY this and this and this and you will get a FREE GIFT. "
Right. free gift konon. ;)

heh.

So YES!
Unless you...
Give, with a willing heart,
Give, with no expectations *although i know it is quite hard not to have the slightest expectation*
Give, without expecting anything in return.

How in the world is whatever you're giving called a gift?! =P

Blessed Christmas Everyone!
I hope you've been blessed this CHRIST-mas,
as Jesus is definitely the reason for this season. =)
Its not abt the gifts,not abt santa,not abt the fancy decos and snowmans, But has and always will be about My savior, My father, My Lord, My God. =)

1 week left till 2012 arrives!
I hope all us will be able to resolve whatever conflicts we have and welcome/start the new year with a smile.  =)

Blessed Christmas and a Happy new year!
xoxo.!