I popped in the Christmas playlist this morning as I was getting ready for the day.  Love the christmas season.  It reverberates all kinds of things from family, to peace, to giving, to warmth, to loneliness, depression, and anger.  But overall, what a great season to influence people by giving.  Read carefully, I do not mean the giving that puts people into debt for the year and adds to the number of materials things in your home.  I mean the giving that changes things.  Like serving at a homeless shelter for a holiday meal.  Or sending that letter to a relative you have not heard from in a while.  Perhaps, its getting the family together to sponsor a child overseas this year rather than accumulating more gifts at home.  It's the power of giving that changes a life.  Think about how your life was changed.  Somewhere along the line, someone gave something and you are reaping the benefits.  There is nothing more powerful than the ultimate gift, the one that has the power to change all of our lives....God so loved the world that He GAVE His one and only Son...for you and for me!  So be encouraged, wherever life finds you this Christmas, whether happy or sad, know that you have the power change someone's life by giving.