Jesus Is The Reason For The Season!

Little or No Money During These Trying Times Making You Depressed?

Don't Be - Have A Wonderful Christmas - Practice The True Spirit of Christmas!

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  Jesus Is The Reason For The Season! Fill Jesus' Stocking With Acts of Kindness As Your Birthday Gift To Him!
  
  1. If you live in an apartment, condo, or a homeowners association, write a note of thanks and appreciation to each maintenance worker, grounds keeper, etc. It will brighten their day that the service work they do is appreciated.
  
  2. Here's a good one that I did this morning as I was leaving to take my father to a Doctor's appointment at the VA hospital. My next door neighbor's son had gone back to sleep after his parents went to work and had missed the school bus. He was running down the sidewalk with a heavy bookbag, a trombone, and a bag of canned goods the school was collecting for food boxes for the needy. He was struggling and dropping the items. I asked him if he needed help and he told me, on the verge of tears, that he missed his bus and was going to be in trouble for being so late by the time he got to school. I told him to hop in the car and we would drop him off at the school on our way to the VA hospital. I had to drive right past the school to get to the VA. Later this afternoon, he came by to thank us for giving him a ride to school and that when he walked in the door the bell rang. He was so thankful that he was not late.
  
  3. Help an elderly or disabled neighbor scrape the ice or snow off of their car windows in the morning.
  
  4. Visit a nursing home, the VA hospital nursing home section, or any other hospital in your area that has a nursing home section. Most of the elderly never receive any visitors. They will be blessed and you will be blessed. I have done this for many years and I have made some wonderful friends and learned so much from their wisdom when they tell of their lives, careers, talents and gifts.
  
  5. Here is another great idea that I have done. One time I was visiting a senior retirement place to visit with seniors that have no visitors or family that comes to see them and I met an elderly lady who was legally blind from Macular Degeneration. She was upset and I asked her what was wrong and maybe I could help. She was a Christian and had been a ordained Evangelist and Missionary for years. She loved reading her Bible and Devotional books. This lady had a special magnifier reading machine to help her read, but her eyesight was deteriorating to the point that even with the special magnification machine and with high powered hand-held magnifying glasses used to further magnify the largest type setting on the machine that she could no longer read. She had memorized most of the Bible and the verses she remembered she would sit and recite. However, she could no longer do her devotionals, which meant so much to her. I smiled and told her I was also a Christian and an ordained Evangelist and Missionary. She was ordained in 1946 and I was ordained in 1994. I told her I had a simple solution for her problem and I would be very glad to help her. We also agreed on a regular visiting schedule so we could talk about each others experiences as Evangelist/Missionaries from two different eras -- compare notes. She was anxious to see what my solution to her dilemma was, but I told her it would be a surprise for her from me on my next visit with her the following day. I asked her where her devotional book was and she took me to her room and told me to look around her reading machine. I found it, asked if I could borrow it, took it home, and that night at home I read the entire devotional book out loud recording it on my cassette tape recorder. Devotionals are dated and there is one for each day of the month. After each day's devotional and bible verses there is often a prayer. So, when I recorded the devotional book I stated the date, day of the week, read the devotion, the bible verses for that devotion, and the prayer. I then left a little pause on the tape between the days (she was blind and it would take her a couple of seconds to turn the tape recorder on and off) then I would go on to the next day. I was blessed reading the devotions and she was going to be blessed because of my solution for her not to miss any of her daily devotions. It took me a couple of hours to complete the tape. The next day I took the tape to her. She was so happy and overwhelmed that someone would do this for her that she broke into happy tears. We have become very good friends and I record her devotions each month. She just turned 96! This was a simple solution and a simple act of kindness that sparked a very rewarding friendship.
  
  6. Invite an elderly neighbor over for dinner once in a while, especially if they live alone and do not get visitors. Or, if they cannot get around easily take a home cooked meal over to them as a surprise.
  
  7. Give a short note of appreciation and thank you to a checker or drive through person that has given you good service with a smile. This will brighten their day! They work very hard and deal with many people, which are not always kind taking out a bad day on the clerk.
  
  8. Shovel the walkway of an elderly or disabled neighbor.
  
  9. When the weather is bad offer to bring in the mail for an elderly or disabled neighbor.
  
  10. If you are in a store parking lot and see a mother with a young fussy baby that is struggling to soothe the infant and put the packages in the vehicle offer to put the packages in the vehicle so the mom can tend to the child.
  
  11. Volunteer at a local shelter to help serve food or hand out food boxes.
  
  12. Volunteer at a local library to read to the children. They always could use more people to do this.
  
  13. Volunteer to help an elderly or disabled neighbor to put up their Christmas tree and decorations.
  
  14. If you are on your way out to do errands and you see one of your neighbors on their porch or in their yard ask them if they need something from the store, dry cleaning picked up, or stamps that you can pick up for them while you are going on your own errands anyway.
  
  15. If you know of someone from church or one of your neighbors that has been ill, had recent surgery, or just got home from the hospital cook a meal and take it to them or if you cannot afford to then offer to clean their house, visit with them, or help them answer get well cards.
  
  16. Offer to read the newspaper or letters to a blind person.
  
  17. Take a game or games that you no longer use to a hospital for patients to use.