Holiday Giving

So, obviously, giving should be (and is) a part of life year-round. But, there really is something about the holiday season that inspires us to step up our giving a little! I love having extra little holiday projects and using these as a chance to make a difference! Here are two that are close to home:

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox

My mom does these every year, and I've done them before. This year, my husband and I decided to pack a shoebox for a little girl because we are currently expecting our first child (a daughter). We packed our shoebox with the following items:

 Hair combs, ponytail holders, and barrettes.

 Hard candy and gum.

 A Lisa Frank activity pad, heart stickers, and colored pencils.

A notebook, pencils, and a pencil sharpener.

 Soap, a toothbrush, and some toothpaste.

A puzzle and a ball.

Here's the final box, which we marked as being for a 10-14 year old girl:

Whoever receives this, wherever she is, I hope this shoebox makes her happy. Operation Christmas Child isn't about making sure kids get stuff, it's about communicating the love of Jesus with a gift that says, "I see you. You're here, and you matter. Merry Christmas!" You can learn more about OCC by visiting http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/.

Total cost of our box: About $20 on the items and $7 to cover shipping

Boxes of Hope

Our church is also partnering with Metropolitan Ministries to fill Boxes of Hope. Last year, we gave 1,000 boxes. This year, our goal is 1,200.  A Box of Hope is a box of food that can feed a family of four for 2-3 days.  Metropolitan Ministries distributes 80-200 of these boxes everyday, and obviously there are special needs during the holiday season.  My husband and I purchased and donated roughly half of a box. We bought:

4 cans of vegetables
1 large can of fruit
2 cans of black beans
1 box of stuffing
1 jar of turkey gravy
1 box of brownie mix
1 package of cookies
2 boxes of pudding mix

You can learn more about our church by visiting http://www.generationscc.com/ and more about MM/Boxes of Hope by visiting http://www.metromin.org/.

Total cost of these food items: About $14

I'm not writing this post to brag.  We're not saints. We spent about $40. It's not that big of a deal. But we're trusting that God can take our little gifts and multiply and bless them to have a big impact.  The purpose of this post is to encourage you to give this holiday season, and to show you how easy it can be.  Give some of yourself by listening to a friend; give some of your time by visiting a nursing home; give some of your money by making a donation or purchasing items to donate. There are so many great organizations that you can work with! Here are a few other worthwhile organizations that you may be interested in:

Compassion International 
World Vision
Nothing But Nets
Free Rice
Habitat for Humanity
World Wildlife Fund

These are just my thoughts. I'd love to hear about your plans for holiday giving!

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and Christmas 2012!