”I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare…If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us,… they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditures excludes them.”
C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity
Tonight was our Third Annual "Change" Someone's Christmas Family Home Evening activity. We did pretty bad on the change saving this year and only ended up with $67. But, we doubled it AND had a 10% off the total purchase coupon so, add to that some great sales and we got a LOT.
It's amazing how God puts people in your way to help you at times. The coupon at Fred Meyer's LOOKED like it gave you 10% off all toys and sporting goods, but when we went to check out, the guy said there was all sorts of confusing fine print and it didn't apply to sale prices but since nearly everything was on sale, he was rebelling against the system and just giving everyone 10% off anyway. WOW! I thanked him and told him the cart full of toys was all going to charity so his generosity was very kind. If we had gone to any other check-out line, we probably wouldn't have gotten the same treatment.
The best part about this is the impact it has on our boys. They understand that we are not shopping for them so there is no "wishful window shopping" allowed. We're all about "business". They also look for the best sale prices to get the most bang for our buck so they learn about buying on sale to make your dollars go farther. They are also forced to buy GIRL toys but they make sure that they make appropriate purchases - no half-naked Bratz dolls from us!
This year we are adding a new component. We are having an Open House this weekend - it's an open house in the true sense of the word - it will be outside from the garage. We have asked our friends and neighbors to bring toys to share with those in need. We will have a couple of fire pits going with fires and hot cocoa and cookies in our decorated and heated garage. We'll add the toys from that to our own pile and then drop them off early next week for the Christmas House charity.
We had a talk tonight about "spreading the wealth around". We taught our boys that paying more taxes to fund endless social programs will NEVER feel good, go as far or be as useful as what we did tonight - making the choice to share our blessings with those less fortunate. If more people in the world opened their hearts and their change jars, the world would be a better place!
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1 comment:
I was a victim of domestic violence at 5 months pregnant I escaped with my baby girl and we lived in a battered woman's shelter four months before Christmas. At Christmas time I gave birth to a little boy. I had no money..What money I did have was with a lawyer to help save the kids from the ex.
Someone from your church adopted us as their family that year. I cried so much. I was given toys, and clothes for the children. Clothing not just for newborn but up to age two and my little girl someone had really spent money on her. They bought the most beautiful girly dresses. I wondered if the mom wanted girls or just loved dressing up girls. I never got to meet the family to thank them. I prayed many nights, and I sent a thank you letter to the church. Never did I hear from them.
I am grateful for those people that first Christmas, it was hard to deal with. It was emotional to say the least.
You are setting a fine example to your boys..I'm so grateful for your example you are showing the boys. They will grow up to be fine young men of the world.
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