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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 donโ€™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 Godโ€™s Word. Click here to subscribe.

Itโ€™s Day 5 of the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways! If youโ€™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 dayโ€™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. I love gifts! I love giving and getting thoughtful gifts. My husband planned a trip with some friends as a surprise for me!! It was so much fun.

  2. One year we lost a baby right before Christmas and it was one of the toughest ever, so the next one we had a baby that was the perfect and most precious gift I ever could receive. Merry Christmas!!!

  3. I lost my mom on December 9, 2013 after 4 very hard years. My girlfriends came to my house and decorated my tree and some other areas because I had no energy whatsoever. It was a precious gift to me because I love Christmas.

  4. My grandmother gifted me a beautiful ring that my uncle gave her before he passed away at the age of 23. . We shared a birthday and he was my favorite person as a child.

  5. My mother was a talented seamstress. She made quilts for all her grandchildren, carefully choosing the fabrics to match their personality and interests. She passed away in the midst of these projects, but a good friend of hers who knew which fabric was for whom, helped see it all come to fruition They were Christmas gifts last year and are treasured keepsakes.

  6. Hmmm…thatโ€™s a tough one. My most thoughtful gift? My daughter painted a little light-up Christmas tree for me at ceramics one summer.

  7. One year, the elementary school I worked with decided that instead of throwing ourselves a staff Christmas party, we would use that money to “adopt” five or our neediest families for the holiday season. We went out in groups and filled carts full of stuff for each of them!

  8. My husband suggesting and then taking us out of state for what we knew would be my mom’s last Christmas. We didn’t tell her we were coming and surprised her. Was a great Christmas.

  9. My SIL sent me and my daughter a gorgeous bouquet of roses with a note of how much we meant to her asking us to be a part of her wedding. The words she chose made me tear up. Very special way this was done.

  10. My brother gave me. Glass bell with a butterfly on it after our brother died. It was his way of saying he was sorry for anyway heโ€™d ever hurt me, and that he loved me. Best gift ever to me!

  11. When my children were young, my MIL made a day for me for my birthday. She left notes and clues on where I was supposed to go and what to do. She watched the kids so I had a day to myself.

  12. So many had passed away over the years that when Mom passed it pretty much let just us 3 kids and spouses. It was very hard the next couple of years but we have continued.

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