It seems as I get older the days fly by faster and faster. All of a sudden it is the most special time of the year, Holiday time. Thanksgiving and Christmas are our most favorite holiday times of the year. No matter whether you celebrate Christmas or another holiday tradition, everyone seems just a bit nicer during the holidays. Now that I have caught up to the holidays, I promise to get some cool ideas for all of our Santa Club Members to have fun with this season. Oh, and I have lots to share. Not only do we get to be a part of some amazing, wonderful projects but we get to give in the craziest ways. So please check back and Welcome to The Santa Club.
Kelly Moss
November 10th, 2015
That Time Of The Year Again
December 16th, 2014
Is Santa Real?
One of the most “googled” questions this time of year is the question, is Santa is Real. Yes, Santa is Real. For those of you who got the book, The Santa Club, you know that answer is truthful. No, it may not be the Santa you see at the mall, that is a Santa helper, but Santa is a most amazing being who loves totally unconditional. Santa loves without getting anything in return. Santa loves kids and adults and every year finds a way to give toys, presents, and sometimes bigger gifts. And most importantly, Santa gives in secret. Giving is secret is one of the coolest things anyone can do and Santa does it every year. To give without even getting a thank you is the most selfless thing a person can do and if you celebrate Christmas, then you know that the celebration of Jesus is also about giving without desire for oneself. So Santa’s type of giving is a reflection on who’s birthday we celebrate. Santa doesn’t take away from Christmas, he actually, embraces the giving story of Christmas.
So, yes Santa is real and yes, you can be a Santa too by giving in secret and with love. When your child asks make sure you tell them the truth. Santa is real and that they can be a great Santa too.
Merry Christmas Everyone and have a wonderful, marvelous Happy New Year.
Kelly
November 7th, 2013
Irrational Giving
There is many times through the year where we can give to others. The most joyous time of the year is the holiday season. It can also be the most difficult time of the year for some. This year make it a wonderful time for other people by giving in secret. Anyone who has met my husband thinks he is the kindest man in the world, which he is. What they don’t know is my husband gives in ways that are simple, yet life changing. Joe is always smiling or a taking the time to say a kind word when someone is struggling. He always makes people feel better after they talk with him.
I call it irrational giving. Most people think irrational giving is something so big that it is hard to accomplish, but when you think about it, being kind and giving even when you don’t feel good, or when you may not prefer someone’s company, that is when giving is not so easy. Irrational giving is to always give, even when your emotions say don’t.
Irrational giving is also giving when giving doesn’t make sense. Giving to a co-worker who may not be the nicest person, or giving to a family member, when they never acknowledge you or support you. That is irrational giving at it’s best and for those, like my husband, they realize it is a wonderful blessing.
Giving in secret teaches irrational giving. When you give with no expectation of anything in return, you realize that giving is much more than what you choose to do as in who you are as a human. Every so often I remind my self that we can never “make” anyone do anything. We can however, make ourselves act the way we wish to be as a person. I wish to be kind and easy going. That doesn’t mean I don’t get frustrated but what it does mean, is that I make decisions to overcome that frustration or emotion with an act of joy or kindness, regardless of the emotion.
Just like my husband makes a conscientious decision to be a giver.
Kids need examples and the Christmas season is the best time to show them irrational giving. How will you give this season, even when the chaos settles in? How will you overcome the desires of the season with the giving? How will you show your kids? The blessing of the season is it gives us opportunities to answer those questions in the best way possible for our families. So have fun this giving season and try Irrational giving, it is fun.
God Bless,
Kelly
April 3rd, 2013
Parents Guide
Hello Everyone,
All of us here at The Santa Club are moving along, giving and helping others in secret. Gosh, it is so much fun. We move this year to repackage The Santa Club so bookstores and parents can keep the book under wraps until the big day! Along with that and working with the charities we support, we have been busy and blessed. Let us know how things are going with you all and how your gifts of giving are impacting others. It is a wonderful time to give as so many are in need.
God Bless,
The Santa Club
August 26th, 2012
Teaching about Giving.
“ Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your father in heaven. 2 When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do – blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth; they have received all the Reward they will ever get. 3. But when you give to someone need don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
4. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
(Matthew 6:1-4)
The Bible has so much to offer in the way of advice. I have seen so many books that claim to be a new thought and the advice was taken from one of the oldest books in our history, the Bible. Like the idea of a vision board found in a book many people have read. If you look at Habakkuk 2:2-3 you will see that a vision board is a very old idea.
It says, and the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry. (KJV Habakkuk 2:2-3)
Giving and especially giving at Christmas time is best served to give in secret. The three wise men gave at Christmas and the first Santa, St Nicholas, gave in secret throughout his community. There isn’t a parent I know who doesn’t want to teach their child to give in secret. Not only is it an important skill to learn, it is also fun.
As we get closer to the holiday our family is thinking of ways, already, to give back this coming holiday season. What about you?
Some ways to give in secret are,
Buying food for a neighbor and dropping it off at their house, ringing the doorbell and running.
Sending an anonymous cash donation to a charity of your choice, just make sure it gets to the right place.
Sending homemade cards to your local hospital to be distributed to patients.
Dropping food off at the local food bank.
We do some of these things and some other fun things as anonymous members of The Santa Club. We make a card that says, Merry Christmas and From The Santa Club. It gives us a way to give back and still let people know we believe in giving as the first Santa did, and as all the other members do today.
So get those holiday vision boards started and get ready. The most joyous time of the year is close approaching.
September 28th, 2011
Blessings and Giving
We have much to be thankful for here at the Moss household. Everyone is healthy, we are all very busy, and The Santa Club Book reviews are wonderful (TYG). With life being a struggle for so many, we know how blessed we are and thank God every day.
Joe and I grew up in middle class families were money was not always there and times were sometimes tough. We know what it was like to not have certain things and even in our blessings, we choose to never forget. That is why The Santa Club is so important. It is all about, the gift of giving and a way to give back.
We believe that material things are not important, that giving is. Every day we try to give in some way. Not every gift has to be monetary, but if we have extra money, we give it back to those that need it. Saying that where and who needs it more? As I have gotten older, I realize it is not about the need someone has, there is always need. It is about giving where you are led to give. When you give where you feel led to give then you have a vested interest. Everyone has a different “calling” to give in different places for different needs. In our house I love to support missionaries, orphans and families fighting cancer. Joe has a special place in his heart for the homeless, Jonathan thinks the Make- A- Wish Foundation, www.wish.org, is the coolest, Jameson loves to support the Tug McGraw Foundation, www.tugmcgraw.org , and Alena wants to help everyone! As a parent, that is the greatest gift you can give your child….letting them decide where they should give. Just as we sometimes guide our children into things we love, we can also guide them into giving where we feel led to give. A long time ago, we realized that our kids are individuals who have different desires and different callings on where they need to put their time, talents, and treasures.
So this Christmas our goal is to help families find an organization that fits their kids. As we go on through the season we shall try and send information your way about organizations that are doing amazing work. Most have stores to buy support products, some will need volunteers and even if your child just writes them a letter saying thanks for helping others, they will be able to give back. In our family we give to many different charities and not all is giving through treasures. We can give in many ways so this is not about money. But as for our giving to each other, we do try to give with a purpose. Since we are all t-shirt lovers, we give each other or family members t-shirts that help a charity. The website sevenly.org, www.sevenly.org, is one of our favorite websites to find out about amazing charities and support them. Every week they have a new charity that they sell t-shirts for. Since t-shirts are cool and my kids love them, we support each charity by splurging on a t-shirt from Sevenly.
We also love hats. Krochet Kids International, www.krochetkids.org is an amazing charity that teaches woman to crochet in Uganda and now Peru. The wonderful hats they make are then sold thru Krochet Kids with the proceeds going back to the women. These are great places for your kids to buy someone in the family a “Santa” gift while learning about giving back. As the time goes on both on Facebook and on my blog we shall link more and more charities that need support. Our prayer is that your child, with your support, will start to think about which charity they feel led to help.
Also by November 1st we shall have merchandise on our website ready to sell. It will be fun merchandise with our logo for families to share. 11% gross of every product will go to charities like Krochet kids and the ones you see on Sevenly. Our goal is to take the blessings we have and pass them on while spreading the message of The Santa Club Book. We know that there are amazing charities and instead of starting another one we hope to funnel any blessings we have right back to them.
The Story of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, is all about giving. God calls us all to do different things in our life so not all of us can be missionaries working in a charity. But we can all give back and what a wonderful time to do it during the Christmas Season. Thanks for checking out my blog and for checking out our site. As we grow we pray we can be a blessing to you all as we have been blessed. Merry Christmas Everyone and God Bless.
Kelly
P.S. Please see some amazing charities below. If it says parents check first it means the charity may be easiest explained to older children. If you have any charities you would like us to list please email me at kelly@thesantaclub.net
MERCY SHIPS- Provide surgeries and medical care to the people of Sierra Leone- www.mercyships.org
WORLD RELIEF- Provide peace building and protection from violence for the people of the Congo. (Parents check first) http://worldrelief.org
HOPE INTERNATIONAL- Provides opportunity for a family in Africa to escape poverty. www.hopeinternational.org
LIVING WATER INTERNATIONAL- Provides clean water for families. www.water.cc
FREE WHEELCHAIR MISSION- Provides a new, free wheelchair to someone in a developing country. www.freewheelchairmission.org
OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL- Provides Micro-Loans to poor families in Sub-Saharan Africa. www.opportunity.org
September 11th, 2011
September 11th
So much has happened. As I sit here in my office finishing up a guest blog, I realized my blog is suffering the lack of attention, no blog should. Life has a way of intruding on my quiet time and as I get older, it intrudes more and more.
Labor Day weekend was wonderful for us. Nothing fancy, just family and friends. With our daughter away at school, life is a bit quieter but not much. Our sons brought home five college age friends and life was still chaotic. Now, everyone is gone and I am sitting in a very messy house. Life is good. Life is good now, but ten years ago this Sunday we remember the day that changed all of our lives, September 11th. I think about the families that don’t have the simple pleasure of their kids or husbands coming home.
Did you realize that kids 16 and under may not remember September 11th? They were babies and just might not remember that day. How sad that “time” diminishes the intensity of those moments that shape a generation. Anyone older than say nineteen remembers September 11th with clarity. Our kids remember because their teacher’s were smart enough to deftly handle the news unfolding that day to their young learners. And, I got them out of school right away. After the Pentagon, I was out the door and at their school. We got food, money and gas. I had no idea where the next plane would hit and I was going to be prepared if we needed to move. We were in Atlanta at the time and I am sure some people thought I was crazy, but no one knew what was happening. I was for sure not waiting. If the terrorists were stopped, then I was no worse for wear. And to be honest I am so glad I did what I did. My kids were with me and I could explain what was going on as we learned it, not someone else, but me. Thankfully my husband was in town. He traveled for work back then so he could have been anywhere. That night we prayed for everyone who was missing or lost a loved one. It was so sad.
Life is so crazy right now. There is so much rhetoric and so little confidence. I never remember life being this complicated. Of course I am older now. Maybe I was too young to remember tough times, but I know even my father – in – law thinks the world has gone crazy and he is in his 80’s.
So why do I write such a sad mundane blog? Christmas is coming. I know we are still a few months out, but it is coming. And this year more than ever we all need to stand up and act. Like those amazing first responder’s who ran towards the twin towers and not away. Like this crazy mom who got prepared to be ready. We must start now to choose joy and be kind to one another. The most amazing gift we can give those who lost their life on September 11th is to stand up and choose joy. To do the opposite of what the terrorists did, to bring happiness and kindness. I ask that this year in the spirit of Christmas, give the “Gift of Giving”’ thru random acts of giving. Make a little gift and wrap it up. When you see someone in need, pass it on. It may be a hat, a card, a smile. This is not about money or gifts that cost a fortune; this is about the act of kindness. The opposite of what the terrorists did on September 11th. This is about the act of giving, without any gift in return. It is what I call “The Gift of Giving”.
My family is starting this after September 11th. We think that day is perfect to begin preparing for the season of Christmas. Nothing fancy but when I have time, a card I shall make, or if I am at the store and see something silly and fun for a dollar then I shall get it. I shall get it to pass along during the fall and holiday season. It is my way of telling the evil in the world, you don’t win. It is my way of telling all those politicians who use angry rhetoric, you are not me. I believe we all can be kind and respectful to others. Even when we disagree, it is ok. We were not made to be the same; we were only made to “love” one another, with kindness and respect.
For those families that lost their loved ones on September 11th, I am so sorry for your loss. Please know that your loved ones shall never be forgotten. Not by this woman, not by this family. And when we give this Christmas Season, it will be to show the world terror cannot rule us. It cannot change us. No matter what happens, during this time and this holiday season we shall choose joy.
God Bless,
Kelly
July 19th, 2011
Book Expo 2011
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