Five last-minute, simple yet epic, Christmas gifts

Don’t underestimate yourself... You really can make the Christmas season epic, even with very limited resources.
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Here’s a shortlist of five ways you alone, or you with a few family members or friends, can make it happen.

✨ ​Volunteer to help serve a meal or provide some food to your local mission or homeless shelter. Also, warm socks for men and women are consistently needed during cold weather. For folks in my area or the area of my church, there’s the Evansville Rescue Mission. 

✨ Make a donation to the Marines’ Toys for Tots program. To accommodate the Covid restrictions, you can now make your gift virtual, from your phone or computer, directly to the Toys for Tots website. Just click here. Receiving toys at Christmas is a multiple blessing. It provides emotional relief of stress to parents while providing comfort and joy to the children. Thanks to folks like you, as of the date of this writing, our US Marines have distributed 584 MILLION toys and provided other support to 265 MILLION children. To the donors and our Marines, Bravo Zulu and Semper Fi!
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✨ One (50 lbs.) bag of alfalfa cubes at Rural King costs under $14. Just one bag can provide many healthy meals for several days, even if feeding a large horse. I know this ‘cause my family has a big, beautiful rescued mare, and eats this stuff about every three hours, from morning through late evening. She’s pushing 40-years old, doesn’t have many teeth, and yet, because of her diet and lots and lots of love, she still looks magnificent. 

✨ Go sing! Even if you can’t sing well, that can make the event even more memorable! Due to the Covid challenges, thousands of folks have been shut up in nursing homes, therapy, and rehab centers for months on end. Many of these places have windows. That’s all it takes for you and a few friends to gather and sing Christmas songs for those locked inside. It’s even better if one (or more, or all) of you can play an easily portable instrument, like a ukulele, harmonica, or even take some sleigh bells to shake. It’s lots of fun and provides more joy than you can maybe imagine, to those who’re in lockdown.

✨ Short on resources? Pray. Yup... just pray. Gather up some minutes and dedicate them to prayer time. Thank the Lord for all you have, and then lift up your community to Him. Ask Him to bring blessings of emotional, physical, and spiritual healing. Ask for financial needs to be met. Ask for the blessing of good fellowship among neighbors. Prayer is free and such a simple thing to engage in, yet one of the most powerful assets Christians possess. 

Image via Jeff Jacobs of Pixabay

May the joy of the season fill your heart as we get closer and closer to the day, celebrated around the world, in honor and thanks of the birth of Yeshua, our Messiah.

Shalom​