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{"id":1972,"date":"2008-12-24T12:11:48","date_gmt":"2008-12-24T20:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnshore\/?p=1965"},"modified":"2008-12-24T12:11:48","modified_gmt":"2008-12-24T20:11:48","slug":"merry-christmas-and-a-true-christmas-plea-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnshore\/2008\/12\/merry-christmas-and-a-true-christmas-plea-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Merry Christmas!! (And a True Christmas Plea)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Speaking of blessings. If you feel you\u2019ve got even one iota of blessing to spare, I\u2019d like you to consider doing the most Christmas thing possible, which is giving \u00a0(just a little bit!) to the truly downtrodden. I am speaking specifically of the 28 (total) mothers and children I know who tonight will sleep in the emergency shelter to which they recently fled in response to the domestic violence they\u2019ve suffered. These are women without resources who, finally, had enough abuse, and decided, against all odds, to seek a better life for themselves and their children. They are amazingly, heartbreakingly brave.<\/p>\n

I know these women and children because they\u2019ve taken shelter in housing provided by a 25-year-old non-profit organization called Community Resource Center,<\/a>\u00a0which is located in Encinitas, CA. My wife Catherine has worked at CRC for five years. It\u2019s an extraordinary organization. They just got done giving about a month\u2019s worth of good food (including everything needed for a Christmas feast\u2014including a huge frozen turkey) to 1,200 poor families\u2014each of whom also received clothes and (new!) toys for their kids. It was all free to them all, and for most of these families represents the whole of their Christmas bounty this year. This \u201cHoliday Baskets\u201d program is something that CRC does every year. It\u2019s \u2026 well, the very essence of Christmas, in action.<\/p>\n

Anyway, this year no matter how much Christmas joy I experience, or how much Yuletide happiness I see, I can\u2019t get those 28 women and children out of my mind and heart. Those kids need toys, clothing, blankets\u2014and they need them right now more than they\u2019re likely to at any other time of their life. And I don\u2019t need to tell you how much those mothers wish they had something to give their kids this year. If you\u2019d like to help them do that, please do. Giving is down this year, and\u2014frankly\u2014CRC is tapped out. Thank you.<\/p>\n

Community Resource Center\u2019s web page is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Their online donations page is here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Their street address is:\u00a0Community Resource Center, 650 Second Street, Encinitas, CA. 92024<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks again, very much. God bless you, and merry Christmas.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"