Christmas comes to Nana-ville...

Christmas has come and gone once again...just like many other Christmases before it...but this Christmas will hold a special place in my memory bank. Rather early in the Advent Season, my heart became impressed with a desire to give more. Not to give more stuff, but to re-define the whole concept of giving in my mind.

Christmas frugality has never been a strong suit of mine. I come by it naturally; my momma was a great one for providing great heaps of gifts under our tree when I was but a pup. For much of my youngest childhood, my father was pastoring small churches...so I know my mother must have put them in horrible debt in December. Now, don't get me wrong...I have wonderful memories of those Christmases on the living room floor, surrounded by the mounds of Yuletide joy, and I am truly grateful for it. However, as an adult I found myself in the same holiday "bondage" with my own young children. And somehow much of the joy had gone out of Christmas for me in the meantime. Enough about that...you get the idea.

This Christmas, though, was different. Through messages given at church and other avenues, I believe Christ began to help me see the Christmas season through His eyes. I began to see the needs and poverty in the world around me in a new light. And I began to get a bit more creative with my giving patterns. I challenged myself to find ways to be more frugal in my gifts for my family in order to free up more financial resources to contribute to areas of need.

Some things I discovered helpful this year -

• I began knitting and baking furiously - more handmade gifts
  
• I took an ornament off of the Giving Tree at our church, and found a huge amount of joy in purchasing clothes and girly stuff for a little 6-year-old girl in our community
  
• I purchased bracelets made with beads from Thailand for all five of our girls and girls-in-law; all of the profits from the sales went to support an organization that is helping to address the problems of the childhood sex trade industry in Thailand.

I wasn't perfect this year, and I'm sure I can challenge myself to spend even less next year. But I do know one thing for sure. Christmas joy came to my heart in a whole new way; the joy of giving...not just giving gifts, but truly giving. Not just to family and friends, but to just a few of the multitudes of aching hearts that surround us all year.

And God saw it, and it was very good...