Westminster’s “Orange Idea” is a monthly, family-friendly, 1-page resource to help you live out your faith at home. But what is “Orange,” you might ask?

As Julie and Matthew explained, it’s not just a colour—it’s a way of thinking: Yellow represents the light of Jesus shared by the church. Red represents the blood and bond of the family. So when you put Yellow and Red together you get…

Orange!

So an “Orange idea” is when the church helps people live out their faith in their families and homes. After all, the home is the primary place where faith is formed.

So this monthly resource will help people of different ages learn about and live out their Christian faith in tangible, practical ways.

So here’s the Orange Idea for February: Give a gift of kindness!

In Mark 12:31 Jesus offers this timeless teaching: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Well, in February we often think about Valentine’s Day as a day to show how much we love our partners, children and families. Jesus commands us to love one another—but this love isn’t just for our families, but for our neighbours as well.

Here’s the activity:

This month we challenge you and your family to purchase or create a gift for a friend or family you believe could use some extra TLC. To add to the challenge see if you can give anonymously!

Here are some helpful tips:

1. Get everyone involved: Discuss who could use a gift of love, determine what to buy or make, and don’t forget to wrap your gift(s)!
2. If purchasing a gift, think of something you’ve heard they need (or could use) and drop it off on their door stop anonymously. Remember, it doesn’t have to be big!
3. You can also go with a homemade gift of a meal/cookies or artwork. If you want to go that extra mile, a cookie tin or frame can be purchased at the Dollarstore to dress it up a bit.
4. Not sure who to give a gift to? Try paying it forward in the Tim Horton’s drive thru or create a blessing bag for someone in need in Downtown Barrie.
5. Do it with love in your heart!

In February, join in and give a gift of kindness! Someone will be blessed and encouraged because of you.

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• The idea about “Orange” being a combination of the light of Jesus shared by the church and the blood and bond of the family is by Reggie Joiner in his book Think Orange.
• You can see Westminster’s page about it (and also previous Orange Ideas) here.