Christmas Conversation #2: How do you bring Jesus into your shopping experience?

 

 

 

By Stacey Tuttle

Yesterday’s question had to do with keeping our own hearts centered on Jesus while we shop.  Today’s question has to do with helping direct others hearts’ toward Jesus while we shop. 

As we are out and about running errands, picking up groceries or shopping for gifts, we are thrust into brief contact with millions of other people doing just the same things.  Christmas has a magical feel to it, but it also raises emotions to a bit of a fever pitch.  And Christmas shopping perhaps as much as any other Christmas activity provides lots of situations where we touch people’s lives—whether or not we even want to.  If we aren’t careful we can find that we are fighting over a parking spot while our ichthus bumper sticker wishes it could swim away for shame.  But while it does provide opportunities for us to show our ugly side, those same moments are also opportunities for us to share Jesus’ love, grace, compassion and patience, etc. to an unbelieving world. 

And, let’s be honest, it’s not just the unbelievers who need to see Jesus at Christmastime.  There is a world of believers who are hurting, discouraged and in desperate need of Christ’s love and hope at this time too.  Are we looking for them?  Are we searching for opportunities to bless them with the love of Christ?I am sure you have probably heard The Christmas Shoes before, but this song is about a moment when someone felt prompted to give to a stranger in need.  It makes me cry EVERY time I hear it and inspires me to search for those opportunities myself. 

So how do YOU do it?  How do you bring Jesus into your shopping experience?  We would like to hear your thoughts and stories. 

Do you pass out tracts?  Do you say “Merry Christmas” to cashiers?  Do you have an intentional plan?  Pay for the person at Starbucks behind you just to bless them? 

Or maybe you don’t have a “plan” you follow, but you prayerfully look for opportunities and have a great story of how God nudged you to share His love to a stranger during this time…something like the Christmas Shoes story, maybe. 

Share your thoughts, ideas and stories with us!  We all need a little encouragement in this area!

Check out our other Christmas Conversations:

We have 25 different “conversations” going online and we’d love to hear your thoughts!  See the list below and add your two cents when and where you can, and benefit from the collective think tank as you go!

1. How do you keep the spirit of giving in your Cristmas shopping?
2. How do you bring Jesus into your shopping experience?
3. What do you think about Christmas music?
4. What’s the worst Christmas song and why?
5. What’s your best idea for using a Christmas movie to spark a conversation about Christ?
6. What’s the worst Christmas movie and why?
7. What’s the most meaningful Christmas tradition that your family has?
8. How do you get your kids attention (or even your own) off of the gifts you get?
9. How much is too much when it comes to giving your kids gifts for Christmas?
10. What are your favorite service-oriented things to do during Christmas?
11. Is Santa a naughty or nice Christmas tradition and why?
12. What Christmas traditions have you chosen not to follow, and what have you replaced them with?
13. If you’ve chosen to do Santa, how can you use him to point your kids to Jesus?
14. Do lighting displays add to or detract from the real meaning of Christmas?
15. What kinds of gifts can you give to non-Christian friends that make Jesus attractive?
16. What are your best ideas for using Christmas to spur conversations about Jesus?
17. Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas – Does it really matter?
18. Should we boycott stores based on Christian principles during the Holidays?
19. How do you deal with the Grinches in your life this Christmas?
20. How do you deal with Christmas as a joyous family time when family is hard? 
21. What do you know about the Biblical concept of hospitality and how do you apply that during the Christmas season?
22. How do you find spiritual refreshment in the midst of an exhausting season?
23. When do the excesses of Christmas cross the line from communicating the lavishness of God’s love for us to fostering excess, greed and pride?
24. How do you respond to feeling like someone else “does Christmas better” than you?
25. What is the most meaningful Christmas memory you have?