English
English
Korean
Spanish
Christmas has come and gone, but for me, it’s always on my mind. I keep a running list of gift ideas in the notes app on my phone, so when someone in my family mentions something throughout the year they want or need, I surreptitiously make a note to tuck away for later.
I’m harder to buy for—or so I’m told. That’s because the older I get, the less “stuff” I want. The things I value most aren’t available in stores: quality time with my family (which now includes two adult children and a grandson); time to sit and rock in my chair, soaking up God’s beautiful creation outside; quiet moments not to think or strategize or plan for the future, but to just be.
That’s the good stuff.
A couple of days after Christmas, I saw a reel on social media about a gift a grandfather gave his grandchildren. He spent the entire year recording the Bible in his own voice. On Christmas day, he gifted each grandchild with a thumb drive containing the audio files so they’d always be able to hear God’s Word in his voice, even long after he’s gone. He spent nothing more than what it cost to purchase a thumb drive and created a priceless family heirloom.
That’s the good stuff.
I remembered that grandfather’s gift as I read Jen Wilkin’s Q&A included in this issue. Wilkin, the popular women’s Bible teacher and author, talks about ways we can own and internalize God’s Word so our relationship with Him can deepen and become more personal. Among her suggestions is writing out books of the Bible by hand.
Let’s be honest: Most of the things you bought for Christmas this year will be forgotten or out of use by next Christmas. And though Wilkin wasn’t talking about Christmas gifts, she was conveying a more profound truth: There is no greater gift—a miracle, she calls it—than God’s Word, His revelation to us. Can you imagine how special it would be to have a handwritten copy of the Bible from a long-passed relative who set a standard of godliness in your family?
"As you go get coffee or a haircut, shop at the grocery store or go to work, look at those things as a mission opportunity instead of an errand or something that must be checked off your to-do list."
The point here isn’t about giving great gifts. It’s about cherishing that which holds the most value—things like God’s Word, which only appreciate in value over time. As you launch into 2026, you may have resolutions or goals or whatever you call them—heights you want to reach, ways you want to improve. I pray that at the top of your list and mine is the desire to not only know God’s Word on a deeper level, but to know Him more in 2026 than we did in 2025.
May the words of Deuteronomy 6:6-9 be our guide: “These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.”
Yeah, that’s the good stuff.
Got a cherished family heirloom that has spiritual value? Email me at jlarson@sbtexas.com and I may share your story with our readers in an upcoming issue.
