Holiday Spirit - NOW

I know for the majority of you, you are going to say it is WAY to early to be thinking about Christmas. Not only am I thinking about it, I am buying gifts, wrapping paper, decorations for my home, etc. Trust me when I say, that Christmas kicks into high gear around here the day after Thanksgiving. I love EVERYTHING about the Christmas season... especially the REASON behind all of it.... Jesus himself.

There is one family tradition that Steve & I just started last year with Christopher which we absolutely fell in love with. Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan's Purse. It's a way of bringing joy and the Good News of Jesus Christ to children all over the world who need hope.

It's so easy to do:
1) Get a Shoe Box.. find one at home (standard size) or pick one up at your Christian Bookstore. You can wrap the box and lid with wrapping paper if you wish. Most importantly, pray as a family over the child who is going to receive this box.

2) Boy or Girl... have your child/children decide should the box be sent to a boy or girl and pick the age category. Last year Chris decided to send it to a boy his own age. The age categories are 2-4; 5-9; or 10-14.

3) Fill the box with gifts! You don't have to break the bank... a simple trip to the dollar store will do. School Supplies, small cars, balls, dolls, hygiene items, socks, ball caps, etc. We also had Chris put a picture of himself in there along with a note from our family letting the child know that we are praying for him/her.

4) Include a $7 donation (to cover shipping)

5) Drop off the box - our church collects them or you can call 800-353-5949 to find a drop off center near you. National Collection Week is Nov 14-21!

For those of you who just can't wrap your head around doing this now with everything else on your plate, you know you think you'll get to this "later". Trust me when I say, this is so worth your time and your child will LOVE being a part of this process. If you truly don't have the time, you can even do this ONLINE! Go to www.samaritanspurse.org/occ. All the steps I mentioned above can be done online -- you can fill a box for a boy/girl and they have items you can "buy" to fill your box. All online. So simple and you control how much money you want to spend on the box. You can upload a photo of your child and can even follow your box around the world! You can find out exactly where your box winds up, whether you fill a box online or the old fashioned way.

I hope many of you will take the time to do this with your family, or perhaps you have another organization that you work with and that's great.