Year: 2013 (Page 4 of 37)

Mommy’s First Christmas

December 4, 2013 / Michele Minehart

I realize my oldest turned 5, but in many ways this seems to be my first Christmas playing the mother role. We’ve celebrated each year, but in effort not to set expectations too high from the start – coupled with a consistent lack of money and generous grandparents – we’ve kept our Christmas morning family celebrations on the simple side. We’ve wrapped a few presents, filled stockings and rallied excitement, but generally I was able to complete “Christmas shopping” for the kids in one fell swoop.

The day after Thanksgiving, it became apparent that a key change happened with the 5th birthday, leaving me to change my tune. When JJ told the kids we were going to pick out the Christmas tree, H boy bubbled over in excitement. At one point I heard him exclaim, “I love Christmas! All the lights! All the presents!”

Not only did I marry Clark Griswald, but I’ve produced his offspring.

Christmas tree selection. We’re not allowed to find it in the first row.

While it’s not his “first Christmas” this is the first one that the boy can really remember the last one. The years prior he expressed a lot of excitement in the moment, but this was the first time he began to recollect his favorite elements: the train around the bottom of the tree, the lights, and leaving a treat for Santa. Before he did this because we told him to. Now he’s excited by his own volition.

Now we’re not going through the Christmas motions to set the tone. It’s opening night. Suddenly I’m figuring out exactly how many gifts each kid should have and – as my sister pointed out – including the baby or Santa will look like a jerk. I’m not able to toss a few stocking stuffers in the cart while the kids are along because they have memories like elephants and there would be no stashing it away.

This marks my first year playing Santa for real. In the past we’ve let the extended family gatherings suffice for gifts but now we’re building our own traditions. We’re living as our own unit in a new way because now the kids are remembering “this is what we do at Christmas.” Which brings along its own set of stresses and considerations because I want to do it right – I want to emphasize the real reason for the season and encourage the giving aspect, not just the getting.

So, here’s to it. What an adventure.

On Giving: What you should know, from one who is asking you to give

December 3, 2013 / Michele Minehart

As I mentioned, I’ve asked several individuals to share their thoughts on holiday giving from a variety of perspectives. Today’s dose comes from a wise woman, one whom I always enjoy valuable conversation. She walks her talk, both at the organizational and individual level. As she said, she gives to charity. But there was a time when we were talking parenting books and the next week an Amazon shipment arrived, simply because she thought I would enjoy it. That’s the kind of generous nature I aspire to have. If you like what Erin has to say, consider a gift to her current job, the Red Cross.

***

I’ve had the privilege of working for 3 very different non-profits at all levels of giving over the course of my 13 year career in philanthropy. I have given to each while I worked there and sometimes I continue to give what I can after I’m gone. I’m moved by the mission or I wouldn’t work here but I also think that when I am asking others to support my cause that it is important for me to put my money where my mouth is.

The holidays tend to put a special spot light on philanthropy. Some of us spend more time thinking of others or thinking about how grateful we are for what we have and want to share our wealth. Others see the tax man coming and make some gifts to offset some of that pesky taxable income. Some people write a check every time they get one of those lovely direct mail pieces with free return address labels (and those people are the reason you get solicited so often..we’re playing the odds around here), and some people give when they see a crisis in the news that is so horrible they have to do something (anything) to help. Others know they were given a hand up and now they want to pay forward.

What I’ve come to learn is that no matter what you choose to support, what your motivation might be, and no matter how much you are able to give, it all makes a difference. A large gift to Ohio State can endow a scholarship and create access to education in perpetuity but $10 to Red Cross can buy a blanket to keep someone warm when they have just lost everything. Both of those things are important and they both require the same thing: The desire to make someone else’s life a little better and a little easier.

Today is Giving Tuesday. For lack of a better explanation this is the non-profit world’s answer to Black Friday. It is a day when we highlight the good that non-profits do in our communities in the hopes that it will encourage you to consider giving a little something to make someone else’s life a little easier.

If you’ve never made a gift before, think about some way that someone has helped you in the past and do a quick google search to see who is doing that for others on a bigger scale. Look around your community and see what moves you. Community gardens, feeding the hungry, early childhood education…. If there’s a need, there’s a non-profit for it!

I’ve always felt confident in my giving because I’ve worked for outstanding organizations that are doing good work every day and I get to see it first-hand but if you want to spend a little time doing your own research there are resources to help you determine if the charity you choose will be a good steward of your money. One well known resource is www.guidestar.com and another is Charity Navigator. Or ask your friends and neighbors for recommendations.

Non-profits exist to bring people together to find solutions for complex problems. Our power to change is much better when harnessed with that of like-minded people and I think our world is better for non-profits and the work they facilitate. Take a minute today to check out the difference non-profits are making in your community. You never know where your giving spirit might lead!

A sticky, drippy mess

December 1, 2013 / Michele Minehart

Though I’ve been a part of many communion services, I’ve never served as a communion steward during a normal worship experience. No real reason – it just wasn’t something I sought out. I tend to jive with symbolism better on paper, but the experience and ritual of it gets lost on me. Honestly, it’s always been just as powerful to me to reflect on communion and what it means as to actually eat and drink the elements.

This morning I was asked if I would be willing to sub as a communion servant. I was not prepared for how meaningful it would be to serve the cup to others.

Some people came and waited to be served. Others dove right in so as not to slow the line. One boy, clearly his first experience, decided to drop a crumb of bread into the cup instead of the intinction practice. I nearly cried when I offered it to JJ and my friend Jen, stuttering out the phrase “The blood of Christ, shed for you.” (Sidenote: I can’t believe I’ve been married to a man nearly 8 years and not had the occasion to serve him communion. We’ve shared communion together frequently, but I’ve never served it.)

I noticed how many drips our method of communion tended to scatter upon my hands. No one wants to get any Jesus on the carpet, so after the dip, a person either flung it into their mouth quickly or tried to get it over a cupped hand.

In the end, my hands were wet and sticky with a reddish-purple tint. Clearly, we cannot serve our family, friends and even strangers without being willing to get our hands dirty. If we’re going to bring them Christ, we’re going to get a little Jesus on ourselves as well. We can’t offer life poured out and expect a nice, neat, tidy process. Rather, it’s going to seep into the cracks and maybe even sting a little.

Make [the bread and wine] be for us the body and blood of Christ,that we may be for the world the body of Christ.

Year: 2013 (Page 4 of 37)

Mommy’s First Christmas

On Giving: What you should know, from one who is asking you to give

A sticky, drippy mess

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