Advent Conspiracy

Ironically, I sat down to write this, turned on the TV and saw an ad for Sears that said, "More value. More Christmas." Seriously? Since when did Christmas have anything to do with value? It's not called "valuemas."

Anyways, rant over. Today is the first day of Advent so in honor of it, I thought I'd share something that David and I have been talking about lately - Advent Conspiracy. If you've never heard of it, there's a promo video that wraps it up pretty well:

It's really sad what Christmas has become but I think this is a cool answer to it. And clearly, none of us are going to be able to give the world clean water, but there is a lot we can do to help other people. I can't speak for everyone but I know that I don't need any more presents - especially in bulk. If you want to give me a present, wait until the summer, when I'm always in need of swimsuits/sandals and am 6 months away from my birthday and Christmas :)

If this video doesn't convince you enough, check out Shaun Grove's blog about "Going Giftless." He's really funny and a very talented writer who has some good points about the way we celebrate Christmas.

And, if you're ready to give up your Christmas gifts this year and give more, but don't know where to start, here's a plan: go explore the India Gospel League's Gift Catalog. Instead of getting another sweater, you can give a family a goat. Or teach an adult to read. Or feed a child.

T-26 Days. Merry Christmas!