Melissa Tagg | Spread the Christmas Joy

Somebody asked me recently what the most memorable gift I ever received was. Soooo many possibilities came to mind:

-The Cabbage Patch big wheel I got one year (and promptly rode through the house)

-The yellow butterfly-speckled My Little Pony I received on my fifth birthday (and there was also a cake with the My Little Pony drawn in frosting!)

-That time my parents surprised me with tickets to a concert I’d been begging to go to for weeks (um, I had a huge crush on the singer’s brother…yup, for reals)

-The 1970s Sound of Music piano book a British friend found in a music shop and gave me the day before I left London to fly home (the same piano book my Mom has that I always wished I could steal from her…no joke!)

I’ve been blessed to receive some wonderful gifts in my life, but my favorite Christmas gift-receiving memories are all the same…the memory of my parents handing me a gift and me being able to tell by the shape and the weight that it was a book. A book! A bookworm’s absolute delight. And every time, they’d always say the same thing: “Go ahead and open it, but you can’t start reading it right now!”

Oh, how well they knew me. They knew my first instinct would be to bury my nose between the book’s pages and completely ignore the rest of the Christmassy activity around me. The waiting…sometimes it just killed me!

And yet, there was something sorta wonderful about it too. I’d look down at the book sitting in my lap, shiny new cover, crisp white pages with that “new book” scent I loved so much. And as I opened more gifts or watched my siblings open their own presents, my anticipation for the story just waiting for me would rise and rise and rise.

Until…all the gifts were opened! My sisters were playing with dolls or trying on new clothes. My brother was making his newest action figure fly. My parents were cleaning up wrapping paper and demolished bows. And finally—finally!—I’d crack open that first page and start reading.

I’m pretty sure the anticipation made it all the better.

Anticipation. I love that word. I love how it hovers in the air around Christmas-time especially. The anticipation of celebration. Family. Home. Togetherness.

And Christmas at is core, well, it’s really all about anticipation, isn’t it? That first Christmas, when Love came down to earth in human form, fulfilled generations of anticipation. The world was hungry for a Savior and so God gave us the gift of Jesus.

But the anticipation continues today.

The anticipation to see Christ at work in our hearts. To see his grace on display in our lives. To see his love break down walls and spread beyond what we can imagine.

We anticipate…knowing that the One who was born in manger is faithful to meet us right where we’re at.

We anticipate…knowing there is more to come. More peace, more joy, more hope.

We anticipate…because the story we’re living is a gift, more vibrant even than the pages of a brand new book.

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Melissa Tagg is a former reporter, current nonprofit grant writer and total Iowa girl. She writes romantic comedies in the b
anter-filled style of her favorite 1930s and 40s classic films. The second book in her popular Walker Family series, Like Never Before, was named by Publishers Weekly to their spring 2016 "Religion and Spirituality" Top 10 list. When she's not writing she can be found hanging out with the coolest family ever, watching old movies, and daydreaming about her next book. Melissa loves connecting with readers at www.melissatagg.com and on Facebook and Instagram.

*Giveaway* 

Melissa is offering a copy of One Enchanted Eve and believe me you will want a copy of this! I'm almost half way through and it's sooo wonderful!

All giveaways run until January 2nd and winners will be announced shortly after. Use the image to the left to share on social media and don't forget the hashtag: #SpreadTheChristmasJoy16

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