Bag of Blessings

I really loved Kristen's post about the Reason for the Season. Jesus is truly the reason that we celebrate Christmas whether you believe it or not, it's true. Kyle and I give and serve others on a regular basis throughout the year but we definitely have a giving spirit at Christmas time! When you meet people's needs at the most basic level, it really opens up the door for you to share the Gospel with them. People want to see that you truly care about them, that you're not just "doing your religious duty" or trying to work your way to heaven. Which we know you can't work your way to heaven anyway ("Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us." Titus 3:5a and "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:9-10) Our goal is for people to see that we love them because God loves them and we want them to spend eternity in heaven with God and us! "We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19.

So..... this is why I absolutely LOVE what our church is doing this year. We are combining local missions with foreign missions. Our Pastors have asked each family at our church to make a "Bag of Blessings." They handed out white cloth bags to every family and asked us to decorate it and fill it with essential goodies for the homeless people living in downtown Raleigh. Once they collect all the bags, they will take them downtown and distribute them. I'm thrilled about this because it's so practical. We get to decorate the bags with a message to the individual who receives it. We get to see exactly where our money is going and who gets to benefit from it. We get to fill it with whatever we want!!! The person can reuse the bag and use it to carry their belongings! This is my cup of tea right here, people!!! This is it!!

Then, on the assigned date we are to bring our bags back to church and with the bag we will include our donation for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering which goes to support foreign missions. It's really a great picture of what the church is here for: spreading the Gospel by helping people down the street and across the globe. I'm praising God for giving us Pastors who see this and believe this and encourage us in doing this!!!

Here is our bag of blessings. We are praying for the individual who receives this bag, that they may know God's love for them and receive his free gift of salvation.

We included: winter items like a blanket, hat and gloves, a Bible, food, water and hygiene items.