Baptism and Christening Gifts has truly joined the 21st Century.  We now have our own internet commercial that we would like to share with you.

Visit our website for Christ centered gifts honoring the day of dedication, baptism and christening! We feature inspirational gifts of art for your Christian home decor that will be treasured from one generation to the next.

Last week was Pentecost Sunday.

The word Pentecost means the fiftieth day.  Websters Dictionary defines Pentecost as a Christian festival commemorating on the seventh Sunday after Easter the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles.

Since the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles on Pentecost, it is the day that our Lutheran church observes Confirmation.  Our young people take their confirmation vows, confirming their baptismal vows, and become communicant members of the congregation.

Because Confirmation Day is such an important and significant day, families gather together in celebration and gifts are given.   A well chosen confirmation gift of Christian home decor emphasizes the importance of the day and has lasting meaning throughout the years.

I still have my Christian art given to me for my confirmation 50 years ago!

Yesterday, my husband and I attended a wedding.  Since the wedding was the day before Mother’s Day, there was a slide show featuring the two mothers.  There was all manner of photos from the mothers’ own weddings, pregnancy photos, mothers holding their little babies, grandmothers holding their precious little grandchildren, and all kinds of interaction between mothers, grandmothers, and the children at all different ages.  The tribute to the mothers and grandmothers brought a tear to my eye, because you could just see and feel the love in those long ago photos.

Love, tenderness, caring, protection, sacrifice… all these emotions and more showed in the faces of those photos.  Such is the face of a mother’s love.

Consider how much more our Lord Jesus loves us.  As the song says, He “loves the little children”.  What mother wouldn’t be thrilled to tell that to her child every day using a beautiful work of Christian home decor in Baby’s room, featuring an infant in Jesus’ arms, as a visual reminder!  This would make a lovely gift for a baby dedication, baptism, or christening.

Now it’s time to look at some family photos and call my mother and thank her for her love.  More importantly, I will thank her for bringing me up in the church, and singing to me of God’s love as she rocked me in the rocking chair.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!  I love you!

Is it stealing if you keep something you have found, even if it does not belong to you? This is tempting, especially in these tough economic times.

This evening my husband went out to the corner store to get some ice cream. (Not that I needed it, mind you, but he thought I’d like some. Bless his heart!) He got home and realized that he did not have his wallet, so he headed back to the store. While he and the clerk were looking on the floor, a lady came in and said she stepped out of her car and stepped on a wallet. (That brought a sigh of relief!) My husband thanked the lady and offered her twenty dollars. She refused, telling him to pass it along to someone who needed it.

This brings me back to my original question. Is it stealing if you keep something you find? In the truest definition, I suppose not. But ethically, yes it is. Thank goodness that beautiful lady understood the commandment “Thou shalt not steal”!

That, along with the other nine commandments direct us as how we are to direct our life.  Christian home decor of The Ten Commandments makes a statement and serves as a daily visual reminder of how you and your family choose to live.      

As a post script to this message: You can be sure that a thank you prayer was said, and that, in fact, we will pass that twenty dollars along to our pastor to distribute to someone in need.

August 22, 2009  There is a post script to this post titled “Do the Right Thing“.  Read the update on what happened after the “thank you cash” left our hands and was turned over to our pastor.

Each and every day we take another step along the path of our life.   Sometimes we are in a crowd or with a few friends and sometimes we feel like we are alone.  Some days are good days and some days are a real challenge.

When we are busily engaged with others or when our days go well, we often don’t consider that we are walking with Jesus… or rather that He is walking with us.  How foolish we are, because we should be singing at the top of our lungs “What a friend we have in Jesus!”

When we feel alone or when our day is going badly, again, we often don’t consider that we are walking with Jesus, or more importantly, that He is walking with us.  How unappreciative we are, because we should be prayerfully and thankfully singing “What a friend we have in Jesus!”

As Christians, it is a great blessing to know that Jesus walks with us every day of our life.  With a beautiful drawing displayed as Christian home decor, we can have a visual reminder that we are walking with Jesus.  He is our support and He upholds us up through our particularly tough times.

My father always told me to look up the meaning of a word, and I found it fascinating to find out where that word came from.  With that in mind, I looked up the word baptize.  Webster’s Dictionary says that it comes from the Latin word baptizare and the Greek word baptizein both of which mean to dip in water.  Reading further in Webster’s the definition is 1. to dip or immerse in water, or to pour or sprinkle water upon, as a religious rite; to administer baptism to  2. to cleanse, purify, initiate, etc.  3. to give a name to at baptism; to christen.

Whether your church baptizes by immersion or by sprinkling, or whether a name is given or not, the day you or your children are baptized is a special day.  Remember that blessed day of baptism or christening with a gift of Christian art  for home decor that will be treasured long after the day.

Webster’s Dictionary defines baptism as: 1. Act or ceremony of baptizing, a sacrament by whose reception one becomes a Christian or a member of a Christian church.  2. Any act or experience that, like baptism, purifies, initiates, etc.

The act or ceremony of baptizing is anticipated by parents, grandparents, godparents, and the congregation to which the member is received.  They look forward to the act or ceremony itself, but also look for a way to commemorate that act with a special gift.  A baptism gift of Christian art  for home decor in Baby’s room makes a meaningful gift that will be appreciated throughout the rest of their life.

This morning in church the pastor mentioned in part of his sermon that the sacraments are a means by which God comes to us.  We, as parents and godparents, bring our children to God, but, more importantly, through the sacrament of holy baptism, God comes to our children.  What a wonderful blessing that is!

Acknowledge that blessing with an infant baptism gift of Christian framed art that will have special meaning throughout your child’s life.  It is Christian home decor that will serve as a daily reminder that God loves them and has come to them.

Gifts, gifts, gifts.  It seems that we are always buying gifts.  They break, they become outdated, they aren’t appreciated, and so on.  It’s frustrating buy gifts.

Do you look for Christ centered gifts that keep on giving?  Why not choose a gift of Christian art that can be used as home decor?