AC Christmas

This year our family participated in our first all-AC Christmas. (AC) Advent Conspiracy is a revolution that has spread across the world (literally) which calls people who follow Christ to spend less during the holidays, give more of that saved money away to those in need, to worship fully by remembering the true story of Christmas (i.e. Christ's birth), and love everyone around us by giving relational gifts rather than material gifts.

so in the spirit of loving all, this year instead of buying my family the usual check-out items at Walgreens on the way home from church ;-) like a snuggie, some new cheap gadget or cologne they don't need...i challenged myself to get creative and come up with a gift that would truly express my love for them while simultaneously loving other folks around the world. for me this meant signing up for a trip to build fresh-water wells in El Salvador this February, and giving some of the donation money on behalf of my family in the form of a Living Water Card: Love Well, Give Wells. then, on the cards i inserted a voucher of some kind that could be redeemed at any time. for my brother it was a free movie night hanging out together (we're both movie watchers). for my sister and her husband it was a double-date night out at a restaurant they love, Olympia, in Maplewood. for my other sister, whose a fitness guru, i got a free crossfit workout with my trainer, Brandon Jackson, and he pushed us to our limit exercise-wise (which for some reason my sister thinks is fun). i gave my parents cards as well, but with them i'd put together a photo album--for my dad--full of pictures of the guitar we built together, and a scrapbook full of notes--for my mom--from my mom's friends mixed in with pictures as well.

i was shocked that to-a-person, my family was more impressed with the simple relational gifts than i can ever remember them being moved by material gifts i'd given them in the past years. it really was a special christmas, and i spent a TON less then i ever had before, and expressed far more value to my family. as a result of the experience, we've decided to start a pattern, and do it again next year as well. and AC all started--in part--in st. louis, missouri. how bout that? our town is a big small town, but it's alive and full of some incredible people, with great generosity, big ideas and huge hearts. thanks to the teams of dreamers at the Crossing in Chesterfield who've inspire all of us to live differently at Christmas...and all year long.