12 Days of Giving and why it's important to me

Since I am blessed to know Bethany in real life, I knew about the 12 Days of Giving before she actually put it on her blog. I was so excited to be involved!

You see, before this.....................




and this.........................



it was just the three of us.



I won't go into all of the details of our private life, but I will say that God has brought the three of us through some very dark places. Emotionally, financially and spiritually.

When Tiffani and Justin were young, and we had very little, we started the tradition of adopting a family for Christmas.

I was trying to instill in them:

You always have something to give, no matter how little you have

You will always be able to find someone that has less than you do

Giving is better than receiving

By blessing others you will be blessed

I was blessed to be part of a family growing up that didn't have much financially, but we had love that overflowed. I remember many times when we barely had enough to eat ourselves, but we invited people over for dinner.

Christmas wasn't a time when we were showered with gifts. We definitely got presents, but that wasn't what it was about at our house. It was about much more than that.

I loved our traditions, singing carols around the tree, with my mom at the piano. And then my dad would read the Christmas story out of the Bible, Luke Chapter 2. I can still say it by heart and when I think about my dad reading it, my eyes get all misty. Like they are right now.

That's the good stuff. So if you're reading this and you are not reaching out to others this Christmas season, I hope that the 12 Days of Giving will inspire you to do so.

Giving to others is the Reason for the Season.

Hugs~

Linda