Christmas Spending Update

Since I was so public about our ideas to be more intentional with our Christmas spending, I thought I should give you an update so you know they weren't just empty words.  I have part of the original post here with the updates in red.

• Purchase fair trade items so we know our money is being distributed responsibly. (I can't tell you exactly what items or many of you would not be getting a surprise on Christmas!)

- Gobena Coffee was one of my favorite gifts to give this year.  It is organic, fair trade, shade-grown coffee grown in Ethiopia, and the proceeds go to Lifesong for Orphans.

- Village Marketplace in Market Square is another great fair trade resource.  I purchased handmade stationery and organic dark chocolate there.  It is delicious...the chocolate, not the cards.

• Stop buying meaningless gifts like shirts and sweaters that we all buy for ourselves when we need them.

- I bought Matt this cool, meaningful, t-shirt from the Compassion Store.  The money went to the Global Food Crisis initiative in Ethiopia.

- I did not, however, find something other than a regular shirt for my dad, otherwise known as the hardest person to buy for every year!  I should start thinking now what I could do for him next year!

• Give less expensive, more sentimental gifts like family photos.
  

- Gave my in-laws this 11x14 picture of the grandkids.

• Instead of buying a big gift for each other (which we rarely do anyway - we're always out of money by then!), we are going to a concert in Nashville to support some of our favorite musicians.
  

- By far, the best musical experience I have ever attended.  Remember?  I wrote about it here.  We definitely plan to do that again.  Even if you don't know the artists well, I can assure you, this concert would knock your socks off. 

• Use the money left in our Christmas budget to meet some kind of need. Pretty open-ended huh?
  

- When I wrote this, I wasn't sure about how this would work.  We operate on a pretty tight budget around here (partly because I'm a penny pincher and partly because we just have to), but God has shown us in the past that when we give sacrificially, he shows up in big ways.  We ended up giving to the Guatemala fund at church, and I'll admit that it was a pretty scary check to write.  The day after I wrote it, I went to the grocery and had exactly $.03 in change after I paid the cashier.  How's that for tight budgeting?  Since then, God has provided for us even more than what we need.  Andrew's Mom paid us to paint her downstairs.  (Thank goodness.  We needed something to get our lazy butts off the couch over the break!  I would be embarrassed to tell you how many hours of TV I watched yesterday.)  And today, I opened the mailbox to find an escrow overage check.  It might say it's from Countrywide Home Loans, but I know who really signed that check.  God is good.

By no means did we do everything we could, but it was so much fun to change our perspective on spending during the Christmas season.  We hope to be more conscious of the way our money can build the kingdom not only in December, but throughout the rest of the year as well.  Please share any ideas you have.  Do you buy fair trade?  Where?  What organizations do you support?  Other suggestions?