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Day 5 of 12 Days of Christmas! (with Nicki Koziarz)

*If you are reading this post in your email inbox, be sure to navigate to my blog order to leave your comment and be entered to win the giveaway. To do so, click here.

NOTE: The best way to make sure you don’t miss any of the 12 days of giveaways is to subscribe to my blog so new posts are sent to your email inbox. When you do, you will automatically be sent a PDF resource I wrote called 5 Ways to Tether Your Heart to God’s Word. Click here to subscribe.

It’s Day 5 of the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways! If you’re just joining in, be sure to start at Day 1 by clicking here.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Although all you need to do to enter is comment here, I will also be snooping around on social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, looking for people who are promoting the giveaway by sharing an image along with the hashtag #12daysofchristmasgiveaways When you do so, you will be entered a second time for the giveaway that day!

Additionally, there is a grand prize for one person who comments on all 12 days, so set a daily alarm on your phone phone for now until December 18th and join the fun!

This year our Grand Prize is worth over $225!! It includes:

Day 5: The Most Thoughtful Gift Ever

For day five, our guest is my close friend and Proverbs 31 Ministries partner Nicki Koziarz. Nicki is a wife, mom, best-selling author, and speaker. Her family resides at a small farm just outside of Charlotte, NC they affectionately call The Fixer Upper Farm. She is also one of the first people I text when I need to process a life situation or want to celebrate something.

And now…here is Nicki!

The year my mom died was one of the hardest Christmases I’d ever had. 
I remember tears flooding my eyes as my dad pulled up to our farmhouse on Christmas morning, alone. They had always joined us for breakfast, prayer and then watched our three daughters dig into their gifts under the tree. As his car door closed and he walked towards the steps of our house, alone, the ache of this new reality hit hard. 


It had only been six weeks since she died, how would we get through this? 
But my husband had something planned. Something he knew wouldn’t take the ache of her being gone away, but would remind me of the hope to come.
After the breakfast dishes were cleaned up, we sat in our living room feeling the emptiness of her not being there. The girls tried to have as much joy and excitement as possible as they opened all their gifts but we all felt her absence. 


And then my husband, Kris, handed me one oddly shaped gift. It looked like pieces of paper. I had no idea what it was and thought it was strange. But as soon as I unfolded the paper, my heart fluttered. It was a printed picture of two baby girl highland cows. 


We had talked about getting cows for our farm but because of my mom’s long and hard passing from a brain tumor, like most other things, we had put this little dream on hold. I wasn’t sure when we would ever pick it back up because looking forward felt hard after such a hard season.


But that Christmas day, the dream came back and the reality of our fixer upper farm turning back into an actual farm became a reality as he told me, those were mine. I cried. But this time, it wasn’t tears of sadness, they were tears of joy. Because this dream that had felt so far from becoming a reality, the rebuilding of our farm, was a little closer to coming true.


Today, when I look at Autumn and Paisley, those two baby highlands now turned into full grown cows, I’m still grateful for that gift. Because it was one that brought joy and hope for the future after a season of so much loss.


It’s been a hard year for most of us. But today, through this Christmas series Karen Ehman is offering us may we also find a little more joy and a lot more hope. The future is still full of dreams yet to be fulfilled.

Now, for today’s quick question of the day: What is the most thoughtful gift or gesture you have ever been given or that you have ever heard of?

Day 5 Giveaway

For day five, Nicki is giving away a $50 Anthropologie gift card. You can use it to buy clothing, accessories, home and furniture items, or beauty and wellness products.

Be sure to answer today’s question in the comments below!

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Nicki Koziarz is a wife, mom, speaker and two-time best-selling author with Proverbs 31 Ministries. She and her husband own a small farm just outside of Charlotte, NC they affectionately call The Fixer Upper Farm. Nicki’s new book and study guide, Flooded, releases March 2021 and is available on Amazon for preorder now. 

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Day 5 Giveaway Question

NOTE: Affiliate links may be included. We only recommend products we know our readers will love!

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAYS RULES

  1. U.S. Addresses only please.
  2. You can comment on all 12 days (once per person) up until midnight Pacific time, Sunday, December 20. Each day will be linked below for easy reference.
  3. One daily winner will be chosen from each day’s comments.
  4. To enter to win the Grand Prize (worth over $225 and includes: A leader kit of my What Matters Most Lifeway study of Philippians, including the teaching DVD’s and one Bible study guide; a Wheatfield Woman ESV journaling Bible from Wheat and Honey Co.; a pink cable knit throw (other color options available); a pour-over coffee dripper ; a half pound of Fortress coffee, a company started by two fellow alumni from Spring Arbor University; an insulated pink shimmer mug–or color of your choice), comment on and share all 12 posts. You can use the share buttons below or repost and share on Instagram (my fave!) and tag me @karenehman.
  5. All winners (including Grand Prize) will be announced here on the blog on Monday, December 21, and contacted via email. Please allow 4-6 weeks to receive your prizes.

Day 1 with Shannon Acheson

Day 2 with Amber Smith

Day 3 with Bella Schwenk

Day 4 with Andrea Brouwer

Day 6 with Alexis Joseph

Day 7 with Kia Stephens

Day 8 with Chrystal Evans Hurst


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268 Comments

  1. So many had passed away over the years that when Mom passed it pretty much let just us 3 kids and spouses. Our kids had grown and moved away. My sister called us and said I’m fixing breakfast if you want to come. It was very hard the next couple of years but we have continued.

  2. I think merely spending time with someone or making them a special meal or much-needed gift. A gift of time is something that means the most! And is often overlooked.

  3. As the child of an Air Force sergeant stationed overseas I experienced a lot of life that others never do. I was 11 when, stationed in a country with volatile politics, a war broke out. After the families of the Air Force personnel experienced air raids near our homes, foxholes in the backyards, and an evacuation by bus, then by air to another location our fathers remained in the war afflicted country. Eventually our family was able to return to the States, but my father was still overseas.

    Christmas that year was full of hope that my father would be able to join us. It just wasn’t going to be the same if Dad could not get transferred. We finally got the news that he wouldn’t be able to come home for Christmas or even months later. My mother worked hard to create the best circumstances for us, I felt so lonely.

    Christmas came and while opening gifts Mother gave me a letter. It was just for me, not like ones my mom got and read to all of us. My dad told me how much he loved me and how proud I made him. It was the best gift I ever got. It made me cry every time I read it. I treasured that letter so much. I kept in my Bible and read it often. I cried every time I read it. It was so full of love! Now, 56 years later, and even though my Dad passed many years ago I still read that letter at Christmas.

  4. I’m a hairstylist, one of my clients one year gave me a gift card to a restaurant to treat my family to a wonderful meal, it ended up being enough to use for two visits. It was just so thoughtful.

  5. My husband planned a surprise overnight getaway for us, complete with a babysitter. It was so nice not to have to be the “social coordinator” of it all :)

  6. My friend, Amy, is the absolute best at sending gifts even though I can’t always reciprocate as a single momma on a tight budget. This year, she sent me a dinner kit from Spoonful of Comfort. I loved it because it was delicious and I don’t really enjoy cooking.

  7. Our ladies Bible study group wanted to bless the older people on our small church this year. We have an older congregation that has been mostly quarantining because of the virus this year. We sent letters to the 16 families in our small church who are not elderly, shut in, widows, or widowers and had an amazing response! On Sunday we delivered 30 beautiful baskets filled with Christmas Cheer! The joy on their faces was such a beautiful gift to those of us who dropped them off. The way it all came together was truly a blessing from God, and I was more filled with joy over giving that day than I ever remember in receiving!

  8. My son got me a variety pack of all different kinds of coffee. It meant so much to me because he picked it out all by himself ams he was so excited to give it to me.

  9. One of the most thoughtful gift I received was a family that I babysit for gave me money to buy an Apple Watch. We were talking about it that day of and I told her I was trig king about getting one, but wasn’t sure about spending that much money. That evening she sent me money and told me to go buy one and treat myself! I was in shock! So thankful!

  10. I remember a specific Christmas a year or two after my dad had passed away at age 33. It had been a tough year financially. I don’t know how I knew it, but I did. There were five of us kids, and Mom was working hard to put food on the table, make clothes or find hand-me-downs, and just come up with something for Christmas. My gift that year, as humble as it was, was a doll my mom had sewn. This wasn’t just any ordinary doll, however. It could be turned inside out to become another doll. I don’t even remember what my siblings got that year, but I knew how much time and effort Mom had put into that doll, and interestingly, it is one gift I will ALWAYS remember and treasure.

  11. We moved out of state quickly for my husband’s new job. We were staying in temporary lodging and it was my middle son’s birthday. A package showed up at our hotel room. It was a birthday box from a friend in the state I had just moved from. It included birthday cupcakes, candles, hats, paper plates/utensils, and a sweet card. We celebrated in our small room in a little way, but it was a such a big gift for us at the time.

  12. Six years ago we were at my granddaughter’s house on Christmas eve . She handed her mother, my daughter a gift to open. It was an ultra sound picture of her baby that was due to be born in August. He came a little early and was born in July. This would be her first grandchild and my first great grandchild.

  13. A thoughtful gift I heard about was a man that paid off everyone’s layaway gifts at Walmart. I thought that was a really kind thing to do for people struggling during the Christmas season.

  14. The most thoughtful gift I have been given was a gift my son purchased in Europe while he was studying abroad. It was a heart-shaped ornament that said, “Världens Bästa Mamma,” Swedish words that mean, “World’s Best Mom.”

  15. The most thoughtful gift was the year our college-age son gave me a book that he had FILLED out of special times he had shared with me as his Mom. He is in his 40’s now and I love going back and re-reading the things he shared with me.

  16. One year my husband was out of work & the local police officers adopted us & delivered more gifts for the kids I have ever seen in my life! Not only that but they brought us a complete Christmas dinner & one dressed as Santa delivering the gifts to our house! (We don’t do Santa at our house, but the gesture was soooo kind & thoughtful!!) We look for ways to bless others in need after that very special Christmas!

  17. One year my husband surprised me with a piece of jewelry that I had mentioned was very pretty several months earlier. It was thoughtful that he had listened and remembered what I liked.

  18. One year my husband was unemployed and we had no money left to pay for bills. Our church found out about it and paid our mortgage, power and bought our young boys Christmas gifts. It was such a blessing and surprise since we had kept our problems private.

  19. We had bought the kids bikes for Christmas and made a scavenger hunt over to the neighbors house for them to find. I was super surprised to find that my husband had also bought a bike for me!

  20. The most thoughtful gift that I have ever recieved was a collection of books from the people who know me best in life. I am an avid reader, so the gift of my own library is something that I am extremely grateful for.

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