Unless you never leave your home, you’re keenly aware that the holiday season has returned to us again. We’ve not yet had Thanksgiving, but Wal-Mart has their Christmas ornaments on display and Kirkland’s is enticing shoppers with several themed lines of Christmas home décor.

Rather than letting the commercialism of Christmas frustrate me, I try to seize the opportunity. Christmas belongs to us as believers in Christ. Let’s celebrate it wholeheartedly! Let’s use the opportunity as an extra excuse to bless those around us. Let’s share what the origins of this beautiful season mean to us. Let’s create special memories for our children. But to rightly honor the season without getting carried away by the frenzy that it can become, I’d like to suggest we take a pause.

Before we start planning holiday menus or checking out Black Friday ads, before we make that costume for the school Christmas program or begin gathering gifts, let’s set our hearts on God’s agenda.

Now, please hear me. I’m not saying don’t do those things. I’m actually encouraging you to toast the season with zeal! I’m just recommending that we first commit ourselves to carry out our festivities for holy reasons.

Would you be willing to dedicate your Christmas season to the One who came to the manger? Would you pledge to make Him the motivation for the hot chocolate you serve the carolers and the wreath you make for your neighbor?

If so, I’d like to suggest that you open your holiday season with an act that signifies that commitment. Let your first deed celebrating the nativity be one of selflessness.

Of course, there are countless opportunities to do that, but I’d like to request you consider providing a gift for an orphan.

For just $30, you can bring the joy of Christmas to an orphan who, otherwise, would not receive a gift on Christmas morning. Not only will you provide a material gift, but you will also assure that he hears the reason behind the gift—the coming of God to man in order to rescue him.

This is your opportunity to begin your Christmas festivities on the right foot. It is your opportunity to remind a child who needs desperately to feel noticed and loved that she is. It is your opportunity to share the blessings you’ve been given in the name of the One who gave them.

If you’re ready to make a selfless act, signifying your commitment to keeping Christ at the center of your celebrations, simply go to www.boazproject.org/OGB and make your donation today.

All season long, you’ll be so glad you did!

Believing in Christmas miracles,

April

P.S. We’re currently almost 20% of the way to the funds we need in order to provide a gift to each child we serve. You can watch the progress at www.boazproject.org/ogb

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