It's the small things...

It's the small things that make a big difference. It's taking the time to look at the details and asking yourself is God in the small stuff of my life. Does he or whatever values you hold too show in the small decisions you make?

In a perfect world our gifts would be gifts of time and charity. There would be no need for fancy presentations because the gift would be relational in nature or it would carry with it the beauty of God's love. However the reality is that we are accustomed to giving and will continue to do so. It's a small way that us imperfect humans show love to one another.

So that being said; what are the small details during the holiday season? One is the way we present our gifts.

• Could we choose to skip gift wrap so that we show our care for the earth and by doing so also make a difference with the money saved? For instance taking the money we spend on gift wrap and donating it to charity.
• Could we choose to wrap our gifts with recycled items (ie. paper bags, newspapers, old maps)? Then once again we would be saving money and helping the enviroment?
• Could we make the wrap a part of the present? Such as wrapping gifts in dishtowels or washclothes.
• Could we choose to buy recycled gift wrap?
• Could we choose to buy cheaper gift wrap and donate the difference to charity? 

God is in the small things. Our spending shows the condition of our heart. So with this small detail, gift wrap, you can make an impact in the world. One such impact is buying gift wrap that gives a percentage of it's proceeds to a charitable organization. In fact I just noticed that Dollar General is carrying gift wrap that is decorated with drawings done by the patients of St. Jude Children's Hospital and 40% of the purchase price goes directly to the hospital. It also can usually be found at Wal-Marts and Target. True...  it might not be the largest amount, but its a small light in a dark world.