Secret Santa

Hubby and I spend a lot of our time listening to Dave Ramsey. We actually refer to him as Uncle Dave since he gives advice that a family member would.

If you aren't familiar with him you must go to his website and see if there is a radio station near you that plays his radio show. If there isn't you should download his podcasts. Or check out his books from the library.

Dave Ramsey gives the best and most practical advice on money. He is a good Christian who really helps people, even those who know or think they know a lot about how to handle money, to truly change their lives for the better. He's a ROCKSTAR!

During a recent program he was discussing Secret Santas- millionares and billionares from around the country who go out at Christmas time and hand out money to those who are in need, but who keep their identities secret. The stories were amazing and brought tears to my eyes.

Uncle Dave discussed how anyone can be a Secret Santa like these people. This triggered a great conversation between hubby and I about St. Nicholas of Bari, the REAL Santa. St. Nicholas did what these "secret santas" do. He gave to the people who truly needed help.

Not that there is anything wrong with giving gifts to friends and family, but when you think about it that aspect of gift giving seems kind of silly. The people we love know we love them with or with out our gifts and usually don't NEED the things we give them. The people who need gifts are those who need to be reminded that God loves them and is providing for their earthly needs via us, the body of Christ! What better way to celebrate the life of Christ then to spend at least His birthday working with those who are rejected, suffering or just lonely?

My family used to go and sing Christmas carols at our local nursing home and then visit with the people who didn't have any family to visit. Paul has been trying to see if we can find a kitchen to help out at this year (if we can find somewhere to park our rig since we have to work on Christmas day!). There are so many other amazing things that we could do. Even just buying someone a meal. Something, anything! I pray that I have the wisdom to recognize the opportunities in my life to show Christ to others. We really hope to create a family tradition of service when we have children.

Thanks for the reminder Uncle Dave!