Christmas Wish list,Needy for whole lot more

Christmas Wish list, more,

Think I have a pretty good chance of getting the first two items; I guess we need to work on the last one. I think it would help if we remember the words of Mother Teresa: “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

In this community we call home, we all belong to each other in one way or another. We drive the same traffic-clogged roads, shop in the same multitude of stores and enjoy the same beautiful scenery.

Looking around this Christmas season, we can find ways to share what we have with each other. We can give gifts from the heart, gifts that bring a little peace on earth. If you need any ideas, here are just a few, off the top of my holiday-stressed head:

We can help Feed the Needy on Christmas Day or help pack the boxes full of food for the Covington Rotary Club’s Feed the Needy program. To help get the dinners prepared and boxed up for Christmas, just show up at St. Paul’s cafeteria anytime after 9 a.m. Thursday Dec. 23 and/or Friday Dec. 24. On Christmas morning, volunteers who want to deliver meals should arrive at St. Paul’s no later than 7:45 a.m. Feedy the Needy co-founder John Baldwin said that last year, all of the packages had been handed out by 8:25 a.m. The boxed-up meals come complete with directions and go to a variety of areas, so you can pick your destination.

We can spend some time over the holidays collecting food for the food bank in Covington or clothes for the thrift store right next door on Columbia Street. Maybe your closet will need a little cleaning after you unwrap all those new Christmas clothes. You might consider donating some time to the food bank, thrift store or even the dental clinic if you have the skills needed for that important ministry in Covington. For more information, call 893.3003 for the food bank, 892.5282 for the thrift store or 871.3939 for the dental clinic.

We can give the gift of life by donating blood. There is always a need for blood, especially during the holiday season. The Blood Center of Southeast Louisiana is offering free admission to Santa’s Secret Workshop in New Orleans for anyone who donates blood by Friday. You can find out more about donations, locations and requirements at The Blood Center’s website: http://www.thebloodcenter.org.

We can volunteer some time with Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West, whether it’s time actually building a house or working in the ReStore. You can get more information at the website: http://www.habitatstw.org/index.php. Habitat has many ideas for involving younger children in the effort to help others build a better life, so you can check on that, too.

We can help the Covington Boys and Girls Club, which will reopen in January and will need adults willing to offer their time after school. For more information, call the city of Covington at 892.1811.

So there is my very incomplete list of gifts from the heart. I’m sure you have your own.

Meanwhile, I am looking forward to the day after Christmas, when I can sit back, read about Drew Brees and think about cultivating a little peace in my corner of the earth, like my friend the quarterback — just without the multimillion-dollar contract.

(source;nola.com)