Christmas is a time when we can demonstrate to our ministers just how much they mean to us.  It is also a time when ministers can discover just how much they need to grow in grace.

I have thought long and hard whether or not it was too ungrateful and unkind to tell the world of these three gifts I received this year.  But in the end I decided the amusement it would bring to others probably outweighted the embarassment it could cause if this post was discovered by the perpetrators of these opportunities for me to grow in grace....

No gold, frankincense or myrrh, I received...

• A Christmas decoration that would have been tacky when it was bought several years ago, but the big giveaway was the faded box demonstrating it had long been hidden away.  At least it was unused!
• A box of biscuits 8 months past their use by date.  Yummy!  Well the garden birds thought so.
• A secondhand tea towel!!!!!  Though to be fair this was in a parcel with two new (kitchen related) items.

I am sure that each gift was well intentioned... I'm just glad these people weren't among the mages of old!