Christmas Spirit ALL- YEAR long!
I love the holiday season, it’s the celebration of the birth of the King, the All Mighty, our Savior, Jesus Christ. For me, I am reminded of how blessed I am to know Him and what a difference His presence in my life has made. The season kicks off with Thanksgiving…I look at my life and see all the blessings around me that I sometimes look past when I get busy with life. Then Christmas comes and joy seems to swirl through the air as people are out shopping, eating, and sipping coffee catching up with old friends. Regardless of whether people are Christians or not, it seems that this attitude of thankfulness and kindness contagiously spreads straight to our hearts causing us to love our neighbors. I have seen people giving up prized parking spots, pay for the person’s groceries in front of them, pay for fast food behind them, lots of doors opened, hugs, smiles, volunteering in soap kitchens, food drives, donations to charities, and so much more. Lots of giving and putting others before ourselves!
I want to know why we can’t have this giving spirit all year long. I would rather keep this joyous attitude of the holiday season and give up the “I am too busy with life” months. Now I understand the pressures of work, family, money, and simply not having enough time, however it takes very little to speak kind words to the people in your life circle. You go lots of places…Starbucks, the grocery store, Wal-Mart, work, the gym, the mall, the park…where ever… Gather up all that Christmas embodies for you, whatever it is that makes that smile stretch across your face and motivates you to want to love on people. Store it up, enough to last you all year. If we all did this, what an amazing difference it would make.
One of the things I love about the ministry, Encounters of Hope, is that it allows me to bless people all year round. I keep the gift cards in my purse, ready to give one out and create an encounter of hope with someone. What really warms my heart is after I have handed out a card, they realize what just happened, and that there is real money on the gift card. I sometimes turn back to see their expressions and the biggest smile stretches across their face. I immediately begin praying for that person that God is already moving and working in their lives. I pray my simple act of kindness puts them one step closer to knowing that God is so real and wants a relationship with them. If we keep putting people first, giving, and seeing people through the lens of love, just maybe we can start an All YEAR LONG CHRISTMAS SPIRIT!
Hey and if you are new to the site…Welcome 🙂 Check out our new ABOUT video to see what exactly Encounters of Hope is and if you want to purchase your own gift cards to hand out, go to the purchase gift card link at the top of the page. If you gather some cool stories along your journey of handing out cards, we would love to hear them so make sure to come back and leave a comment here https://encountersofhope.com/blog/share-your-encounter/
