Giving to the Least of These

Last night I was reading Ann Voskamps blog post called The Grateful Christmas Project.  Her words and attitude really hit home with me.  As a five year old child, her son had asked what Jesus would get for his birthday.  Why don't they give up things so that they could give to Jesus on his birthday.  That changed Ann's family that Christmas and every Christmas since.  Now they look for ways to give to others in Jesus' name.  To show love to the least of these and bless them, to bless Jesus.

I want to do that with my family.  We have all we ever need.  All we could ever really wish for.  We don't need more things.  Things that make us discontented and just want more.  I want to change my heart this Christmas and find ways to give to those around me.  To give Jesus a gift for His birthday.

So I read through Ann's blog post with my family.  The girls also wanted to find a way to give a gift to Jesus this Christmas.  Right away the girls said that they wanted to raise money to buy an animal for a poor family.  We talked about what that meant.  That mommy and daddy were not just going to buy an animal that they picked out.  I challenged them to pick an animal they wanted to buy and then raise the money for it.  Bekah said that she and Hannah could raise $200.  We encouraged them to maybe try to raise $25 or even $50, but Bekah would not be persuaded.  She is set on raising $200.  So we are going to support her.  God can do mighty things through the least of these.

Then we looked through the World Vision Catalog to see what we could get for a family in need.  They choose a goat for $75 and a sheep for $126.

Why we choose a Goat

Give a goat. Goats nourish hungry children and families with healthy milk, cheese, and yogurt. Goats also give a much-needed income boost by providing offspring and extra dairy products for sale at the market.

A healthy dairy goat can give up to 16 cups of milk a day. Goat milk is easier to digest than cow’s milk and is an excellent source of calcium, protein, and other essential nutrients that growing children need. Goats are practical animals — flourishing in harsh climates while producing valuable manure to fertilize crops and vegetable gardens. 

Why we choose a Sheep

People love to give sheep. One healthy ewe gives highly nutritious milk for essential protein, vitamins, and minerals, plus plenty of wool to knit warm sweaters and blankets. Sheep often give birth to twins or triplets, which can be sold for income or bred to produce a whole flock of woolly grazers. Plus, sheep’s milk is up to twice as rich as cow’s milk in nutrients like protein, calcium, and B vitamins that growing kids need. It’s the perfect gift to celebrate the birth of Jesus—the Lamb of God. 

And the Birthday Child tells us what He wants: Give to the least of these and you give to Me

How can children, my children, raise this money?  

The girls are learning to bake and cook in the kitchen and are doing a great job.  They will be working very hard over the next month to bake cookies and sell them to raise money for their goat and sheep.  They will make Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies and Brownies (not GF).  They will sell 3 cookies for $2 and a brownie for $1.  Would you like to help them?  Help them to change the world one family at a time.

This Christmas, we are looking forward to focusing on giving Christ gifts.
 Focusing on blessing others to give to the One who gives us all things.

  “When You give to the least of these — you give to Me.” 

We are having a family birthday party for Jesus and are inviting you to be a part of it. 

 

Turning a Disappointment into a Beautiful Gift

 Today Hannah and I drove to the library.  This is a special time for her.  She gets new books and CDs to listen to.  She gets to play big girl games on the library computer.  

 However, today we arrived and found out that the library is closed the whole weekend because of the holiday on Monday.  My little girls head dropped and tears were gathering in her eyes.  Her whole body reflected her disappointment. 

 At that moment I decided to turn this sorrow into a beautiful memory for both of us. 

So we went on a pretty leaf hunt.  

The sun was shining, the smell of autumn was in the air and there were leaves making a path for our shoes-crunching under our feet.  Hannah was in heaven finding handfuls of leaves. 

 I kept remembering a phrase that Anne Voskamp often writes-the Hurry Hurts the  Kids.  So instead of hurrying on our walk, I slowed down and just enjoyed the moment.  So many times I almost told her to hurry.  I almost refused to smell each and every flower that we past.  But I didn't.  I kept my mouth shut and a smile on my face and I was blessed with a beautiful time with my daughter.

Hannah worked on reading the sign.  She did a pretty good job too.

For you mommy!!

Take the time today to just be with your kids.  Don't hurry them.  Don't think about all that you have to get done today.  Just be there 100% with them.  Smell those flowers and accept the gifts and smile and laugh and hug and love them.