Shine Your Christmas!

by Mare Ball 

This month on Facebook, I'm posting a daily suggestion for how to look outward and bring a little cheer to someone who might need a boost.  I'm calling it "Shine Your Christmas," because these daily suggestions are designed to elicit some "shine" from your own heart and share it with someone else.

I'm hoping these simple ideas will prompt me (and readers) to realize we have the power to consistently do small things that can brighten someone's day.  I'm also hoping that, in the middle of the holiday chaos, these simple tasks will keep us grounded, keep us (me) connected to the real meaning of Christmas, which is loving one another. 

If you'd like to join in and see the daily posts, click to my Facebook page here: ADVENTURES IN THE BALLPARK - MARE BALL.  If you 'like' the page, you will then see the rest of the December posts (I might be giving away a Cadillac some day, too.  You wouldn't want to miss that.)  Here are a few posts from the first two weeks of December:

1.  Bake some Christmas cookies and give some to a grumpy neighbor or coworker.  (It's easy to give treats to people we love.)  People can't be grumpy when you give them a cookie.

2.  Peruse your bookshelves and put three books in a bag to donate.  Set the bag aside for now.

3.  String popcorn and cranberries to drape in a tree for the birds.  Or just toss a bowl of popcorn into the yard.  Watch for feathered visitors. 

4.  Choose four household items to donate.  Put them in the bag with the books.  Set aside.

5.  Bring up your neighbor's trash cans from the curb.

6.  Select five pieces of clothing to donate.  Put them in the bag with the books and household items.  Take the bag to your local thrift store.  You've just donated a dozen items! (You can see all my donations pictured with my posts.)

7.   Take a stray shopping cart from the parking lot into the grocery store with you when you go in.  The lot guy will appreciate it.

8.  Make some holiday treats for your local fire station.  Those firefighters might save your life someday.

9.  Drop a 5 dollar bill into the little red Salvation Army bucket.  Make Lincoln smile.

10.  Leave a treat and a note of thanks in your mailbox for your mail carrier.

Simple things.  Easy things that don't involve getting up on the roof to string lights, or dragging a Douglas Fir into the house.  But, things that challenge us to look outward and make a move.

As I've been working through December, these small things have quieted my heart and reminded me that the material side of Christmas (though sometimes fun) is not really the point.  All the gifts we give will someday turn to dust.

Action gifts create impressions and memories that just might last forever.  

Hope to see you on Facebook!  ADVENTURES IN THE BALLPARK - MARE BALL

Have a blessed and joyful Christmas!