Yes, I did have a great time hanging out with my parents and grandmother Christmas morning and early afternoon. And then a good time with Crystal's family who were in town from NY and Cali later on in the day. It was a good vacation and relaxing. And yes, I ate some great food. But, none of that stuff made it the best Christmas ever.
The Advent Conspiracy I got to be a part of made it the best Christmas EVER for me! You can read more about what it looked like for me HERE and HERE.
Short Story = I always get a ton of presents at Christmas. Definitely nice stuff and things I enjoy... but honestly, do I really need MORE stuff??? That's what I asked myself and really I think if I NEVER got anything else ever again... I would be just fine and better off than like 90% of the world.
On the other hand there are MILLIONS dying around the world - Africa and Asia especially SIMPLY because they do not have clean water. Including 3,900 children dying every day JUST BECAUSE they do not have clean water to drink!!!
I don't know about you but that breaks my heart and forces me to do something about this current tragedy. It's like a tsunami or a 9/11 every single day!
So, instead of piling up more and more stuff for myself I decided to rebel against materialism... kick it in the teeth really... and politely asked everyone who was going to give me b-day or Christmas gifts to PLEASE NOT BUY ME A GIFT! But instead of a gift to donate that same amount of money to build clean water wells through Living Water International. They are a great organization and have committed through Advent Conspiracy to use every penny that is donated for taking clean water to people who don't have it in order to save their lives!
And now that Christmas is over, I've got to say I DIDN'T MISS ALL THOSE GIFTS AT ALL!!! God has still blessed me beyond imagination and I am perfectly content. but here's the cool part that made it the best Christmas ever...
People gave the $ they would have spent on my Christmas gifts to help build wells for clean water & the total from my b-day & Christmas is just under $1,000!!!
WHOOOOO!!! That's what I'm talking about! All the clean water ministries estimate that in most of these villages living in poverty it takes about $10 to give someone clean water for life.
So, that means almost 100 PEOPLE will have clean water now & LIVE because of the donations family and friends gave! HAHA, there are 100 people with BIG SMILES on their faces today! Even cooler - God has a BIG SMILE on His face today!
So, that means almost 100 PEOPLE will have clean water now & LIVE because of the donations family and friends gave! HAHA, there are 100 people with BIG SMILES on their faces today! Even cooler - God has a BIG SMILE on His face today!
I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING MORE AWESOME THAN THAT FOR CHRISTMAS!
And please feel free to continue to donate to the well fund through Advent Conspiracy/Living Water HERE.
***There are also some other great organizations Crystal and I have partnered with and given to in years past that specialize in building wells and taking clean water to dying people in Jesus' name! Check out Rwanda Clean Water and Blood:Water Mission! I know a lot about them, have met the peeps that work for them, and recommend them WHOLEHEARTEDLY! (Their links have been on the right side of this blog since it began 1 year ago... hopefully you've checked them out by now.)
Thanks especially to everyone who donated to save lives and who made this the best Christmas ever for me. It's true - Christmas can still Change the World!
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2 comments:
Right on! :)
My cousin works with a group called Nuru International. You should check them out, too!
http://www.nuruinternational.org/
Diddo on that Best Christmas Ever. AWESOME! This kind of stuff pumps me up for saving, investing, and one day having more money to give. I have some new investment thoughts that I want to share with you soon. Give me a call soon. Nothing spectacular, but, a good possibility. Happy New Year P-Diddy.
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