Why I'm not shopping on Black Friday

Don't get me wrong, I love bargains as much as the next guy, but sometimes I think Black Friday shows the blackness of our hearts.

People spend days thinking about and planning a day of feasting with their family and then the next thing you know it's 3 a.m. Friday and they're standing in a line outside (insert store name here) waiting to get that awesome deal on a 52" television or sleek computer or that one toy the child can't live without. 

Let's just get something straight: the child can live without it. Families can live without an enormous flat screen television. Teenagers can live without having the newest computer.

You know what people can't live without? Water. Food. Medicine. 

On Friday, as millions of Americans run into stores to do early Christmas shopping and collect as many sale items as their cars will allow them, many children and families across the world are wishing they had the one thing that would keep them alive: water. 

Did you know that last Christmas Americans spent $584 billion? Americans alone... which (obviously) doesn't count the rest of the world who celebrate with gifts. While only $20 billion a year would give the whole world clean water? The whole world.

Click here for facts about water.

So this year, instead of spending money amid the hustle and bustle of stores around town, I'm taking the money I would have spent on Black Friday and putting it toward clean water for the world. It might not be much and it won't change the reality of poverty, malnutrition or the devastating affects of life without clean water, but it will make a difference. 

Watch this short video and keep it in your heart all season (and year) long:

Alternatives for Black Friday:

The list is endless, but start by making memories with your family. They won't always be around, so cherish the time you have with them. Some of these ideas involve money (and giving it away) and some don't, but all involve making memories and redeeming the time we are given on this earth.

• Forgotten Christmas. A ministry of Gospel for Asia, you can purchase gifts (including Bibles, chickens, mosquito nets, water wells and purifiers and more) for people in Asia. Click here for more information and to give.

• Family movie day. Grab the popcorn, make hot chocolate and settle down for a long winter's nap (or just a day full of Christmas movies). 

• Family game day. See above. Only substitute movies for games. 

• Make Christmas gifts. Instead of pouring out your money, pour your heart into a handmade gift for friends and family. Pinterest has a plethora of ideas, or you could think of your own. Don't believe the lie that you can't do it or that whoever you're making it for won't like it - everyone appreciates thoughtful gifts, especially in this day and age of materialistic consumerism.

• Serve others. Volunteer at a soup kitchen, a homeless shelter or check out this awesome list of RACK - Random Acts of Christmas Kindness, pick some and make it your goal to out-serve others. With a goal like that, who can lose?

• Pack a Shoebox. Operation Christmas Child boxes are an awesome way to remember the needs of others and do something about world poverty. Check out 101 ways to pack a shoebox here. 

• Buy to end poverty. There are many awesome ministries who have taught women (some of whom are widows) to make paper beads and necklaces, ornaments and more. Katie Davis taught women to make paper beads out of her Amazima ministry. Bead for Life has a great selection of necklaces, shea butters and lotions and an ornament, all providing great opportunities to check names off your Christmas list while helping the world.

• Read. If you need an idea for what to read check out the November/December issue of Real Truth Matters Magazine and be encouraged by reading stories of believers from around the world. 

Challenges for shoppers:

I'm not against shopping or deal-hunting (I can't tell you the last time I bought something that wasn't on sale), so if you find yourself shopping for bargains on Black Friday, here are a few challenges for you:

• Live the Gospel. Be sacrificial and aware of those around you, treating others better than they deserve, just as the Lord treats us.

• Don't complain. Set an example for those around you (especially if shopping with family) and stand out from among the crowd so easily beset with negativity.

• Smile. Never underestimate the power of a turned-up mouth. 

• Strike up a conversation. While waiting in line, reach out to a stranger and strike up a non-confrontational conversation. Topics could range from what they're shopping for (and for whom), their Christmas traditions, where they go to church or how you can pray for them. Always be ready to give an account of the Hope that lies within you. 

• Choose joy. If something happens that goes a little outside your plans, try to take it in stride and choose joy over anger, sadness or even frustration. 

• Spread Christmas cheer. Elf says the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear, but I think spreading the joy of our Savior's birth also comes by doing what He said, which includes extending grace to others and offering Christ-honoring words of encouragement, love and respect to others.

• Remember who you represent. As believers we are ambassadors for Christ and aren't just representing ourselves or our families, but Jesus as we walk through our lives (which includes walking the aisles of the packed department stores). Arm yourself with patience and a loving attitude and seek to glorify God more than gain the best earthly bargain.

• If you really want to get radical... don't buy anything for yourself. When I was growing up, my mom wouldn't let me buy things for myself after November 1 because it was too close to Christmas. I still like to apply that simple rule - it keeps the focus on others, as it should be during this blessed time of year.

"And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

(1 Thessalonians 5:14-18 ESV)

 

Leadership lessons from my sister

Today I was blessed with the opportunity to serve the homeless and those without the funds for food at the Community Kitchen in downtown Paducah. I've done this before but this time was different. Maybe it was all the Youth and Nonprofit Leadership (YNL) classes I've taken at Murray State or how God has grown me, but something caused me to look at the entire experience through different lenses.

I primarily noticed my sister. She is the manager of the kitchen and was the head honcho today, directing everyone and making sure all the preparations were in order before opening the doors and she was the one who prayed over the workers, the people coming for what might be their only meal today, and the entire kitchen. 

When she's at the kitchen my sister is in her element. It combines her love for cooking, organization and most importantly her love for God which overflows into a love for people, perfectly. I love watching God use her in her role there and today was no exception. I noticed a lot about her today and her leadership capabilities and it taught me quite a few things. Going back to my YNL classes, I believe I'm learning more about leadership at this point in my life than ever before and today it was not professors at a university who taught me about leading, but my very own sister.

Here are some things I noticed today:

• A leader doesn't do what's easiest, but what's best. 
• After working tirelessly for five hours preparing and serving, my sister and the other volunteers closed up the kitchen and had packed all the traditional Thanksgiving dinner leftovers up and into the refrigerator when a man, a regular attender of the kitchen, drove up on his bicycle. My sister immediately dropped all the cleaning projects she was directing to fix this elderly man a plate of food so he could have a hot meal on Thanksgiving. She and a few other people got the big pans of food out and began placing heaping spoonfuls of food on a plate too small to hold everything. Even though it would have been easier to turn him away than go to all the trouble of getting everything out of the refrigerator and dirtying up spoons, that was never an option for my sister.
• A leader doesn't lead only on special occasions.
• My sister doesn’t just serve at the kitchen Thanksgiving and Christmas, when lots of people “get their service on,” she serves and leads at the kitchen all year round. Leaders don’t just lead when others are doing so or when it’s convenient for them, leaders lead.
• A leader sees a need and fills it.
• Leaders are continually looking for ways to meet the needs of people around them. My sister recognizes there is always something to do and she has a mindset of filling the needs of others to the best of her ability.
• A leader leaves room for compassion.
• An effective leader does not always go 100 percent by the book because rules are not the most important thing to them – the person they are serving is the real focus of their energy. My sister sets the example at the kitchen of serving the person and caring more about them than following the rules to the letter (she does nothing immoral or illegal, we’re talking about giving seconds to people when they technically aren’t supposed to or giving them an extra roll when they are only supposed to give them one).
• A leader remembers.
• They are not only able to stay on task and help others to do so, leaders -effective leaders- are also able to remember the kinds of details that make others around them feel valued and loved. My sister serves hundreds of people at the kitchen each week yet remembers almost each of their names and can engage them in conversations about their past. Her ability to recall such important information regarding the people who come to eat as well as her staff of volunteers proves her genuine love and care for each of them.

My sister taught me so much today and I’m so thankful for her (appropriate since it’s Thanksgiving) and her directional leadership, a contrast to my relational personality. However, she teaches me that it’s OK, and sometimes more helpful, to blend the two.

Happy Thanksgiving. Here's to you and your family and your personal quest for leadership- "We constantly change the world, even by our inaction. Therefore, let us change it responsibly." - Benjamin Franklin 

Giving Thanks

As much as I like to be original, I'm following in the path of my brother-in-law (Whitt Madden ) and others like him who have made lists of what they are thankful for.


So on this day, the last Thursday of November, I will share a few of the things that make me thankful.

• Salvation from the horrible sickness of sin that is given only from and through the Lord Jesus Christ. "Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free//For God the just was satisfied to look on Him and pardon me."
• The cross. This life doesn't make sense without it.
• The Word of God that is living and active and real.
• My family. I've been so blessed with godly parents who love Him and desire to live in a manner that brings glory to Him.
• Murray. The cute little city and school, but especially for the family of believers God has allowed me to be a part of. I am continually overwhelmed by their faith, testimony and desire to serve the Lord in all things, I'm so blessed to have friends my own age who are seeking the Lord's will for their lives and striving to live according to it.
• God's amazing provision.
• C&C (coffee and conversation) with my sister and brother-in-law.
• Music. Especially worship music like Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Tenth Avenue North, and others who sing the truth and display God's majesty through song.
• Books; like Radical, 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die, When God Writes Your Love Story, and more.
• This summer and all the lessons God taught me through the experience.
• The Church.
• Scripture that says I am the bride of Christ.
• Fall.
• Spring.
• Baseball (St. Louis Cardinals).
• My iPhone.
• Cameras.
• Christmas decorations.
• Love. Infinite, free, matchless, deep; the Love that came to die so we could live. Love that covers all.

It is so important for us to be filled with thanks before and after we are filled with food. Be thankful today and everyday.

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." -Hebrews 12:28-29