Monday, November 9, 2009

What's on Jesus' Christmas List?

It's that time of year...you know that time, when families gather for the holidays...you see family members you haven't seen in awhile...familiar conversations by the fire..familiar smells coming from the kitchen...you can see the table is laid with all the traditional goodness...and as you smack your uncle's hand out of the green bean casserole, *AGAIN* or you share a laugh with the family, as yet another boyfriend has been initiated by eating Grandma's "delicious" fruitcake...(and yes, we made them ALL do it...and it really is that bad!)...you see a room laid with presents...you feel yourself fill with nervous anticipation at every beautifully wrapped gift under the tree...hoping that your family received your wish list that you emailed, faxed, left on post its and "casually" dropped other such delicate hints of...Children lay in wait until they are released and then...the insanity begins...papers and bows flying at record speeds and when you look in the aftermath, how many of us experience that disappointment...I didn't get what I wanted...and then you hear it...the "thanks, Grandma" for the English Stallion cologne that your 20 year old fiance will never wear...the "wow, this is awesome" with a twinge of hate at the holiday sweatshirt you will never use...the only sound of happiness is Grandpa tearing into his yearly anticipated can of popcorn...Yes, sweet victory...and all the feigned happiness because your family ignored what you wanted...or never cared to ask...



How often do we do this to Jesus on his birthday? Shower him with gift exchanges, christmas cookies, warm fuzzy Christmas specials and green bean casserole...Now, please don't think for a moment Im hating on cookies or the Christmas classics...What my point is, how different would our world be if we stopped to ask Jesus what HE wanted for Christmas.



Did you know that Americans spend 480 million dollars on Christmas every year...how much of that is in wasted gifts...what if we could give a gift that would continue to give year after year...


I challenge you to check out the site Adventconspiriacy.com. Watch the videos, listen to the need...we spend 480 million dollars on this holiday when really, we could have saved the world for 10 million of that...what if, instead of giving family members gifts that may gather dust, we give someone the gift of clean water to drink? That's approximately one less gift for each person on your list...every day, children die, women work themselves to death, education suffers, creativity stifles, work is lost, families are broken...at the root, and one of the leading demons of poverty in this world is thirst...what if while spreading living water this season, we spread some actual water as well


take a moment and go to adventconspiracy.com...make this Christmas different...Worship Fully, Give Presence *Not presents*, Love More...

Instead of making Jesus say "oh, you shouldn't have" let's make him say "Im so glad you did..."

...Now, get out of here and go watch Polar Express...