well, here we are – December 2 – WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?
yup, somehow December snuck up on us all again and pretty soon it will be Christmas – you know the time to celebrate gluttony and spend time, energy and money on buying things for people that they don’t need or often even want? wait, that’s not sposed to be it, right?
it’s Christmas – the time of good will to all mankind and a whole lot of Fah La La La La’ing…
let me cut to the chase – what excites me every year about Christmas is the stories of people who get creative around this time to reach out to others – the lonely, the old, those in hospital, those living on the streets – whose Christmas is not likely to look anything like worshipping the Fat Elf of Gluttony – and making even the smallest amount of difference in their lives [although i see Love, Joy, Hope, Community and Acceptance as huge big-ass gifts]
tbV and i are about to celebrate our 5th Christmas together and before we let it run away with us, we decided to be intentional about coming up with some of our own new traditions that will help this holiday feel special to us… and that got me thinking about how we collectively [as the bigger community of us] can help each other to make this the best Christmas possible for the aforementioned ‘least of these’ and others…
This is what i want to invite you into. If you already have a tradition of doing something for others on or around Christmas day, then i would love for you to share it in the comments section. If you have ever been the recipient of someone else reaching out and doing something meaningful and life-transforming for you on Christmas day i would love to hear those stories as well. But more importantly, the invitation is to sit with your friends and/or family and come up with one new tradition to start doing this Christmastime that will help make someone else’s Christmastime really special [especially someone who needs it more]
Will this mean inviting someone into your family meal? Or volunteering with a group of friends at a local shelter Christmas meal? Will it mean getting creative in gift-making? Or sitting down and writing a letter, note or card to someone who is likely to spend this time alone? Or are you going to really hit one out of the park by taking this kind of inspiration and turning it into something that the recipient will remember for a long long time?
So, in the comments section of this blog, i want you to share with us all the idea you have that you are going to do this Christmastime. Perhaps you want to draw some more inspiration from these amazing stories of families who got creative in raising their young children as world changers. But let us know what you’re going to do – and the hope is that as we share ideas, we will be inspired by other peoples’ ideas and try out some of these things together…
Who is in?
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Two Christmas’ ago I went and spent some time on the street corner on Christmas day with some Zimbabwean chaps who sell things made out of wire. I went and hung with them and made sure I bought something from each and every one of them.. especially because if they didn’t sell some of their “Christmassy” items on that day, they probably wouldn’t sell them. It was cool chatting to them and hearing their stories. This year, a friend mentioned to me that he was keen to go around and bless petrol attendants who will be working that whole day… not sure what the plan is yet, but I think it will be cool
dude that is amazing and when you have a definite plan i hope that you will come back and share it – definitely be great if a whole bunch of people caught on to this and increased the blessing peoplefold – thankx for the inspiration…
Over the past couple of years I have put together gifts for children in the “Santa Shoebox” campaign. Last year I did 4 boxes, this year 5, and I hope for it to grow next year and for me to involve more of my family in pledging boxes as well. It’s been incredible to watch the number of pledged boxes on the website increase, meaning that more and more children receive gifts each year. This year, they were over-subscribed by 20,000 boxes!!!! So they were able to give gifts to children on their waiting list. It’s really exciting 🙂
Then, last year, I took my youngest brother with me to a children’s hospital and we handed out crayons and colouring in pages which we had bought and made, and spent a bit of time with them as they coloured in. Hopefully we can do something similar this year too 🙂
dude, both of those are just incredible and no real surprises that it is coming from you as you really live out your faith in so many practical and real ways – love the inspiration – thanks for taking the time to share – LOVE it! and you!
Growing up, our church always had an “Angel Tree” where you could pick a piece of paper that had basic information about a child ‘s wishes for Christmas, clothing size, and interests and would buy them gifts. The children all lived in the neighborhood surrounding the church. I remember one year we went and sat with the family for a while getting to know them. For me, this is always the most meaningful because of the relationship element that comes in giving your time and attention with someone. My godmother works for a nonprofit and I grew up helping her organize their gift drive as well, which served the local elementary schools they worked with throughout the year. I definitely think that giving gifts to those in need is a valuable thing, but I would like to partner that with actions that require what is for me more of a sacrifice… my time. I’d also like to focus on things that directly spread joy, love, and hope.
This year, I’d really like to go caroling… I think there’s a special connection because it’s in person and it’s also a way to share the hope of what Christmas is all about. Maybe in a couple neighborhoods or in some nursing homes or shelters? I know a few others are in… but we need to make it happen!
I also know I have quite the build up of nice scarves and gloves… (my mother is VERY concerned with my warmth at all times), and I’m just now thinking that I should get them in my car and be handing those out (along with a conversation ideally).
Now you got my juices flowing… i’m going to think some more, lol.
ah lovely stuff Helene and looking forward to hearing some stories after the fact – very inspiring stuff here especially the time aspect – sitting with someone and hearing their name and story can be such a powerful thing – and love the glove idea…