Beginning to Look Like Christmas

Imagine my chagrin when I find Christmas trees prominently displayed at Sam's Club instead of giant bags of miniature candy. I get it, Sam's doesn't want me to get fat because I'm going to stuff the bags in my freezer and leave my lights off on Halloween night. Nice of them. But really? Christmas trees? In the first week of October? Give me back my Halloween and Thanksgiving festivities, if you please! Hmph.

Thanksgiving is actually my favorite holiday. It has all the togetherness and home cooking of Christmas without as much stress and definitely without the commercial drive to buy everything in sight. In all frankness, I'm not really looking forward to Christmas this year. I'm sick of buying and giving presents to people who don't really want them or need them. Just how many iPod gift certificates does a person want in their lifetime anyway? And how does that make any kind of positive difference in anyone's life? I'm turning more and more into a Scrooge every day.

That being said, I still want to get something for my kids and my husband. I like buying them stuff because I get to see them enjoy (or at least use) their gifts. Isn't that the point anyway? How can we truly enjoy giving when we have no idea how the gift impacts the person?

This year, I want everyone who feels compelled to buy me something to go to AdventConspiracy.org and donate money to Living Water International instead. Wouldn't it be cool to be part of fixing a global problem? As many serious global issues as there are, this is one that is rather easy to mend. And I don't have to know the people to know how they're impacted. I've hiked around for days and had to carry all my own water on me. Having water fresh and close by is such a blessing. I am always so glad to be able to turn on the tap and drink my daily 3L of water. I'm sure the people receiving the "gift" from the LWI folks will be much more grateful than I ever could be.

Something Christmas-related that did crack me up was this article from MSNBC. Call me mean, but check this out:

Such basics will likely resonate with consumers like Muna Abdushukui, 29, who lost her job working in a gift shop two months ago, and has had a hard time finding work.

Abdushukui, who was at the Mall of America in Minneapolis recently with her 3-year-old daughter, said she's just sticking to the necessities.

"I'm buying food," she said.

If she's only "buying food", then why was she at the MALL OF AMERICA???!!! Does that seem strange to anybody else? If you're trying to lose weight, you stay away from buffets. If you're trying to save money, you stay away from malls-especially one like that. I'm sorry, but it's just funny. I'm find zero humor in her difficulty finding work, so please don't think I'm horridly unfeeling and mean. It's just the journalist's choice to include that location with that quote is unintentionally hilarious to me.

Aside from that strange humor, the article has good news for all you folks still planning on celebrating a typical over-the-top American-style Christmas. Apparently, we haven't spent enough in stores this year, so they're going to seduce us into parting with our money by offering their stuff at great prices...read: a SALE. I used to be such a sucker for that word. Now it usually only works in the grocery store. Buyer beware! Do your research before buying anything on sale, especially if it's from a chain store. Trust me, they are going to make their money somewhere, so stick to your guns and buy only the bargain you've validated!

Here's a good Christmas challenge: Review your gift list and see how many people you can trim from it. If you don't really want to give the person a gift out of love or out of desire to fulfill one of their needs, then why are you giving it to them? If you must give them the gift due to familial standing or something like that, then give a donation in their name instead. That way, you can help a cause you truly believe in vice giving the person something you bought at the last minute. Just a thought.

-Domestic Goddess out.

Giving God His Due

Today, our pastor talked about a convention he attended and some things he learned from Rick Warren, the guest speaker. Before writing The Purpose Driven Life, Rick and his wife had committed to tithing to God in a very uncommon way. Every year, they would take another percent of their income and add it to their tithe. Instead of giving 10%, they raised their tithes to 11, 12, 15%. I don't know how high they actually got before The Purpose Driven Life was published, but I imagine it must have been pretty high because it took a long while to get to the point in his life where God had prepared him to write the book.

Once The Purpose Driven Life was published, money came rolling in. That book is actually the #2 bestseller in the entire WORLD. It's second behind the Bible. :) Our pastor said Rick got to a point where he was excited about the prospects that money could bring him...until God reminded him otherwise. Rick become impressed with the fact that the money was God's and that he should remain in his "old" home and continue to use his "old" truck. He didn't need more than he already had, and if he did, God would provide. What a way to be kept humble!

What's more, the success of The Purpose Driven Life has allowed the Warrens to give 90% of their income to God's kingdom. How amazing! They live on the 10% normally allotted to God and give God the 90% allotted to them. Would that I could do the same! Thankfully, our family is debt-free, so we can give without worrying about where the money is going to come from.

But I have to wonder about people who are in debt. How hard it must be for them to give even the "minimum" 10% to God! It's hard to trust anyone with money, even God. The laws of mathematics say that 0-x=-x. But when we give to God, He breaks those laws (He can because He created them). 0-x=enough. He ALWAYS provides for those who are faithful and trust Him. I encourage you to give your tithe, even if you don't think you can afford it. Trust me, God math is incredible.

Before we were debt-free, we struggled to make the right money decisions. However, we never ever considered stopping our tithe. In fact, it was one of the things we agreed we'd always do despite our circumstances. Whatever we have, be it little or much, is from God. We owe him much, so why begrudge Him the 10% He asks us for? Such were our thoughts six years ago during marriage counseling, and five years into our marriage, we see the fruits of giving to God.

I urge you to examine your finances carefully. Decide to pay God before you pay yourself and definitely before you pay your bills. If you're in debt, make plans to get out of it. Christ calls us to give freely, but we can't do that until we get rid of our allegiances to our credit companies. God says the borrower is a slave to the master. Stop working to further someone's agenda and put your money to work for God's kingdom!

Finally, analyze whether you can give a little more generously to those on mission for God. You can give your money to your church, to missionaries, or to Christian non-profit organizations. Do a little research and give where your heart is. Stop being selfish with your money and give it to people who actually need it. Everything we do will be returned to us, not necessarily in the form of money, but in the form of blessings.

Domestic Goddess out.