Joshua’s House

By: Ann Saylor

The Christmas season offers so many opportunities to shine Christ’s light in a hurting world through helping others.  Instead of training children to focus on the gifts they will receive, teach them to honor the Greatest Gift by sharing gifts of service with people in your community.

Your family might choose to serve a meal at a homeless shelter, decorate Christmas cards for prisoners, or help children make gifts for their families.  You could host a game night at a senior citizen’s home, bake cookies for firefighters, or clean the apartment of an AIDS victim.  The possibilities are endless!

Volunteering doesn’t have to be ‘just another thing’ on your to do list this month.  It can be a natural outflow of your family’s interests and talents, and a great way to build family memories.  Here are some steps to get you started:

1. Ask family members about their skills, talents and passions - what do they love to do?  Your list might include basketball, painting, singing, or playing games.  Or organizing, hospitality, and making new friends.

2. Ask them what they would like to see change in the community (or neighborhood or school).  You might hear interest areas such as the homeless, people with physical challenges, helping children learn to read, bullying or breaking up school cliques.

3.  See where family strengths and community needs overlap, and start with a simple service project.

• • If your children like music and they are concerned about loneliness in nursing homes, plan a time to go caroling with friends at a local nursing home.
  • If your family loves sports and they are concerned about their peers getting involved in negative activities, ask your church if you can host a family sports night at the gym after Christmas.
  • If your family has a holiday tradition of playing board games or working on puzzles, call a homeless shelter to see if you can host a game night after an evening meal.
  • If you have an artistic family, you might paint a mural at church, at school, or at a community center.
  • If you love the outdoors, you might encourage people to recycle their Christmas trees or pick up trash on a hiking excursion.

God created you with unique skills and talents - how will you use his gifts to make a difference during this season and throughout the year?

Find more ideas for family volunteering and raising strong families at www.theassetedge.net and www.mommysecrets.blogspot.com.

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Ann Saylor is the co-author of two new books, Ready-to-Go Service Projects:  140 Ways for Youth Groups to Lend a Hand and Great Group Games: 175 Boredom-Busting, Zero-Prep Team Builders for All Ages. She is a nationally recognized speaker in the youth development field, teaching about empowering youth, team building, and service-learning.  Learn more at www.theassetedge.net.