More than stuff

Christmas is definitely my favorite holiday.

I love the season leading up to it -- listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies, decorating, sending out cards and baking.

What I don't like is all the shopping and materialism that surrounds Christmas. (I'm referring to Christmas in America, not in Japan. In Japan, people don't give presents on Christmas; they just eat a Christmas cake with their family.)

I'm not saying that I'm against giving presents. What I'm saying is that it's important not to get caught up in a mindset of materialism. It's important to think of Christmas as a time to celebrate what's most important -- the birth of Jesus Christ.

A few days ago, I read the below paragraph on a Web site...

"There are a lot of things we get wrong about Christmas. For one, we give each other so much stuff. Whether it's out of obligation or just to truly show someone we care, we're still essentially material-rich people giving other material-rich people more... materials. The purpose of our holiday, though, is Christ. And Jesus made his purpose clear to us -- sacrifice. He died so that we could live. And we struggle to keep that the focus of Christmas while we're busy buying and unwrapping gifts."

The third sentence -- the one I bolded -- really stuck out to me. It made me think, "Yeah, that really is true." And it reminded me of a little video with a big (powerful!) message that I watched last year. I feel like it's definitely worth sharing...

Thinking about the truth in this message is what inspired me to start my water campaign. I've decided that this Christmas, instead of buying stuff, I'll give monetary gifts to people who could really use them.

I desire to love like Jesus -- who made the ultimate sacrifice -- even though every single day I fall waaaay short.

As always, I'm looking forward to celebrating Jesus' birthday this December 25th!

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"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18