Wow–I didn’t expect I’d neglect my blog or anything else for so long, but the morning sickness has really taken a toll. Thankfully, things are slowly getting consistently better. Food actually tastes like food and I am feeling like I can start doing things I love again. I’ve missed cooking, and what with my dairy sensitivity (and baby’s complete insistence that if I eat it life becomes miserable for about 36 hours), my options of prepared food are rather limited. Being able to make a simple pasta is a joy I will not soon take for granted.
In the middle of all of my starting to feel better, I’ve started thinking about Operation Christmas Child. We’re lucky in Denver to have a processing center for all of the boxes. Nathan and I have done this a few years since before we started dating. I can’t begin to relate how moving it is to see all of the sweet gifts people take the time to make and put together for children they will never meet. That it’s all done in the name of God’s tremendous love for them is pretty life-changing. It’s especially amazing when you see a little kid who has put together a box and written a little note about how much Jesus loves the boy or girl getting the box. I hate the commerciality in Christmas in this country–and the sense of entitlement and spend spend spend that goes with that. When you read stories about a kid in the Phillipines whose life was changed ENTIRELY because she had a few pencils that she received in her little shoebox gift, it kind of smacks you upside the head and makes you reevaluate a few (okay a lot) of things. So this year, Nathan and I have committed to putting together boxes for OCC with some friends. I’m super excited about it. I want to put something handmade in all the boxes we got, so I imagine I’ll be posting some pics of the goods.
Like this lady who has been knitting little caps for her boxes–this is #370!
So make some stuff, get some friends and family together and pack some boxes for all these precious children. I love that gifts are two-way in God’s economy–it’s hard to know whose life will be changed more through this little gift–yours or the child receiving it.
We’ve been doing Operation Christmas Child for several years. This year my dd’s Keepers at Home group is doing it together. Theyll make cookies and eat pizza and put boxes together. Sounds fun!
Glad to see you blogging again and that you’re feeling better.
My daughter’s preschool sends two boxes per class.
I’m glad to hear that you’re feeling better – I used to just get a specific vision of what I thought I could stomach without feeling sick, then would race to cook it before it passed and I’d be nauseous again… and people ask why we only have two kids…
I love those pencil cases! As my mom (momawake) mentioned above, we are doing it for my Keepers at Home group…we are having a OCC get-to-gether tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it. What a great idea to do handmade things…I never even thought about that!
~ Amy @ http://solomon21.blogspot.com ~
Whoops, I guess I commented on the wrong post! I meant to comment on the “pencil bags” post!