Rethinking Christmas Giving

I've started this post a million times and deleted it because I'm afraid of all the ways it could be misinterpreted, but I just can't stop the words from running through my head, so I think that accounts for something.

So please understand my heart behind this post.  It isn't to judge, condemn or call anyone out, I'm simply offering another option.  I'm not claiming to have it all figured out, I just want to give you some things to think about.

As we head into Christmas, I noticed that the really awesome chest pains I was having last year at this time started to come back.  I know that they are anxiety related, and I thought that they were related to a particularly stressful and emotionally taxing situation I was going through last year, but that doesn't seem to be the case.  They have returned with a vengeance and I have been bound and determined to find the root of the anxiety that causes them.  The minute I walked into Target on Monday they started.  I started thinking about Christmas, and all the gifts, and all the stuff and instantly, my heart started to hurt.

When I pinpointed it, I got angry.  Angry that a beautiful time of year has become so commercialized, that so much focus is on stuff.  Then I got sick.  I watched cart after cart go buy, filled to the brim with stuff….stuff that people probably don't even really need.

I know that some people love to give and receive gifts, I think that is great.  I have received some great gifts in my lifetime.  I don't think that giving gifts is in and of itself bad, but I think the need to give gifts that don't have a lot of thought behind them just for the sake of giving gifts or getting more stuff, is sickening.  If you have to ask other people what they are getting their kiddos for Christmas to get more ideas for your kids, then you probably don't need to get them anything at all.  If you can't think of anything to get someone else, then maybe a material gift isn't the answer. 

Buying gifts gives me horrible anxiety and I finally realized it this year.  It isn't because I don't like to be generous, I love to give things to people.  It is because with the time and money I have, I can rarely find a gift that would ever convey how much the people I want to buy gifts for mean to me.  I can spend hours looking for the perfect thing and never find it, and I hate just picking any old thing because it feels so disingenuous….and that makes me sad.

I started thinking about all the gifts that kids will likely get this year and I started to think about how detrimental this could be in the long run.  Don't we spend so much of our life trying to learn and understand that material things don't make us happy?  Why then, do we lavish our kiddos with gifts at Christmas time?  Isn't the point of Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus and how much he loved us by sharing that love with each other?  Then why wouldn't we want to help our kids learn early that material things can't make you happy and limit the gifts they are given and instead focus on giving? 

When I think about giving, I think about Luke 14:12-14

He said also to the man who had invited him,  “When you give  a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors,  lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid.    But when you give a feast,  invite  the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,    and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid  at  the resurrection of the just.

I'll be honest, I'm far more compelled to give gifts to people I don't know than people I know because I don't want to be repaid.  I don't know why that is, but it is.  I love knowing that my gift will make a difference because it is needed, not just more stuff. 

Since I read 7: AnExperimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker, my mind processes everything so differently.  I can't look at "stuff" without thinking about how much it costs and how inconsequential it is.  So when I think about Christmas gifts, that is where my head goes.

With Black Friday and the biggest shopping season around the corner, I'd like you to consider something.  Are the gifts your buying simply allowing you to check something off of your list?  Is it something that is actually going to make a difference in someone else's life?  Is it something that will end up in a landfill in a few years?  I think if you stop and ask these questions, you'll likely find yourself wondering why you are buying it in the first place.

If that is the case, I'd like to offer you an alternative, actually, multiple alternatives to the typical Christmas gift; giving to people who are in NEED in someone else's name as a gift to them.

There are SO MANY great organizations that allow you to do this, here are just a few of them:

World Vision Gift Catalog - This allows you to purchase a variety of things for people in need: animals, clean water, shelter, education, medical care, etc.  Gifts range from $10 to +$150 and there are a variety of options, surely you can find something that special someone would be passionate about.  For example, you can buy a rabbit for an impoverished family for $19, and the good thing about rabbits, they multiply quickly!  There are SO MANY wonderful gifts you can purchase for people who's lives will be changed.  We all know I'm pretty passionate about World Vision, so I think this is a great choice.

Compassion International - They also have a gift catalog with very similar options.  

 

If not having something to give makes you uncomfortable, no worries!  There are other options that allow you to give while still making a difference.

Trades of Hope - They sell beautiful jewelry, scarves and home goods handcrafted by women across the world.  They empower women to create sustainable businesses worldwide so that they can rise out of poverty.  If you are interested in this, please let me know, I have a couple of friends who can hook you up!

Noonday - Similar to Trades of Hope, they sell jewelry and accessories made by women across the world helping them run businesses and change their lives.

Looking for something in your community?

Angel Tree - A ministry of Prison Fellowship, they provide opportunities for you to purchase gifts for children who's parent is incarcerated.  I love this opportunity because you get the kiddos name and they write down a gift idea. 

 Toys for Tots - Lead by the Marines, they collect unwrapped toys at a variety of locations to distribute to kiddos in the community.  

I could go on and on.  The point is that there are so many opportunities to change a life this Christmas rather than giving a gift that will likely be under appreciated.  You have the power to change lives, why not do it?

So instead of heading out on Thanksgiving evening or early Black Friday, why not do things differently this year and spend some time with your family and spread Christ's love to those who could really use it. 

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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8 Reasons You Should Run a Marathon with Team World Vision

It is no secret for many of you readers that running a marathon was a significant goal for me this year.  It wasn't anything I had ever planned on doing and it wasn't something I ever thought would be possible for me to do, but God had other plans.  I completed my first marathon with Team World Vision on October 5th, and now I want to invite you to do the same.  Here are some reasons that I think you should run a marathon, specifically the Twin Cities Marathon, with Team World Vision.

You probably think you can't

I can't think of a better reason to set a huge goal for yourself.  I've always been motivated to prove myself and others wrong.  I enjoy pushing myself to do things that I never thought were possible once I can get over the voice in my head telling me that I can't.  I like to show that voice that it doesn't know what it is talking about, and I think deep down, we all do.  If  you are in relatively good health, I think you have what it takes to run a marathon, you just don't think you do.  Why not prove that little voice in your head wrong?

You will meet some amazing people

It is no secret that I love the community of runners in general, the love I have for my fellow Team World Vision runners is even greater.  You will meet other people running on this team that you wouldn't have met otherwise, and you will push each other towards greatness.  Training for a marathon is hard, but you don't have to do it alone.  I can't tell you how much running with my teammates pushed me to run harder, faster and longer than I would have run if I were training on my own.  You'll be inspired by other people who have jumped in an decided to run a marathon.  People who also though they couldn’t do it, but were willing to give it a shot.  You'll laugh together, cry together, rejoice together and pray together.  You'll be excited for every single one of your teammates that crosses that finish line, it is the thrill of finishing a marathon multiplied…and trust me, that is a great feeling to multiply.

You will grow in ways you probably didn't even know you needed to grow

I'm going to be honest with you and say that training for a marathon was the hardest and best thing I've ever done.  I was pushed so far out of my comfort zone.  I really didn't think I had what it took to finish a marathon.  I had nothing to trust in other than God's goodness and perfect plan for my life.  I trusted that this was something he wanted me to do, and I had to constantly remind myself of that.  What I realize now is that I am the best version of myself when I'm forced to lean on God.  I loved the person I became during the last month of training.  I found weaknesses in my life and in my running that needed to be strengthened.  I learned that pride was a big blind spot in my life and I needed to swallow it to become a better runner, and I did.  I learned that I needed to rely more on others to cover me in prayer and offer encouragement as opposed to always going at it alone.  All of the things I learned helped me grow.  I watched others grow right along with me.  It is a beautiful thing to witness growth in others that you love.

You will be encouraged by complete strangers 

I'm a bit cynical, I don't always believe that people want others to succeed in our "me, me, me" culture, but running the marathon changed that.  I was overwhelmed by the massive amounts of spectators cheering along the course.  I heard people tell me they were proud of me as I ran, people I'd never met before and would likely never see again, it was unreal.  You don't know how much random people cheering for you means until you are 25 miles into a race feeling like garbage and a "You go girl, you've got this" from a St. Paul Police Officer gives you the confidence to finish.  People are beautiful, and they want you to succeed when you push yourself to do something great.

You will change the lives of beautiful people in Africa

Perhaps one of the greatest things about running with Team World Vision is that you get to be an advocate for people who have far less than we do.  You get to tell the world that there are people, just like me and you, who are doing their very best to survive without the basic necessity of clean water.  Without clean water, everything else in life becomes nearly impossible, but you get to speak boldly about this injustice because you're taking strides, literally, to put an end to it.  You get to ask anyone and everyone you know if they'd be willing to join you in the fight.  You get to witness people who you didn't think would be willing to give, give and give generously.  You get to see people's eyes opened.  You get to rejoice every time one more person gets access to clean water.  You get to change lives simply by putting yourself through some temporary discomfort. 

You will see God move

Our team had a constant prayer last year, that God would make it evident that He was at work in us.  He answered that prayer so many times during the course of the season and every time, I was reminded just how much he loves us when I was at a point in my life where I desperately frequent reminders of that love.  When you pray boldly, you get to see God do things you never thought were possible, and that is pretty darn exciting. 

You will experience emotions you didn't know you had

The minute I realized that I was going to cross the finish line, I was flooded with a mix of emotions.  I still don't have words to describe some of them, but here are a few: joy, pride, gratitude, exhaustion, elation - you will want to burst.  

No one can ever take the title of "Marathoner" away from you

Once you cross that finish line, you are a marathoner, and you always will be.  On difficult days, you can remind  yourself of what you once did and look back and smile.   On hard training runs afterwards, you can remind yourself that you once moved your body for 26.2 miles, you can push through 4. 

There is a lot more that  I could say, but the main thing is this, running a marathon with Team World Vision changed my life and may be the greatest thing I'll ever do.  I want everyone to experience the love, joy and growth that I experienced and I'd feel horrible if I didn’t tell you about it and invite you to do the same.

If you are thinking about it, but have questions, please let me know, I'd love to answer any.  If you want to run, but are afraid of being to slow or not knowing what to do, I'd love to help!  In fact, I might even be able to talk my husband into letting me run again next year if I were doing so with the sole intent of helping someone else finish.  

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