Christmas is Over, But the Spirit of Giving doesn't Have to Be

Christmas time is when everyone thinks about giving gifts to others. Then we laugh and joke and marketers have termed the week after Christmas as the time to return what you didn’t want and buy what you really wanted. But giving doesn’t have to be just gifts and it doesn’t have to stop on Christmas Day. Continue reading to see how to let the spirit of giving last all year.

Photo by Caley Dimmock on Unsplash

One of my favorite Christmas songs is “Don’t Save it all for Christmas Day” by Celine Dion. You can listen here, but here are the lyrics:

Don’t get so busy that you miss
Giving just a little kiss
To the ones you love
Don’t even wait a little while
To give them just a little smile
A little is enough

How many people are crying
People are dying
How many people are asking for love

So don’t save it all for Christmas Day
Find a way
To give a little love everyday
Don’t save it all for Christmas Day
Find your way
‘Cause holidays have come and gone
But love lives on
If you give on
Love

How could you wait another minute
A hug is warmer when you’re in it
And baby that’s a fact
And saying I love you’s always better
Seasons, reasons, they don’t matter
So don’t hold back

How many people in this world
So needful in this world
How many people are praying for love

Let all the children know
Everywhere that they go
Their whole life long
Let them know love

Don’t save it all for Christmas Day
Find your way
To give a little love everyday
Don’t save it all for Christmas Day, hey hey
Find your way
Everyone, everyone, don’t save it all for Christmas Day
Find your way
‘Cause holidays have come and gone
But love lives on
If you give on
Love

Songwriters: Celine Dion / Ric Wake / Peter Zizzo

Don’t Save It All for Christmas Day lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.,

Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management

“Love lives on if you give on.” That last line sums it up pretty well. I’ve been reading Ann Voskamp’s devotional The Way of Abundance this past month and she talks a lot about how “Love is givenness.” Let me see if I can summarize from her:

“Love is a verb, and that verb is give. Love gives.

… ‘For God so loved the world that he gave…‘

….There is no other way to express love apart from givenness.

The essence of love is living given…..

Love always reaches out.

….love gives thanks and love lives given.”

-Ann Voskamp

(Seriously, just buy the book and read the whole thing! It’s so worth it!)

Photo by Brigitte Tohm on Unsplash

So how should we live the other 11 months of the year?

Should we give gifts to our friends and family all year long? We all know that’s not it, although if your family member or friend’s love language is gift giving, then you might consider giving them something occasionally! Living given is about giving ourselves, our time, our service, our presence, our hearts. Denying ourselves and seeking to do what’s good for those around us.

That means being present with our husband and our children or whomever we’re with. That means reaching out to those who may not seem to fit in. That means opening your home to spend time with people and build relationships with others. That may mean taking a meal to someone who is struggling with time or finances. That means talking to people enough that you know if they are struggling in the first place. Not just the “Hi how are ya’s.” That mean giving someone your car. That mean giving a homeless man a meal. That may mean going half-way around the globe to love on children. That mean bring a child from half-way around the globe to live in your home. That may mean opening up your home to care for children that are in and out of the foster care system. That may mean driving your elderly parent or neighbor to and from doctor appointments.

Ephesians 5:15 says, “Be careful, then, how you live-not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Be intentional, plan things you know you can do for others, and be alert for random opportunities.

Ask God to open your eyes to the opportunities around you to give and to love. Ask Him to open your eyes to those around you that are thirsty for love. There are so many …like Celine’s song says.. “How many people are crying, people are dying, how many people are asking for love…” There are so many people starved for love who need to see the love of Jesus in us.

So think about, pray about, and decide who God is placing on your heart to love on. How is he asking you to give of yourself? How can you live given this year? Let me know in the comments below!

Blessings,

P.S. This article and blog may contain affiliate links, which just means that when you click on and purchase through one of my links, you’re helping support our family and my ability to stay at home with my children and write. Thank you so much for stopping by!

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

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Christmas is Over, But the Spirit of Giving doesn’t Have to Be

So how should we live the other 11 months of the year?

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