Fragrant Gifts

A season of giving is about to be ushered in as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Immanuel, our "God with us". We've been thinking a lot about giving and gifts in the Velvet Lime Girls studio. Quite often, the most memorable and treasured gifts are the ones given fully from the heart. Gifts like the one Mary Magdalene gave Jesus, a pint of pure nard in an alabaster jar. Nard was an expensive, lavish, aromatic perfume and many scholars believe this may have actually been an essence of lavender. The Bible records it would have taken a year's salary to pay for the amount of precious ointment given by Mary to Jesus. It was an extravagant gift, poured straight from her heart, filling the senses of all those present, and continuing to touch people today, whenever the story is retold. We've wondered if this gift came from a field of lavender as vast, as beautiful, as costly as the one pictured here, a never-ending field of fragrance. The heady aroma from this lavender field seems to waft off the paper and into our hearts, reminding us of just how beautiful a gift is when it is given from the heart.

We'd like to thank James, our "Platinum Advisor", for bringing this inspiration to us. He picked up his crayons again after 40+ years, and with soft pastels created this fragrant work of art, and we've just been inhaling the inspiration it brings to our souls. The artwork sits on an easel in our studio, it is a work still in progress, but we wanted to share its fragrance, it's reminder to all of us in this season.. that gifts given from the heart last forever.

"Then Mary took about a pint of nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped His feet with her hair.  And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume."  John 12:3

Learning to give from our hearts,

The Velvet Lime Girls

Christmas Eyes

It's almost Christmas time and I'm thinking about what the celebration to come is really all about. The birth DAY of Jesus, the Savior.            The-coming-to-earth-day of Emmanuel, a name that actually means, "God-with-us". A day we pause to remember that God came down to us and "moved into the neighborhood". John 1:14

And it occurred to me, that I don't have a gift for Him, for Jesus, the One who we'll be celebrating. I have other gifts under the Christmas tree for loved ones, but not one for Jesus.

So, I whisper to Him in a prayer moment, "Oh, I want to give you something! I am so grateful, so thankful, so surrounded by love from You...and I just want to do something, give something...just for you. What can I give you?"

The answer comes through a granddaughter. These eyes of Lilly, just 4 years old, looking up in my face with a heart full of love, and an expression that seems to say, 

"Oh, LaLa, what can I give you? I just love you so much!"

There's really nothing a granddaughter can give or do to show me how much she loves me.  I already know. 

It's felt in the way she justs wants to be with me, the way she runs with arms open wide to me, the way she holds on tight when she hugs, and looks deep into my eyes with her tiny blue ones.  Her gift is just her. Just her being with me. There's not a thing, a gift, a "doing" that needs to be done, to show me her love.  I feel it.

My heart seems to hear God say He feels the same way I do.

There's really nothing I can give or do to show how much I love Him.  He already knows. It's felt in the way I just want to be with Him, the way I run to him with arms open wide, the way I hold on to him tight, the way I look deep into his eyes with my tiny blue ones. My gift is just me.  My being with him.  There's not a thing, a gift, a "doing" that needs to be done to show him my love.  He feels it.

He just wants to be with me...to hold me...to love me. 

And I sense His heart swell with joy, as I move with child-like faith into His embrace, bringing Him the gift of just me.

Spending time with Him,

A Velvet Lime Girl