“Sharing Time: Give Yourself Away,” Friend, Dec. 1990, 38
Sharing Time:
Give Yourself Away
By love serve one another (Gal. 5:13).
What gift can I give you for Christmas this year?
What gift can I give to bring love and good cheer?
What gift can I give you to tell you I care,
A gift you’ll remember, a gift we can share?
The gift that I’ll give can’t be bought in a store,
It doesn’t cost money—it’s worth much, much more!
The gift that I’ll give doesn’t come from a shelf.
The gift that I’ll give is a gift of myself!
A gift of yourself is a gift of service. It is one of the best gifts you can give, and it doesn’t cost any money! When you serve others, you are giving something that only you can give. You are giving yourself!
Jesus gave Himself by serving others. He didn’t give gifts that cost money. He blessed the sick to get well, the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the sad to feel happy.
To give yourself in service, you could share with others your love, your time, and your talents. You could serve your parents by cheerfully doing chores and by helping your brothers and sisters. You could serve at church by helping keep the building and grounds clean and orderly. You could serve the poor and needy in your community by collecting food, clothes, or other things they might need. Someone lonely or sick might enjoy a visit, a letter, or a homemade gift. You could serve the missionaries by sharing your testimony in a Book of Mormon.
King Mosiah told his people that “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). When you bless others’ lives, you bless your own as well. So for a very satisfying Christmas, give yourself in service!
Instructions
On the next page is a list of those to whom you might want to give a gift of yourself this Christmas. Think of a way you can serve each one, and write it in the blank next to the name.
Gift List
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Mother: ___________________________________________
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Father: __________________________________________________
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Brothers: ________________________________________________
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Sisters: _________________________________________________
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Grandparents: ____________________________________________
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Friends: _________________________________________________
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Church leader or teacher: ________________________________
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Missionary: ______________________________________________
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My community: ____________________________________________
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My ward/branch: __________________________________________
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Someone who is in trouble: _______________________________
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Someone who is lonely: ___________________________________
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Someone who is poor: _____________________________________
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Someone who is sick: _____________________________________
Sharing Time Ideas
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Review events in the Savior’s life and have children determine ways He served others.
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Tell scripture stories of people who gave themselves away in service (Good Samaritan, King Mosiah, Esther, etc.).
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Have children generate their own list of ways they can serve, then describe to each other why these gifts might be more valuable than those they could buy.
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Plan a class or an entire Primary service project.
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Put objects in a basket or container that suggest ways children can serve others, and have younger children guess what each object stands for. Examples: Hoe—gardening; plate—setting the table; book—reading to another. Children could use charades to express ways in which they could serve others.
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Make an outline of a simple nativity scene for each child. As children perform an act of service, they can color or paste in a picture until the scene is completed.
Illustrated by Shauna Mooney