Alternative Gifts
Dear Friends,
Every year the wish lists come in – a new toy, a new piece of clothing, a new DVD, a gift card, or cash$$! Sometimes we want to give our loved ones everything they want. But sometimes we feel pulled. Is this what Christmas is all about? And what about those people who we want to give to that already have so much? Consider an
Alternative Gift
!
Alternative Gifts are not physical gifts to our child, spouse, family member, coworker, neighbor, or friend. Alternative Gifts are financial gifts given to a mission or ministry that brings about a positive change in the world. These gifts are given in honor of the recipient. Every year I am moved by gifts given in my honor to help build a house for someone or to help provide food or clothing, or clean water, or educational materials.
My dad was a beekeeper for many years. I used to help him collect the honey from the bee boxes. We would smoke out the bees, collect the combs, cut the caps off, put the frames of honey comb into a giant centrifuge, and collect the honey into mason jars. Delicious! When I discovered that I could give a colony of bees to a village in honor of my dad I knew it was the perfect gift. What great memories that would bring back for him (accept for the time he almost went into shock from too many bee stings!
J
)
But I digress. Consider an
Alternative Gift
. It doesn’t have to be much – but it could be. I am including two links for you. One is for our own
Alternative Gift Fair
which this year focuses on four of our mission partnerships – Kenya, Nicaragua, Blythe Elementary School, and Habitat for Humanity. Consider honoring a loved one with a gift to one of these partnerships. I am also including a link to the
Presbyterian Giving Catalogue
which functions much like Heifer Project. These gifts empower people all over the world to make a living and to care for their families. I hope you will consider praying about how you might give Alternative Gifts this year to honor a loved one and to make a difference in the world.
Here are the links:
To God be the Glory!
Robert
