Week three and feeling festive!
So far our weekly themes have been Light the World, Light Your Community, and Light Your Family. I’ve pretty much hopscotched around hitting all three themes each week, because let’s be real, service is service. Our family is part of our community and the world is made up of communities so, often when we’re serving one we’re serving the others as well. It makes it easy to see why Christ said in the book of Matthew in the New Testament, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
Next week’s theme is Light Your Faith. I love this. It’s way too easy to focus so much on giving and serving that we neglect ourselves. Obviously,we have to keep our proverbial candles lit if we ever hope to share our light or light someone else’s candle. The idea of lighting our faith is a vital reminder that keeping ourselves deeply nourished and thereby well-prepared to be of use to others goes way deeper than making sure we have enough “me time.” It’s about vibrant, enriching faith. We’ll touch on this more next week.
As for this week’s activities, here’s some of the fun.
12 Days of Christmas kickoff – Last week we did all the prep. This week the young women I work with, the other adult leaders, and I have been taking turns secretly delivering the daily gifts. It’s so much fun to be sneaky together – in a good way, of course.
Band concerts/recitals – This was that week in December when all the concerts and recitals hit (They seems to happen all in the same seven day period, don’t they?) and community members gather to support the efforts of the children and youth. For our family that meant attending an elementary/middle school band concert and a dance recital to see the snowflakes and sugar plums show their stuff. It’s a great way to let our young artists know we see them and value all the hours they’ve practiced.
Make a blanket – One of the gifts for our 12 Days of Christmas Secret Santa project was a cuddly fleece blanket, snipped and tied all around the edges. I bought extra fabric to make one for a friend. Imagine my delight when I had an unexpected chance to have my eight-year-old granddaughter help me. We snuggled up on the couch under that cuddly fuzziness, watched a Christmas movie, tied fringes, and made a wonderful memory. All that and an elderly widow will get a visit and a blanket in the coming week, too. Talk about a win-win!
Make photo books – One of my favorite traditions is to preserve family history by making photo books for my grandkids. (Personally, I use Snapfish which is simple and always has great sales, but there are several companies to choose from.) As they get older, not only will these books be precious reminders of family and friends they knew when they were younger, they’ll serve as tangible, physical evidence of how loved and treasured they are and always have been. They’ll have pictures to prove it.
Shop for/deliver Camp Fire gifts – Perhaps you heard on the news about the Camp Fire, the worst in California’s history. It happened about an hour from here and destroyed almost every structure in Paradise (population over 26,000) and the surrounding communities. Devastating and overwhelming fall far short of describing it, but seeing how people from the surrounding areas and even across the country have responded to help those impacted is nothing short of inspiring. In looking for ways I could help, I came across a Christmas Giving Tree for Camp Fire victims.
Armed with a wish list from the woman we chose to sponsor, my daughter and I took the money collected from among our family members and shopped for this 39 year-old mother whose home and possessions were completely destroyed. What a gift it was to us to be able to pick out a sewing machine, a basic wardrobe, and a couple of home décor items to help her start her rebuilding process, and then to make the hour drive to deliver the gifts to the coordinator of the project. I hope when individual #271 from family #75 opens her presents she feels all the love and support surrounding her.
Donate blood – Last, but certainly not least on this week’s list is donating blood. If you’ve ever needed or known anyone who has needed blood, you’ll know when you donate you truly are giving “the gift of life” as the motto of the blood bank states. This is such a simple way to give a gift that is beyond value. I strongly encourage anyone who is eligible to give something that costs them nothing but a little time out of their life and can literally give the person receiving it more time to live. You can visit HERE to learn more or make an appointment.
If we don’t talk again before Christmas,
May your days be merry and bright,
And may you find many ways to bring light.