Christmas is a time to reach out to other people who are less fortunate and show them the love of Christ and offer them hope. While many people turn a deaf ear to "preaching", hearts are opened when we show other people kindness and love.
Let me tell you about one Christian ministry that has been a true blessing to me and my family.
Operation Christmas Child is a mission project of Samaritan's Purse, headed by Billy Graham's son, Franklin. Operation Christmas Child provides an opportunity for people and families to reach out and touch a child's heart at Christmas time...through a simple shoebox.
A few years ago, my youngest son, Cody, and I decided to do our very first shoebox. We chose to do one for a boy in Cody's age group. Once we got started, we had so much fun with it that we actually ended up doing a total of 3 shoeboxes!
Some of the items we put in the shoeboxes were: crayons and pencils, stickers, baseballs, toothbrushes and toothpaste, handheld games, hard candies, beanie babies, washclothes, socks and more.
Rather than using a cardboard shoebox, we bought shoebox-size Sterlite plastic containers and filled them up. We figured they were more durable and would hold up better than a cardboard box. When we dropped our shoeboxes off at a drop-off location, we noticed that other people had used them as well as regular shoeboxes.
Cody is a teenager now, so this year we are asking his girlfriend to get involved with us. It's truly a great way for us to spend quality time together and make a difference in a child's life at the same time.
Drop off week is November 12 - 19, 2007, so now is the time to start getting them ready!
This Christmas, reach out across the world and bless a child...through a simple shoebox! (See the
Samaritan's Purse web site for complete details.)
But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” Matthew 19:14
