Gift giving can be a wonderful experience. I love watching my husband and children open gifts that I have picked out just for them. This weekend is our Christmas party for the ladies at church and I cannot wait to watch a sweet lady open the gift I pick. It is so fun to see the joy and excitement on people's faces as they open gifts.
But today I want to talk about giving the gift of help. Not something you can buy at the store or order online. Something you do to bless someone.
There are so many ways to help people. Here are a few ideas:
1) Bake cookies for first responders and deliver with a card thanking them for their service.
2) Babysit for a single parent so they are able to go Christmas shopping or even just have a night out.
3) Clean house for an elderly person.
4) Do laundry for a busy mom.
5) Go grocery shopping for someone who is unable to leave their home.
6) Take blankets and dog food to a dog shelter.
7) Go to the utility company and pay the bill for someone who is struggling.
8) Go to a school and pay the unpaid balance for a child's lunch account.
9) Send cards to military men and women overseas.
10) Purchase gifts for a military family whose mom or dad is overseas.
11) Purchase batteries and light bulbs, then go to the home of an elderly person and change the batteries in the smoke detectors and any burnt out light bulbs.
12) Leave an extra large tip to a waitress.
13) Shovel sidewalks and driveways after a snowfall.
14) Serve at a soup kitchen.
15) Volunteer to walk dogs at a dog shelter.
16) Visit a nursing home and just sit and talk with the residents. They also love to do puzzles and play cards with visitors.
17) Give blankets to a homeless shelter.
18) Invite someone who is alone to come over for Christmas dinner.
19) Donate to a charity.
20) Send Christmas cards to kids at a children's hospital. They also love coloring books and crayons.
What other ways can you think of to give the gift of help?
It's time for Share A Link Wednesday! Each Wednesday we invite you to leave a link to your latest blog post in the comments. We still desire to connect women of God with one another and encourage each other in Christ. So grab a cup of coffee or glass of sweet tea, sit back and visit a few blogs. Be encouraged and share your own stories.
Oh, we so need this encouragement to broaden our world and to love outside our own little circle during this holy and hard season.
ReplyDeleteAnd here's the first installment in my series for the four Sundays of Advent: https://michelemorin.net/2019/12/01/word-became-flesh-sun-scripture/
Thanks for this list, Jenifer. I am always eager to see gift suggestions that veer us away from a materialistic culture and more toward Christ-centered love gifts.
ReplyDeleteI did a monthly wrap-up here:
https://www.lisanotes.com/links-books-december-2019/
This is a great list. I can especially vouch for ministries to the elderly. We lived 2,000 miles away from my husband's folks, and when we went back for a visit, we were astonished at all the burned-out bulbs. Neither of them were capable of standing on a chair or ladder any more to change them. And then when we moved my m-i-l to an assisted living facility near us and then to our home, she didn't really need or have room for a bunch of stuff. But a visit was priceless. She couldn't have done cards or puzzles (though many can), but just a few minutes of someone's interest livened up her day immensely.
ReplyDeleteI wrote this week about how most of the mentors in my life arose from natural interactions rather than formal arrangements: https://barbarah.wordpress.com/2019/12/02/organic-mentoring/.
Jennifer, great list with great ideas. I am taking a couple ideas to use for myself with my family. I wrote about protecting our teens on the cell phones, http://keepingthetiethatbinds.com/2019/12/03/a-really-good-reason-to-invade-your-teens-privacy/
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful list and there is at least one we all can do.
ReplyDeleteMy post: http://www.joanneviola.com/2019/12/distributors-not-manufacturers/