Jars+Family=Christmas Miracle

I think that some of you guys may recall the Christmas Jar service activity the extended Bradshaw family participated in a few years back. Each individual family kept a jar in their home for a whole year and collected spare change. Right before Christmas we delivered the jars to a family in need. It was a wonderful experience to know that the small sacrifice we made had a large influence on a family who needed some extra support. Not only does the money help financially in providing a Christmas, but it also reminds people of what Christmas really is for. It provides them with feelings of love and gratitude. It was truly a blessing to be a part of this and it had a profound impact on me.

This year I decided that since I wasn't living at home and with my own family that it would be a good idea to do something similar with my Family Home evening Group here at school. It just so happens that I have the best husband and family EVER. This whole year we have really enjoyed spending time together and have had great success in getting most everyone to attend and bond with others. As the mother I headed up the Christmas jar service project. I did, however, have tremendous support from my husband and children :) We had small jars for each apartment in our group and for three weeks they left it on their counter to collect change. We found the good cause through Mom who had told me about a little girl in one of her classes that had had some recent trauma in her family. They were suffering financially. She was one of seven children under the age of 12.

When Adam(the husband) and I went and collected them on Sunday we were SHOCKED to find that there was $134.00 total!! It took a while to count but every second was a treat as each came from someone sacrificing just small change for such a good cause. We got a list of ideas for presents and hit up the nearest Wal-mart! We took several members of the family that were able to come (it's a busy time of year... finals) We ended up buying so much stuff! Get ready it's a long list: Diapers, teething rings, hotwheels cars, memory, baby doll, polly pockets, basketball, football, sled, Sorry!, Uno, Candyland, some books, crayons, puzzles, coloring books amongst several others!! We went over our budget a little bit but we got everything on our list and more! We came right home and wrapped them all up! It took a lot of time and effort from everyone in our group to accomplish what we did. I can't wait to deliver these presents to the cute family. I am still amazed at what a small group of people can do when they have a goal and a little determination.

I have truly enjoyed being a part of such a wonderful experience. It has been a pleasure to work with this group. I am grateful for this time of year and the opportunity it gives us to serve and remember Christ. Merry Christmas!!

Special shout out to Adam Porter and the best family ever!!

These are our jars full of coins after we counted and sorted!!

Out family at Wal-mart. We were going to take a second with me in the picture but an associate kindly warned us that pictures weren't allowed to be taken inside the store. Darn.This is part of the stack of wrapped presents. It's hard to tell how many there are because they are piled. But take my word for it. There was tons.

I have no idea how this picture got on or how to remove it... just ignore.