Your December “Deadlines”

Since September, I’ve written ideas of what you could do per month until the end of the year. But, life happens. Perhaps you’re on schedule. Maybe you’re behind . . . and anxious.

I fit into the “behind” group. I’ve asked my friends to pray that I “catch up and keep up” (without stressing, of course).

I hesitated to call this post “Deadlines” because that may be a big negative for you.  I want you to think more about YOUR opportunities and priorities. You’ll prayerfully choose these and let the rest go.

You know God is sovereign. You are where you are today by His grace.

Your Opportunities and Priorities

So, here are my recommendations for December.

Enjoy the holidays! Make memories and reach out to others.

Wherever you are in the End-of-Year Ask (EOYA) process, keep up with your thank you notes and with sending gifts into Donation Services.

Later, use gentle reminders for your EOYA recipients:. These will help them remember your EOYA.

• Address and send Christmas cards.
• Send a New Year’s email on December 28th or 29th. Use “last chance to give in 2022” with a link, if you like.

Don’t forget, you need to submit medical claims by the end of the month in order for expenses to go toward the current year. Read more details on this post: December Deadline Reminder: Keep Up with Your Medical Claims. (I clarified something with the benefits team and updated the post today.)

You won’t have time, or you may get very confused, if you do too many claims too close together. Do a little bit every other day or so.

Be Available During Interruptions

During this very busy week:

1. Mike has had a cough and is going to have it checked this afternoon.
2. I had already scheduled two medical check-ups for myself.
3. Our over thirty-year-old disposal died on Monday.

A plumber came to replace the disposal Wednesday. Almost immediately, he saw our commissioning plaque in the hallway and said, “I’m a black sheep Christian.” What an obvious open door! I began praying about what to say.

We talked with Phil about his spiritual journey. As he left, I sensed this Navy veteran was open to ask Jesus about his decision to “do church” only as a family. (He thinks the churches he went to were full of hypocrites.)

“We are all patients in a hospital, are we not?” I asked as he left.

It was easy to let go of my plans and deadlines when God had plans for Phil that day.

Optional

If you weren’t able to do my previous ideas consider:

• making sure your Give site is accurate, and
• ordering Christmas stamps right away. (Stamp prices go up January 22nd.)

I just had an email today from a staff friend who updated her Give site. Conda wrote: “I shared your article with my team since it really helped me to set up my giving page. Thank you!”

My blog posts are for YOU and to help you navigate techy things painlessly.  Learn how to have a designated amount displayed on give.cru.org using a specific link in your fund appeal email. You can do this! Go to Fund Appeal Reminders and scroll down to “Additional Option for Your Giving Link.”

About Email Fund Appeals, from eQuipping for eMinistry

You may or may not have done an email on Giving Tuesday. I do most of my asks through snail mail. I will do a few email asks today, hopefully. Personally, I deleted all the email asks in my inbox without opening them this week.

The following are some links and highlights about email fund appeals from this blog. I also have some important tips for your give button on your email. Click on the posts that would be most helpful to you.

• Thoughts on Fund Appeal Email Campaigns is a post from a year ago. I use paper letters for fund appeals. I send a handful of fund appeals by email after Giving Tuesday. I send these when my email won’t be “buried” in our friends’ inboxes. I also discuss sending an ask and a non-ask email to the same person.
• The following post is a little more advanced about the look of a fund appeal email. Make sure your email is mobile-friendly, choose the best time and day to send it, and “bullet-proof” your give button. (That is, if your give button is an image, it only displays if your recipient “downloads pictures.” I share a work-around.) Read more about the 3 Tech Tips for your Fund Appeal Email.

Sign Off for 2022

For us, we’ve had a lot of medical and family events, so I’ll be cutting back on what is normal for me while still doing as much as I can of what is important for December. I started this post five days ago and just decided I’ll have to wait until January until I post again. (You may email me.) I normally would do some more editing right now, but I need to move on. My EOYA tasks, medical claims, and Christmas preparations are waiting for me.

I’m also on call for Nana Duty to watch grandkids in Jacksonville. Grandbaby #7 is due December 22nd or later.

Have a great time with family and friends worshiping our Lord.