Daily Archives: December 1, 2008

And a cow. And maybe some chickens and a few farming tools.

We all have people on our lists who seem to have everything. And then there are those that, for whatever reason, are just plain difficult to shop for. Let me make some suggestions.

World Vision has this great program where you can be involved in helping communities throughout the world overcome poverty. These gifts help families overcome hunger in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, even the US. On their site, you’ll find a whole gift catalog where you can purchase a couple chickens for just $25, five ducks for $30 or a fishing kit for $40. But that’s neither the extent nor the intent.

“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” – James 1:27 (NASB)

Sure, this is an easy way to take care of those hard-to-shop-for people, but it’s much more than that. This is a way to share the love of God with people who need to feel it. The world tells us Christmas is about getting gifts and making sure you receive exactly what you want to be comfortable and envied. God tells us a different story. Christmas is about being selfless. It’s about a mimghty God becoming helpless and impotent in the form of an infant, all with the purpose of saving us from ourselves. He came as an insignificant child that we might live richly in a relationship with our Him, our Creator. God gave His Son. What can you give this year?

Through World Vision you can buy a share of a fish pond that can feed up to 50 people throughout the year. Or you could purchase a share of a milk cow that can offer much needed nutrition to those who desperately need it. You could fund the drilling of a well, the education for orphans or medical care for AIDS-infected children. All this can be done in honor of someone on your list, someone who really doesn’t need a new tie or trinket to dust, someone who would be touched tremendously by your initiative to make a difference in their name. And for the name of Christ.

Take a minute to see how you can help by crossing someone off your list. Here’s a link to the catalog. There you’ll find a ton of great gifts along with statistics of how this opportunity can make a huge difference in peoples’ lives.

I mentioned AIDS earlier. If you didn’t know, today is World AIDS Day. World Vision has a lot on their site about this too. Click here to see that. The statistics are overwhelming. Think of Swaziland. Ten percent of the nation’s population is children orphaned by AIDS. Ten percent! That number grows every day. You may think there’s nothing you can do, but that’s not true.

Starbucks is partnering with (RED) this holiday season. They are donating five cents from every drink purchase to (RED) and the AIDS campaign. Granted, it’s only a few cents, but every bit helps. And I’m sure you can find a Starbucks somewhere near you, as well as an excuse to get there and buy … oh, I don’t know, four? seven drinks? That’s my daily allotment.

Happy December, everyone!