Sunday, December 17, 2006

Holiday Thoughts

I love the idea of exploring ways to help us remember the meaning of the holidays we celebrate. Here are a few thoughts and i would love to hear your suggestions. These are not musts, but just things i am considering.

A speaker last year challenge the IWU student body to ask their family to give up one present and give it to a charity instead for Christmas.

I was wondering about possibly trying to make it a tradition in the future to try and go somewhere and give a present away on Christmas day, if not the week of Christmas.

What i was thinking would be REALLY AWESOME...
but really intense and hard, to actually choose one of your presents still wrapped under the tree and to give it away to a charity freely. That wuold be hard because it would be so tempting to want that gift or to want to go and buy another one or to even be possessive a gift that you gave away. As humans, me especially, i feel like we are so attached to stuff when it comes down to it. Could you imagine each year, maybe not with kids but as you go older, each year, being able to come to a point where you give away one of the gifts intended for you to someone else with no strings attached and no remorse knowing that it was an offering going to a greater cause and probably a gift that no matter how bad you wanted it, you most likely didn't NEED it. Just some food for thought.
"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."


Last, someone just posted the idea of a family that kept a bag for each family member with rocks in it for Thanksgiving. Every year they would each write on a rock something God had done for them that they were thankful for that year, and every year they would take out one rock and remember that thing. I like the idea A LOT!

Just some thoughts

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

aw, Jen looks beautiful! good post! :) - AP

Anonymous said...

Great ideas, Brent! I'd like to hear if you follow through on this idea you've been contemplating & how it goes! Miss you, friend & surfing,hiking,SanD buddy!! Love to hear from you before we both take off around the world! ~ AmyM

Anonymous said...

I think it is a great idea! A couple of years ago my mom and step-dad stopped buying my sister and I presents in order to give more to charities and such during the holiday season. So instead of opening gifts on Christmas we play games and watch holiday movies (our favorite being White Christmas) and just have a fun time with one another. The few gifts that we do have no longer sit under a Christmas tree. We got rid of ours and replaced it with a manger. So our gifts go in a manger now too! It is great fun, adn it really helps to remind us of what the true meaning of Christmas is!

I think it is a great idea having a new holiday traditions! May the Lord richly bless it!

In Him,
Cass

Anonymous said...

Hey brent I know you posted this a long time ago but I finally got to see it LOL. it was so good to see you adn I think of you often out there in New Zealand. I hope you are loving this experience. I love this poc as well.. I hope you dont mind but i copied this pic onto my computer.