They say it’s His birthday…
If Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus (and it does), how can we give a gift to Him?
At first the answer may not seem obvious, but with a little searching of the scriptures, Jesus tells us exactly what’s on His birthday list this year… and every year:
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
— Matthew 25:37-40 ESV
When we feed or clothe a stranger, or visit someone in the hospital or prison, we have blessed the King. As I mentioned in last week’s post, I’m not bothered by the gift-giving at Christmas. But I do hope that we give with a sense of purpose: to honor Him.
Perhaps this Christmas consider giving to someone in need—an individual or to an organization that meets the needs of individuals—as a way to give to Jesus. For example, our family loves cycling, so one year we donated money to purchase a bicycle for an itinerant pastor in Africa through a para-church organization. Another year we specifically outfitted a child who couldn’t afford clothing that met his school’s dress code.
No gift has thrilled me as much to give as the ones I’ve given to Him in such a way.
I like to think He enjoys ‘opening’ them, too.
I share these stories as examples of ways to give in this fashion, not to have our deeds seen by men. I’d love to hear your ideas and stories so that all of us can be similarly inspired. Will you consider sharing in the comments?
Great reminder Kirsten,
One thing we’ve done many years (except last year and this year) is having our home group adopt a family anonymously who we know is in need in the community. We have reinvented the 12 days of Christmas and starting on the 12th make a delivery every midnight to the family’s doorstep according to that day. Each note says something like this, “On the first day of Christmas and angel brought to you, 1, 2, 3, (whatever day you’re on) and leave the item in a gift bag.
For example, here are some items we’ve done: 1 turkey, 2 Christmas movies, 3 hats and pairs of gloves, 4 Christian music CD’s, 5 paper products, 6 $20 bills, 7 gift cards (food & gas or movie tickets),. . . . . & 12 piece nativity . . . . you get the idea? It really depends on the age of the kids and what you give –
This happened to my family when I was a little girl and it spoke volumes to my heart and then we learned it was the little white church on the hill — we couldn’t wait until the morning to see what the Christmas angel brought us — I still remember day 10 — 10 bags of 10#’s of potatos! And we got new hats, gloves, toys etc. etc. (Kirsten, my family was really poor and this was such a gesture of love and it impacted not only us but my parents in a HUGE way — we so new to the community and church — it meant so much to us. So, I guess this is why we love to do the 12 days of Christmas and now our boys get into it too with helping wrap gifts and when you do it as a small group everyone gets to pitch in and even deliver if they want to — it’s so awesome. We’ve even gotten notes from the family left on the front door for us!
I guess I got to talking here — How’s this for an idea!! 🙂 Love you, Hester
Great reminder Kirsten,
One thing we’ve done many years (except last year and this year) is having our home group adopt a family anonymously who we know is in need in the community. We have reinvented the 12 days of Christmas and starting on the 12th make a delivery every midnight to the family’s doorstep according to that day. Each note says something like this, “On the first day of Christmas and angel brought to you, 1, 2, 3, (whatever day you’re on) and leave the item in a gift bag.
For example, here are some items we’ve done: 1 turkey, 2 Christmas movies, 3 hats and pairs of gloves, 4 Christian music CD’s, 5 paper products, 6 $20 bills, 7 gift cards (food & gas or movie tickets),. . . . . & 12 piece nativity . . . . you get the idea? It really depends on the age of the kids and what you give –
This happened to my family when I was a little girl and it spoke volumes to my heart and then we learned it was the little white church on the hill — we couldn’t wait until the morning to see what the Christmas angel brought us — I still remember day 10 — 10 bags of 10#’s of potatos! And we got new hats, gloves, toys etc. etc. (Kirsten, my family was really poor and this was such a gesture of love and it impacted not only us but my parents in a HUGE way — we so new to the community and church — it meant so much to us. So, I guess this is why we love to do the 12 days of Christmas and now our boys get into it too with helping wrap gifts and when you do it as a small group everyone gets to pitch in and even deliver if they want to — it’s so awesome. We’ve even gotten notes from the family left on the front door for us!
I guess I got to talking here — How’s this for an idea!! 🙂 Love you, Hester
Love, love, LOVE your tradition, Hester! Thanks for sharing it with us!
ps. we never disclose who is the gifts are from when we do it. ( when I was a girl our family just figured it out b/c a few years later we helped deliver to a different family.)
ps. we never disclose who is the gifts are from when we do it. ( when I was a girl our family just figured it out b/c a few years later we helped deliver to a different family.)
ps. we never disclose who is the gifts are from when we do it. ( when I was a girl our family just figured it out b/c a few years later we helped deliver to a different family.)
ps. we never disclose who is the gifts are from when we do it. ( when I was a girl our family just figured it out b/c a few years later we helped deliver to a different family.)
Hester’s story took me back about 30 years to when I was a child and a very dear couple “played this blessing” on my widowed Oma. On the 12th day – 12 drummers drumming, they showed up with a bucket of KFC – 12 drum sticks! 😉 The guessing game was over, and it was so much fun. I love however, the twist of the anonymous.
We have over the years adopted a family we knew was in need, purchased gifts and then had a delivery elf arrive with the gifts. It blessed us in that the receiver couldn’t refuse, and we also had a little glimpse of reaction from the Christmas “elf.” The elves we’ve recruited over the years have also shared how special of an experience that was for them, too.
Drumsticks! What a scream! How memorable for all of you. Special, indeed.
Hester’s story took me back about 30 years to when I was a child and a very dear couple “played this blessing” on my widowed Oma. On the 12th day – 12 drummers drumming, they showed up with a bucket of KFC – 12 drum sticks! 😉 The guessing game was over, and it was so much fun. I love however, the twist of the anonymous.
We have over the years adopted a family we knew was in need, purchased gifts and then had a delivery elf arrive with the gifts. It blessed us in that the receiver couldn’t refuse, and we also had a little glimpse of reaction from the Christmas “elf.” The elves we’ve recruited over the years have also shared how special of an experience that was for them, too.
Drumsticks! What a scream! How memorable for all of you. Special, indeed.
Hester’s story took me back about 30 years to when I was a child and a very dear couple “played this blessing” on my widowed Oma. On the 12th day – 12 drummers drumming, they showed up with a bucket of KFC – 12 drum sticks! 😉 The guessing game was over, and it was so much fun. I love however, the twist of the anonymous.
We have over the years adopted a family we knew was in need, purchased gifts and then had a delivery elf arrive with the gifts. It blessed us in that the receiver couldn’t refuse, and we also had a little glimpse of reaction from the Christmas “elf.” The elves we’ve recruited over the years have also shared how special of an experience that was for them, too.
Drumsticks! What a scream! How memorable for all of you. Special, indeed.
Love, love, LOVE your tradition, Hester! Thanks for sharing it with us!
Drumsticks! What a scream! How memorable for all of you. Special, indeed.
Drumsticks! What a scream! How memorable for all of you. Special, indeed.
Drumsticks! What a scream! How memorable for all of you. Special, indeed.
We’ve always adopted a family from the church tree, and we go as a family to pick out the gifts so the kids are involved, and they choose the gifts for the kids. We’ve never seen them delivered, but we have fun picking out the gifts. I love the ’12 Days of Christmas” idea, though…
We’ve always adopted a family from the church tree, and we go as a family to pick out the gifts so the kids are involved, and they choose the gifts for the kids. We’ve never seen them delivered, but we have fun picking out the gifts. I love the ’12 Days of Christmas” idea, though…
Of all the “for pay” visits Santa and I do yearly, our favorite day of the year is Christmas Day. In costumes, we begin the day with a stop at Starbucks and it is surprising how many people have nothing else to do but go to Starbucks Christmas morning. Then at 9 we arrive at the Ronald McDonald house to pass our gifts to the families gathered there. What a thrill for us. Next stop is Denny’s, one of the few restaurants open Christmas morning. It is always packed with happy families and our greetings bring them even more joy. Our last visit is at St Luke’s Meridian where we try to visit every staff member and patient and bring them a little joy when they all just want to be home. This day is the highlight of our season for it is in the giving that you receive the most. Next year, perhaps we could be more involved with those gifting other families, in that perhaps Santa could deliver for you. Wouldn’t that be fun? In that way we could share in the joy of giving. Our email is vernellen63@cableone.net. Keep that on hand for your next years delivery needs–for free of course if we have a free moment to do so.
Awesome idea, Ellen! Might just take you up on that!
Of all the “for pay” visits Santa and I do yearly, our favorite day of the year is Christmas Day. In costumes, we begin the day with a stop at Starbucks and it is surprising how many people have nothing else to do but go to Starbucks Christmas morning. Then at 9 we arrive at the Ronald McDonald house to pass our gifts to the families gathered there. What a thrill for us. Next stop is Denny’s, one of the few restaurants open Christmas morning. It is always packed with happy families and our greetings bring them even more joy. Our last visit is at St Luke’s Meridian where we try to visit every staff member and patient and bring them a little joy when they all just want to be home. This day is the highlight of our season for it is in the giving that you receive the most. Next year, perhaps we could be more involved with those gifting other families, in that perhaps Santa could deliver for you. Wouldn’t that be fun? In that way we could share in the joy of giving. Our email is vernellen63@cableone.net. Keep that on hand for your next years delivery needs–for free of course if we have a free moment to do so.
Of all the “for pay” visits Santa and I do yearly, our favorite day of the year is Christmas Day. In costumes, we begin the day with a stop at Starbucks and it is surprising how many people have nothing else to do but go to Starbucks Christmas morning. Then at 9 we arrive at the Ronald McDonald house to pass our gifts to the families gathered there. What a thrill for us. Next stop is Denny’s, one of the few restaurants open Christmas morning. It is always packed with happy families and our greetings bring them even more joy. Our last visit is at St Luke’s Meridian where we try to visit every staff member and patient and bring them a little joy when they all just want to be home. This day is the highlight of our season for it is in the giving that you receive the most. Next year, perhaps we could be more involved with those gifting other families, in that perhaps Santa could deliver for you. Wouldn’t that be fun? In that way we could share in the joy of giving. Our email is vernellen63@cableone.net. Keep that on hand for your next years delivery needs–for free of course if we have a free moment to do so.
Awesome idea, Ellen! Might just take you up on that!
Correction on that last post. I said we were passing our gifts out at the Ronald McDonald house. I meant to say passing out gifts. They have the gifts all ready and we just distribute them. Our gift to them is our presence. But it really more a gift to us.
Correction on that last post. I said we were passing our gifts out at the Ronald McDonald house. I meant to say passing out gifts. They have the gifts all ready and we just distribute them. Our gift to them is our presence. But it really more a gift to us.
Correction on that last post. I said we were passing our gifts out at the Ronald McDonald house. I meant to say passing out gifts. They have the gifts all ready and we just distribute them. Our gift to them is our presence. But it really more a gift to us.
Correction on that last post. I said we were passing our gifts out at the Ronald McDonald house. I meant to say passing out gifts. They have the gifts all ready and we just distribute them. Our gift to them is our presence. But it really more a gift to us.
After my family of 5 spent this Christmas in Thailand, serving the Akha tribal people, my 15 year old came back with a strong kick in the gut…. Large amounts of reverse culture shock . She was abhorred by the constant FB posts about the have’s and the have-not’s in her American community of friends….. Those who scored this iPhone 5 and the losers who didn’t. Those who capably wore their parents down and those who just didn’t have a mature enough vernacular to convince their parents that the world was truly ending if they didn’t own the best device EVERRRR created.
Now I say this knowing that anyone who serves in the field or any length of time comes back changed. Most want to throw out everything in their possession. Spending $ on organics, Starbucks, or anything Aveda comes to a screeching halt.
But is that really what God wants from our transformation? I think what He wants is much deeper than that. It’s not whether my daughter friends are rocking the 5. It’s not a time for judging. It’s how my daughter processes what she will do with the hunger, outward prostitution, the drug use, the child orphans, the poverty… All that she saw in Asia. We are praying for her to be vocal in her community…. To share what she saw that most of the world sees and lives every day. My prayer for her is to gently tell. To tell. To tell. To tell. And then tell some more. We need warriors that will help our teens “lift their eyes to the mountains” and help them see a bigger planet, a bigger kingdom….
Thank you for reminding us to center our hearts on giving and not getting. I need to examine my heart. Am I in relationship with my Lord in order to give to Him or to receive from Him?
After my family of 5 spent this Christmas in Thailand, serving the Akha tribal people, my 15 year old came back with a strong kick in the gut…. Large amounts of reverse culture shock . She was abhorred by the constant FB posts about the have’s and the have-not’s in her American community of friends….. Those who scored this iPhone 5 and the losers who didn’t. Those who capably wore their parents down and those who just didn’t have a mature enough vernacular to convince their parents that the world was truly ending if they didn’t own the best device EVERRRR created.
Now I say this knowing that anyone who serves in the field or any length of time comes back changed. Most want to throw out everything in their possession. Spending $ on organics, Starbucks, or anything Aveda comes to a screeching halt.
But is that really what God wants from our transformation? I think what He wants is much deeper than that. It’s not whether my daughter friends are rocking the 5. It’s not a time for judging. It’s how my daughter processes what she will do with the hunger, outward prostitution, the drug use, the child orphans, the poverty… All that she saw in Asia. We are praying for her to be vocal in her community…. To share what she saw that most of the world sees and lives every day. My prayer for her is to gently tell. To tell. To tell. To tell. And then tell some more. We need warriors that will help our teens “lift their eyes to the mountains” and help them see a bigger planet, a bigger kingdom….
Thank you for reminding us to center our hearts on giving and not getting. I need to examine my heart. Am I in relationship with my Lord in order to give to Him or to receive from Him?
After my family of 5 spent this Christmas in Thailand, serving the Akha tribal people, my 15 year old came back with a strong kick in the gut…. Large amounts of reverse culture shock . She was abhorred by the constant FB posts about the have’s and the have-not’s in her American community of friends….. Those who scored this iPhone 5 and the losers who didn’t. Those who capably wore their parents down and those who just didn’t have a mature enough vernacular to convince their parents that the world was truly ending if they didn’t own the best device EVERRRR created.
Now I say this knowing that anyone who serves in the field or any length of time comes back changed. Most want to throw out everything in their possession. Spending $ on organics, Starbucks, or anything Aveda comes to a screeching halt.
But is that really what God wants from our transformation? I think what He wants is much deeper than that. It’s not whether my daughter friends are rocking the 5. It’s not a time for judging. It’s how my daughter processes what she will do with the hunger, outward prostitution, the drug use, the child orphans, the poverty… All that she saw in Asia. We are praying for her to be vocal in her community…. To share what she saw that most of the world sees and lives every day. My prayer for her is to gently tell. To tell. To tell. To tell. And then tell some more. We need warriors that will help our teens “lift their eyes to the mountains” and help them see a bigger planet, a bigger kingdom….
Thank you for reminding us to center our hearts on giving and not getting. I need to examine my heart. Am I in relationship with my Lord in order to give to Him or to receive from Him?
Tell, tell, tell of His goodness in a dark world and tell, tell, tell of the darkness we willingly blind ourselves to. Well said, Christie!
Tell, tell, tell of His goodness in a dark world and tell, tell, tell of the darkness we willingly blind ourselves to. Well said, Christie!
Tell, tell, tell of His goodness in a dark world and tell, tell, tell of the darkness we willingly blind ourselves to. Well said, Christie!