Advent week 2

My church is going through the book of Matthew. So I'm weeding through genealogies  of Jesus, which in the past has been pretty boring and something I skimmed over. Lately though, I've been reminded of how powerful the family history was.

http://sacredsandwich.com/archives/8072

About a year ago I heard a sermon on the passage with all the names and was struck by the significance of including women (women who didn't have great reputations) in the history. It wasn't normal to give props to the moms - don't get me started on that! But in this instance 5 women with storied pasts and scandalous claims to fame are included. I love this :) It reminds all of us that Jesus has family baggage and makes him more human. These women had names and were included in Jesus' story regardless of how uncommon a practice this was.

The variety of backgrounds included in the family history invite us to be part of the history too. To end today - check out Behold the Lamb of God by Andrew Peterson and listen to Matthew Begats. It seriously makes the genealogy SO cool :) Enjoy.

Advent week 1

Today starts the church's Christmas season. While consumer America has been at it since Halloween, I now feel justified in listening to Christmas music and  baking unhealthy and delicious items. But one thing that I have already finished and am now simply fighting the pressure for "more" is my Christmas shopping.

For the 1st year ever, I am done with my Christmas shopping before Dec. 1. Hooray! I get weird about our focus on gift giving during this holiday. I don't like feeling like I'm giving out of obligation; I want to find the perfect gift; or I have trouble sticking to a budget. The past several months I've come across a number of awesome products that help someone else, in addition to giving you a gift to on Christmas morning.This is a way for me to feel a whole lot better about the gift I give and the purpose of this season. It makes my money matter more than the item that gets shipped. It allows me to live out my values of care and concern for a hurting world. It gives me a neat way to give to people I know and love, and people that some may consider unlovable or forgotten.

A few examples have been added to one of my Pinterest boards - Shopping that's Worth It. I LOVE being able to help someone in need while loving my friends and family through gifts at Christmas. I hope you'll check out some of the ideas and sites included there and give me more suggestions.

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas time

In lieu of sending Christmas cards this year I decided to create a Christmas letter. It can say a lot more than what I could write individually in cards, saves time and gets there immediately. I hope I saved some trees and I know I saved some money. This may sound like an easy way to get out of sending Christmas cards or that I've just become more inconsiderate, but that's not the message at all. This year I've had opportunities to examine who I am as a consumer and I want to make some changes. I also highly value connectedness and historically love Christmas cards, so this choice was a struggle. I'm not "writing them off" forever, but at least for Christmas 2011. I hope everyone will understand and can enjoy the full-color version of parts of my letter posted here. Have a more green Christmas - a merry one and a blessed one! 

Dear friends and family,

I’m declaring this season a time of Gratefulness.

 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Here's to another year of so many things to be grateful for!