The Bultemeier Christmas Letter

I am starting our Christmas letter this year with the words to my new favorite Christmas song. It is called “Give This Christmas Away” by Matthew West.

What if we all just give this Christmas away?
If there’s love in your heart, don’t let it stay there.
Give this Christmas away
And your life will be changed by the gift you receive,
When you give this Christmas away.

It’s feeding the hungry, serving the poor,
It’s telling the orphan, You’re not forgotten anymore.
It’s doing what love does even when no one’s watching you.
For God so loved the world that He gave us all His Son,
So we could be his hands, his feet, his love….his love.

I have been truly inspired by this song and his book “101 simple and thoughtful ways to give this Christmas away” and because of it our Christmas list looks different this year. It is not just about what we want, but what we want for those we love, for acquaintances, and for strangers. If you are like me, when you want something you run out to Target (the one stop shop for me) and purchase it without thinking. My kids need shoes and without a second thought I buy them and most of time pick up a cute pair for myself. I am not proud of my shopping habits and my dear friends know I spend countless hours with buyer’s remorse and guilt of what I have and how much I spend. So there you have it, I like to spend money on myself and those that I love and when I am done with my own stuff I donate it to Goodwill or it goes to a local shelter. I tell myself my heart is in the right place and on I go. It got worse after we returned from Guatemala. I found myself in a dark place and guilt consumed me. Seeing people go without haunted me at night and slowly my outlook on many things changed. I cannot explain it and most people look at me crazy if I try, but that experience opened my eyes to another world that my heart had never known. I’d like to say that my shopping habits changed and they did for a while, but more than that I figured out how to give with my heart and the little extra money I could find. I still wish I had more to give, but my boys teach me daily that it does not take a lot of money to impact a life, just love. I recently witnessed something while we were in Chicago and it was one of the most touching things I have ever encountered. On our way to the train station we passed a family with three young boys and they were talking to two homeless men. I slowed a bit because I was curious about the exchange. The men had their bags opened and the mother of the family was asking them their shoe size. This young family was going to buy shoes for these men. It was heartwarming and by far the best gift I witnessed this season. Maybe this Christmas we can all look a little deeper in our hearts and see how a little love can make a huge difference in the lives around us. If you have an extra can of soup, bring it to a local food shelter. Make a sandwich for the homeless man that you pass everyday. Drop some coins in the Salvation Army bucket as you leave a store. Write a letter to someone you lost touch with and let them know you love them. Pay for the coffee of the person behind you in the drive-thru line, tape a $5 dollar bill to a shopping cart (you never know, the person getting it might really need it). Give the gift of prayer to someone. Teach your children about the true meaning of Christmas. Keep the bible verse “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35) in your heart this season. Smile and say Merry Christmas to a stranger.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son” (John 3:16)

Merry Christmas and we pray that you and your family enjoy the celebration of humanities greatest gift.

Much love,
the Bult family