A New Tradition of Giving

Here's a tradition we recently began that I'd like everyone to consider.

Stop giving to people who already have more than they need and start giving to people who don't have basic necessities of life.

There are many ways to do this:

Contact Servants for Haiti (info@servantsforhaiti.org), an organization based right here at GCC. In a loved one's name, you can donate a bag of rice, medical care for an orphan, an education for a child, or other needed gifts.

Buy something from the World Vision gift catalog: http://donate.worldvision.org/OA_HTML/xxwv2ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10389 . Who wouldn't want to receive a goat, some ducks, or a chicken for Christmas, knowing that it will change a family's life? The catalog has dozens of ideas in all price ranges.

Or give the gift of water: http://www.water.cc/ . Lack of access to clean drinking water is one of the major causes of death around the world. Americans will spend $450 billion this Christmas. It would only take $10 billion to give every human in the world clean water. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K14c4NGuhDI )

I don't want to stand before my Savior at His throne (Mt 25) and explain why I spent the money He blessed me with to buy Zhu Zhu Pets for rich kids when children in other parts of the world are dying for lack of clean water to drink.

I wish we'd discovered the Advent Conspiracy years and years ago, but it's never too late. Repenting of my past extravagance means changing my present and my presents.

I want to celebrate Jesus's birth the way He would.

The Conti's