The Christmas Spirit

(This post is off topic for my blog but it is a precursor to a recipe that changed my entire day!)

Christmas is a wonderful time of year! I go crazy about Christmas; there is so much joy and child-like wonderment that fills me up during this time of year. Like many Americans though, I can get caught up in the hustle and bustle of buying that 'perfect' present for my loved ones. However, with being new to the housewife club, Jake and I have had to cut back on a lot since sacrificing that additional income which has set this year up to be a game changer.

Now that we are more budget conscious, we have been forced to take a step back and really put some thought into what we wanted to do for our loved ones this Christmas. In November, I put in a lot of time and did a lot of research for activities that could fill up the Christmas season and not feel like we were missing out. While I was looking into local activities, I found a couple blogs that were talking about doing RACK (Random Acts of Christmas Kindness). This idea really intrigued me. I have a soft spot for children and people in need. So we decided to do it. (We did change the C to mean Christian instead of just Christmas because we would like to make more cards later and carry this activity throughout the year.)

My husband made up some cards that were inspired by one of the blogs and we started thinking up ideas. Basically, you want to do at least one random act of kindness each day of December leading up to Christmas. We thought of several activities that we could do at the beginning of December and then a couple really big things to do closer to Christmas Day. One of the things I am really excited about doing is making a large pot of chicken noodle soup and dividing it into containers to hand out at the park and other places where several homeless people gather. Food is very near and dear to my heart and I felt like a hot home-cooked meal was something that I could easily give that could nourish someone's body and hopefully warm their heart as well.

So far, my husband and I have been really blessed by this activity this year. Our attention has been focused on giving to others what we can give. The stress has been taken out of the season because money hasn't been on our minds. We may be strapped for 'gift giving' cash but we have found it very easy to give of our time and what we have that others may need more than ourselves. This Christmas has really been a game changer for us; it is when we have the least that we have given the most.

“It is not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” 
~ Mother Teresa

With Love,
Jess