advent conspiracy

I can't really remember if I mentioned this last year, but I'm going to again this year. Charles and I, as well as several of our friends, have become big fans of an organization (well, it's honestly more of a movement, rather than an organization) called Advent Conspiracy. Here's the intro on their website that sets up the reason for the existence of this movement:



"The story of Christ's birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love.

So, what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists.

And when it's all over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling of missed purpose. Is this what we really want out of Christmas?

What if Christmas became a world-changing event again?

Welcome to Advent Conspiracy."

Here is the deal. Americans spend--get ready for this--$450 BILLION dollars every year on Christmas. On gifts that, for many, don't mean much--they are given out of obligation, not love, or they are given to "keep up with what everyone else has." Now just to put your mind at ease, this is NOT a group that is into banning Christmas gifts, not at all! To be able to express how we feel through a gift to our family and close friends is a great thing, and no one is saying give that up. What people around the country (starting with many churches) are finally saying is that the excess of Christmas is out of hand. The stress, the lines, the bills people can't really afford to pay after the holiday is not worth it. Is not at all what this season is about. We're too stressed to really worship, too busy to spend any time meditating and reflecting on the mystery of Jesus, the King, coming to live among us. And all of a sudden, Christmas is about something other than spending quality time with people we love and worshiping the newborn King fully.

Advent Conspiracy encourages people to do a couple things. 1, give one less gift this year. Just ONE. Find the one gift you feel you have to buy every year out of obligation—maybe it’s a person you haven’t seen in years, or maybe it’s someone else, but buy ONE less gift this year, and donate the money you would have spent on that to a great cause. This is one less line you have to wait in, one less store you have to fight for parking in. One less mental stressor as you have to come up with what to buy them. Write them a sweet, personal note instead, give them the gift of words of encouragement, tell them what they mean to you or how you are praying for them and their family this year. One less, that’s it. We can all do that. And secondly, Advent Conspiracy encourages relational gifts. If the spirit of the season is supposed to be about family, togetherness, love, and relationships, then why do we spend the whole season running around without our families finding them the perfect material item? Certainly, buy your kids or family members a few gifts to open, but then give them the gift of your TIME! We wanted to try this last year, so instead of buying anything for our nieces and nephew, we planned a fun outing day for them (a mystery trip) with the two of us. We had a great time, and we hope they will remember that way more than the specific book or action figure they were given. We’re doing that again this year, making plans for a fun day out with them, and our other gifts we’re giving encourage people to be relational with one another. The few friends I’m doing gifts for are getting homemade items, not extravagant or complicated, but not something that cost an arm and a leg either. And to me, mean so much more.

Consider joining us and many many Christians world wide who are starting to embrace this change. Advent Conspiracy. Worship Fully. Spend Less. Give More. Love All.

Visit www.adventconspiracy.org for more information.