Family Service Project

For several months, I'd been feeling God calling me and the family to help/serve the poor and needy.  When I do my quiet time in the morning, I read a chapter from Proverbs that corresponds to the day of the month.  Over and over again, I could feel God speaking to me about what he wanted us to do.  I'd mentioned it before but never really acted on it until I began feeling disobedient.  I did not like that feeling at all, so I talk to B and we decided Christmas Eve would be the best day.  I went shopping for the food on the 23rd with the kids and they were great helpers.  We bought chips and rice crispy treats, which we normally do not buy, but the kids were understanding that the 'good snacks' weren't for us to eat.  We were going to make lunches for needy/homeless/poor people that stood on the side of the road and asked for help.

I did my math right for all the pieces except the bread.  I bought enough to make 40 sandwiches but I just assumed that a serving of bread was 2 slices....yeah, it's only 1 slice.  So B ran to the store for 2 more loaves of bread.  We made 40 lunches that consisted of a ham or turkey sandwich, bottle of water, chips, and rice crispy treat.  The kids decorated the paper bags with Christmas stickers and we put them into two big boxes. 

assembling the sandwiches

enjoying a left Cheetos

We handed out the lunches that afternoon while E took a nap.  Aunt Mo and Gran stayed with E while the rest of us drove around passing out the bags.  I sat in the back with Avery and we passed the bags to the kids sitting in the middle.  B and Papaw were in the very front.  I think the most excited ones were the men that wait at Home Depot for daily jobs.  We drove up and Kinsey rolled the window down.  As soon as we slowed to a stop, they were at the window reaching inside for a lunch.  Of course the kids enjoyed the experience, but I was at peace about the whole thing.  I think waiting til Christmas Eve was the perfect time to introduce a service project to our children.  It was very easy to direct the conversation to the reason for Jesus and the service project he did for us when he died for our sins.  We talked about why Christmas isn't about getting presents and gifts, but about giving to others.  Maybe if we would've heard the song about Christmas shoes, that might have only made the afternoon better, but it was a great afternoon. 

 

Proverbs 14:31 Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.