The Giving Chain

Tomorrow starts the 31 Days of Giving. How about tonight you start a "giving chain" to introduce during Family Home Evening? Here is how it works.

Get out some Christmas paper, cardstock or construction paper. Cut into lots of strips about 1" wide by 6" long. Whatever size you want is great. Make sure you have cut enough for the number of members in your family times 24-to get to Christmas Eve. This is so that everyone has a chance to write something every day.
Example-- My family has 6 people time 24 days . I need 144 strips.
You can start out with 50 strips if you want and cut more as you need to. I used (1) 12X12 piece of Christmas scrapbook paper, cut it into 1 inch strips then cut those in half to 6" strips. I already have 24 strips with one piece of paper.


Now place all the strips in a basket, bowl or plate next to a jar-I am using a 12 inch tall apoethcary jar that I got at TaiPan. Tie a Chirstmas ribbon around the jar and fill it a little with ornaments, bells or pinecones if you want. Put the paper strips and a pen in the basket. At then end of the day right before the kids or you go to bed, take a minute to each write down what each person did to "give" today. Each person has their own strip. Put the strip in the jar. On Christmas Eve sit down and pull out each strip and read them together as a family. As you read them, staple them together to make a paper chain. Hang the chain on your tree, on your mantle or on your wall and then save it to add to each year. Adapt this to the needs of your family. Do it for the 12 days of Christmas or the week before Christmas at the start of Christmas break. Do it once a week on Sunday night or Monday evening. Every person big or small can give to someone else everyday.

Did you hold the door for someone?
Did you smile at someone?
Did you hold someone's hand?
Did you say please and thankyou?
Did you pick up any trash?
Did you do an extra chore?
Did you pick up someone's shoes and out them away?
Did you do your chores with out complaining?
Did you pray for someone specific to them and their need?
Did you make someone's bed without them knowing?
Did you buy a Christmas present?
Did you send a letter to the missionaries?
Did you clear the table with out being asked?
Did you pick up something that someone had dropped?
Did you let someone go ahead of you in line?
Did you give a really nice tip?
Did you pay someone a sincere compliment?

There are lots of things that you could do so just do it! If your child has forgotten to do something try and help them remember things that they did during the day and they may have given service with out even knowing. If you can't think of anything, have mommy or daddy whisper something they can do for someone in the house quickly before bed and let them do it as discreetly as possible.

You can find some other ideas here from the 31 Days of Service post.

Happy Giving!

Christmas Project

We have a friend that is going to India in January. She is going with a group to an orphanage where there are 200 children who lost their parents mostly due to the tsunami 5 years ago. We have 200 school bags made by a generous ward in California but they are empty. We need to fill them!!! We are collecting at least 200 of ....

70 sheet spiral count notebooks---we have 75
pencils---we have 200 but that is only one pencil per child
pink erasers----we have 90

We also need some of these items but not 200. However many we can get is great!
pencil sharpeners
colored pencils
blunt nosed scissors

Please help us reach our goal! We also need money to help us get this stuff shipped to India.
Thank you to all of those have so generously contributed already.

Make A Difference-Watch This All Way Through

The Difference Between Heaven and Hell

A rabbi was talking with God about Heaven and Hell.
"Come," said God. "Walk with me, and I will show you Hell."
And together they walked into a room of cold, rough stone. In the center of the room, atop a low fire, sat a huge pot of quietly simmering stew. The stew smelled delicious, and made the rabbi's mouth water. A group of people sat in a circle around the pot, and each of them held a curiously long-handled spoon. The spoons were long enough to reach the pot; but the handles were so ungainly that every time someone dipped the bowl of their spoon into the pot and tried to maneuver the bowl to their mouth, the stew would spill. The rabbi could hear the grumblings of their bellies. They were cold, hungry, and miserable.
"And now," God said, "I will show you Heaven."
Together they walked into another room, almost identical to the first. A second pot of stew simmered in the center; another ring of people sat around it; each person was outfitted with one of the frustratingly long spoons. But this time, the people sat with the spoons across their laps or laid on the stone beside them. They talked, quietly and cheerfully with one another. They were warm, well-fed, and happy.
"Lord, I don't understand," said the rabbi. "How was the first room Hell; and this, Heaven?"
God smiled. "It's simple," he said. "You see, they have learned to feed each other."

31 Days of Giving

Here is my new thought for December. Take the 31 days during the month and do something for someone else other than those in your immediate household cuz I know that you do it anyway. Involve your family if you want and make it a daily event for everyone. Discuss it at breakfast or dinner and decide how you are going to make it happen. See if you can go out of your way and out of your comfort zone to give some sort of service EVERY DAY during the month of December. Some of these ideas are simple and some require a little more of you. Here are a few ideas to help you along. Post a comment and let me know how you are doing and if you have noticed a difference.

1. Give a few dollars to the people you see holding signs on the corner.
2. Smile at atleast 10 different people.
3. Wave to people in 10 different cars.
4. Call someone just to check on them.
5. Write a thank you note to someone.
6. Clean out your closets and toy boxes and give the items to someone who could use them.
7. Doorbell ditch BUT leave treats.
8. Take some cans of food to a food pantry.
9. Go Christmas Caroling
10. Start the 12 Days of Christmas for someone. (this could be 12 days of the 31!)
11. Take your neighbors Christmas treats or gifts.
12. Shovel someone's walk or rake someone's leaves.
13. Say thank you to every person who does even the smallest thing for you.
14. Leave a tip for your garbage collector.
15. Purchase a book for your child's teacher or for your library.
16. Make a quilt and donate it.
17. Gather your surplus blankets or coats and donate them.
18. Work at a soup kitchen.
19. Make some sack lunches for the homeless.
20. Pay for the person behind you in line at the convenience store, donut shop or fast food restaurant.
21. Visit a care center.
22. Make decorations for a care center.
23. Babysit for someone.
24. Pick up trash around your neighborhood.
25. Put away someone's garbage cans.
26. Take someone to lunch.
27. Donate to the Toys for Tots
28. Pray for someone specifically.
29. Take a flower or small gift to someone just because.
30. Substitute for a Primary teacher.
31. Send a thank you/Christmas card to your family doctor, your hairdresser, your mailman etc.
32. Give up your parking spot to someone.
33. Let someone go ahead of you in a checkout line.
34. Spend time with someone letting them talk.
35. Hold the door for someone.
36. Make extra for dinner and take it to someone.
37. Pass along some magazines you've already read.
38. Send out a letter/Christmas card to a missionary or soldier.
39. Invite someone to a holiday dinner.
40. Put your loose change in the Salvation Army bucket.
41. Teach someone something.
42. Read to a child.
43. Clean your church building.
44. Give someone the benefit of the doubt.
45. Help someone with their groceries.
46. Watch over someone's house while they are away.
47. Forgive someone.
48. Tell someone you are sorry.
49. Participate in the Angel Tree
50. Make humanitarian kits, newborn kits or school kits.
51. Spend one day or one hour pondering how the Savior would serve then try to do.
52. Ask the Lord to tell you where He needs you to serve today.

OK that is 52 ideas and I know that there are lots of other things you can do. Don't forget to comment!

Give Said the Little Stream

This blog is dedicated to serving others. I will post ideas-some of my own and others that I come across. Stories and quotes will be posted as well. If you would like to submit an idea, a story, a quote I am open to other authors contributing. Just let me know. Please leave comments or feedback telling how your service is going, how you are feeling about it and how it is changing your life and the lives of others.

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed
a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean.
The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?
You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish,
and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…”
I made a difference for that one.”

We can make a difference!