As I type this, there are exactly 30 shopping days left before Christmas. Things are about to get exciting for some, and stressful for others. Moms and dads standing lines for hours trying to get the hottest toy for junior. Many are shopping online hoping to see "In Stock" when they click on check out for the next new Apple item. Husbands and wives are scrambling to find that "perfect gift" for their spouse. No matter how you view this time of year, for the most part, we all have one main goal: to see a smile on the faces of our loved ones.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I love seeing my kids' faces on Christmas morning when they see that toy that they REALLY wanted. But more times than not, the items we buy our loved ones are not necessity. We might get a shirt or some pants that we "needed", but our life was not in jeopardy without them. We spend hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars on things that don't really make the tiniest bit of difference in light of eternity.
So......what if that changed this year? What if some of the money we would typically spend on Christmas presents that your kids will kick under the sofa on December 26 and you won't find them until 2016, went to literally change the face of someone's eternity? How?
My wife came up with the idea to do our own "12 Days of Christmas". God laid this idea on our heart after SO MANY people blessed us in so many different ways during our adoption, various trips overseas, etc. So starting December 1 and going through December 12, we are going to do one blog post per day, highlighting a ministry, group, family, etc. that can be supported financially for various things, prayed for, encouraged etc. These will include missionary families, orphan ministry, local groups funding mission trips, and other various ministries. These are ministries, families, and people that we know and love and believe in. Maybe your family would choose to give up some gifts in order to support some of these ministries. Maybe you would like to donate in a loved one's name AS their gift. Maybe you would just take the 12 days to pray for each of these groups. Whatever God lays on your heart so be it. God may be allowing you to take part in something eternal this Christmas!! So be on the look out. We'll be starting in five days!!! Forget about Amazon and Best Buy, your Christmas shopping can be done right here!
Love you guys!
Josh and Kim
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