We purchased $5 gift cards from 3 different fast food restaurants. When people approach the car asking for money, I ask if they are hungry and what restaurant they prefer before passing on the card.  I was able to pass out another $5 gift card for Wendy's today, as a homeless gentleman held up his hungry sign. A very easy thing to do all year long

God has truly blessed me with a wonderful husband.  My heart overflows just thinking of how generous he is.  He is also very humble, so I am sending this because I know he won’t.

My husband is attending physical therapy for his shoulder at his doctor’s office and he has befriended this woman in the reception area.  She is a Christian woman, single and lives with her aunt.  She is in charge of the Angel Toy Ministry at her church and that is how they began their friendship.  Every time he would go into the office for therapy, they would talk about the different things going on at church.  She talked about how she used to live in Cleveland, Ohioand that her elderly mother still lives there.

When he went into the doctor’s office today and they struck up a conversation about Christmas, she told him that every year she brings her mother to South Florida for Christmas.  This year was different - money is real tight so she wasn’t going to be able to see her mother at Christmas.  Since my husband’s heart truly broke for this woman, he wanted to help her somehow. 

He called me at work and we discussed what would possibly help her.  The only thing we could come up with was to help her with a plane ticket for her mother. He went to the bank and went back to the doctor’s office.  He walked in, handed her the money for a ticket and she couldn’t stop smiling.  He said he even thinks she was in shock.

This may not seem like much to some people, but to us it is truly a step in faith.  My husband lost his job 4 months ago and our life has changed dramatically.  The plans “we” had for our future have changed but we know God is in control. 

We would like to thank God that through Community Christian we are reminded again what Christmas is all about.  Even though our situation may seem grim to some people, for us we know we are truly blessed.

Sincerely,

Hi Community Family,

Well I've been praying for God to lead me and he has and continues to do so.

I noticed a young girl at a local hospital who had sustained some serious injuries, requiring a lengthy hospital stay.  She seemed very withdrawn and sad and her caregivers tired and stressed.  I realized that this child did not have anything to occupy her time with except for the TV.  So my daughter and I selected some of her videos, games, books and crafts and left them in the child’s room when she was out for treatment.  I saw her when she returned to her room and her smile brightened the whole room.  She looked just like I used to feel on Christmas morning.  That was a great gift to me.

We also cleaned out my daughter’s book shelves, which contained many books she had never even read, and gave about 50 of them to a local elementary school in a low income area.  It was nice to see the look of surprise on the office workers’ faces and know that the books would find a place where they could be well used.

Lastly, this is still in the planning stages, but our Celebrate Recovery group is trying to organize a Christmas cookie and sing along at one of the recovery centers in Broward, to share the hope and love of Jesus.

Thanks for the great inspiration. I can't wait to see where God leads me next.

I wanted to share a nice moment.  I decided to take the Give Christmas Away cards with me on a trip to Washington, D.C., along with a few extra $25 Target gift cards.  I ordered them early in December and didn't use them all, which I am sure was God’s plan.  

I had prayed “God lead me and prompt me” and God lead me to leave a gift card for the hotel maid with the Give Christmas Away business card.  And then at the airport I was lead to give one to a cashier at a food vendor.  As I handed it to her and told her I was lead to give her this gift, she was surprised.  As I turned to sit down I heard her excitedly telling her co-worker what she got.  As I went to leave, she beamed with joy and I knew God wanted me to reach out to her.  She then yelled “Thank you so much” as I headed out.  It was so cute!  I have a few more extra gift cards at home and I look forward to sharing those with others as God wants to.

I also put this challenge out to our sales field recently and the response has been awesome!  People have been very creative and giving.  They are posting their stories on our Facebook page.  So cool!  I hope other companies do that as well.  

Thank you Community for leading us in this direction. I am happily passing it on.

God bless,

I have "adopted" my 95 year-old Jewish neighbor.  She recently lost her best friend and was talking suicide because she said she is tired of living.  I sat “sheva" with her all week, and prayed and read the Bible to her.  She said my praying has given her peace, and she has started to pray herself.  I intend to visit the Jews for Jesus organization to get information about leading a Jewish person to Christ.

As a person who lives alone, I got great satisfaction in having someone to "take care of," especially at Christmastime, and this is what I get out of giving my time to someone else.

Name withheld at author's request

Having rapidly baked brownies yesterday afternoon after church services with sheer wonder of the response to my giving, I ventured forth early Monday morning to the Broward Sheriff’s Office in Tamarac with package in hand decorated with tinsel.  I wondered if my brownies would be X-rayed for a possible bomb or that I would be finger-printed.   Neither happened to my sheer delight.  There was only one deputy on duty behind the bullet-proof window, but his smile said it all as I gave him the package and told him that I appreciated their service in protecting our city.  Attached was a thank you card and inside was the Give Christmas Away card from the church.  Perhaps one day someone will enter the doors to CCC all because of some sweetness and a thank you.

Hello Fellow Brothers and Sisters:

First, I want to let you know that a fellow church member and friend arrived at my home the Friday after Thanksgiving.  I was alone that weekend and very sad.  My kids were with their father for that holiday and I did not feel like going anywhere for Thanksgiving.  She said she wanted to stop by and catch up on Friday at 5:30 PM.  She knew about my struggles as a single mother of 3 children and she also knew that I did not have a Christmas tree this year.

She came in and then asked me to help her get something out of the car.

Honestly I had stayed in my pajamas for 2 days and was off work.  She had in her car a Christmas tree for me and my children and the lights.  I was so grateful and happy.  But it did not stop there.  She went that extra step farther.  She stayed at my house for about 3 hours and helped me put the whole tree up so I would not have to do it alone.  We talked about God, and how He gives unconditionally and how much He loves us.  She inspired me to help another mother I knew with the little I had.

The gift she gave me was not the tree - it was her love and her time.  That Sunday was my first time attending at Community Christian Church and the message was on giving.  She and I cried the whole time.  I immediately became a member of the Church and have joined the prayer group.

Giving at Christmas time?  I think my friend and sister in Christ quietly gave 3 hours of time away from her family and she probably did not know the impact it would have and on how many people.  I could not tell you how God has already started using me in this church.  The next week my children and I came and we will now be regular attenders.

I wanted to share this story with you all and let you know what kind of members God is grooming in Community Christian Church.  We never know how our sacrifices affect the people around us.  But sometimes we do get to see the fruit of the work.

May God bless her and her family richly for her giving to me and mine,

As I write this letter I am in tears because of how wonderful this experience has been so far.  After Pastor Scott’s message on Sunday I thought about ways I could help to give Christmas away.  A few people came to mind that I thought would benefit so I went to the book store and purchased a book for a co-worker that I work very close to in Orlando and wasn’t planning on giving her a gift. 

Then things changed that afternoon, it was our last meeting with our Dinner Group and I was on the receiving side as I was given an invite to Christmas dinner by one of the members of the church and I thought how nice of her to do so.  I really don’t have much family and getting an invitation like that put a smile on my face.  I went home thinking how being on the receiving end is great and can you imagine if I give Christmas away how these gifts will change people’s lives.

I continued to pray, “God lead me, God prompt me.”  I told my husband about the challenge and I told him that Janice, my daughter’s daytime caregiver, is down 2 kids, which means her income is down as well.  We decided to give her $50.00 for Christmas.  While giving $50.00 at this time, along with everything else, was looking hard, I decided I would do it.  When I got paid on Monday, I received a card from my loan officer with $100.00 in it and I said, “Lord, you are working on my behalf.”  With this gift, I was able to place give the $50.00. 

I have never experienced this in my life and it’s a testimony that no one can take from me because there are times when I think everything is going wrong and he just shows me not in my time but in his time. 

This is going to be the best Christmas ever for me and my family.  As Pastor Scott would say way to go, way to go.

As I give Christmas away,

Hi Scott,

Your message this past Sunday on Giving Christmas Away was the ultimate 'klunk on the head' I needed this week.

God had been prompting me for two weeks or so to show His love to a homeless man that I see every morning while I am driving Taylor to school.  So being the practical person I am, I gathered some non-perishable food items, bottled water, baby wipes etc. and put the items in a bag by the front door and told God, "I'll do it tomorrow".  To be honest, I was afraid, timid, unsure of what to say as I imagined approaching the man.  I wasn't afraid of him hurting me, I was insecure about what profound words I would have for this man and what he would think of me. 

So after your challenge on Sunday to do Christmas in a different way, it just hit me - it's not about me; or what I say.  So I announced to my daughter this morning - "we are leaving a few minutes early and giving the bag of food to the homeless man today!" 

As I approached the man, I felt confident that God would give me the words to use.  In a nutshell I said good morning, and asked if he would accept some food I brought for him, and he graciously accepted the bag, shook my hand and told me his name was Curtis.  I simply told him that God loved him.  He said "God bless you maam" to me three times.  He had a kind of twinkle in his eyes.  I thought; Jesus put him there for me. 

I just wanted to share how our 7 yr. old daughter Molly Kate "Gave Christmas Away".  

On November 18, 2009, Molly celebrated her 7th Birthday!  One of our dear neighbors gave Molly a birthday card along with a $20.00 bill.  Molly never mentioned the $20.00 after her birthday, she just placed it in her bag with the sticker that CCC gave her that reads "Spend" (Thanks!  I must admit, she really does utilitze those bags!).  

Well, one evening towards the very beginning of December my husband and I were sitting along with Molly enjoying dinner and conversation about the day's events.  After a little while Molly said, "Mommy, Daddy you know the money that Charlie gave me?  I know what I want to buy with it.  I want to buy foster kids some toys!"  My husband and I both looked at each other immediately and he gave the raising of the eyebrow ...you know the look.  My husband sat in awe as did I.  I paused took a deep breath and said, "Molly, do you realize what you are asking to do?  Molly, you would be using the money and buying someone else something.  You wouldn't be leaving the store and have anything in hand for you!  You understand this?"  Molly stated "Yes, I want to do this, those foster kids don't have anything and I  have the money!"  My husband and I looked at  each other smiling and looking at her and shaking our heads just thinking Wow!  I know my thought was this "If God is using her at 7 yrs. old like this, what will she be doing in 25- 30 years from now?"  

My daughter and I went to the store.  After store discounts, the willingness of another customer to allow us to use her special discount card, and $5 from us, we went home and took all the toys out to show her father, and counted a total of 16 toys in all.   Today, I gladly share the "Toy Story" as I would imagine many others may probably do that we came in contact with that night.  That one little girl was able to change another and another little life!