December 2021 - Faithfully Stepping

As we get close to Christmas, shopping is in high-gear. If you’re anything like me, you get the easy gifts first, but soon you’re left with the people that are harder to buy for. When that happens, sometimes you just need some ideas. So here’s a list I made of some of my favorite things to give you some ideas.

For Hospitality

Instant Pot Milk Frother I bought this frother about a week ago for our ladies’ holiday party at church so we could make coffee drinks. It is my absolute most favorite thing! I use it every day to make froth for my coffee. It can steam milk, froth it, and also make cold froth for iced coffee. It’s amazing and a great gift for the coffee lover in your life.

3-Tier Wood Tray I use this tray all the time. It’s not huge, but it can easily hold cupcakes, cookies, candies and more and is a nice addition to any table for a party.

Wood Charcuterie Board Somebody gave me the charcuterie board I have right now. I couldn’t find it online, but this one is similar. I use my board all the time to put meats and cheeses and crackers on.

For the Home

Hot Air Popcorn Maker We use our popcorn maker all the time for family movie nights. Again, this isn’t the exact one I have, but it’s similar. Popcorn makers make great gifts. They come in lots of fun colors, and you can get popcorn flavor shakers to go with them for a great gift.

Plastic Bowls from Target These bowls are super cheap, but are great for families with kids. We love ours and use them all the time. They are extra wide, so they make great popcorn bowls.

Crockpot I currently have two large crockpots, similar to this one. I use both of them all the time. A crockpot is always a great gift, especially if you can get one on sale.

For the Office/Desk

Papermate Colored Pens These are my favorite pens for journaling; they also make great gifts because they’re so colorful.

Personalized Planners from Erin Condren I love Erin Condren planners. She has so many cute ones to choose from. I love them because you can get them personalized. They make great gifts!

For Personal

Impress Nails Whether for a gift or for yourself for the holidays, Impress nails are great for the economical person who doesn’t want to spend money on getting their nails done. I use these all the time. They’re wonderful. Just get a bottle of nail glue to go with in case one gets loose or falls off. They have so many fun colors and designs.

Medallion Purse I have this purse in two colors. They usually go on sale several times a year for as low as $15. I love it, and I love all the colors it comes in. You can also find this one in floral.

Etsy Shops

Emily Lane Clay Designs Emily makes beautiful hand-crafted clay earrings. I have many pairs of them and absolutely love them! They make great gifts!

Masterpiece Candles My friend, Keya, hand makes each of her candles. They smell soo good. She changes out the scents during the year. Of her holiday collection, Candy Cane is my personal favorite. Great gifts!

Christmas Theme

Christmas Sleigh Soap Holder I saw this at Bath and Body Works and thought it would make such a great gift, paired with a hand soap.

Christmas Prism App This is not a gift idea, but I wanted to throw it in. It’s a free app that you download that shows you the best Christmas lights wherever you’re at. We use this every time we go look at lights.

Graphic Holiday Tees Maurices always has the best holiday tees. Matt got me one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas. I love both of them! They fit so nicely and are so soft.

Games

Here’s just a few of the games we like to play.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf This is a fun game for a crowd or a party. We love this one, and so do the kids.

Listicles This game is another good group game. It’s kind of similar to Categories but simpler.

Five Crowns This is a great card game for two or more players. Matt and I enjoy playing this one, just the two of us on date night.

CodeNames Our kids enjoy the Disney version of this game. It’s a great family game.

Rummikub This is one of my favorite games. I like the challenge of trying to play the table and make things work.

Hopefully that gives you a few ideas. For More ideas, check out my Favorite Things from last year.

The Chosen

There is nothing more powerful than a well-written worship song. We got to go see The Chosen Christmas special at the theater this week. The first hour consisted of music performed by Christian artists. Several of our favorite artists were featured like King and Country, We the Kingdom, Phil Wickham, Jordan Feliz, Cain, Maverick City, and more. We really enjoyed it.

The second part was the actual Christmas episode. It was so well done, of course, and incredibly moving. It was a look into the night Jesus was born, retold and remembered through Mary’s eyes after Jesus has already gone back to Heaven. The team creating The Chosen is so incredibly talented, and I love the work they are doing! They always bring out details that you miss when you simply read the account in the Bible.

The Right Kind of Worship

Since watching that episode, I’ve been thinking a lot about Mary. This time of year always makes me reminiscent to think of what it would have been like to be Mary. I was reading in my morning time this morning, and I read these verses.

It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.

John 4:23,24 MSG

I read these verses, and that phrase your worship must engage your spirit got my attention. What does it mean that our worship has to engage our spirit? I think it means to engage our spirit means that our heart is completely engaged in the activity. It’s the difference between singing and not paying attention and singing with tears in our eyes because the song moves something inside of us. These verses then go on to say that God is looking for those who are simply and honestly themselves before God when they worship.

Thinking about Mary

Maybe that’s one of the reasons Mary was chosen. Could it be that she figured out how to worship God with her spirit, bringing her honest self before God? How else would she have been able to respond to the angel’s announcement with words of worship?

As soon as the angel leaves her, Mary makes her way to her cousin Elizabeth’s house. As soon as she gets there, Mary bursts into a song of worship to God. The words flow beautifully and elegantly from her tongue. That was her form of worship to God. I don’t know if she spoke the words or sang them, but the result was the same. She worshipped God with her honest self.

Three Ways to Worship God this Christmas Season

This Christmas, in the midst of the hustle and bustle, we need to find the time to worship God with our true selves. We need to find a time to worship, engaging our spirit.

There are three ways we can do that this Christmas season:

Spend time with God in your morning time routine. Get a Christmas devotional to work through this holiday season or a journal. Our Christmas devotional or Journal are great options.

Engage in the Christmas story with others. Don’t spend your worship alone this holiday season; bring others along with you. In our growth group this past week, somebody asked a question about the Christmas story, and we spent the next probably thirty minutes talking about the intricacies of that night. We talked about what caught our attention and what made that night so special to us. It ended up being a wonderful time of worship.

Worship God through music. This is one of the easiest ways to worship.

I know at our church, Christmas is one of the best times of year to worship God through the music service. It’s different from other times of the year in that every Christmas song is about the birth of Jesus and so wholly focused on him. I think some of the best worship songs are Christmas songs. It’s so hard to pick just a few, but here’s a list of a few of my favorite Christmas worship songs:

This holiday season, let’s find ways to incorporate worship that engages our spirit, that puts our heart into it and see if that doesn’t change this holiday season for us!

Faithfully Stepping

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Monthly Archives: December 2021

My Favorite Things-Christmas Gifts Ideas