Day 6 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (with Ruth Chou Simons)

Join us for the 12th Annual 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways at karenehman.com.

*Give Away has Ended*

I don’t have six geese a-laying for you today but I am sure our giveaway guest could paint a lovely water-color picture of them if I did! It is Day Six of my 12th annual 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways and the talented artist and author Ruth Chou Simons is joining us with a fabulous prize. If you’re just joining in, be sure to start at Day 1 here.

But first, here is another Christmastime idea for you!

Day 6: No More Christmas Without Christ

Christmas without CHrist? It happens all the time.

How odd it must seem to God to see a world “celebrating” the birth of His son, even going so far as to put his name in the title, when in reality, he is absent from much of the hoopla. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I love me some hoopla! I would never want Christmas to be serious and stuffy; more funeral-like than fun. But isn’t much of the hoopla all about the trivial? It results in nothing more than a glorified celebration of winter. Or retail shopping. Or a few guilt-easing coins tossed into the red metal bucket with a clink.

Then it is back to “Me, me, ME!!!!!”

What’s a gal to do?

In the midst of the “me-ism” (that even we moms can get caught up in—” Hint, hint dear family: I sure would love that new piece of jewelry!”) I try to remember two goals of Christmas:

Make it about Christ.

Do it for Christ.

Make it about Christ.

If you look carefully, He is all around.

And secondly, do it for Christ.

Are there lonely, left-out, sick or sad people that cross your path? Do something for them.

  •       Shovel a driveway after a heavy snowfall.
  •       Go help decorate or address Christmas cards for a shut-in.
  •       Serve in a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, or house for battered women.
  •       Make snowmen outside the windows of nursing home patients or on the lawn of a children’s hospital.
  •       Scrape random windshields at the grocery store on a snowy and busy shopping day.
  •       Take a child whose parents have recently divorced to buy a gift for his mom or dad if you fear the ex-spouse will not do so this year.

Our family has done all of the above, and more. We’ve made it such an aim of our holidays to “do” rather than to “get”, that now our kids know no different.

Now, lest you think we are wonder family, let me assure you right now that the above activities haven’t always been done with a cheerful and cooperative attitude (parents included!) but when you are consistent, something happens.

Your kids will miss it terribly if you stop.

So as this season rolls on, remember…

Make it about Christ.

Do it for Christ.

And don’t forget to throw in a boatload of fun. Jesus’ birthday party should be a blast!

Day 6 Giveaway

My guest today is Ruth Chou Simons of Gracelaced. She’s giving away her beautiful Practicing Praise: A Year in the Psalms 2020 Calendar. Each month is adorned with a watercolor painting + a portion of a verse of truth that is worthy of rehearsing over and over again. As each month ends you can cut out the print + scripture memory card.

Ruth Chou Simons \\ Day 6 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways at karenehman.com.

Giveaway rules are listed below. Enjoy!

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Ruth Chou Simons

Ruth Chou Simons is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and speaker. She shares her journey of God’s grace intersecting daily life with word and paintbrush through an online shoppe at GraceLaced.com, an art and lifestyle brand that adorns the gospel through collectible, meaningful, and truth-filled products. Ruth and her husband, Troy, are grateful parents to six boys—their greatest adventure. Ruth’s first book, GraceLaced, won a 2018 Christian Book Award. Connect with Ruth here on Instagram.

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12 Days of Christmas Giveaways Rules

  1. U.S. Addresses only please.
  2. You can comment on all 12 days (once per person) up until midnight Pacific time, Sunday, December 22. Each day will be linked below for easy reference.
  3. One daily winner will be chosen from each day’s comments.
  4. To enter to win the Grand Prize (worth over $150 and includes a $75 Amazon gift card, and two admission tickets (with meet-and-greet) to a concert with award-winning country music artist, Granger Smith, comment on, and share all 12 posts. You can use the share buttons below or repost and share on Instagram (my fave!) and tag me @karenehman.
  5. All winners (including Grand Prize) will be announced here on the blog on Monday, December 23, and contacted via email. Please allow 4-6 weeks to receive your prizes. 
  6. If you’re not already subscribed, click HERE and you’ll receive an email notification each day of our series, plus my Bless Don’t Stress devotional.

DAY 6 GIVEAWAY QUESTION:

What is one act of kindness you’d like to try at this time of year?

Let us know in the comments and you’ll be entered in today’s giveaway. Remember, if you want to enter to win the grand prize, you must comment on and share all twelve days.

Affiliate links may be included. We only recommend products we know our readers will love!

Day 1 with Candace Cameron Bure

Day 2 with Alena Pitts

Day 3 with Jackie Drew/RadJoy

Day 4 with Courtney Joseph

Day 5 with Trillia Newbell

Day 7 with Phylicia Masonheimer

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398 Comments

  1. I wish to be more generous with my time and gifts. I feel that this time of year we are all so busy that we forget the focus of the season…Jesus! I would love for my family and I to hep out at a teen pregnancy center. This time of year is a time when Mary was uncertain and I feel that my family and I can help another “uncertain” teen who is expecting a new little life. But in honesty…anything we do should be for others…not just ourselves. That is the true gift…the giving…time and love, not the gifts. Merry Christmas! May you be blessed!

  2. As my husband & I know what it’s like to scrimp at the end of the month to feed our four grandchildren, we have been able to bless others. This has been our second year we have been able to donate meat to a few families in our community that were in need to feed their families. What a blessing that was.

  3. I want to try sharing candy with our neighbors again. We have done this in the past, however we stopped when the squirrels figured it out and started stealing them. We worked out another idea and are trying again.

    Last time we did this we found that it helped encourage relationships in our neighborhood and we would dearly love to encourage that.

  4. I love to pick a person to do something unexpected for. This year I took one of the young ladies from my middle school youth group out shopping. Her mom is a single mom without a lot of extra time or money, so it really helped both of them. Plus, quality time is my top love language, so it was a win all around!

  5. The 3-gift tradition simplifies and makes the gifts special. It’s a reminder of Day 1’s gifts the Wise Men brought the Baby Jesus. My niece, Shana, always typed CHRISTmas which put focus on “Reason for the Season.” Shana passed away June 28 after a valiant battle with Ovarian Cancer. Her faith was strong, believing in God’s plan, timing and promise of earthly healing or made healthy, whole and filled with the Joy of the Lord. Much to be thankful for.

  6. I always feel a strong desire to pay for the person behind me in the drive thru. The idea of giving privately is appealing to me because I don’t want the thanks. I just want to make someone’s day a little brighter.

  7. We as a family have started to do Random Acts of Kindness through out the month of December. Some of our favorites so far has been sending cards to our troops, making cookies for neighbors, letting someone go in front of us at the store and there has been so many others. It has been such a joy to see the smile on my children’s faces as we do these

  8. We are going to give a family all the fixings for a Christmas dinner but we are doing it without them knowing!

  9. Going out of my way to show the love of Christ through encouragement and blessings to clerks and servers who endure the grumbling and negativity of holiday shoppers.

  10. Taking care of the widows. I have so many friends who have lost their husbands this year. But, I also want to include the divorced. This time of year can be even worse for some of them. Their husbands chose to leave, in certain situations. Either way, both are missing something from their holidays. My Dad passed recently and I think this is a beautiful way to honor him and what he enjoyed doing.

  11. Gifting a grocery bag of food to a lonely person.

    Sending gift cards in Christmas cards to those carrying heavy burdens.

    Gifting a homemade pizza to an older couple.

  12. I love to pay for the car behind me in a drive thru, but I’d love to step it up and pay for someone’s groceries or something bigger like that.

  13. I am planning to get together with my ladies bible study and bake bread and cookies and distribute to the shut-ins at our church that do not get to church on a regular basis. And we are also collecting clothes for a family with a local shelter.

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