![]() It's the most wonderful time of the year. The most wonderful time for stampedes at Walmart, Black Friday creeping into Thanksgiving Day, and gluttony, materialism, and overindulgence of all sorts. The consumerism of America between Thanksgiving and Christmas makes me feel like those "most wonderful" days are bygone. Instead of Thanksgiving being about giving thanks to God and Christmas being about the birth of Jesus, Thanksgiving seems to be about shopping and Christmas about Santa bringing you gifts. So spending money and getting stuff, sounds like awesome lessons to teach my kids! Not! I don't know about you, but that isn't what I {Alayna} want my children to take away from" the most wonderful time of the year". So how do we combat the focus on materialism, consumerism and getting lots of stuff?? I believe the cure to a greedy heart lies in giving and generosity. When we teach our kids about giving to others, we are helping to grow a kind and generous heart, a heart that wants to help people in need, a heart that puts others first, a heart that is like God's heart. I mean, our God is the most generous giver there is, He gave His son! So it should be no surprise that God has a lot to say about giving, and even about giving generously to the poor. He says that you are to give to the poor freely, and "the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all you undertake" (Deuteronomy 15:10). God says you will not be heard if you close your ears to the cry of the poor (Prov 21:13). And when you honor Him with your wealth, He will fill your barns with plenty (Prov 3:9-10). There are plenty more verses, but just from these few, we can see that God wants us to give, to give to the poor, and to give freely. And when you do honor God by giving, He will listen to you and take care of your needs. Whoa. So, you ask, how can I teach my kids about giving, specifically about giving to the poor, and about growing that generous heart that you are talking about?? Well, I'm so glad you asked! Our favorite way to teach our kids about giving is filling shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan's Purse. Every year, during the third week of November, churches all over collect shoe boxes filled with toys, toiletries, games, stuffed animals, basic clothing items, and school supplies and deliver them to poor children around the world. Since 1993, this amazing ministry has delivered over 100 MILLION boxes to children in 130 countries around the world. Along with your shoe box of gifts, children are given a book with the Gospel in their own language. So your shoebox sends the Gospel message directly to children all over the world. I don't know how you feel about that, but I think it's awesomesauce. AND you're in luck, because it's not too late to pack a shoebox this year!! Yesterday was the first day of collection week for Operation Christmas Child boxes, with collections ending next Monday, November 25. You have one week to get to Target, Walmart, or the dollar store to buy items to fill a shoebox or two. Then after you fill your shoebox, find a drop off location here, put $7 with your shoebox, and drop it off. Don't think that you'll have time to get to Target or the Dollar Tree (which actually has some awesome stuff!)? It's okay! You can also build a shoebox online, with help from your kids! So. Very. Easy! And look at the difference you can make in a child's life: Sudanese boy joyfully shows off his shoebox. When we shop for items to include in the boxes, we teach our kids about the children in other countries that will receive their boxes of goodies. We tell them about the kids in the world who don't get to eat every day, the kids who don't have shoes, and the kids who don't have fresh water to drink. We tell them about kids who don't have a house, about kids who live in a tin shack. We use a quarterly flier with pictures and stories from Food for the Poor (another awesome organization we love to donate to) to teach them about the ways that people around the world live. You can find these stories online. We tell stories that are tough and sometimes sad, but we tell them on their level, and our purpose is two fold. We want them to develop a heart for people who are poor and needy, and at the same time to know how blessed they are. It may seem too sad or too hard to tell them, but I see my son's reactions and know that it's not. He sees the need and it makes an impact on his heart and his mind. He asks me to tell and retell the stories about the families that were in need, and I know it's shaping his heart to meet their needs if he can. It's shaping his heart to give. And THAT is awesome. So get a little bit out of your comfort zone, take your kids shoebox shopping, and teach them about giving to poor children through Operation Christmas Child!! |
This space is reserved for Founder Mandy's perspectives and viewpoints of Scripture. Man is fallible, but God is not. It's strongly encouraged that you study the Scripture for yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in your understanding.
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