Great gifts for therapists, Angel Tree 2008

I just went and made my second round of "gift buying" at Reece's Rainbow. We did this last year and are doing it again. The response from our team last year was amazing.

Alot of us buy for Sunday School teachers, school teachers, therapists, daycare providers, etc. It's can be a chore to find the right thing, and if we admit it, most often what we give is either edible (not that it's bad!) or it's a dust collector. The thought is nice, but who really benefits? So we started last year with donating to Reece's Rainbow in honor of our therapists and service coordinator. They were so touched, and a couple of them actually ended up paying it forward and using the idea for some of their gifting as well. I heard from more than one of them that they get so many nice things, but they really don't *need* any of it, so this was a way to be appreciated but have it help someone who really DOES need it. I just gave them Christmas cards with a note inside that we'd made a donation in their honor and stating our appreciation for their work. So simple, but so very well received.

Please check out the adorable faces of kids who are still looking for homes. (Click on the picture below) You can even get an ornament with the child's picture that you've donated toward if you do it today (the 15th).



I give to RR frequently and significantly. I don't say that for any pat on the back, it's not about that. It's about putting our money on what's important. It's about stopping just the talking about how we are all supposed to help others and put those with needs first and actually DOING it.

I hear people talking about if you have "extra" to give to RR or other great causes. I appreciate any plug to help others. But I don't know anyone who thinks they have "extra" money. I know that I don't. We're literally cutting back on everything from what brand of milk we buy, to eliminating some of our "fun stuff" that we don't really need, to keeping our house less toasty warm in order to simply make ends meet each month. We're not doing Christmas gifting with family, (which is more than fine with me since I feel like Christmas gifts should be for kids anyway...all us adult siblings can buy whatever we might want so gifting becomes a hassle and stress to try to find something they haven't already bought for themselves, but I digress) and I don't miss it because to me Christmas is not about the gifts at all. It's about yummy meals and pretty lights and having fun and mostly about celebrating Christ's birth and the true gift that is to all of us.

Regardless of what the bottom line in the checkbook says, I make room for giving. We've never gone without. I don't expect we will. God always blesses us, not necessarily monetarily, of course, but in whatever way, it's more than worth it. It means I don't get the Chinese food every time I want. It means I only have one pair of maternity jeans. It means we eat alot of the same cheap food at home. And I don't mind one bit. These kids don't have any of that, and if they don't find homes, they may not even have their lives. Institutions are no fun, and that may be their future. It is just that simple to me.

So you may not have extra. You may have already done your shopping. But do you have something that could make a difference to a child's entire life, not just their playtime habits for the next few days? Will Braska wish we'd have given her some toy this year or will she benefit more from knowing that her parents value people and especially children who need to be spoken up for?