Please watch this 30-second video for me, will you?

Not wasted.

Not trashed.

Not thrown away.

Not junk.

Saved.

Saved.

Repaired.

And restored.

I am renewed.

 

When you donate used goods to the Salvation Army, you are giving the greatest gift – a second chance to those who need it most.  Donating couldn’t be easier or more urgent.  Visit www.SATruck.org for a donation center near you or call 1-800-SA-Truck for free pick-up.

When I saw this on TV a few weeks back, I was so moved at the simple message and by the good work the Salvation Army has long been doing, I went on the lookout for it so I could share it with all of you.

Thrifting is in vogue these days and everyone likes a good deal (which you can find at the Salvation Army stores), but what struck me about this ad was the reminder that when we shop at a Salvation Army, when we donate the things we no longer have need of – we are actually in real life, in real time affecting real lives, helping people who have maybe lost their way, who have been pushed aside.

But you could make a difference.  Easy.

How simple would it be, this week, to go around your house (every room and even the garage) and gather up some nice things to donate?  It appeals to my sense of not being wasteful, of giving value to something that you no longer use, but which might bless another family.  It stops wastefulness and trashing material items – at the same time it is repairing  and restoring hearts and lives and families and individuals.

What if just not throwing away things you no longer need somehow helped renew a life, a person?

Thanksgiving and Christmas, times of goodwill toward men (like the Father toward us) are a great time to not just think about doing something, but actually doing it.  Save-repair-restore-renew…we can do this.  We have more than enough!

NOTE:  When I first saw the ad, I couldn’t find it online anywhere, so I went all the way to Deborah Knutson/USW/SArmy, Public and Corporations Director for the Salvation Army USA Western Territory in Long Beach, CA.  She sent me to Kathy Lovin USW/SArmy@USW who helps promote the Adult Rehabilitation on Social Media sites. At first, she hadn’t seen the ad, but when it became available on YouTube two months later, she remembered me and sent the link.  Very nice!  Thank-you, Kathy Lovin!  God bless!   http://www.salvationarmy.usawest.org