I love this time of year. I love the sense of excitement in the air. I love the idea of giving gifts to those I love.
Photo credit: Creative Commons
I don’t love the commercialism of Christmas, or the idea of giving gifts just to give gifts. I like to be intentional about giving gifts when I can. We’ve also dramatically cut back on the amount of money we spend on gifts in order to focus more on giving and helping others in need. For us, that is more important than getting someone a gift that they are never going to use. We’d much rather donate to a local charity, adopt a family or help someone that I know could use an extra hand.
I’m joining with other Compassion bloggers during December for a #itsaboutgiving party. We will blog about different ideas of what giving means to us.
This is a picture of our Compassion child and his family. We are always excited to see that our extra gifts allow his family to have basic things that we often take for granted. It is a tremendous way to talk to our children about the needs of people around the world.
Our Compassion child, Peter, and his family
Compassion sponorship is a great way to help a child stay in school and provide for necessities. You can choose from children in all different countries, as well as their sex and age. For example, Peter is the same age as my oldest son. You can learn all about the details of sponsorship here. We have been sponsors for over two years now, and have been incredibly blessed by our correspondence and interaction with Peter and his family.
However, we know that sponsorship can be a big step for many people. Another great way to help get involved is by shopping the Compassion Christmas catalog. You can choose from a variety of dollar amounts to help families in need all over the world.
What does giving mean to you? Do you remember a unique gift that someone gave you? Or have you been blessed by giving a unique gift? Share in the comments.
