This caption is so happening on a gift under our tree this year!

To: Big Ruff (Master)
From: Small Ruff (Dog)

Ruff, Ruff, Ruff, Ruff, Barooo, Ruff, Sniff, Ruff, Scratch, Ruff, Grr, Ruff (Translation Below)

Dear Master, (Dada)

I am so sorry that I ate your slippers…again.  I don’t know what comes over me but when I see the Christmas tree come out I get so excited that I must kill something.  The insoles of your slippers beckoned me with the reek of your wonderful foot stink.  They were simply irresistible.  I had no choice really. I had to kill them.  So Lady-Master made me get you another pair.  Hope you like them.

Love, Bailey

P.S.  If they are satisfactory, can I please finish off your old ones? They still have a bit of chew left in them and the imprint of the soul scent lingers.

For those of us whose love language is gifts, this is one of the most anticipated times of year.  I love gifts…both giving and receiving.  A gift can communicate such a powerful message of love, value and thoughtfulness.  With such a simple thing, one can transform a moment into a memory.  But all too often, the stress associated with obligatory giving, social expectations, and a guilty realization that we have not fostered a close enough relationship with the recipient to know them well enough to bless them, distracts us from the beauty found in the grace of giving and receiving.  Let’s not give up on blessing others, and practicing thankfulness just because busyness threatens to steal from our relationships.  Perhaps we can make an early New Year’s resolution to become better students of the people in our life and more present in our interactions with them so that when we bless them from a place of abiding in the “Prince of Peace” who was gifted to us so long ago, they truly discover the treasure they were created to be!

Inspirational Scripture:

“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” Luke 2:14

“…‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ “
Acts 20:35