New Year's Resolution: Giving

Since it is still January, it is not too late to talk about new year's resolutions. :)

For as long as I could remember, I would make a list on New Year's Eve of things I would like to accomplish in the new year. For this year, however, instead of a list of things to accomplish, I have three goals for the year that are less things to do but more like life-long projects. The first one is giving.

A couple of years ago, I had a thought of giving something to someone every day. It could be things tangible or otherwise. Most of the time, I found myself giving the same thing - letting a car from the parking lot or the side road pull in front of me while I was driving. This was good, but it was certainly not the only way to give. Soon, the thought of giving became less and less prominent and I was less and less diligent about it. But last Christmas, as I was re-reading Matthew West's Give This Christmas Away, in which he gives 101 ideas of giving, I thought of extending this to a year-long project for 2011 and God confirmed the idea.

A few weeks into the year, I am happy to report that this has been a great start! Most of the things I have given are little things - time, friendships, little gifts, car rides, donations, and yes, occasionally, letting a car pull in front of me - but they have been giving me a lot of joy. There is nothing in me that can give any of these things, but I know it is God enabling me to pay more attention to others and He is guiding me in my giving. In the process, I find me thinking of myself less, which is a great benefit!

How about you? What can you give someone today?

Shoebox Recap

I hope your new year has been going well! Before the year goes by too quickly, it is time to do some recap - on Operation Christmas Child!

My last update was in October, when we were in the middle of it. There are many great stories to tell, and below are some highlights -

•  We had a booth at church and many took interest in packing shoeboxes or making individual donations. Many involved their families, friends and Sunday School classes. Almost 1,000 brochures were distributed in six weeks!
• When a mother-daughter duo dropped off two boxes, they told me that one of them was packed by their non-believer friend who insisted on packing a shoebox for a child!
• At our packing party, we processed and packed a few dozen boxes (not to mention we had a lot of fun!).
• Our church middle school kids packed over a hundred shoeboxes in just a couple of weeks!
• Our church tennis league did a tournament to benefit Operation Christmas Child. In a very short amount of time, we put together the details for the tournament. It was great fun that day and we raised over $600 and collected over 12 packed boxes and many donations that helped pack a few more dozen shoeboxes!
• Our AWANA kids packed over 40 boxes! 
• My friend from my Bible study class got her high school students involved and they packed over 60 boxes!
• At the drop-off location, we were even able to help raise funds for a summer missions trips for college students by dropping off our boxes. For each box they were to collect, a dollar was donated towards the missions trip funds.

I remember a week before collection deadline, as I walked to the booth, I saw piles and piles of packed shoeboxes that had been dropped off. What a sight to behold!

And remember the number 300 (see last update)? Merely a week before collection deadline, we had about half the number. Just as I was wondering how the goal would be reached, it was when the teacher called me to tell me about the 100+ boxes from our middle school kids.

By the end of collection, 379 packed shoeboxes were dropped off and over $1,900 was raised through church and the tennis tournament. It amazes me to look at these numbers!

I am very thankful to everyone who participated in Operation Christmas Child. Because of you, many children around the world got to know someone overseas cared for them, and that God loved them. This was not at all about me setting goals, but I cannot tell you how much I was blessed throughout those few weeks. It was such a privilege and joy to be a part of this, to see God's hand move and to see God's people give generously and willingly.

Happy New Year!

As we reflect on and say goodbye to 2010, I hope you have had a blessed year.

For me, it has been a great year. Many great things happened while there were also a few difficult moments (which I hope to catch up and share on the blog soon). I am thankful for the great things and am learning to give thanks to God during difficult times. It is not easy, but those are times that I have found myself being drawn closer to Him, and times that I have to look beyond myself to seek His purpose and glory.

As we welcome the new year and ponder our new year's resolutions, I hope we will all be seeking Him more diligently through great times and difficult times. There is always a reason to hope because He holds tomorrow.

So long, 2010. Hello, 2011!