Easter is the most powerful of Christian observances. Resurrection Sunday is full of hope and celebration! One of the traditions surrounding Easter is children filling baskets with chocolate. When my children were young we would attend a sunrise church service on Sunday morning and then return home to discover chocolate eggs placed under pillows, on window sills and in cereal boxes. As they grew older we created scavenger hunts to find milk chocolate bunnies & eggs. It was during this yearly ritual and I came to believe choosing Fair Trade Chocolate was so important.
Your heart started beating before anyone knew you were conceived. It is the first internal organ to be formed and starts beating 16 days after conception. A human heart will beat some three billion times over an average lifespan. Amazing. No wonder the heart is the international symbol for love. The heart is also the most popular image associated with Valentine’s Day.
INTENTIONAL GIVING has been tradition in our family for over 20 years. It started with my father who felt gift giving at Christmas should be with purpose. He challenged all of us to use the season to consider intentional giving. Our Christmas presents since have been purchased from a World Vision Gift Catalogue enriching the lives of many. The spirit of Christmas can be found in each gift purchased through a variety non profit agencies working in developing countries. In my blog Sheep, Chickens and Bees I share how I have creatively wrap these special gifts. The goat-themed gift basket presented in this blog is another creative gift giving idea. I have built a theme around this meaningful intentional present that changes lives!