Gift Ideas For Relational Giving
Here are a few ideas to get your own creative juices flowing.
The gift of time –
Create a fun certificate stating the gift of time you want to give, for example, help with a project around the house or help with errands. Bring coffee, tea of lunch and flowers when you come, be intentional about really connecting while you’re together!
Here are some ideas for spending time together:
• Wrap popcorn, gourmet root-beer and a classic DVD for a movie night with a friend
• Host a Hockey Night in Canada party and make homemade pizza
• Wrap 2 copies of a used classic book to read with a friend
• Bundle up, grab a hot chocolate and take a walk through the Christmas lights in Victoria Park with friends or family
Give creative coupons:
• Babysitting for a worn out sister-in-law, sibling or neighbour
• Yard work for an elderly person in you life
• Massage for that person who has been working a bit too hard lately
• Road trip to go on an out-of-town adventure with your child
• Car maintenance to change the oil in a friend’s car (if you know now)
• House project to help build a shed, clean the garage, closets etc.
Give a certificate for a day together doing something that person is passionate about:
• A new bat and a trip to the batting cages
• A new guitar strap and trip to the guitar center to play guitars together
• A day trip with your cameras for the photographer friend
• A day hike together, you bring the lunch
Things to make with the kids:
• Simple scrapbook with pictures of time with the person you’re giving it to
• A home “published” story, written and illustrated by the kids, the time you spend with the kids creating it is priceless
• A DVD of your life these days for long distance friends and family
Ask yourself: “What can I DO?” And give of yourself!
“What do they like to do?” Make time to do it with them.
A side note:
This isn’t about creating a bunch of new rules to be legalistic about for Christmas. It’s ok to spend some money (in fact sometimes creating something cool can be much more expensive – so be aware of that) don’t create a whole separate set of pressures, worry and guilt by feeling like you can’t spend a dime. Just step out of the consumerism, be thoughtful and enjoy the celebration!
Don’t forget to visit www.rethinkingchristmas.com for ideas from people around the world.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Connection Group Covenant
Connecting with God. Connecting with people. Connecting with the world.
Connection Groups target the second part of our mission- to connect with people. We believe that being in relationships, in the body of Christ, is an essential part of every Christ-followers life.
In the days of the early Church the first Christ followers gathered the first day of the week (Sunday) for worship. In addition, they meet throughout the week, daily in fact, in homes (Acts 2:46; Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15). We believe that being a part of a Connection Group is not something we do in addition to “going to church,” it is essential to “be the church.”
We gather around the following values:
Common Purpose: To become more Christ-like in everything.
Common Place: To become more a part of our community.
Common Possessions: To become more generous in supporting one another.
Therefore,
• We agree to meet for the duration of this semester.
• We will try to make every Group meeting.
• We will discuss the topic/text of worship services.
• We will make worshiping at Connections a priority. If we cannot be at worship we will listen or read the message online.
• We will support our facilitators and hosts and respect their role.
• We will be respecters of persons.
• We will practice confidentiality.
• We will seek to deepen relationships within the group.
• We will play together.
• We will serve together.
When: _________________________________________________
Where: _________________________________________________
Other:
Connection Groups target the second part of our mission- to connect with people. We believe that being in relationships, in the body of Christ, is an essential part of every Christ-followers life.
In the days of the early Church the first Christ followers gathered the first day of the week (Sunday) for worship. In addition, they meet throughout the week, daily in fact, in homes (Acts 2:46; Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15). We believe that being a part of a Connection Group is not something we do in addition to “going to church,” it is essential to “be the church.”
We gather around the following values:
Common Purpose: To become more Christ-like in everything.
Common Place: To become more a part of our community.
Common Possessions: To become more generous in supporting one another.
Therefore,
• We agree to meet for the duration of this semester.
• We will try to make every Group meeting.
• We will discuss the topic/text of worship services.
• We will make worshiping at Connections a priority. If we cannot be at worship we will listen or read the message online.
• We will support our facilitators and hosts and respect their role.
• We will be respecters of persons.
• We will practice confidentiality.
• We will seek to deepen relationships within the group.
• We will play together.
• We will serve together.
When: _________________________________________________
Where: _________________________________________________
Other:
No comments:
Post a Comment