December 21, 2021
 Luke: 1:39-56​
​written by Cristi Wunsch
Cristi Wunsch is the Director of Administration for Youth Mission Co and serves as registrar for all our Mission Immersion locations. 
To learn more about our Mission Immersion programs, visit our website!

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How to magnify this kind of Lord

"Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business."
​~Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,  and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,  for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; Luke 1:46-48.

We have a tradition in our family of "giving Christmas away''.  Around the age of 11, our children give their Christmas away. Every gift shopped for and wrapped by them; then given away to a child that would otherwise not have anything  for Christmas. It is done anonymously as a practice of humility and grace: a lesson that magnifies God through our acts of generosity and compassion.  Read below for a note from one of my daughters and her experience:

"When you are young, say 10 or 11, giving your Christmas away seems like the end of the world. But you don't tell anyone that because at the same time you know that being gracious and giving was a core identity of Christ. It was a very early wake up call to inner warfare--selfishness and greed vs charity and being selfless; at the expense of your own joy. Their joy, however, becomes your own once you realize what's been done. Giving my Christmas away 10 years ago still stands as a reminder to me of the true meaning of Christmas -- Christ and his ever giving, never ending love for us." ~ Morgan Johnson 

Question:
What influence, as leaders, do our actions  have on our youth and how they view Christmas?

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