Happy Sunday and welcome to the 7th Day of Christmas Giveaway. If you are just joining us in our 12 Days of interviews and goodies, click here to get caught up. You can enter to win the prizes on any of the 12 posts until midnight EST on Sunday, December 13th.
Today’s Proverbs 31 featured speaker is Sharon Glasgow. If you’ve ever longed for a spiritually in-tune friend, one who listens to God, knows His word and understands how to apply it to everyday life issues and difficult situations, then you will LOVE sweet Sharon. Her spiritual roots run deep and she is undoubtedly one of the most mature Christians I know— Don’t let the “she-is-so-pretty-and-looks-more-like-a-sixth-sister-than-a-daughter-in-that-photo” image on the P31 magazine cover below fool you! She looks like a teen, but is wise beyond her years. Today, take a few minutes to meet my P31 sister Sharon, in her own words:
Hi! I’m Sharon Glasgow. I live on a farm in Fredericksburg, Virginia with my husband and best friend Dale and our youngest daughter Elizabeth who is 14 years old. We have 5 daughters in all, Heather the oldest (26) is married to Jeff, they live in VA, Jennifer(25) works and lives in LA, CA, Hannah (21) and Rachael (19) are attending Virginia Commonwealth University.
We have owned our own business our entire marriage. Dale is a full time artist, and is able to work from home while I work along side of him writing and preparing messages to speak across the nation. Our daughters have followed in our footsteps, they are all artists and ministering.
Christmas is our favorite time of year, when we’re all together. We’re always huddled close to the fireplace and sharing what God is doing, giving spiritual insights and encouraging each other in the Word.
If you would like to connect with me, please visit my website @ www.sharonglasgow.com. I don’t have Facebook yet, but our daughters made me a fan page, www.facebook.com/pages/Sharon-Glasgow/89772909801. I pray you have a Merry Christmas!
Now, for our get-to-know-you interview:
Sharon, can you share a Christmas tradition your family has done over the years that stands out to you?
Christmas is a very hard holiday for many people who are suffering. I’ll never forget my first Christmas without my dad. I wondered if anyone really understood how bad my heart hurt that holiday. The next Christmas I decided that from then on our family would start a tradition to minister to hurting families on Christmas Eve.
That year we knew of two families who had lost loved ones, a family who had undergone financial devastation and a lonely old man down the road. These would be our Christmas Eve targets. We made gingerbread houses and hot crab dip to deliver to them. We made everything look as festive as possible and then loaded the family and presents into the vehicle and started out on our Christmas Eve journey.
As each door opened you knew immediately you were where you belonged. One was drinking their sorrow away and cried when we gave the presents and offered to pray. The next didn’t have a tree up or anything cooked for Christmas, the hot crab dip would be their dinner. We finished our trip, I wish I could say the kids enjoyed it, but they didn’t! Instead they said, “This is the most depressing Christmas Eve ever, do we have to do it next year?” However, we kept our tradition going.
Today as our children look back over all the holidays they may not remember what presents they got or how beautiful the tree was but they’ll always remember the faces of those people who were ministered to on Christmas Eve.
What are some of your favorite Christmastime foods? Any recipe you might share with us?
This is a recipe we have made for our Christmas Eve deliveries. The dish is a gift so look for deals throughout the year. We deliver the dish and baguette slices in a basket.
Crab Dip with Baguette Slices
- 1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, free of shells
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/4 cup green onions, minced, optional
- 5 to 6 roasted garlic cloves or 2 cloves minced
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine all of the ingredients, stir and pour into a small casserole dish. Bake for 40 minutes. Serve hot with crackers or thin baguette slices toasted with a spray of oil on top.
You are offering a great giveaway today to one of our cyber sisters. Can you tell us about it?
Sure! For my prize, I am giving away a $15 Target Gift Card. Suggested use: Small baking dishes for your hot dip of choice to be delivered on Christmas Eve!
Thanks for sharing this great idea and family tradition with us, Sharon!
Sharon’s idea gives me and idea for your comment today. If you’d like to be entered to win her target card giveaway, leave a comment describing someone you feel God might want you to bless this Christmas and why. You may just win that gift card and then you can use part of it for a gift for that person (and save a little for yourself too!)
CHRISTmas Blessings,
We don’t do anything on Christmas Eve, but during the whole month of December, we are giving Christmas away. We have a bag full of ideas and the boys pull out a tag and we do what it says. Today we are taking a meal to our pastor “just to love on him”.
Like the above idea. What a wonderful way to bless and teach the meaning of serving.
I am going to need to pray about a person to bless.
What a warm fuzzy this post brings to me (along with all the others). I really don’t care about the gifts, I just love reading about all the Proverbs 31 gals. I also love the recipes! Thanks!
My elderly neighbors have been on my heart. They are in their 80′s and their 3 children are spread out in the U.S. I believe God is speaking to my heart and I am going to bless them this Christmas.
I’m in this is the first christmas we want be with my parents it will just be my husband and 2 year old daughter. But it will be a chance to start a new tradition and memories
What a great reminder to think of others that are hurting during the holidays. I’m not sure who we need to minister to this Christmas, but definitely will be thinking about it.
Great get-you-thinking post.
One thing my three daughters enjoy doing is I take each of them shopping individually to let them pick out the items to fill shoeboxes for Operation Christmas. They pick out things they would like at their age and it will be given to a young girls their same age.
We have always spent Christmas Eve with my grandma and my side of the family but we lost her last year and so we don’t really have concrete plans for Christmas Eve. So I will praying about who we can deliver a little Christmas to.
I share my baking treats with others during the Chrismas season, especially the senior residents in my community.
Lets all remember the JOY of the season:
J esus first,
O thers second,
Y ourself last.
I’m in!
I have had the elderly in the assisted living facility my grandmother lived in years ago on my mind. I’m thinking of having my kids make “stained glass” ornaments for the residents. I’ve also had those that go through Faith Mission on my heart and would like to take the kids there to donate new blankets, gloves and hats.
What a wonderful ministry for your children to remember.
I’m in.
I’m in!
I realized yesterday that I need to do something to help my sister. She is a single mom to four kids. She works full time and goes to school, and picks up side jobs along the way, too.
This summer the husband of a couple we are friends with unexpectedly passed away. What a wonderful reminder to me to make sure that I take extra care this Christmas.
What a beautiful tradition! My daughter’s Sunday school teacher just lost her husband and is very lonely. This is something we can do to share her burden!
My husband’s grandpa just passed away a week ago. His grandma is who I plan to bless this Christmas
I know exactly what I’d do with the card. I have a friend undergoing a very difficult financial situation and is very concerned about being able to provide Christmas gifts for her children. I would give this card to her to help a little with the gift buying.
Thank you for reminding us to think of others that are hurting during this time. Last year two dear people in my life passed away and we were concerned about helping their families get thru that first Christmas without them. Thanks for the reminder that those families still need to know they are loved and thought of.
Since reading this yesterday morning I’ve been praying about what God wants me to do for someone for Christmas. After reading Holly Good’s devotion last week about 365 days of prayer and then reading a blog that was posted last Friday from one of the Proverbs 31 staff members God put it in my heart to pray for her every day next year. The reason for doing this is that I could relate to what she wrote about in her blog and my heart broke for her. This person has given me personal encouragement concerning some things I’ve dealt with in my life. This morning I read another blog posted by another staff member and I wanted to reach out to this person as well. There is still a third staff member of Proverbs 31 who has been an encouragement to me through her devotion, blogs, personal emails and prayers. God led me to call her last week and pray with her after reading one of her blogs. After reding many of the blogs from many of the women from Proverbs 31 I’ve decided that even though you all are women of God you all could use some encouragement at times. It’s just like my pastor saying, when we have a guest speaker, sometimes he needs to sit and hear someone else preach so he can be ministred to. I know those of you who work in the Proverbs 31 office always have someone you can turn to and lean on for prayer but you’re going to get a daily prayer from me. I’ve been wanting God to strengthen my prayer life an I believe this will help.
I feel God wants me to bless my husband…to remind him of God’s unconditional love.
Our church decided to help the Crisis Pregnancy center this year for Christmas. They have many families who are in need. Our children each chose an ornament off a tree that has a wish idea for the child or adult they chose. We don’t know who these people are but pray that our gifts to them will bless them this Christmas. My husband was pleased that all of the ornaments were taken from the tree yesterday at church. It’s great to have people thinking of others! I am also planning on taking a plate of Christmas goodies to our neighbors this year.
Both of our boys are adopted and our 3 year olds birth mom is expecting again. She is still in a rough place in her life and I know she could use a blessing from God through me this Christmas.
We lost both of my husband’s parents this year. We also have a couple of friends who lost a parent this year. We have reached out to them to help make their Christmas a little happier.
I have been praying about this and I think the person I will bless this year will be my husband – our relationship has been a little rocky this past year (nothing serious – just not as connected as we could be) I am pregnant (due January 4th) and with a 4 year, sometimes we get busy and neglect each other…this Christmas I am going to make an extra effort to show him how special he is to me.
I keep praying that our family is able to bless another family that is in need. I keep waiting for God to place the specific family in my heart and mind or on my path of life. I think this is such an important thing to teach your children during Christmas.
I’m in!!
We have a family in our church that is going through an extremely hard time this year…I would like to reach out to them this yera.
My dear friend, Joy, has been on my heart. Her husband is recently unemployed and they were not able to pay their rent so they were living out of their car. The Lord allowed me to bless them by pointing them in the direction of a house they could afford. They now have shelter but are still struggling financially.
Also, my dear friends Gene and June. June was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. Gene is unemployed so they are relying on June’s income to pay their bills. With her in the hospital fighting cancer things are questionable about their well being.
A young girl in my church who always helps out me and my husband with our babies. She is truly a blessing–and I would love to bless her in return!
Prayers and blessings,
Rebecca
I’m in. Will pray about who I can minister to this season.
I would like to be a blessing to my aunt who is going through a hard time this year.
I’m in
I just sent a package to my brother in law, stationed in Iraq, filled with some comfort goodies from home. I will also think of something special to do for my sister and neices and nephew during this time…it’s hard on the families and especially small children to not have daddy home for Christmas! Thanks for the devotions, Karen!
I’m In!
I’m in.
Our Ladies Bible study is reaching out in a different way, by each selecting a needy child in our area and purchasing gifts for them. We have just been studying Acts and the importance of encouraging and helping each other.
I feel a strong calling to help the homeless this year. I think there are more people needing help than ever.
My life group is reaching out the the homeless, hurting and forgotten people and I am so very glad to be apart of such generous loving women. We started a couple of years ago preparing meals on the 3rd Monday of each month in a homeless shelter way in the not so good part of town and now they all know us. that year we also started a Christmas party, and now many others contribute gifts for us to take, and they get to be apart as well. We usually serve over 100 so it is nice to have people praying as well. So many ways to share your gifts.
Our children are 4 and 2 this year, and as a family we’ve been talking a lot during our Advent devotions about how we can share Jesus with other people this Christmas. We haven’t really picked out any one particular person – we’re pretty isolated right now as we’re searching for a church and our children stay home with me – but the kids and I shopped for an Operation Christmas Child shoebox and we spent one evening making cards as a family to give away next week when we visit a nursing home.
My grandfather passed away over the weekend, and my grandmother is having a very difficult time. I want to help her in any way I can, and somehow still make Christmas a joyful experience. Thanks for the giveaway, hope to win
I’m in
I just want to say that I am sooooo touched and moved by Sharon’s family’s ministry!
I’m in
We like to bless the children’s schoolteachers over Christmas.
I have a couple of friends I hope to bless in special ways this Christmas.
I’m in…I try to help out us much as I can to make sure that needy children all have a gift….this year I can not do that due to falling on hard times…but I will do it again next year
Terry
http://pink-itsmorethanjustacolor.blogspot.com/
I’m in. I think God would like me to help my mother-in-law. I won’t see her much and I have had major issues with her in the past (praise God he has transformed that area), but I think I should do more.
I think those blessings (to give) pop up in unexpected places. God showed me a man who needed a small gift yesterday — it’s a private gesture between me and the Boss — but it was evident that God had this man on his heart this season. I love moments like that.
I have had an extremely hard year…which makes me so thankful that in October I found out about the Prov 31 minstries..it has been so encouraging to say the least. Anyway, my goal this year..and I’m having to work extra hard at it…is to just bless my husband and my kids…to make the holidays special for them.