“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
(2 Corinthians 9:15)
Amen!
In all the “gift-giving” busy-ness of this season, have you stopped for a moment and focused on the One who gave the greatest Gift of all (Jesus), so that you could experience life-eternal?
The gift of God’s grace is amazing.
In all the gifts that you plan to give, have you considered what you could offer to God this Christmas?
Gratitude
This month’s “Manna From My Father’s Hand” blog and podcast are going to be a little different than usual, since the podcast was a bit more “off the cuff” when it was recorded.
If you want to check out that video, you can do so here (it premiers live on Thursday, 12/18/2025 at 3 PM and I’ll be there in the live chat; or you can watch the video any time after that).
Wrapping it Up
As I type this (on 12/18/205) it is five months to the day from when I fell and fractured my wrist over the summer.
Since then, the Lord has taught me SO MANY lessons (physically, emotionally and spiritually), and given me so many good words to share with others.
Today, I will (hopefully, and Lord willing;) be wrapping up the series on the “Body of Christ” that came about as a result of that broken wrist.
Essentially, this is to wrap it all up and come full circle, back to the question asked in the video that was posted the day prior to the concert at the shore, after which I fell. That question was “What are You Offering?”
If you want to follow along with that series, check out the footer for a YouTube playlist with those videos.
Gifts
This year, the incredibly gracious gift-giving qualities of our Heavenly Father have been highlighted through the past five months’ experiences.
Thank you for those who have prayed for me over these past months! I am largely back to playing guitar and having capabilities in my left hand (although I’d appreciate it if you would keep those prayers coming for FULL recovery over time;).
The recovery has been slow and steady, and it’s remarkable how long this type of healing takes.
Four months ago, after my wrist surgery and a bit of recovery, I was barely able (if at all) to even lift up a tissue.
Then, by the grace of God, it was amazing and a bit shocking that I was able to put up our 7 foot Christmas tree with the ornaments last week. Mind you, it was definitely challenging, but our gracious God helped me every step of the way.
It was certainly not something that HAD to be done, but it always adds a special touch to the Christmas season to have the decorations, so I WANTED to do it. That was a gift, to get that accomplished by the strength He supplied. AND, it was remarkable to see how much progress has been made over these past five months, PTL.
Things We Take for Granted
The whole experience of wrist fracture recovery has highlighted what a GIFT it is to have hands that work! And that’s to say nothing of legs that carry us here and there, the gifts of sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch…. It’s all a GIFT, and it becomes VERY profound when you have LOST one of those things.
It is often those who have experienced such losses, or those who never HAD those particular gifts, who see the every day miracles of the bodies that the Lord has graciously given us.
Seeing the amount of time and WORK it has taken to regain those guitar skills has been eye-opening. It is SO EASY to take the every-day gifts we experience for granted. Think in your life of the things you are able to do every day; the loved ones who are in your life; the kindness that God shows you every day.
In the past, being able to play the guitar was just something I did, after working over the years to gain the skills. Nothing to write home about.
But when those skills were TAKEN AWAY and needed to be RE-GAINED; now that was CERTAINLY something worth writing home about. The gift of HEALING is very profound, and too easily overlooked.
So, this year, turning around and saying “thanks” to the One who gave those gifts in the first place seems extremely appropriate.
Perhaps YOU have had something(s) “taken” from you that you only now realize what a gift they had been. Perhaps you seek the Lord to regain skills, relationships, health, etc. Whatever the case, I pray that He restores you and allows you to draw near to Him to seek Him for those things.
What Do You Bring?
So, again, I’m coming full circle to the question I asked at the beginning of this “Body of Christ” series: “What are you offering?”
The Church is a big place, with VERY many needs required for it to function, and each one of us plays a role (see 1 Corinthians 12). Perhaps this Christmas, you can find some quiet time to sit before the Lord and think about what you bring to the table; what CAN you bring; and are you BRINGING it?
If you’re NOT bringing it, are you holding it back because you are afraid; do you think it won’t be good enough; or do you think that what you have to offer is of no value; or that it would be too time-consuming or take too much effort?
Our Heavenly Father gave us His ALL when He gave us His Son. And that’s the best Gift.
So, as we so often give our own gifts to little ones at Christmas, and love seeing the smiles on their faces, perhaps we can focus on what we can give to Him, to put a smile on our Father’s face….
Audience of One
After breaking my wrist, I was SO HAPPY that my husband had recorded the concert that happened right beforehand. It provided a chance to look back and see those moments of grace, singing before the “Audience of One”.
Upon falling later that day, it wasn’t clear whether or not I’d ever be able to play guitar again.
That video at least showed what I WAS able to do. And there were at least a couple of songs that seemed extra powerful “in the Spirit” that day, sung with fervor, right out in the public square at the Jersey Shore.
Upon thinking of what a “gift” it was to be able to play/sing like that, and then feeling that “taken” from me, there was at least a little part of me that sensed that the evil one was not “happy” that the Lord had been glorified, and literally tried to “trip me up”.
Surely the Lord has used ALL of it for His good, and has worked it all out beautifully…. And there’s no telling on whether the Lord WANTED it to happen… But He has graciously USED it for my benefit and that of others who have been encouraged through it all.
Regaining What was Lost
So, if YOU can relate to any of this, if you have experienced “loss” and only now have a full understanding of the gift that you HAD and want BACK; may I encourage you to again seek the Lord, and also to realize it may be because you’re doing something RIGHT…. Maybe your desire to glorify God is being effective, and the Lord is either sculpting and pruning you to make you MORE effective, or perhaps the evil one is trying to slow you down a bit.
Whatever the case, whether you struggle because of the “world, the flesh or the devil”, by all means keep your eyes on Jesus, and offer it ALL to Him.
Ultimately, the Lord is our defense, and thankfully we can lift up our “shield of faith” in all circumstances.
We all need that encouragement, and we need to encourage each other more as the day is drawing near (as in Hebrews 10:25).
Greatest Gift of All
So, this Christmas, as we celebrate the coming of our Savior to this earth, the “greatest Gift” of all, let us consider whether we can offer anything to Him that might put a smile on His face.
At the end of the podcast associated with this blog, another one of the songs from that day in Ocean Grove was played, called “When Morning Gilds the Skies”.
You can head over to watch the full podcast at the link in the footer. Or you can watch the single song video at this link at any time after 3:15 today (12/18/2025).
Lisa Prokopowitz is a Christian Singer/Songwriter, Guitarist, Podcaster and Blogger who seeks to lift up the name of Jesus and draw hungry hearts unto Him.
Watch the Video version of this Manna From My Father’s Hand episode here (Video premier is at 3 PM eastern on 12/18/2025–come join me in the live chat if you’re free at three!):
The “Body of Christ” videos can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkoG84nIHurnLLgJP5dXsWG9abtXR18th
Click to listen to the podcast (Audio) version of this episode:
https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/shining-river9/episodes/48–Greatest-Gift-Giver-Ever-e3chid7
This podcast is featured on day 18 of the Shining River 2025 Advent Calendar. Get the calendar for free at this link:
https://shiningriver.com/freeadventcalendar
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