Whenever we embark on a season of giving, I think of the piles of well-intentioned gifts that are now buried in closets never to see the light of day because the gift didn’t hold a purpose. We decided to formulate an intentional gift giving list for gift ideas for hope and health.

Sarah has done a great job over the years making sure that a gift isn’t something I would receive and toss to the side. She wanted to ensure they each had meaning. Almost every item on this particular list for guys are presents she gave to me over the years.

1.) Courageous: It’s my understanding that there are some who think this movie is cheesy. So of course if you know the person you’re shopping for is coming from this angle, then pass on this one and pick out something different. But what some call cheesy is what I call a declaration to call men to be men in an age where this is rare. It’s entertaining both entertaining and filled with purpose.

2.) If you’re a guy and haven’t read Lord of the Rings, shame on you. Even though the movies are filled with epic scenes of adventure and stunning special effects, the groundwork from J.R.R. Tolkien should not be passed over. Even though my collection are only tattered copies, it’s been on my wishlist to have a leather bound collection that would suit Tolkien’s words better than my ratty ones.

3.) Now an ordinary leather wallet seems pretty unimpressive, but Sarah purchased this exact one almost five years ago and filled the wallet with strips of paper to send me on a treasure hunt. It was one of the best gifts I have ever received. And now almost five years later, this same wallet has held its shape by looking almost brand new. 

4.) This was another gift from Sarah. Inside she wrote a special note of hope filled encouragement and glued in pictures she knew I found special. I love the cover listing the names of Christ as well as the gold-leafed pages. 

5.) Sarah gave me this movie almost two and half years ago with a note of encouragement, spurring me on to live a life of character like William Wilberforce, the main character in the movie which was based on a true story chronicled in this book. For only a few dollars, it’s a gift that won’t break the bank. 

6.) I love having a drink with me on the go. It’s nice to have a personalized touch with the cross that’s a little different than Zephyrhills’s.  

7.) Sarah gave this to me as a Christmas present four years ago and I’ve used it as my favorite Bible since. It has easy to read print, colorful photos, and useful commentary as well as being a readable yet accurate translation. 

8.) Chuck Norris- one of the few people around that can give you hope-filled encouragement through their life story, yet offer advice on how to improve your roundhouse kick. 

1.) I recently received this wonderful little devotional as a gift and love it. While some devotionals seem to be filled with fluff lacking substance, this one has the short pages we’re all used to from devotionals, yet is packed with purposeful messages. 

2.) Wooden pallets with painted messages are all the rage lately in decor. We have a small one placed in our room and love the look coupled with the message.

3.) Mugs are a favorite in our household since we drink tea so often and love messages like  this beautiful one painted on its surface.

4.) If you’re looking to gift a lady friend a book on prayer, but don’t know where to start, this is a good book to begin with.It’s packed with verses to commit to memory, relevant topics to pray on, and Priscilla Shirer’s undeniable fervor to teach women to pray. 

5.) Even though this movie has been out for what, a year now? It’s still a perfect go-to as a gift for someone that could use the encouragement that their prayers do in fact matter. 

6.) Michael introduced me to How Can It Be by Lauren Daigle last year, and I am so glad he did! She seems to channel Adele’s voice with songs that penetrate the soul. 

7.) This is a present my mom received for her birthday and loved the idea of having a moment to herself for a carefree reprieve as she colors this uplifting adult coloring book.The pages are thick so there is little bleed through and it not only has regular pages that can be colored but also bookmarks, gift tags, and greeting cards. 

8.) This is not something I have myself, but I’ve seen it and loved the concept. Again, it carries the trend of adult coloring and Bible journaling with attractive pages waiting to be colored in.

9.) These are perfect watercolor brush pens to DIY your own encouraging, hope-filled creations that you can turn into frameables, greeting cards and more along with this handy guide. I’m loving what I see others pump out in this area and I’m also glad to see a revival of calligraphy…right when technology seemed to be replacing the need to ever use longhand again. 

10.) This gold bar necklace with informal calligraphy etched with the word “hope” and an arrow design would make a wonderful gift to remind your recipient that hope is near. 

11.) I received this years ago as a Christmas present and love that it is both practical and lovely. 

1.)  First listed is a shower filter. If you’re like us, a shower filter would be a gift that would be received with a thousand watt smile, but we know this could be akin to getting coal in their stocking for some. For those who care about health and don’t mind household goods in their gift box, this would be a wonderful present. We were having issues in the past with allergy reactions from the chlorine in the water and knew that filtered water was a must for us.

2.) Salt lamps1: Provide negative ions to counter the harmful positive ions we are all around on a daily basis 2: the offer an alternative to harsh lighting that emits circadian disrupting blue light. The first point seems a little odd at first glance. I was talking to a medical doctor from Europe years back as he voiced his envy at me living so close to the beach and receiving the benefit of negative ions. I could only stare at him for a moment with a quizzical expression that alerted him to the fact that I was clueless on the subject. Doing further reading myself, I learned he was onto something and that salt lamps are a wonderful source of negative ions that can buffer the positive ions emitted by electronics.

3.) Synsepalum dulcificum is the scientific name of the much hyped “Miracle Berry” that alters your taste buds from a glycoprotein known as miraculin. So, what occurs when you eat a miracle berry? Essentially, it enhances your sweet receptors to the point where eating cheese will taste like cheesecake. A popular experience has been to have a gathering of people to eat from a platter of sour food after eating the miracle berry. So how does this promote health? It can encourage your gift recipient to eat healthy foods with more ease since their sweet receptors will be heightened.

4.) I’ve had “The Gluten Free & Almond Flour Cookbook” for about six years now and it has been one of our go-to cookbooks for years. Included in main entre dishes as well as delectable sweet treats that you would never know are meant to be healthier alternatives. As a small caveat: even though these recipes are healthier, too many nuts in one sitting can be harmful to the body, so be forewarned that baking a dozen almond flour cookies and eating them in one sitting isn’t a wise idea.

5.) This is one of our favorite kitchen goods that we received as a hand-me-down. Not only is it a healthier alternative to its aluminum kitchenware cousins, but it also has a reputation of enduring for many years. As an aesthetic bonus, it comes in a variety of colors. We have the green option.

6.) This light up electric tea kettle quickly heats up water for tea much faster than placing a pot (or kettle) on the stove and waiting for what seems to be an eternity for the water to boil. We also love using this kitchen gadget to heat up water for our bone broth, otherwise, placing it in cold water seems to make the mixture clump.

7.) This is a beautiful gift set of Numi Organic Tea that has built a reputation for offering healthy yet tasty selections. What we’ve loved about Numi is that you will oftentimes find unique teas like Chocolate Pu∙erh. They also offer a flowering tea set which would make for a fun present for the female tea lovers in your life.

8.) We received this juicer as a gift months ago and use it every day. It’s built to last with a fifteen-year warranty (can’t say that about too many items these days). It’s a slow juicer so it will keep more of the nutrients you paid for intact. It also acts as a food processor, but we haven’t utilized this feature yet.

9.) We received the Nutri-Bullet as a gift a number of years ago and loved its various uses from making smoothies, ice cream style treats, and mixing together soup mixtures to give them a smooth texture. It really is a wonderful start to even the most reticent of healthy foods.

10.) If you know someone who spends hours on the computer and complains of sleep issues, this may be a useful solution for them. Electronics emit blue light which can interrupt our circadian rhythms impacting our sleeping habits.

11.) If you’re looking for a good water filter, this is a wonderful option which comes with fluoride filters, a known neurotoxin that’s in our water supply. Since not all filtered waters or bottled waters offer this option, this became a favorite filter system.

12.) This was one of Michael’s favorite gifts he received. Michael cannot tolerate regular coffee due to aflatoxins, a natural occurring mold that’s prevalent in coffee beans, corn, and other grains, and peanuts. In the past, he would attempt to drink regular coffee, have a bad reaction, then swear off coffee until he had a major craving for a cup and forget his last bad reaction, even organic coffee would illicit these bad side effects. Enter in Bulletproof which was featured on the Jimmy Fallon Show and promoted by the author of the Four Hour Work Week. Michael is now able to have his coffee without the bad reactions, so if you know someone who fits this description, Bulletproof might be a good alternative to try.

Hoping you & your family have a wonderful Christmas this year!