In this episode of the Wealth Acceleration Podcast, my wife, Catherine Reed, joins me to discuss the importance of giving during the Christmas season. We share personal experiences and initiatives that encourage charitable acts, such as the Light the World campaign and JustServe.org. We emphasize the joy and fulfillment that comes from helping others, particularly during the holiday season, and encourages listeners to find ways to give back to their communities.
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The Joy Of Giving: Embracing The Christmas Spirit
The Spirit Of Giving During Christmas
I am here for another episode of the show. As promised, I have my wife with me again. What’s up, Catherine?
It is good to be here again.
We wanted to share a topic that is dear to our hearts because it is the Christmas season. What do we do at Christmas time, Catherine?
It is the season for giving. As a society, we’re trying to be less commercialized and think about the babe in Bethlehem and all that Christ has given us. Let’s be cheerful givers ourselves.
Generosity, not just with our financial resources, but also with our time. Maybe there are some talents or skills that you have that others might be in need of. We are huge fans. We have seen so much joy come into our lives. We have been generous to others in many ways, in all their forms. We have been tithers our whole lives. We were taught from our youth that God doesn’t require, but invites us to return 10% of our earnings or our income to the blessing of the lives of our brothers and sisters across the globe. We’re big believers that as we give, we can never outgive God. Blessings come into our lives, as well as resources and relationships. They’re not always in monetary returns, but there are blessings, goodness, joy, and the positive sensation of knowing you’ve done something good for somebody else.
It feels good.
Generosity Beyond Financial Contributions
It’s awesome. We wanted to share with you a couple of ideas. This time of year, the church we belong to has a campaign called Light the World. It is a global church, and it is a global non-denominational opportunity to give. We know almost everyone we’ve talked to has a desire to give back in some way. This time of year, in particular, we’re looking for those opportunities. In the Light the World campaign, what are they called? Giving Machines? Is that right?
Yeah.
There are these red Giving Machines in major cities around the world. If you’re out and about doing your shopping and things, you might see one of these.
It’s a big red box. It reminds some of us of when we used to get the red box video rental. It looks like a red box machine. It’s a big red box. It says The Giving Machine on it. It’s all over the world.
What do we find in those Giving Machines?
It’s fun because you can buy a goat or a sheep to help a family in need in other parts of the country. You can buy all sorts of chickens, so that they can then have eggs for their family.
These are people who are impoverished in other parts of the world. They don’t have access to all of the conveniences we have, such as grocery stores and things. We can buy farm supplies and animals. You can provide clean drinking water. You can provide medications that people might need. You can provide glasses or a wheelchair. The most important things that people are in need of that we can help fund through the Giving Machines.
Kids love it. Take your kids or your grandkids. They are like, “It’s like a vending machine,” because they pick out like they would a Snickers or a Twix. On a candy vending machine, they pick out the goat, chicken, medicine, or wheelchair for someone with special needs who can’t walk. There are so many neat things.
We invite you, whether it’s in person or, I believe, you can even do this online. Go to LightTheWorld.org. Search that up. You should be able to find a way to donate to that if you want to. That’s one of many. The reason why we love the Giving Machine is that we know 100% of the money that we give goes to those causes. There are no administrative costs that come out of that. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints covers the administrative costs. They assure that 100% of the dollar that you give goes to the cause that you agree to.
Community Service And Local Opportunities
If you prefer not to give financially, or maybe you don’t have a Giving Machine in your area, there is a great service called JustServe.org. This has all kinds of local-to-you community service opportunities. You might go serve in a soup kitchen. You might go help somebody with their physical needs in some way. It could be their service projects where you might go do some sort of cleaning up of a facility that needs some support. If you feel more inclined to give your time, I would take a look at JustServe.org.
JustServe.org is a great resource.
Have you ever been able to be a part of that?
Absolutely. We’ve done that not only with church groups, but we’ve had our school groups. There are always opportunities. In fact, sometimes, the different hurricanes, tornadoes, or fires that have destroyed whole cities, JustServe will say, “This fire was in this part of Hawaii, and these families are displaced.” Some people fly in and are able to help with the relief in Florida, Texas, and Louisiana. There have been tornadoes, hurricanes, and fires.
It’s beautiful. That’s bigger relief. Sometimes, it’s simple. It’s different religions that are getting together at this Catholic church, Protestant church, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They’re gathering in the multipurpose room and putting together kits for the soldiers, the men and women who are serving our country. These are such neat opportunities. That is another way that we can give without financial means. It can be such a blessing to those in need. Sometimes, they need our time. It feels so good to do some of that work and give back with your children and grandchildren. We’re all so blessed. To be able to give back is a beautiful thing.
Personal Stories Of Service And Impact
What’s one of your favorite stories of a time when you’ve been of service to somebody?
You and I are going to go and take those gifts that our neighbors have wrapped. Some of the teens and the tweens get to shop at the store of the Utah Foster Center. We will bring some of the gifts from us and from our neighbors that aren’t wrapped, and then they shop as if it’s Walmart, Target, or something for a journal, new earbuds, or a jacket. This has been beautiful this Christmas.
I was so touched. One of my friends is going through tough times themselves financially, but I was so touched. She can’t help but give, even though they’re not rolling in the money. She’s like, “Catherine, I feel so drawn to be able to help those in need.” She texted her family. I think her husband has seven siblings, aunts, and uncles. They have $1,000. They sent her money and gift cards, and she and her daughters went shopping.
She heard about a different family that had an abusive situation, and they fled from this abusive situation. The mom and the kids went back to pick up or retrieve their clothing and school backpacks, but all of that had been destroyed. My friend went back to the store to get even more for them because they need clothes on their backs. I was bawling in our mom’s class in our community. She shared that between her own little family and her husband’s extended family, they all chipped in for this foster family of seven.
Our one friend who’s a foster mom is doing okay herself. They are going to have a Christmas because our community loves big, and we want to be able to help out. We have an obligation where much is given, much is required. We need to be able to help when we can. When you ask, “Name a time,” I’m like, “This Christmas, yesterday, and this week have been so powerful for me as even children are contributing.” Kids can say, “Can I pay $5 and help with a little mini Lego set for some of these teens or tweens that are in foster care?” It’s incredible.
We have an obligation where much is given, much is required. We need to be able to help when we can.
Encouragement To Give And Support Others
It’s a neat thing to see youth participating and getting to have the experience themselves of the service and the joy of that. Honestly, of all the things we do with money, this is by far the most meaningful, even more than the memories we create as a family as we go on trips together or the individual things you do to enhance your life, create memories, and go on these cool, exotic things you might do from time to time. I assure you, if you haven’t yet done service for somebody and it helped lift them up out of a difficult situation, you’re missing out on one of the most joyful experiences of your life.
I’ll give you another quick example that I’ve had. There was a man in our community whose home had become a disarray. He lives alone. He’s got a little bit of anxiety that he deals with. As a result of that, a little bit of hoarding has taken place, and some disarray in the apartment. It’s like a middle-aged man’s bachelor pad. It had become to the point where he was about to get kicked out.
The apartment manager said, “This is not okay.”
Every month or so, they go through and make sure apartments are in good order. It was not going to pass inspection. They said, “You have 4 or 5 days to get this done. We’re going to come inspect it on Monday.” He called up and said, “I’m in a bind. I’m not sure what to do. There’s no way I can do this on my own. Could you help arrange for some people to come help me out?”
Three, four, or five of us were able to get together. We spent probably 4 or 5 hours. We got this place cleaned up. We got it looking almost brand-new. It was remarkable. The day after the inspection, he texted me and said, “They were shocked at how good it looked. I’m so grateful for the effort that you and the other guys put in to come help me out. There was no way I could have done it on my own. Now that it’s cleaned up again, I can manage it. You’ve given me a new life and a sense of freedom from something that was so overbearing to me.”
Look for that. We love you. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you for supporting me. We invite you to participate in the joys of giving, whether it’s money, your time, or your talents. Find a way to do something nice for somebody else aside from the gifts that you give to your own family. Look, as a family, for ways to go out in your community and serve them.
Last thing. The book is live this Friday, December 12th, 2025, and I need your support. What you’re going to do, if you’re willing, is to jump on Amazon and look it up. It is True Wealth: Replace Financial Fear and Worry with Confidence and Capability. It’s going to be available on Kindle for $0.99. In order to get it to be an Amazon bestseller, I need your support to go buy the book, and make sure it happens on Friday, the 12th.
We are so excited.
I talk about giving in the book. I want you to go get the book and read the chapter or two that I have on the law of the tithe, which is all about giving back a little bit of what we’ve been giving. We wish you a wonderful holiday season.
Thanks. We’ll see you next time.