Why is it that my little 3 year old looks so mature in the photos that are taken of her?
Can you tell that she was absolutely thrilled to have had her photo taken? 😉

Late yesterday morning, my husband and I decided that we should go through our closets, take out the blankets, jackets, scarves, etc that we don’t use and donate it all to a homeless shelter. What an amazing idea! I absolutely love giving this time of year. I love giving at any time of the year, but I feel like giving around the holidays is extra special and I feel so grateful that my family and I are able to bless those who have nothing during the holiday season.

As I was going through the blankets I explained to Amaura what we were doing and why. I told her that there are children and grownups who don’t have a home and that they have to sleep  on the cold ground outside. I explained to her that because we have plenty of blankets and warm things that we were going to give them to the people who don’t have anything to help them stay warm.
Her face lit up and I can tell that she felt so special that she would be able to help out the homeless. We went to Amaura’s closet and I let her pick out a jacket that she wanted to give to the shelter. She picked out her pink winter coat from last year and gladly put it in the bin of donations.

After we got everything together and organized into the bin, we were off to find a homeless shelter to gladly donate to. It was a fun and joyous ride around town, looking for a place to give to while listening to Christmas carols.
When we got to the second homeless shelter, my husband got out of the car before me and the girls did because he needed to make sure that they excepted donations before we took everything out of the trunk.
Outside there was a large group of men standing and hovering around the picnic table in the front of the shelter. Ed (my husband) was taking awhile to come back to the car to give us the 411 and so I glanced out the window and saw that he was on his phone standing over a man that was laying on the picnic table. When my husband got back to the car he informed me that he had to call the ambulance because the elder man that was laying on the table was having a heart attack… My heart shatter into a million pieces… It breaks my heart that there is so much homelessness and poverty in the world that leads to illnesses and disease. The ambulance got to the homeless shelter in a hurry and took the elder man to the hospital. I’ve been praying that the Lord will touch that man with His healing hands and that the man is OK.

After we dropped off our donations at the shelter, I talked with Amaura a little bit more about the gift of giving. I told her that because she donated her pink winter coat that another little girl who is her age would be nice and warm during this cold winter season. How amazing that my little girl was able to bless someone else by giving!
I love that I am able to teach my children about the gift of giving and how important it is to give to the needy. I believe that, that is a valuable lesson to learn and I hope and pray that my children will forever remember what their daddy and I teach them and that they will be willing to give up things they don’t need for the needy.
I hope and pray that our donations from yesterday are able to bless multiple people that go to that homeless shelter for help. ❤

Deuteronomy 15:10
Give freely to the poor person. Do not wish that you didn’t have to give. The Lord your God will bless your work and everything you touch.

Deuteronomy 16:17
All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the Lord your God.