What did you give for Christmas?

From the time I was a little boy, Christmas morning was always the time to run out to the tree and find out what you got for Christmas.

After unwrapping everything, the next thing I did was to call my friend's on the phone and find out, "What did you get for Christmas"?

A few years ago, all of that changed for our family. We slowly transitioned from "What did you get?" to "What did you give?"

It started for us about 10 years ago. We had a friend who was a single Mom and she had just had brain surgery to remove a tumor. Her young son had never had a Christmas before, as they were always too poor. So, this year he asked his mom if they could have Christmas for Christmas. Our house church, along with another church group, pooled our resources and bought a tree, lights, ornaments, and decorations. We also bought gifts for both of them, including grocery store cards for $200 worth of food so they could rest easy during the Holiday season.

When we go there we started setting up the tree and decorating. We worked together to decorate their tiny apartment. Then we turned on the lights, sang a few Christmas carols together and shared some hot cocoa.

Before leaving, we all gathering around our friends and we prayed for her to heal from her surgery and for her and her son to know how much God loved them.

Then something unexpected happened. She asked if she could pray for all of us. As she started to pray for us, I began to really understand what giving was all about. Her humble prayers for us were so profound, and beautiful. I found myself wiping away more than a few tears by the time she was finished.

On the way out to our car, I remember turning to Wendy and saying, "That was my Christmas gift. I don't want anything else."

Ever since that night, we have tried to spend our time and our money giving away as many blessings as we can to help others. We already have so much more than we need, and a whole lot more on top of that we don't really need. So, instead of turning Christmas into an excuse to get even more stuff we don't need, we decided to see what we can give away.

This Christmas, along with help from people in our house church and a few others, we were able to give away Christmas gifts to 51 children at the Motel, and to pass out batteries and socks and share hot apple cider with people living along the Santa Ana river bed near Angel stadium in Tent City.

I would encourage everyone to try this at least once. The truth is, we are more blessed by giving away blessings than we ever were when our focus was to receive a blessing.

Honestly, I can barely remember what I got for Christmas all those years ago. But I can promise you that I will never, ever forget all that we have given away for Christmas over the last 10 years; and all the smiling faces and joyful hearts we've been able to touch by simply switching gears from getting to giving.

Merry Christmas to all of you from all of us!

Peace on Earth,
Keith

HELP: MOTEL TOYS FOR CHRISTMAS

UPDATE: As of 12/19/16 we have all the toys we need this year!

Thanks to everyone who made a donation.

**
Every year our house church family buys Christmas gifts for the kids who live in the Motel where we serve in Santa Ana.

As you might imagine, there are a lot of kids who need toys and our little house church is...well, kinda "little".

So, we're planning to go hog wild this year, but if you'd like to help us out, that would be SO AWESOME!

Please let me know in the comments if you'd like to contribute something to help us out.

If you just want to make a donation online you can do that via PayPal using my email address. If you don't already know it, please PM me and we'll work it out.

I'll be sure to post pictures of the gifts, and the kids in a few weeks.

We also plan to host our annual Christmas Eve Candlelight Service in the back parking lot this year with hot cider and cookies shared as we sing carols and read the story of Jesus' incarnation from the Gospel of Luke.

If you're in the SoCal area be sure to join us!

Peace!
kg

THE WAY OF THE CROSS IS GIVING

“I've given like a beggar but lived like the rich
And crafted myself a more comfortable cross,

Yet what I am called to is deeper than this,

It's time You had my whole life;

You can have it all.” – Matt Redman (The Way of the Cross)

Someone once said, “When we consider our love for others we measure how much we give. When God measures, He considers how much we hold on to.”

As the Christmas season approaches I can’t help but feel excitement at all I can give to those in need around me. I have been blessed beyond measure. I am rich in all the things that matter and my family has everything we need to survive (and a whole lot extra we don’t need too).

When we consider how much we have been blessed (and if we live in America we are among the richest people living on the planet today), it’s easy to let go of what we own and share it with those who have little.

I don’t care how poor you think you are, I can probably show you someone who is much worse off than you are. And joy comes from giving to others, helping people in need, and bringing a smile to someone else’s face. Joy is never about what you give to yourself, or even what someone gives to you. That might make you feel thankful, or happy for a moment, but real Joy is something deeper and lasting. It is always about what you give away to others. Making a noticeable difference in another person’s life and knowing that something you did, or something you gave away meant something to another human being is what fuels real joy.

For the last few years now our family has been moving away from buying gifts for one another and focusing instead on bringing joy to others around us. So, we take the money we would normally spend on gifts for each other and we buy gifts for children at the motel where we’ve been serving for over 8 years now. Or we take the time to go caroling at a local senior home and bring joy to people who are desperately lonely and empty. Or we find ways to creatively bless people on our street, or to see the person on the fringes who most people ignore and buy them a meal, or engage them in a friendly conversation.

What changed my mind about Christmas was when we partnered with a few others to bring a Christmas blessing to a woman and her son who were desperately poor a few years ago. She had just recovered from brain surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. Her son had asked if they could have a Christmas tree because they had never had a tree or gifts to put under it before. After we set up the tree and laid all the gifts under it and hung up the stockings which were jam-packed with blessings, we sat down to pray over her. When we were done she looked up and said, “Can I pray for you?” That’s the moment when my heart broke forever. As this dear, humble sister in Christ lifted up our family in prayer I silently wept. Huge, wet, hot tears dropped into my hands as she called us each by name and gave thanks to God for these blessings.

On my way out to our car to go home I told my family, “That was my Christmas gift. I don’t want or need anything else but that.” And I decided right there and then that from now on I only wanted my Christmas to be about doing all that I could to bless others.

Really, it’s a very selfish decision on my part. I get so much out of this. It’s not really fair because no matter how much I try to bless others, I always come away with a bigger blessing than I brought with me.

Listen to what Paul the Apostle said about serving and giving to others:

“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” (Acts 20:32-35)

What will you give away this Christmas? The more you give away, the more joy you’ll receive in return.

I dare you to test me on this one.

Peace,

kg

THE WAY OF THE CROSS

"I've given like a beggar but lived like the rich
And crafted myself a more comfortable cross,
Yet what I am called to is deeper than this,
It's time You had my whole life;
You can have it all." – Matt Redman (The Way of the Cross)

Someone once said, "When we consider our love for others we measure how much we give. When God measures, He considers how much we hold on to."

As the Christmas season approaches I can't help but feel excitement at all I can give to those in need around me. I have been blessed beyond measure. I am rich in all the things that matter and my family has everything we need to survive (and a whole lot extra we don’t need, too).

When we consider how much we have been blessed (and if we live in America we are among the richest people living on the planet today), it’s easy to let go of what we own and share it with those who have little.

I don't care how poor you think you are, I can probably show you someone who is much worse off than you are living right down the street from you. And joy comes from giving to others, helping people in need, and bringing a smile to someone else's face. Joy is never about what you give to yourself, or even what someone gives to you. That might make you feel thankful, or happy for a moment, but real Joy is something deeper and lasting. It is always about what you give away to others. Making a noticeable difference in another person's life and knowing that something you did, or something you gave away meant something to another human being is what fuels real joy.

For the last few years now our family has been moving away from buying gifts for one another and focusing instead on bringing joy to others around us. So, we take the money we would normally spend on gifts for each other and we buy gifts for children at the motel where we've been serving for over 8 years now. Or we take the time to go caroling at a local senior home and bring joy to people who are desperately lonely and empty. Or we find ways to creatively bless people on our street, or to see the person on the fringes who most people ignore and buy them a meal, or engage them in a friendly conversation.

What changed my mind about Christmas was when we partnered with a few others to bring a Christmas blessing to a woman and her son who were desperately poor a few years ago. She had just recovered from brain surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. Her son had asked if they could have a Christmas tree because they had never had a tree or gifts to put under it before. After we set up the tree and laid all the gifts under it and hung up the stockings which were jam-packed with blessings, we sat down to pray over her. When we were done she looked up and said, "Can I pray for you?" That's the moment when my heart broke forever. As this dear, humble sister in Christ lifted up our family in prayer I silently wept. Huge, wet, hot tears dropped into my hands as she called us each by name and gave thanks to God for these blessings.

On my way out to our car to go home I told my family, "That was my Christmas gift. I don't want or need anything else but that." And I decided right there and then that from now on I only wanted my Christmas to be about doing all that I could to bless others.

Really, it's a very selfish decision on my part. I get so much out of this. It's not really fair because no matter how much I try to bless others, I always come away with a bigger blessing than I brought with me.

Listen to what Paul the Apostle said about serving and giving to others:

"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (Acts 20:32-35)

So, what will you give away this Christmas? I promise you, the more you give away, the more joy you'll receive in return.

I dare you to test me on this one.

Peace,
kg

CHRISTMAS IN REVERSE

For the last three years now my family has been making an effort to shift the way we celebrate Christmas. I guess it all started when we partnered with a sister church here in Orange County to bring a blessing to a single mom with brain cancer and her teenage son a few years ago. I remember walking back to the car afterwards and telling my wife, "That was my Christmas. From now on, don't buy me anything for Christmas. Let's just bring a blessing to as many people as we can."

So, for the last few years that's what we've done our best to do. This year our family is helping to buy Christmas gifts for children living in a local motel with their families. Our house church is working to provide free groceries, buy gifts, and share what we’ve been given with our friends living in this motel. We're also putting together several baskets of food to give to a local orphanage, and this week we're going to sing carols at a local senior care center down the street from our house.

Just last week I read an article from the great John Fischer about how we should change the question, "What did you get for Christmas?" to "What did you give for Christmas?" I completely agree. More than changing the question, we're changing the emphasis of Christmas. When we focus on giving then all that matters is what we give away, not what we receive in return.

The most amazing thing, however, is that even though my family does not buy me a Christmas gift to put under the tree anymore, I still get plenty of gifts. In fact, I receive significantly more for Christmas now than I have ever received before. It's just that what I get for Christmas now is the sort of stuff that won't fit inside any box, or be contained by mere wrapping paper.

I know of many other families who are doing exactly what we've started to do this Christmas. Maybe you do too? Or maybe you and your family would like to start a new tradition of giving away more than you receive?

If you're really lucky you'll start to realize that you can give extravagantly no matter what time of year it may be. People in need are hungry and lonely and thirsty on all the other days of the year, so why should we only give to them once or twice a year?

Someone once said that whenever we measure our generosity we tend to measure how much we give away, but when God measures our generosity, He measures how much we keep.

If Christmas is really about giving, then let's focus on giving. And if Christmas is about the miraculous, incarnational birth of God in the flesh who came to be "Emmanuel" - God with us - then let's follow His example and give ourselves away for the sake of others.

Peace to you,
Keith

EL PASO CHRISTMAS

Our family is in El Paso visiting my parents for Christmas. Already we've run into several old friends in unexpected places and catching up with other friends we've not seen in years.

I find myself scanning the crowd in every restaurant and grocery story looking for familiar faces. It's weird.

Looking forward to Christmas day tomorrow, although I've already had my best Christmas (see post over at www.MissionHouseChurch.com)

On Friday we're having a reunion with some of our dear college friends and today and tonight I'll be hanging with other friends for coffee, etc.

Hope all of you have a great Christmas celebration and that the New Year is full of blessing.

Peas (on Earth),
-kg

GIVE

Rather than buying something unnecessary for someone in your life who already has a house full of stuff, try to spend your money buying food and necessities for people who are really in need this Holiday season

Our family has made a point of reducing our Christmas gift purchases to only one gift for each person in our immediate family. All other spending will be to buy food and clothes for people who are in serious need of assistance and toys for the children who live in the motel in Santa Ana where we minister.

Christmas is about giving, and we should start with those who are truly in need.

Peace (on Earth),
Keith