Joy of Christmas from a Boaz Mentor

Where is the JOY of Christmas!


Christmas for me is a wonderful time of year! I know it is not a happy time for everyone but hope and pray that those people, they will eventually find joy in Christmas. I personally, have gone through a period in my life where I did not look forward to Christmas. I lost my mother to Cancer on December 15th, 1984. That year and for a few years to follow Christmas was a sad time.


However, I’m sure we all can remember the thrill of Christmas as a child! All the lights, excitement and the anticipation of what Santa was going to bring to us. I am now a grand-mother of five (I’m counting the one due in January) but when I was a child,( and even when my children were small) things were much different than what they are now. As a child it was an adventure for us to go to town with Mum and Dad to get the groceries. I don’t think I can remember eating out in a restaurant as a child but do remember someone bringing store cooked pizza to our home one time and how excited I was and how extravagant it was. We did not receive gifts/treats year round; they usually only came on our birthdays and at Christmas. And OH! How thrilling it made Christmas seem! Now, as a society, when we want something, a lot of US (me included), go out and get it. When Christmas rolls around I think most of us struggle with what we will buy for gifts for family and children because they ‘have everything’! And there is such a huge variety of toys, etc., out there now that many children seem to want everything because they can’t make up their minds what they want. And because of that, it takes away a lot of the joy of giving.


Well this year we, my husband Howard and I have had some of the joy put back into our Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, with the exception of when my mother passing away near Christmas, I have and will always love Christmas. I love buying for my children and grand-children but when they already have so much and you are on a budget, it is hard.


However, a few months ago I had lunch with our Youth Pastor, Scott Wood at Morning Gate Church as I had expressed an interest in helping out with the youth. By the time our lunch was over, we both agreed
that I probably would be a ‘better fit’ for Boaz Ministries, a Ministry that Scott had founded. 


I started helping out on Friday nights with a group of local youth and some of their parents. Through the rapport that Scott had built with the parents of these youth, he and some of those parents decided that they would like to see some of these children mentored. Scott then asked to meet with Howard and I and asked us if we would be interested in mentoring one of these youth. After a brief time of thought and pray we called Scott and told him yes. We have committed to spending 90 minutes a week with our mentee, 8 year old Tyisha. We have been out about ½ dozen times now and what a new outlook it gives you. She is a vibrant, sociable child who is very easy to love. She goes between calling us Howard and Brenda to Grampie and Grammie, which we are thrilled with. She is quick to correct us if she knows we are wrong but does it in a very great way. And her smile would win anyone’s heart. She is thrilled to have not only one mentor but two and has on occasion bragged to her sister, Mikayla, that she has ‘two of them’. And now as Christmas approaches it has put the thrill back into my Christmas because we are able to share with Maria and her children, some of what we have been blessed with. I know Howard has noticed more excitement in me this year. 


I am so thankful for being a part of Boaz Ministries and even more thankful that Maria has allowed us to become part of her extended family. We are, truly loving the time with Ty and it is touching our hearts in ways that we could never have imagined. It is one thing to know that there is a need out there and give to it, but it is sooooooo much more rewarding to actually become a part of a ministry such as this. Maria and her family may feel that we are blessing them but she will never know truly, how much this is blessing us. Thank you Boaz Ministries and Thank you Maria for allowing us to be a part of this. The one part of this journey that I do want to mention is this: Howard and I have felt for a long time that, as much as we know we would enjoy going on a Mission Trip to some foreign country, that our mission field was here in ‘our own back yard’. And we feel that through God’s direction it has brought us to Boaz Ministries. We are truly thankful and are so happy that His JOY (Jesus Others You) is in us this Christmas.

Bake Sale

Our good friends at the Goody Shop have partnered with Boaz 


Ministries again this year for our 3rd annual Christmas bake 


sale. 


We have 100 packages of Christmas baking and we are selling them 


for $8 each. You can buy them for yourself or you can make a 


donation to us for a family in need and we will deliver the


Christmas baking to them. Either way, you help support Boaz!

Seasons of change

November has come and gone for another year. It was a great November for a number of reasons, here are my top 3 reasons:
1. I got to stash my Movember stache. I loved growing it for awareness of prostate cancer, but am having to get rid of the hideousness of a moustache.

2. My favorite hockey team the Boston Bruins, never lost a game in regulation. That's right they were 12-0-1!

3. God worked a miracle in the month of November to provide us with a place to do our ministry from. You can read the previous blogs to see how that all happened.

Now the month of December is upon us. For some this is an exciting time, for others it is a time of dread. I have to confess that I love what Christmas represents but I don't enjoy the other trappings of it.


There are lots of gifts you can give people for Christmas. I want to present a gift idea that can make a difference. What if you were to make a donation to our ministry in the name of someone on your shopping list.  For the person who seems to have everything why not give them something that they have never had before and one that can make them very happy. Remember it is much more blessed to give than receive.


The seasons change and we know that is going to happen at certain times. How about changing someones life when they least expect it. You can make a difference and that can give you Christmas joy this season!


If you would like to bless this ministry that blesses others, make a donation on paypal using the link here, or contact us at boazlighthouse@gmail.com and we will give you the information you need.


GO BRUINS!