IT‘S CHRISTMAS TIME!!!!!! 
I absolutely love this time of year. I love the Christmas carols, I love the Christmas movies, I love the live nativity scenes, I love the cheezy Christmas music / love songs, and songs like “A Tender Tennessee Christmas”, I love the tears I get in my eyes when I think about the fact that Jesus came as a baby in a manger… simple and beautiful…
and I genuinely love giving presents to people… in fact shopping and planning the presents to give to the people I love and care about is one of my favorite parts about this season.
However, as you may imagine, memories from a year around the world in third world countries doesn’t always settle so easily at this time of year.
I had a talk with a good friend of mine last night, and one of the things this friend mentioned to me, that I had no idea about, was that it would only cost about 10 billion dollars to solve the drinking water problems around the world, of which about 3,900 children die from a day.
Initially that sounded like a lot, but then I was told that last year Americans spent 450 billion dollars on Christmas… just America…. just last year alone… that’s 1/2 a trillion dollars. I was absolutely shocked.
Now as you may be able to relate to, there are two sides of me that rise up at this thought…. the first is…..”OH MY GOSH… we could fix this, and we aren’t…. I should not buy a single present and spend it all on water for babies in other countries”… and then there was the part of me that thought ” But I love buying presents for people, I don’t really want to take it all back… is it all wrong?”.
As I am learning, so many things aren’t black and white, and I think God actually put both of those parts of my personality in me… the part that breaks at the thought of a reality for these children that we COULD give them, and the part that loves to spoil my friends and family.
I don’t know what the exact right answer is for every person. I’m not really even sure what the exact right answer is for me… but I know I want to help… so if you were shocked by those numbers as I was and would like to help too, I thought it would only be right to give you the opportunity.
If you click on the link below it will take you to a sight entitled “The Advent Conspiracy”. This organization has partnered with another organization called “Living Water” that is working to dig fresh water wells in the countries around the world so that children, and adults will have fresh water to drink. Their heartbeat is that people would allow themselves to be broken enough / motivated enough that we can help to change the numbers of children and people dying from diseases related to bad water…. change it for the better.
“10 dollars will give a child clean water for life”, and give them a chance to grow up.
I hope that you enjoy your Holiday Season!
This blog was not to make you feel guilty, or to say “don’t buy a single present”… not at all.. but I’ll be honest… the purpose of this blog was to challenge… to challenge for the better, and to inform you, because you can’t make a difference in this area if you don’t know!
So have a blessed Holiday Season… enjoy your families… and remember
HE’S THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!!!!!!!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!
