Can You Spare Some Change?

Wish lists, letters to Santa, presents, parties, so many people say that Christmas has become so commercial these days. I agree, but what I think is more problematic is that Christmas has become about “I.” I want-fill in the blank- for Christmas. For years Black Friday sales have been turning Christmas commercial but in the last couple years I’ve seen and heard Black Friday ads with “one for you, one for me” or even “one for you, two for me” lines. It’s one thing for Christmas to be commercialized and turned into a holiday of toys and gifts. That’s not the reason for the season, but at least it’s in the spirit of giving.  It’s a whole different thing to turn Christmas into yet another time to over indulge ourselves! As you know, I was in Greece last week. With the economic devastation that has hit that country I saw more people in extreme poverty than usual on the city streets. You see it here too in our major cities, people with their hands out for change, destitute, hungry and hopeless. Most people just walk by unaffected. Some people claim it’s because they don’t trust the person’s motives or intentions with the money. So take an extra step and buy them a sandwich, or some fruit. If you don’t have the time, give them your change. Your responsibility lies not in what they do with it, but in doing your best to take care of those less fortunate. There are so many people in need right here among us and around the world. Let’s take some time this year to consider how instead of following the trend of being unusually self centered, we can break the mold by being uncommonly thoughtful by blessing people without asking for anything in return.

Here’s a list I came up with in case you needed some ideas of how to be a “one way” blessing.

•  Pick up someone’s grocery bill/check at a restaurant. Believe it or not, this used to be a lot more common of a practice not too very long ago. If you see a mom struggling to reign in her children in the checkout line, or a young married couple at a restaurant and you have the means, by all means, foot the bill. It’s an excellent way to bless your neighbor without asking for a return.
• Wear the same thing twice! What do I mean? I mean, wear the same outfit this Christmas that you wore last Christmas. Did you know that with around 50 dollars or less you can supply people in developing countries enough chickens to lay eggs for them and their family. Imagine being the reason that an entire family doesn’t have to worry about finding food for years, just because you wore the same thing twice!
• Know someone who is out of a job? Buy their Christmas dinner! You know a Christmas dinner can be expensive. Sending a grocery gift card this time of year can be a huge blessing.
• Sign up for monthly giving. Find a charity that you like and make a sacrifice for it. You won’t be spending any extra money if you choose to make your coffee at home instead of stopping for a latte and then donate the difference to a charity of your choice. You’d be surprised that by simply making your own coffee you can save around 30 dollars a month! Most non-profits give you the choice to sign up for a monthly donation, so why not give them your daily latte?
• Toy drives are everywhere this time of year. If you’re picking up a super cool toy for your child why not pick up an extra for a child less fortunate. A lot of those toys go to children in foster care or whose parents are in jail. By dropping off some toys at a toy drive or fulfilling the wish of an “Angel Tree” child you’re making someone’s Christmas, well, Christmas.
• If you don’t have the means to do any of these things, don’t worry. You don’t have to miss out on being a blessing. Work with someone who takes the bus? Offer to give them a ride. Know someone who is going through tough times? Have them over for tea and a talk.

The holiday season isn’t the only time to be  generous with our time and resources, but it is for most of us a time of joy, giving and getting. So why not spread that around to everyone? You never know what kind of chain reaction you’ll start by simply offering an act of kindness and generosity.

Holiday Healthy

From what I’ve heard, the holiday season is a time when most people worry about blowing their diet. The month of December is full of holiday parties for work, friends and family that generally involve rich and often incredibly unhealthy foods. We all have at the very least one meal or party to got to that we know will not offer a “diet” option on the menu. So, how do you avoid gaining weight and risking sickness this time of year? I’d like to say “Easy!” but truthfully it will take a little effort on your part. There are some tips I’d like to share with you for how to maintain your healthy lifestyle during this glorious, but often unhealthy time of year.

• Breakfast! While you might have a dinner party to go to every week, it’s very unlikely that you have a breakfast party planned. Pay closer than usual attention to what you eat for breakfast and make every calorie count. What do I mean by making your calories count? Simply this: make sure you’re getting plenty of vitamins, fiber and healthy protein out of your most important meal of the day. Grains, fruit and raw nuts or eggs are the way to go. You’ll feel full longer, making the cookies in the break room much easier to pass up. You’ll also be getting the materials needed to help break down the rich foods you might be eating later in the day or week. And you’ll be stocking up on vitamins that you might not get from dinner.
• Snack throughout the day! Eating raw fruit, vegetables, beans and nuts throughout the day in small servings is a great way to keep your metabolism in high gear as well as keeping yourself full with healthy, nutritious foods!
• Exercise a little extra. If you have holiday shopping to do, don’t drive around the mall parking lot looking for a close space. Park way, way out there! Get extra steps in wherever you can. I always say take the stairs, but really, TAKE THE STAIRS!!! A flight or three of stairs with a bunch of packages is great cardio. If you typically work out three times a week, up it to four. You may feel pressed for time, but that hustle and bustle feeling is one of the greatest parts of the season!
• Eat before you go! Fill up on celery or raw spinach and almonds before you host or head to your gathering. I can’t stress this enough! If you’re going somewhere food is involve, don’t go super hungry! If you snack on the food served at least you won’t be counteracting all your hard work!
• If you have options, eat what you know! Find the foods that you know have the most nutritional value and shy away from the foods that you know are empty calories, or worse filled with chemicals. For instance: Eggnog or apple cider? Apple cider. Hot wings or celery? Celery. Pretzels or Crudite? Cru dite. And when it comes time for dessert, eat half! I’m not an advocate of wasting food, but in the case of dessert I don’t think it’s wrong to waste a little.

I don’t want to be a party pooper, but I also don’t want you to feel anxiety over any aspect of this beautiful time of year! I want you to know that all is not lost if you eat that chicken cordon bleu and mashed potatoes. No one puts holiday pounds on their wishlist, but just like socks and underwear, many people get them. Don’t sweat it (or do sweat it on those stairs.) You now have the tools to avoid those unwanted gifts. The pounds, that is. I’m afraid I don’t have any tips on the socks or underwear.

Now and Throughout The Whole Year

What should you give your friends and family for Christmas?  Give Christmas away.  Promote joy, love and kindness; have mercy and forgiveness in your heart.  You need not give anything for Christmas, but be right in your heart.

‘Tis the day before the day before Christmas and I was up late into the night thinking of how to promote the spirit of the season.

Oh and then it came to me!  Why don’t we tie a red ribbon around our wrists, if you celebrate Hanukkah tie a blue ribbon around your wrist.  In fact folks the color of the ribbon is not significant, what is significant is the meaning behind the ribbon.  What is this ribbon meant to signify?  We tend to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in large groups of friends and family.  There should be only joy, love and peace on these days.  Unfortunately there is some negativity that creeps in somehow.  Therefore I propose the following:  tie a ribbon around your wrist, if you can, tie a ribbon around your friends and family (I mean their wrists of course silly).  Make sure that you wear your ribbon.

• The ribbon will remind you to have love, faith and hope in your heart, not only at Christmas but throughout the whole year.
• The ribbon will remind you to say a kind word and give a compliment to every single person you come across, now and throughout the whole year.
• The ribbon will remind you to immediately stop yourself from any negative thoughts, now and throughout the whole year.
• The ribbon will remind you to immediately stop yourself from making any negative comments to anyone, now and throughout the whole year.
• The ribbon will remind you that if anyone should be cruel to you you will turn the other cheek, pray for them, now and throughout the whole year.
• The ribbon will remind you not to engage in any gossip, now and throughout the whole year.
• The ribbon will remind you that even if you are tired to help your friends and family as much as your body can muster, now and throughout the whole year.
• The ribbon will remind you to keep the Christmas spirit, now and throughout the whole year.

The ribbon may seem a bit silly to some of you my friends, but a beautiful ribbon tied to your wrist may be all that we need to keep love in our hearts.  We are all only human and we can be naughty at times, but maybe a glance at that simple ribbon will remind you, your friends and your family to promote only love and kindness to those people around you now and throughout the whole year.

Psalms 1:103-8  The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

Hanukkah or Christmas, Gifts From The Heart

Today is the second day of Hanukkah, Happy Hanukkah to all the people around the world who celebrate Hanukkah.  Thousands of years ago it was gelt that was given to children as part of Hanukkah.  These days it is not only children who receive gifts but adults as well.

“As per the Talmud, Hanukkah gelt reminds people to light at least one candle per night during the festival.  The widespread gelt tradition made it possible for the poor to get enough money to burn their candles during Hanukkah. There are symbolic associations with the gelt-giving tradition followed on Hanukkah.  The coin given as gelt stands for freedom of the Jews from the Syrian rule. After the historic victory of Jews, they were able to get the right to print their own coins and money.  The gelt reminds people of this freedom. The money also serves as the reminder to the people to share with people in need and indulge in acts of charity.

The only tradition of gift giving associated with the festival is the exchange of gelt.  Since Hanukkah falls on the same time as Christmas, the Jews expanded the gelt-giving tradition to gift giving tradition.  With time, the gift giving tradition on Hanukkah became very popular.  Gifts serve both for the traditional aspect and the fun part.  The gift-giving tradition is no longer restricted to children.  Adults too participate in it whole-heartedly.  This tradition brings people close to each other and enables them to spend precious moments with each other.”

Since gift giving is such a huge part of Christmas and Hanukkah these days, I would like to propose to all of you, that in your efforts to give gifts to each other you really try very hard to give a gift from the heart.  Whether you celebrate Hanukkah or Christmas this time of year, whether you are giving to a child or an adult; for goodness sake, take the time to make it a well thought out gift.  Get organized, make a list of everyone you would like to give a gift to.  As you are compiling the list think of each individual and what their likes and interests are.   Whenever possible folks, give money or a gift card only as a last resort.

This is a very special time of year, whether you celebrate Hanukkah or Christmas, people are giving gifts this week, why not this year make those gifts from the heart?  Here are some suggestions of gifts you can give.  This is difficult so you have to sit and think about the individual you are giving to.  Which is why it is so special when you give from the heart.  The person that receives that gift understands that a lot of thought went into it.

• Why not offer to babysit your friends’ children for the weekend so they can go away?
• Chocolate lovers, in a basket place various types of good quality dark chocolate.
• Coffee lovers, in a basket place various bags of high quality coffee beans and perhaps a coffee grinder.
• For the snackers in your life, make a huge bowl of trail mix (nuts, dark chocolate, dried fruit, unsweetened coconut and seeds).  Place it into cute plastic bags and tie ribbons around.
• For the cook, how about a basket containing a cookbook, cooking utensils, extra virgin olive oil and some great spices.
• For the man who likes to grill, why not a chef’s jacket to protect his clothing and large grilling utensils?
• For your child, this works for any age, give them a card with a weekly appointment for just the two of you.  Make it a lunch date or a play date (this is great for you workaholics out there).

In an effort to refrain from a blog entirely way too long to read, I will simply say think about who you are giving a gift to, think about the talents you may have.  Consider making home made gifts, offering to iron or sew with a friend, offer to help decorate if that is your forte, home made jams and jellies, home made marinades, home made salad dressings.  In closing, do not give a gift just to give a gift.  Give a gift with love and caring and it will truly put a smile on the recipient’s face.

My Christmas Gift to You

It’s almost Christmas!  In fact just 12 days away and it shall be Christmas.  It has indeed become very important to me to give my family and friends gifts from the heart.  No I don’t roam the streets looking for great buys so that I can check names off my list.  I really do mean that I think of gifts that I can make by hand or just a little something I can create with my imagination.

One very serious issue that I’ve come to know very well in this past year is that there are a great many people out there in need of good health.  There are many people who would thrive with the right health coaching, training and education.

My friends, listen up and listen well.  You may be able to spend a lot or a little but you won’t truly understand the joy of giving until you give from your heart.  Therefore here’s my gift to you.  I will make a promise to you that if you know of anyone who is terribly ill or in dire need of good health information and simply cannot afford our program my Christmas gift to them will be a complimentary account.  It is my Christmas wish for 2011 that each and every individual suffering from chronic disease get on the road to good health in 2012.  And if you really, truly cannot afford to do so well gosh darn it, Santa Claus will be happy to oblige.