Christmas Giving: Samaritan's Purse Gift Catalog

At this point Christmas is 9 days away! Yes, 9 days. Maybe you have those last hard to give to people on your shopping list and you are completely stumped for ideas. Maybe you are like me and have an important family member who can't afford to give gifts this year and so refuses to receive them. Or maybe you are looking for some charity to donate to. An inspiration to your family to remind them to give generously to those less fortunate and as we all know those less fortunate are growing swiftly all around us.

Idea:
Check out this year's Samaritan's Purse Gift Catalog. I have received this catalog in the mail for years and I have donated in the past. This year though I am finally stepping out and using it for gift giving in addition to donating. I would be honored if in lieu of gift(s) people would donate to a cause in this catalog that they know I care about so I hope others feel the same. This would be money well spent and that would perhaps leave a lasting legacy of good to my fellow men (women, children).

In addition, as I posted earlier this week regarding my WRING acronym, a gift donation was part of our families "holiday spirit" and we chose two causes that really hit close to home for 2010.

First:
"The birth of a child should be a cause for celebration, but many women in developing countries are filled with fear as the big event approaches. Tragically, hundreds of young mothers and thousands of newborns die every day from preventable causes. With proper training and equipment, a Christian birth attendant can save countless lives and reach young families with the Good News of God’s love. A gift can provide specialized instruction, basic obstetric supplies, or even antiviral medicine to protect newborns from contracting HIV from their mothers." - Catalog Quote

This year I was pregnant and had a child! I could rest assured, having excellent care and plenty of information to learn from. Our family wanted to reach out to women who didn't have that assurance.

Second:
"Without an education, this little Sri Lankan boy was probably doomed to a life of hard labor, hunger, and hopelessness. Around the globe, Samaritan’s Purse helps thousands of children like this through a variety of education and literacy projects that bring hope to impoverished communities and offer local believers an effective means of sharing the Gospel. A gift can provide a month’s tuition or school supplies, enabling an eager student to learn of Jesus Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3, NIV)." - Catalog Quote

This year the importance of an education has also been a theme. Not only have I started to think about what I want my newborn son to learn, where I want him to learn, etc. I have had the joy of watching him discover the world via fun classes at the library and at home in play.

I can rest assured that I can teach him to read and write if there were no other educational opportunities for him (but of course there are). In addition, my step son has struggled with issues at school and watching him deal with those struggles raises the awareness as to how important an education really is to the future of an individual. So our family decided that helping a child to read and write was so very important.

Perhaps you will find the perfect gift for those you love in this catalog too.

Merry Christmas!

One of those days...

Christmas is barely a week away. I've gotten half (ok, not even half) of my shopping-slash-homemade stuff done. The boys have had two snow days this week which means the house has brief moments of neatness but mostly we are living in one big craft/play area. Laundry is on "bare necessities" mode until the gifts are done. And supper has been either the giant roasted turkey or seemingly bottomless pot of chili in the fridge. To top this off, I have a teething baby. A baby who only wants her mama. Thanks to her and her four older siblings, through teething I have learned to make supper with one hand, to recite a library of children's books by memory and how a warm bath can improve any baby mood.

But I know that soon those teeth will be in.

Soon she'll be too big for baths in the sink.

Soon no one will care that I know "goodnight moon" by heart.

There will always be sinks of dishes and baskets of laundry but my baby will soon no longer be a baby! I want to appreciate her and let her know through my actions that I love her... and her inquisitive-to-the-point-of-annoying sister and so-messy-it-hurts brothers. So I'm sure as you are reading this the girls and I are cuddled on the couch reading the same book for the billionth time... and I'm lovin' every minute!

Christmas Giving: W.R.I.N.G.

I don't know how most of you feel about gift giving at Christmas time and I am not against giving gifts but there are times where the materialism that surrounds Christmas just overwhelms me. Christmas is a historically a Christian holiday. Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, God's gift to the world. A gift that no one can surpass. Then there is the ultimate gift of Jesus giving his life for us and the wise men who traveled long and far to give expensive gifts to Jesus, the Son of God. Clearly gifts aren't a bad thing. Now whether you celebrate Christmas as a Christian holiday or a secular one you may still wish to impart more meaning to your gifts than just buying the biggest big screen TV you can or can't afford.

I have long ago, prior to the current "recession", decided to living a life more intentionally. But living intentionally can be easier said than done especially if you share your finances with other people. Growing up I distinctly remember the J.C. Penny's Wish Book arriving and fighting with my brother to look at it. I would earmark the pages with presents I was dying to receive and feeling fully justified in wanting. Most of those presents involved expensive horse related toys because everything to do with horses is expensive, toys or not, and I was horse CRAZY. I don't really recall getting many of the toys I so eagerly earmarked but I never had a terrible Christmas. My mother and father worked hard to instill the "real" reason for Christmas into my greedy little heart.

My 91 year old Grandmother tells a story of how during the Great Depression an orange was the Christmas gift that she received. An ORANGE. The fruit many of you have in your refrigerator right now. Now I don't know about you, but I can give my son more than an orange, even if it meant pulling out the credit card, right? But is that the lesson I want my son to learn? Is that the tradition I want him to have growing up? It certainly doesn't apply to living intentionally.

OK. So I made up the acronym WRING. Wear, Read, Indulgence, Need, Give. After a session of my family sitting down at the kitchen table to go through the Sunday paper ads and "circling" what they want and my step son mentioning how he would like a drum set, "even though they usually go used for like $600." I decided it was necessary to put some guidelines on gift giving. So we will be keeping our categories down to four types of gifts to receive.

Something to wear, practical or trendy. Something to read, a book or magazine subscription. Something to indulge ourselves (something we want), fill in the blank (within reason). And something we need, this should be something we would die without to actually fill a "need" but lets just say it will be something to make our lives better. Then there is another element. Besides giving gifts, many of which we are making, we are giving money to a charity or cause we believe in. I would love for this idea of giving of time and money to grow and the idea of needing to receive to grow smaller. Let's face it. We aren't rich but we have soooo much!!!

Now my family can stop madly "circling" the ads and get on with the meaning of Christmas. I look forward to developing other meaningful Christmas traditions as our family grows and I will keep you posted on our success along with some of the wonderful gifts that have been made.

What do you do to live intentionally during the Christmas Season? How do you keep your gift giving and gift wishing under control?

Supporting Local this Christmas

I live in a very small town. There are only three traffic lights (if you count the blinking one at the four way stop!) Our town tries to have a little bit of everything. We have one nice restaurant, one flower shop, one coffee house, one health food store... you get the point, and they are all locally owned. Buying locally means supporting neighbors and friends. It helps support your community by keeping more of your money in the economy and reduces transportation costs as well as the pollution associated with that. Not to mention there is not nearly as long check-out lines! Two years ago, I challenged myself to buy all Christmas gifts local. It was probably the most stress free and enjoyable holiday shopping I've ever had!

One local business that Lauren and I are HUGE fans of is Essence Maker! Tracy has been making soaps and other sweet smelling aromatherapy body care since 1998. She knows all about the chemistry and herbs that go into making her healing products. Her handmade soaps are gorgeous and her packaging is beautiful. I especially love her hand and foot salve. She will even come and set up shop at your place so all your friends can come over and try out her stuff! And if you have at least 8 friends, you earn some of her amazing stuff for free. Merry Christmas to YOU!

Christmas morning scones

First let me say that these wonderful scones are by no means only to be enjoyed on Christmas morning... they are also super for lazy Saturday's, afternoon tea with the girls and well... right this very moment! So simple and quick, try to find a reason NOT to make 'em!

Cranberry-Orange Scones

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• 1 stick butter (I used Earth Balance)
• fresh cranberries
• 1 cup orange juice (or milk)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400*
2. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda into a large bowl. Stir in orange peel. Add butter and rub with your fingers until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Mix in chopped cranberries*. Gradually add liquid, tossing with fork until moist clumps form.
3. Now its time to really get your hands dirty! Turn the dough over in the bowl until it begins to bind together. Its going to be sticky, its supposed to be! Form dough into rounds just slightly smaller than the palm of your hand. Transfer rounds to a baking sheet, spacing two inches apart, because these things get big!
4. Bake until tops of scones are golden brown, about 18-20 minutes. Let stand on baking sheet for 10 minutes.
5. Serve scones warm or room temperature with honey butter and a hot tea!

* I add three handfuls of cranberries chopped in my Pampered Chef chopper. Don't have one? No biggie. In my pre-Pampered Chef years this recipe still succeeded when I coarsely chopped them with a big knife!

I love to have this dough on hand. I make a bunch and then stick it in the fridge until guests arrive or I just need an afternoon treat!