Intentional Gift Giving

I mentioned in my last post that I had lots of posts floating around in my head, I just rarely seem to sit and flesh them out lately.  This one was one I jotted on here as a draft in November.  It is meant to give ideas to you as well as have you provide some ideas for me, so please comment.

If you have never heard of Advent Conspiracy, I highly encourage you to check out their site here.  The idea is to spend the advent season more focused on the Christ part of Christmas and less on the "buy" part.  It encourages individuals and families to slow down, spend more time together and make gifts instead of shop for them.  All in an effort to focus on the gift God gave us in Christ, in personalizing giving, priortizing relationships, cutting down on consumerism and being more intentional in what we do with our money.

We have really wanted to move in this direction and over the years we have been making steps towards it.  For a couple years now we have given gifts through Life Water and International Justice Mission.  They both offer "gift cards" for Christmas gifts.  Life Water has gift cards where the recipients can choose where their money goes to use.   IJM allows you to select what your money goes towards, so you can buy a day of legal fees, or cover the cost of after care for a rescued victim and they give an explanation of the gift to the person you are "giving" it to.  If you've never heard of these ministries, check out the hyperlinks.  What organizations are you excited about being a part of? 

We have sponsored a little girl in the Philipines for the last 10 plus years through a wonderful ministry/program called Little Children of the World.  Roselyn recently outgrew the program and we were given a new little girl, Nancy.  When we received her profile we decided we wanted it to be something the kids were more a part of.  So we sat down and read through it together.  We talked about why we sponsored her, what that meant for her and for her family and what things we could do to help love and support her.  Nancy and her family are well below the poverty line.  The profile said that when it rained they had to use an umbrella to use the bathroom because the roof leaked, the walls of their home were bamboo and in need of repair and they had no electricity. It went on to say that they struggle to have enough food each month.  Our kids have been very mindful of Nancy's needs as we talk about other things in our own lives.

As we entered the Christmas season we really wanted to be intentional about not giving our kids more - just because that's what you do at Christamas, but we also wanted them to be on board with that.  We talked about how they really had plenty of toys.  There really wasn't anything they needed.  And Nancy and her family didn't even have basics let alone toys or clothes.  We asked them what they would think if instead of mommy and daddy buying them Christmas presents, since they really didn't need anything new, what if instead we got Nancy and her family Christmas presents.  It was so fun to watch their excitement and enthusiasm about the idea.  Neither of them hesitated or seemed to feel slighted or entitled at the notion.  I was so proud of them and their sweet and sympathetic hearts.  I love that they were so willing to turn the ideas into action.

We also talk a lot about the kids in Africa (and all over the world) who don't have anyone to take care of them and have no food to eat.  When we have our Rice and Bean dinner we put our $10 in the jar to send to Katie Davis' ministry AMAZIMA for the children in Uganda, so they are more aware of the needs in Africa right now.

Because of these conversations, sweet, empathetic Kate is constantly wanting to help.  She talks about how she is saving her money for "Nancy and the kids in Africa."   And whenever she has a toy or clothes that she doesn't use anymore she suggests sending it to Nancy, or the kids in Africa.  We are looking to find more ways to make this perspective of not having excess when others can't meet their basics need a big part of the way our family thinks, acts and lives.  What are you doing, or have done with your kids in this way?  We'd love some more ideas.