Friday, November 11, 2011

Forgetting Christmas

If you follow me on facebook or twitter, you may have heard that I am an official blogger for Gospel for Asia. (Yay!) Every month, they will send me a topic to blog about, and this month's is SO important for this time of year!


The holiday season is just upon us, and I know for a lot of people, it is the busiest time of the year. But why?

Sure, you have gifts to buy and wrap, decorations to put up, food to prepare, parties to attend.

Is this what Christmas is really about?

Stop and think about it.


Two thousand years ago when Jesus was born (remember... that IS why we celebrate (I hope)), I don't think it was crazy-chaotic. I imagine it actually being a quite peaceful night. Mary and Joseph could hardly find a half-decent place for the Savior of the world to be born, but I would gather that they had peace about it. God was in control. Why shouldn't we have that same peace?



  
(via http://www.forgottenchristmas.org)


On average, we each spend over $500 on Christmas every year. What if we would set aside just a little of the money to give to people who truly need it?

I got this Christmas catalog in the mail a few weeks ago. (Shop the online version here). 


Don't those bunnies just melt your heart? While I'm not one for eating rabbits, I understand that they are an easy source of nutrition for people in Asia who don't have a lot of space. No worries, you don't have to buy rabbits, though, there are TONS of other animals and equipment you can give that are desperately needed for survival. They even have sewing machines and weaving looms for families to be able to support themselves through their crafts! (If they had potter's wheels, I would be all over that!) :) I also must add that Gospel for Asia doesn't take any of your donation for administrative expenses, so you can rest assured that 100% of your gift will go where you want it to!

Maybe you can buy something from the catalog with your family instead of buying each other as many presents, or maybe you could buy something in the honor of that "hard to shop for" person. 

Just remember this Christmas season, slooooow down. Remember the reason you are celebrating- the Savior who is Christ the Lord.

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The winners of the ornament giveaway are...









Yay! Congrats ladies!! Send me an email (schlabachpottery[AT]yahoo[DOT]com) with the 4 ornaments you would like and your addresses!

Have a great weekend everyone!

love.
Natalie

5 comments:

  1. So excited to have won!!! Thank you!!! And thank you for the reminder about what Christmas time is all about, sometimes we forget in the midst of all the craziness of that time of year!

    xoxo

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  2. ARE YOU SERIOUSLY A BLOGGER FOR GFA???? It's one of the organizations I like to make donations to (hopefully with a job, I might be able to someday sponsor a child!!).

    I'm so great I found your blog. We need more people who see Christmas as a time of giving to the unfortunate. We already have so much.

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  3. Such a wonderful reminder of what Christmas is al about :)

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  4. Wonderful post! I have heard about that organization before and really love what they do. Thanks so much for the reminder!

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