31 Family Devotions For Christmas Day THREE Dec. 3rd

22 Days of Christmas

"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in Heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hyporcrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Matthew 6:1-4

Christmas is all about giving from the heart. God gave us His Son! Let's give of ourselves to one another as an act of worship to our heavenly Father. Take some time with your family to think about what you can do for someone else this holiday season. Begin your December with the spirit of giving and cultivate it as much as possible throughout the month. Presents and parties are fun for awhile, but the true spirit of giving lasts for eternity.

Prayer:

Father, allow us to honor You in all that we do this season. Let us bless someone else in need this Christmas for the purpose of glorifying Your name alone.

Amen

Family Activity:

Contact your church and find out what ministries or charities your church is supporting this year. Then get involved! Many churches participate in Operation Christmas Child, an outreach project that involves filling shoe boxes with toys and school supplies for children in need all over the world. Have each child in your family fill a shoe box for a needy child. They will have fun picking out gifts for someone else, and the project helps to keep the focus on others. To find out more about Operation Christmas Child, go to www.samaritanspurse.org

Stress-Free Tip:

Find a large jar and start saving all of your family's loose change. Everyone can contribute. Next December you will have plenty of money saved to help someone in need.

Recipe:

Extraordinary Ohio Buckeyes

Ingredients

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup(1 stick) butter or margarine
1 3/4 cups powder sugar
2 cups semisweet, milk, dark, or white chocolate chips
Tooth Picks for Dipping

Directions

Line cookie sheets or party TRAYS with wax paper and set aside. Mis peanut butter and butter until creamy. Add sugar a little at a time. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll peanut butter mixture into 1-inch balls. Place on wax paper and freeze for 30 minutes or until firm. In microwave safe dish, melt chocolate chips in microwave for 30 seconds, you can also use that candy bark stuff and add some mint drops or cinnamon or something for flavor, but not really on the peanut butter balls. Doing that works best when candying pretzels or other food items. Stir. Repeat until chips are melted. Do not scorch. Insert toothpicks into frozen peanut butter balls and dip balls in chocolate. Let cool on wax paper. Store in cool place. Makes about 100 buckeyes.