Make Your Own Christmas Gifts
Advent and the Christmas season are racing towards us at warp speed and the hyper-consumerism that has already invaded our favourite stores is incredible. How do we refrain from responding with a frenzy of buying and more importantly, how do we stop our kids from being drawn into the “got to have this, and this and this” mentality? One possibility is helping kids to enjoy the blessing of giving rather than receiving. The list below is adapted from one that I found in Parent Map
1.Support Kids of the World: Helping your children understand that other kids don’t have the privileges they do and need their help can be an enjoyable experience. I love what VIVA, a UK based organization does in sponsoring Christmas parties in poor communities around the world. They are engaged in many ways to help keep children at risk safe and healthy. I have used their child friendly educational prayer resources for years. You may also like to consider organizations like Save the Children and Feed The Children.
2. Buy a livelihood for families. Gifts that provide a livelihood for those who struggle with hunger and poverty can be particularly meaningful as they empower children and make them realize we can all make a difference in this world. World Concern; and Heifer Project are just a couple of the organizations that now provide opportunities for the giving of livestock – from chickens to cattle but as I mentioned in a previous post on Advent resources for Kids, this can sometimes be a little confusing as the chair of our Board found out when he tried to give 1/2 a goat to his parents for Christmas. His mother asked “What will I do with 1/2 a goat?” Tearfund UK has a program where you buy a gift voucher and then the recipient decides what they will give. This might be more fun for some kids.
3. Donate a Bedtime story. This was a new one for me. Many families have few or no age-appropriate books in their home and kids miss out on the important literacy building ritual of bedtime stories. First Book is a non profit that works to distribute new books to low income families in schools in the U.S. and Canada.
4. Hold a Make Something Party. Some years ago Adbusters started a Buy Nothing Day campaign to counteract the Black Friday shopping frenzy of North American Culture. I prefer the Make Something Day idea which places a far more positive spin on the idea. You may in fact like to organize a party where your kids can help make gifts for underprivileged kids in your communities. There is something very special about a gift that has been handcrafted. I can guarantee that the recipient will hold onto it for years to come.
5. Make a Loan, help a family. This is a great suggestion for older kids that you not only want to encourage to give but who you also want to learn about investing and financial responsibility. KIVA and Hope International are two of the many Christian organization that facilitate micro-lending.
6. Shed a Light on a Brighter Future. One Million LIghts is a non profit that aims to provide sustainable, usable lights to homes without electricity in developing countries through a buy one give one model. Buy solar-charged lanterns and you keep one and a family in need gets the other – a brilliant (pardon the pun) idea.
7. Give Hope for Tomorrow: Plant a Tree, Buy a Stove. In Plant with A Purpose’ alternative gift catalogue, a tree only costs $1 and a fule efficient stove is $30. I think that this type of gift can be a wonderful educational tool to help children understand the consequences of environmental degradation. Again the fact that we can actually do something to change the situation can be very empowering for young people.
8. Invite International Students Over for Christmas. There are lots of students from around the world that do not have anywhere to go for Christmas. Consider inviting them over on either Christmas eve or Christmas day. Contact your local college or university to find out how to extend this invitation. We have done this for the last couple of years. It has become a real highlight of the Christmas season for us. In conjunction you may like to get your kids to read up on Christmas traditions from around the world. Christmas Around the World has a wonderful description of traditions from a variety of countries that you might like to discuss. The Worldwide Gourmet has a wonderful array of recipes associated with the Advent and Christmas season in many different parts of the world. Just reading through some of these had my mouth watering.
9. Go Fairtrade with all your purchases. There are a growing number of organizations that provide fair traded gift items. Ten Thousand Villages is one one that we have frequented for years. Another possibility is One World Futbol’s smart soccer ball requires no pumping and never goes flat. Each time you purchase one another is donated to a community in need. Or for those that live in the Seattle area take you kids on a tour of Theos Chocolates and end by purchasing gifts for all the family.
10. Protect the World’s Animals. There are many creative ways to help protect the world’s animals. You might like to adopt an animal at your local zoo or contribute to an animal shelter or participate in one of the World Wild Life’s projects. One of my standard Christmas gifts is National Wildlife Federation’s monthly magazines – Ranger Rick and Ranger Rick Jr. It is an award winning educational magazine that provides entertainment and instruction throughout the year.
I have probably said enough but if you want to check out some other ideas:
Momastery – Mastering the Mom has a great suggestion.
And you might also like to check out my post from a couple of years ago
More resources to come – this is obviously a huge area of interest.
I love this weekly summing up of prayers that have been posted on the Facebook page Light for the Journey. Enjoy.
Watch O Lord – uploaded by Contemplative Network
Watch O Lord with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight, and give Your Angels and Saints charge over those who sleep. Tend Your sick ones, dear Lord, rest Your weary ones, bless Your dying ones, soothe Your suffering ones, pity Your afflicted ones, shield Your joyous ones, and all for Your Love’s sake.” St Augustine
contributed by Contemplative Network.
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Let me rest in the place of stillness,
Where God fills my body
With the peace that is beyond understanding.
Let me rest in the place of quiet,
Where God fills my spirit
With the peace that is beyond understanding.
Let me rest in the place of trust,
Where God fills my heart
With the peace that is beyond understand.
Let me rest in the presence of God,
Where all that I am and all that I do
Is filled with the peace that is beyond understanding.
——————————————————
Lord, you have always given bread for the coming day,
and though I am poor, today I believe.
Lord, you have always given strength for the coming day,
and though I am weak, today I believe.
Lord, you have always given peace for the coming day,
and though of anxious heart, today I believe.
Lord, you have always kept me safe in trials,
and now, tried as I am, today I believe.
Lord, you have always marked the road for the coming day,
and though it may be hidden, today I believe.
Lord, you have always lightened this darkness of mine,
and though the night is here, today I believe.
Lord, you have always spoken when time was ripe,
and though you be silent now, today I believe.
This beautiful Celtic prayer that was sent to me yesterday by my good friend Tom Balke
God of Signs and Wonders – contributed by faithandworship.com
————————————————-
God in the place of stillness,
May I release all I think I know of you
To rest in the source of all truth.
May I open my heart,
To what my mind cannot understand,
And thoughts cannot comprehend.
May I let go my images of you, O Lord
So that I can behold
The unimaginable expansiveness of who you are.
Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world
grant us forgiveness
for that which we have done, and not done.
Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world
grant us peace
through your Spirit’s presence in our hearts.
Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world
grant us joy
in our journeying with you, our King.
————————————-
Let the light of Christ shine on you,
Let the light of Christ shine in you,
Let the light of Christ shine through you,
This day and forevermore.
Light of God – photo Christine Sine
This is an amazingly creative way to save fresh produce. When I first watched the video all I could think of was the food that goes bad in our fridge, (yes self centred I know) but this really could save the 25% of the world’s food which presently gets wasted because of spoilage. Kavita M. Shukla the Inventor and Founder/CEO of Fenugreen is a pioneer in the movement towards sustainable, active, natural food packaging.
Let Us Give Thanks
One thing I love about living in the U.S. is the celebration of Thanksgiving. I tell people that there is no equivalent in Australian culture – we just aren’t very grateful people. (just joking). Not surprisingly, this month’s Synchroblog theme invites writers to share their thoughts on gratitude as a spiritual practice.
It’s easy during the month of November to think about thankfulness. A lot of us will probably in some way, shape or form, say “I’m thankful for…” this month. But gratitude is much more than a feeling or something we talk about around the holidays. Gratitude can also be a powerful spiritual practice that opens our hearts to the rhythm of giving and receiving that is the heartbeat of life itself. Many believe the spiritual practice of gratitude not only has the ability to transform us as individuals but can also change the world we live in. However, like so many other spiritual practices, it takes intention and focus.
What do you think about gratitude as a spiritual practice? How would one go about practicing gratitude as a spiritual exercise? What are you learning about gratitude? What practices help draw you to gratitude? How is your experience with God deepening through gratitude? What benefits does the spiritual practice of gratitude offer to you, others, the world?
I have posted a number of liturgies, prayers and posts for Thanksgiving in the past including this one, but it is always great to get new perspectives.
Here are the links to the posts that have been contributed. Great food for reflection before Thanksgiving day next week.
- Jeremy Myers – 5 Things to be Unthankful For
- Glenn Hager – Gr-atitude
- Carol Kuniholm – Grateful
- Amy Martin – Gratitude in a Culture of Economy
- Leah at Desert Spirit Fire – Living Thanks
- Kathy Escobar – turning our ingrown eyeballs up & out
- Jack Kooyman – Gratitude as Action
- Christine Sine – Where is God When Disaster Hits?
- Liz Dyer – Practicing Gratitude
Winterizing the garden
This weekend we will be out in the garden getting it ready for winter. This is the time when we pull the last of the now rather bedraggled tomato plants, disconnect the hoses, bring tender perennials inside, cover pots so that they don’t fill with water and rake the last of the autumn leaves so that they don’t clog the drains. In other words we are getting the garden ready to rest.
Why don’t we prepare ourselves to rest too I wonder? Our bodies are telling us that it is time to slow down but few of us listen. In fact we often get angry and try everything we can to reverse the body’s inclinations. And to make it worse, if you are like me, the next couple of months will become a frenzy of activity as we prepare for Christmas and the end of the year. Friends to contact, presents to buy, letters to write, parties to plan. The list seems endless.
So what can we do to help us prepare for this season? Here are some things that winterizing the garden has suggested to me this year that I plan to try to implement.
- Clean up the dead plants in my life. There are so many distracting and unnecessary dead plants in my life that need to be thrown into the compost bin. – especially too much time spent on Facebook and email. And hopefully if I throw them into the compost bin now they can be transformed and renewed for the season of spring growth.
- Bring tender perennials inside. One question I am learning to ask at this season is What aspects of my life do I need to nurture with some extra TLC so that they will survive and flourish in the future?
- Cover pots so they don’t fill with water. This is one that I learned by bitter experience last year as my pots filled to overflowing and killed the waterlogged plants inside. There are aspects of my life that need to be allowed to rest without the drenching, killing rain of the Christmas season. Preserving them so that they are not vulnerable to the onslaught of the season is very important. One way that Tom and I have found to do this is by setting aside retreat time during the days of Advent. Scheduling those times now so that they do not get filled with other things is essential.
- Raking up the autumn leaves. Clogged drains and gutters lead to flooded basements, that too I have learned from bitter experience. So what are the aspects of my life that clog the free flow of God’s spirit? What needs to be cleaned away so that the water of God can flow uninterrupted into the drainage system cleaning away the remaining debris?
- Plant cover crops. One of the greatest organic garden techniques which to be honest I rarely get to do, is the planting of nitrogen rich high energy producing greens that can be tilled under in the spring to provide that life-giving energy boost to all the new spring crops. So the question I ask myself this morning is What are the green manure, high energy disciplines I should be planting in my life right now in order to give full benefit to the spring crops I plant? As I think about this I realize once more how the foundational spiritual disciplines of prayer and quiet reflection as well as times of retreat at this season, are to my growth for next year. And they are so easily neglected.
So my question for all of us today is – How do we prepare for the coming year so that the garden of our lives flourishes into a new season? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
ready for a Blue Christmas
Christmas is approaching. I know it must be so because Santa Clause has already invaded the stores and TV is alive with holiday cheer… and there are only 43 days to go!
For many this season is anything but cheerful, even when we have not had to put up with non stop Christmas music for days before hand. For those who have lost loved ones , lost a job, are struggling financially or with illness this not an easy season. And for those who have lost their houses and livelihoods due to the devastation of Sandy and other disasters this year, the season will probably be anything but cheerful, so why do we try to cover our pain and grief with Yuletide cheer?
Many churches have begun to recognize that Festivals of Carols, celebrations of Christmas, and children’s pageants do not meet everyone’s needs. To fill this gap churches offer a Blue Christmas service, a Service of Solace or Longest Night. People who are not having a very merry Christmas and friends who support them are invited to come and sit with one another in a liturgy that speaks of the love of God for the grieving.
Here are some great resources that could help if you want to plan or participate in a Blue Christmas service:
Text of the Week has some great resources for planning a Blue Christmas service. (scroll down the Advent resources until you get to Blue Christmas).
Stephens Ministries also lists ideas for celebrating this season.
I also like this simple but powerful Blue Christmas Service and the ideas for how to use it.
These prayer suggestions from Mental Health Ministries.
And this beautiful Liturgy of Remembrance for Advent and Christmas.
Let me end with this beautiful prayer by Ted Loder which appears in Guerrilas of Grace
O God of all seasons and senses, grant us the sense of your timing to submit gracefully and rejoice quietly in the turn of the seasons.
In this season of short days and long nights,
of grey and white and cold,
teach us the lessons of endings;
children growing, friends leaving, loved ones dying,
grieving over,
grudges over,
blaming over,
excuses over.
O God, grant us a sense of your timing.
In this season of short days and long nights,
of grey and white and cold,
teach us the lessons of beginnings;
that such waitings and endings may be the starting place,
a planting of seeds which bring to birth what is ready to be born—
something right and just and different,
a new song, a deeper relationship, a fuller love—
in the fullness of your time.
O God, grant us the sense of your timing.
This resource list was updated in 2014. Please check out the latest list
Advent resources 2012
Each year I put together a new list of Advent resources. This list always builds on the previous lists that I have compiled. Here are the best of what I have discovered this year, but I would also like to know what resources you have discovered that should be added to this list
The Voice has one of the most comprehensive explanations of Advent and the symbols we use during the season. They are also a great source for the daily scriptures of the liturgical year.
The Text This Week always has an awesome array of resources.
Sojourner’s Top Ten Advent Resources for 2012
Advent resources from Ignatian Spirituality
Christmas & Advent _ Ideas, resources and Donkey Rides
RECOMMENDED READING especially for those who know very little about Advent:
- For an evangelical perspective on practicing the liturgical year, few are better than the late Robert Webber. “Ancient-Future Time” is an easy read, with chapters on specific seasons of the year, making it a valuable reference and resource. Check it out on Amazon HERE.
- Mark D. Robert’s ebook, “Discovering Advent”, is a short, helpful explanation of Advent. Check it out HERE.
- Joan Chittister’s book “The Liturgical Year” is a beautiful explanation of how marking time can be a spiritual practice. Joan is a Benedictine sister and writes from that perspective, but has the modern person and not a monastic in mind. Check out her book HERE.
And resources I have listed in previous years:
A couple of years ago Schoolwork.co.uk. published this great Ultimate Christmas Resource List!
Mustard Seed Associates also has a number of Advent resources available including this year’s Advent video:
You can purchase and download a high resolution copy here: Alleluia – The Christ Child Comes
Or you may like to download the entire series of Advent videos from previous years.
And our Advent/Christmas Devotional Waiting for the Light.
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