Christmas Jar Report Christmas 2011

This account comes from the winner of the Beehive Bookstore Christmas Jar in December 2011.  Just after Christmas, she moved out of state so we are glad she finally found a few minutes to tell us about her experience giving away our store's Christmas Jar--the total of which was $133.85 thanks to all of our generous customers who contributed!

The Christmas Jar

A couple of years ago as it was getting close to Christmas I casually asked someone at church if they were all ready for Christmas ~ she replied “We aren’t having much of a Christmas this year”. I could see that her response had caught her off guard. She really didn’t want anyone to know that their family was struggling that year.

Her response haunted me for the next few days as the Spirit whispered to me that I needed to do something for them. Not many years before I had been where they were. The Lord had blessed me with a wonderful job and now I had the ability to help them.

I enlisted a very close friend to help me deliver the presents, gift cards and cash that I’d put together for her family. When I picked her up, her husband said to her ~ “Don’t forget to go by the bank and “make the deposit” on your way.” We dropped by the bank on the way and when she came back to the car she had a $250 dollar deposit to add to the “Christmas Jar.”

At Christmas time a year later my friend's father was critically ill & her son (Chris) came all the way from Maine to California to see his Grandfather, even though money was very tight for him and he was getting married in less than a month.

While Chris was in California I won the “Christmas Jar” at the Beehive Bookstore. I wondered who I should give it to ~ then the Spirit whispered to me “give the jar to Chris and his fiancé, along with a copy of the book “The Christmas Jar.” Tell him the story of our “Christmas Jar” gift the year before. Along with the Jar& book I included a little note, telling him the wonderful experience his mother and I had shared the year before and that I hoped he & his wife could carry on the wonderful tradition of “The Christmas Jar” in their new family.

Christmas Jar 2010 Report

The following is the report of our 2010 Beehive Bookstore Christmas jar to giveaway winner. Names have been changed to protect the anonymity of the giveaway. Thanks to all of you who contributed, the jar contained $95.37!

I have thought many times where to begin with writing about my husband's and my experience with the Christmas jar. I guess the only place I can begin is at the beginning. In October of 2010 my husband and I relocated to the Bay Area from out of state. I transferred to a new position with the company I had been working with and my husband continued to work with a construction company in the Bay Area. At my place of work I meet a woman whom we will call Susan. Susan, I could tell, was a special lady. She seemed gruff and blunt in her words to those around her, but I knew there was more behind her hard exterior. I was determined to get to know her.

In the meantime my husband and I had been collecting soda and juice bottles at home for recycling. Of course the trash bags of bottles just sat on the porch wasting away not heading to any recycling station anytime soon. One day while I was at work I noticed Susan collecting any and all recyclable bottles from our work trash can. I immediately thought of all the bottles on my patio. The next day with the help of my husband we brought the bags of bottles to work and with a sharpie pen I wrote Susan’s name on the bags. She was so happy to receive the extra bottles, and I was glad that she could use them.

After living in the Bay Area for a month my husband and I visited the local Beehive Bookstore. While there I noticed a raffle and entered my name, and we left for home. I forgot about the raffle. In the meantime I had time set apart from December 23^rd to December 31^st for vacation from work. I was so excited to have some time off to visit family out of state. I had been looking forward to the time off for months. As it neared my vacation time a fellow coworker was looking for someone to work their shift on December 23^rd so that she could visit her father out of state with her family. If I worked for her it meant I could not travel home to see my family until Christmas Eve. I felt the need to help her and that I needed to be here for some reason even though it meant I would be traveling on Christmas Eve and losing one day of my hard-earned vacation I had been looking forward to. I consented and was scheduled to work on December 23^rd.

On December 22^nd my husband and I once again headed to the bookstore to pick up some last minute Christmas gifts. We checked out and needed to stop at another store in the area. As soon as we left to head back home I noticed I received a message on my phone. A call from the Beehive Bookstore informed me that I had been the lucky winner of the raffle and that the prize was something that was to be given away to someone. After hearing the message my husband I both looked at each other and without saying a word we both knew who we would give the gift to whatever the gift may be. So we headed back to the Beehive Bookstore to collect the prize and receive instructions on what to do. Once I arrived at the bookstore I was told about the Christmas Jar. I had not read the store “The Christmas Jar” or even heard the story. The bookstore manager gave me a synopsis of how the Christmas jar works. She asked me to pray about who I would give it to. So after we counted the amount of funds in the jar, I collected the jar and went home. I prayed about Susan as my choice to give the jar to and went to bed. Before I left for work in the morning I kneeled in prayer again about the Christmas jar and Susan. I had an overwhelming feeling of warmth in my heart that she was the person who the jar needed to go to. So I grabbed a blank Christmas card and the Christmas jar and got in my car and headed on the 45 min commute to work.

Upon arriving I quickly wrote what came to my heart in the card which read,

“This is a special gift from an accumulation of individuals who love to serve others and share their love of Christ with those around them. These individuals do not know each other and I do not know them but I was lead to give this special gift to you. I hope this finds need with you and your family and if you feel you know of someone who may stand in need of this gift you are welcome to share it. Have a very Merry Christmas.”

I went into work hiding the card and jar in my bag wondering how I was going to anonymously give the jar to Susan. Where I work at certain times of the shift certain workers are sent to certain stations. I usually am sent ahead to one station while another employee with follow 20 mins behind me and Susan is always left at the same station never going to the station that I go to. That day was different Susan was sent ahead of me to my station and I was scheduled to follow 10 mins behind her. It was perfect! Five minutes after she left I went to her locker and amazingly she had no lock on her locker that day. So I swiftly got the jar and card out of my bag and put it her locker concealing it just enough so that no one would think anything of the jar if they were to look into her locker. I swiftly headed to the station Susan was waiting at. After an hour we finished our shift and headed back to the break room to clock out. I was waiting which seemed like an eternity for Susan to clock out. I wanted to make sure she received the jar seeing that I was due to leave the next day and for the simple fact that there was no lock on Susan’s locker. Finally! She clocked out and headed straight for her locker. All of sudden we all hear,”What is this…O my goodness…O my gosh.” Susan proceeded to our manager’s office and opened the card crying. She read the card out loud bawling. The manager upon hearing the card told Susan, “Your family does need this.” Shortly after Susan came in the break room where we were waiting, and we saw that she was crying. She shared with us the card and the jar. She exclaimed, “Hallelujah! I’m going to be in church on Sunday praising my testimonies to the Lord…what a blessing…praise the Lord.” We were all so happy for her. We walked out together and as we did so Susan hugged everyone and I mean everyone…praising the Lord, sharing her story of the card and the Christmas jar, and expressing her love to those she hugged. She was so happy.

I felt so blessed to be able to present the gift of the Christmas Jar to her and to experience her joy of receiving it. Thank you to all those whom filled the Christmas Jar with their love… because it carried over to a much deserving person.

Beehive Bookstore's Christmas Jar Report

In the spirit of Jason Wright's bestselling Christmas Jars and Christmas Jars Reunion, we at Beehive Bookstore began our own Christmas Jar and invited our wonderful customers to contribute spare change if they desired. On December 21, 2009, we had collected over $85! We also had a drawing for anyone who would like to be the one to give the jar away anonymously to someone in need. The winner of that drawing graciously agreed to share her experience with us on the blog. She is not named and has omitted some details to keep the recipients anonymous. Here is her report:

Upon receiving the news that my name had been drawn and I had been presented with the unique opportunity to select someone to receive the Christmas Jar, I immediately began contemplating whom this jar would best serve during the holidays this year. I had this on my mind throughout the afternoon, but no one came to mind. I thought of calling the bishop of our ward as he would have greater insight than I as to who might most benefit from this blessing. I called him and he said that through the service of individuals in our ward most who were in need this season had already been taken care of, but he would give it some thought too. After finding out that most of our ward members had reached out to one another this holiday season, I started to think that I might be thinking too small and should maybe reach beyond just our ward. That evening I talked with my husband who came up with the idea to contact the bishop of a ward in our stake that has many struggling families. We called him that night and asked if anyone in his ward could use this great blessing, the Christmas Jar. He said that there were many in his ward who could use it and that he would love to take the jar and give it prayerful and thoughtful consideration before delivering the jar to the family he felt was most in need of this specific gift. A day later we received word from him that the jar went to a wonderful brother and sister who were in need of a little more so that he would be able to meet qualifications necessary so that he could go and serve the Lord. How great a blessing this jar was - not ONLY able to help a family in need, but that it will help others receive the gospel as this service became more attainable through the Christmas Jar. Thank you to all of those who generously gave this year! It was a joy to pick up and pass on!

The Shepherd’s Song by Larry Barkdull

Review by Susan

The Shepherd's Song is a sweet Christmas tale of the a shepherd whose family cares for the lambs meant for holy sacrifices in the Temple in Jerusalem. When Joshua's wife is threatened with life-threatening complications of pregnancy, he takes his most-loved lamb to offer as a personal sacrifice at the temple to accompany his prayers for a miracle. The story of his journey, its unexpected detours and how he is brought to ultimately sacrifice his will and heart to the Lord is entwined with the story of the birth of Jesus which lightens the dark night of his despair. Prophecies of the coming of Messiah were understood by these shepherds who recognized the signficance of what they witnessed that holy night. Warning: be sure to have tissue ready when reading this book.

The Modern Magi by Carol Lynn Pearson

Review by Susan

Annabelle Perkins lives alone and works as a waitress. She has never married but grew up in a loving home filled with frequent tellings of the Christms story. At age 57 she dreams of traveling to Israel like the Magi and giving a gift to Jesus in Bethleham. She saves her money for months, working extra hours in spite of her health problems. Her anticipation continues to grow, but just as her dream is about to realized something unexpected brings an unwelcome decision. How Annabelle reconciles her dream to give the Christ child a gift with the unexpected twists of fate is an appealing story about the meaning being a Magi in the modern world. Master storyteller Carol Lynn Pearson spins another delightful tale.

Christmas Jars Reunion by Jason Wright

Review by Susan

This is a sequel to Christmas Jars, the runaway bestseller of a few years ago. The story of Hope Jensen continues as she seeks to expand the Christmas Jar phenomenon which she begins to view as a ministry to share the spirit of giving engendered by this tradition. As the Christmas Jars tradition spreads over the country from Chuck's Chicken 'n' Biscuits diner, new characters and their stories are combined with elements of sorrow, romance, lives changed and a community brought together by a lofty goal. In the end, Hope learns about the true nature of the gift of love represented by a Christmas Jar from a very special little girl named Queen.

Christmas on Mill Street by Joseph Walker

Review by Susan

Amid the fears brought on by the Cuban missile crisis in the fall of 1962, Sam Andrews is a 10-year-old who has just moved to Utah from Arizona. He is the youngest of a large family and longs to fit in with his new friends. In a fit of bravado, he boasts that he will be able to sled down the infamous steep and dangerous curves of Mill Street. Unfortunately, he knows nothing about sleds and has never seen snow in person. His dilemma is combined with his uncertainty about the reality of Santa whom he is counting on to help in his quest. As he finally faces this challenge on Christmas Day, help comes from an unexpected source. It is evident that Sam and his family are LDS, but all description of his family's church activities are in generic terms so that the story is can be easily understood and enjoyed by those not familiar with LDS terms and practices.