There Will Never Be A Greater Love

I LOVE IT!  Aside from when my children were born, I don't think there has ever been a greater day in my life!  Brian and I had the opportunity to join together with many of our dearest friends and bless 442 little lives residing just a few miles away!  WHAT A THRILL to share Christ's love with such a sweet, tender, well-behaved, appreciative, loving bunch of boys and girls at Skinner Magnet School!  We wish everyone could have experienced it with us... 

We began the festivities with a fabulous lunch prepared by the cooks of Skinner.  Mr. Gunter invited us to eat with the entire faculty.  What could be better than a taco bar?

Here is the 20 ft. Christmas tree Mr. Gunter envisioned with a gift for each child underneath!  No longer a VISION, but a REALITY!

Here come all the precious little children!

After a few announcements from Mr. Gunter, the music began and so did the "organized chaos" of  locating each individual child to give him/her that special gift!

The kids were so sweet...
Each waited patiently for all to receive a gift before opening!

"Three...two...one!"

As you can imagine, some of the kids had moved away since we first received the official list back in November.  Ashlynn, a dear friend of ours, had personalized her gift by coloring a picture and including with it a little note...but the child she had bought for had recently moved to a different school.  Nonetheless, the mother of this child was called and came to personally receive the present for her daughter.  She said her little girl could really use a special gift right now.

This little girl represents so many in the crowd!  She was VERY interested in finding out exactly WHO bought her gift and whether that person was present.  She said, "Thank you, thank you" many times over as she carefully touched each of the items in her bag.  She even offered to share her gifts with the sweet girl sitting beside her.  This little girl's smiles and hugs were something that made my heart sing, a feeling I won't soon forget.  Many of the other volunteers shared similar experiences and completely felt the same.  

Brian, myself, Devin & Meghan Banion, Brett & Jessica Brown, Jeff & Becky Hackbart and Jason & Shannon Ryan would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making this event possible.  There is absolutely no way we could have pulled this off without each and every one of you and your help.  We are so blessed to be surrounded by a mega-LIFEgroup, friends and family we do LIFE with, who's passion is to serve others with the love of Christ.

Through our recent Bible study, we learned that you simply CANNOT out-give God.  In fact, He challenges us to try and do so, just to see how He might respond.  Well, He definitely responded in unthinkable ways these past few weeks.  So many variables fell into place in such a short amount of time...something only possible with God!  What a witness this project has been to so many people, our LIFEgroup included. 

This Christmas season, each of us will give good gifts to our friends and family and those in need, but always remember that Jesus came to this earth, died on the cross, and was resurrected for ALL of us...for YOU, for ME, and for THE CHILD YOU GAVE A GIFT TO on this special day.  So please say a prayer for that child and think for a moment, if you will, about the following words, praising God for His love, the greatest gift of all...

There has never been a greater Love

Than your Son, no not one.

And there will never be a greater Love, no not one.

With his life You have forgiven us ,
Hope has come, Hope has come.

And there will never be a greater Love, no not one.