Religious leaders often try to capture the spirit of the holiday season with the gifts they give for Christmas or Hanukkah. USA TODAY’s Nanci Hellmich asked several well-known leaders about what they like to give and receive. Here are some of their responses:
Richard Stearns: President of World Vision, a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization, and author of The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us? The Answer That Changed My Life and Might Just Change the World
My wife Reneé and I have often used the holidays as a time to do the bulk of our charitable giving to our local church and a long list of organizations — from homeless shelters to schools and ministries of various types. Several years ago we involved our five kids. We decided to make a family holiday tradition out of it. We took 3×5 cards, wrote the name of a charity on each one, and laid them out on the coffee table. Each of our kids was given a handful of chips representing a portion of our giving for the year. We discussed each charity, and then we allowed the children to put down their chips on the organization they felt we should give to.
Favorite gift he received:
I remember visiting a village in Ghana where a grateful village gave me a live goat to take home. In a place where goats are incredibly valuable — they had given me their treasure. Of course they didn’t understand I couldn’t take it back home with me on the plane. The goat was donated to another community in Ghana about 100 miles away. But I did take home with me the generosity of those who had so little but who were willing to offer so much.
•Joel Osteen: Senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, the largest church in the U.S., and the author of several best-selling books including Your Best Life Now and his latest, Every Day A Friday: How to Be Happier 7 Days a Week
Great gift to give:
Encouragement to others is something everyone can give. Somebody needs what you have to give. It may not be your money; it may be your time. It may be your listening ear. It may be your arms to encourage. It may be your smile to uplift. Who knows? Maybe … putting your arm around somebody and letting him or her know that you care can help begin to heal that person’s heart. Maybe you can give a rescuing hug.
read full story
article courtesy of USAToday.com
