The Gift that Keeps on Giving.....

Do you enjoy Christmas shopping?  Do you dread it?  For me it's a combination of both :)  I love getting gifts for people I love.  I received really great advice as a young adult that there are appropriate times for lavish gift giving as a way to reflect God's lavish and generous love to us.  Sometimes it's good for gifts to be practical and sometimes it's good for gifts to be an over-the-top expression of love. 

What we can probably all agree doesn't ever feel great, is the obligatory "I'm buying something that you probably don't need or want just because I feel the need to get you something and/or for you to have something to open at a certain time."

So where you are enjoying getting those practical or fun gifts you know people are going to love.....wonderful.  Happy shopping and enjoy celebrating together!

However, if you are struggling with what to get people, feeling overwhelmed, not excited about the prospect of obligatory shopping, I'd like to suggest an alternative.....

(Note, there are a plethora of options you could donate to, this is one that is near and dear to my heart so I offer this specifically.....)

World Orphans partners to operate a school for refugee children in Northern Iraq.  Educating 215 students, we provide the only Arabic curriculum school in the region.  Due to an unexpected loss in funding, we need to raise around $20,000 to finish the semester.  Consistent education is truly vital to these children.   Would you consider this.....

• Make a list of everyone you want to get gifts for but may struggle to find something meaningful that adequately expresses your love for them.
• Approximate what you would spend on the gifts.
• Donate HERE to help the children in our refugee school finish the semester.
• Make or buy ornaments to give as a small token of your love for the person with a note about the donation you made in their honor.
• OR (lots of options) make or buy simple jewelry to give as a small token of your love for the person with a note about the donation you made in their honor.
• OR simply print lots of copies of this picture and put it in a card with a note expressing your love for the person and explaining the donation you made in their honor in lieu of buying a gift.

I have a list of a few different personalized gifts that I'm buying from local businesses that will be fun to give and will include a note that the gifts are simple because we made a donation in their honor.    Want to join me?

Any interest in my thoughts in general about gift giving around Christmas and how we think about celebrating Christ and honoring those we love in the mist of a consumer driven culture?  

Let me know if you're interested...

And if you like the idea, PLEASE feel free to pass this on to others!