This morning my husband met a women from Craigslist to buy a gift for a family member who shall remain unnamed (it's not Christmas yet, y'all!). They had basically agreed on a particular price, but when they met this woman knocked several dollars off the price for us for no good reason!- apart from the fact that she is a kind woman wanting to bless us.
Ben called me right after just to tell me about how sweet this woman was and how he felt so blessed by her. He said he had never witnessed "holiday spirit" like that before! I'm not sure I have either... but how sweet it would be if we all could make others feel this same way this season.
Here are some ideas to get us thinking about ways we can be intentional with sharing some love and cheer this holiday as well!
1| Donate clothes or items
Most of us will be getting lots of nice presents this year. Let's consider donating some things to those less fortunate.
2| Pay for someone in line behind you
We all know the deal with this one. I have yet to do it but I plan on paying for someone's Starbuck's drink soon!
3| Make cookies or gift baskets for neighbors
We brought cookies around to our neighbors not too long ago- it's amazing what such a little thing means to people and doors that have been opened to relationships because of it.
4| Volunteer your time or resources
This one's classic. But there will ALWAYS be need for more hands to volunteer at the soup kitchen or wrapping presents for Toys for Tots or whatever you fancy.
5| Be a generous gift giver
We all know those gifts... the ones when you open them and you know that someone was really going out of their way to be generous that year. If we're able, let's be generous this year!
6| Invite someone into your holiday who may not have family nearby
Let's take some time to think about who may be in our lives that we can love on by sharing our festivities with this year.
7| Listen and encourage well
This one may not sound too impressive, but when people feel listened to and encouraged they really do feel loved. I'm thinking family members in particular. It's easy to be nonchalant with people close to us, but I for one want to be especially good at loving my family.
8| Tell others why you're thankful for them
We could really go out of our way to make this special by thinking through the things we're thankful for ahead of time and being very intentional about how we communicate this in a loving way.
9| Pray for others
I know this sounds simple, but one way we can really love on others is by lifting up their lives and needs to God in prayer. They may never know it and they don't have to, but praying for someone is truly an act of love toward them.
10| Share the Christmas story
One of the greatest gifts we could give to someone is sharing with them the story of God sending His son to earth in human form to make reconciliation for all of us.
The foundation of all of this is that we can be people who have a heart of love toward others this season. From family members to strangers and those less fortunate- let's be intentional about loving others well this Christmas!
Amen sis!
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