Just because we live in America and Jason has a job, we are among the wealthiest in the world. We make more than a $1 a day. That’s all it takes. America spends $480 billion each year from black Friday to Christmas. $480 billion. That is an absurd amount of money. That money would end world hunger. It could end certain diseases. Now again, I don’t think buying gifts for people is inherently a bad thing – I personally LOVE figuring out gifts for people. It’s part of how I show people that I care. I think back, though, to the message in What Would Jesus Buy and how it impacted me and then my post about voting with our money. In those moments, I am sold out to the idea of shopping locally and really paying attention to what I’m buying, but realistically speaking, as time passes I let these ideas slip and I’m back where I started. . .

I think, for us, it comes down to living with less, being ok with giving less and refocusing on what we are actually buying and where it came from. I am not good at this. For short periods of time, I am, but then I cave. There are moments where I am fully ok with not getting everything I want (or giving everything I want), and then there are moments that I feel like a two year old. ‘I want it! Give it to me!’ For example, last year, Jason and I asked our family to not give us gifts and to donate money instead to World Vision or Blood:Water Mission. This was received warmly by some and questioningly by others, but I get that. It’s kinda weird in our culture to not ask for anything (and I don’t share this to ‘toot my own horn’, believe me – I am no better than anyone). But this year I feel my heart desiring things. I don’t want to not receive gifts. I want new music, I want new books, new kitchen gadgets. Again, not inherently bad, but my heart turns it from something that could be blessing into greed.

Our church right now is going through the Advent Conspiracy, so these ideas are at the front of my mind again. Replacing consumerism with compassion. We are being challenged to buy less, give less, ask for less and to give out of our abundance to buy goats for developing nations. What appeals to me most about this is that we’re not just giving handouts to people in need, but providing them with a sustainable source of food and income. Goats provide milk, cheese and yogurt – much needed nutrition, but they also provide more than one family will need, allowing them to sell the excess. And once the goats breed, they’re providing more goats for the families to sell which in turn helps other families support themselves. All of that for $75 per goat. It’s pretty genius. We are praying in how to participate in this blessing that our church is helping to heap on these people that we will never meet in this lifetime.

I guess this blog post is my pondering of what is going on in my heart right now regarding consumerism and Christmas. Again. Every year I come back to this and must revisit what state my heart is in. I want this Christmas to about more than presents. I want to enjoy and invest time in my relationships with my family. That time is precious – we will never get it back. I want my heart to change so that it is softened to giving out of our abundance to people in desperate need and to desire less. I want an open heart, not a heart that hoards.

So all that being said, I want to hear about what you guys are doing this Christmas. It doesn’t have to relate to this post at all, or maybe this post will challenge what you currently have planned. I’d love to hear about it.