Last year around this time, God had begun a crazy work in the life of my family. My husband had always loved Jesus and oozed Him in all aspects of his life. But about a year and a half ago, God caught Matt on fire in a new way I never saw coming.

The hubs and I are neither one big readers {one of our many like interest, hehe}. All of a sudden Matt got this crazy craving for learning. He's a stank'n genius, so very few things challenge or fulfill him intellectually. But that year...he couldn't get enough. Our conversations changed. The simple what happened with the kids today, what youth even is coming up we need to plan, how is a fun new way we can teach our student ____ now became in depth theology, working out our long held to traditions {and we thought we were 'contemporary'}, and wows about how far our American churches have drifted away from the Center. Christ.

One of the many books he read during this time was Radical, by David Platt. Lots of you have probably heard of it; if you haven't I'm sure we can dig up some "orange crack" around our house somewhere to pass on! I have to be honest, I haven't personally read word for word any of these books Matt went through, but having been 'discipled' like a 3rd world nation without Bibles, I think I have the core of all of them.

Radical, coming from a pastor of a mega church who seemed to be scaring crowds away with his relentless telling of the true gospel, we were taken back. What's with this dude? Isn't church about 'gaining numbers'? Shouldn't he be building the kingdom? Heck to the NO. This dude is taking his cues from Jesus! Jesus ask people to eat him and hate ya mamma. That was totally driving crowds away. Those following Him around weren't from his dashing good looks, story telling ability, or His immaculate menus. Nope, they were following Jesus because He provided an everlasting hope. He fulfilled a promise centuries in the making.

Through our radical life styles change as a result of what God began in my husband's life, we chose to do Christmas a little different last year. Our family "Gave Christmas Away". We defiantly baffled our christian families when we digressed from our normal traditions. Now, we never did the giant ripe-n-tare in either of our families so our choice to "give Christmas away" was confusing. Do they think we ever went 'over board' with gifts for one another? Is gift giving wrong? What does this even mean?

Last year we choose not to give our families gifts. Rather, we picked LOTS of ways to 'give our Christmas away." All money we had budgeted for Christmas gifts went to ministries to spread the gospel. The following list are some of those:

• Operation Christmas Child Boxes
• Angel Tree Children
• Families our Church knew where in need
• Lots of homemade fun for neighbors
  {we prolly enjoy this more than they do, hehe}
• Random opportunities that came up
• Harvest International
• Gospel for Asia
• Samaritans Purse
• World Vision

The last four of those we gave to in two different purposeful way.

1. Choose gifts according to something meaningful to each person in our family and then made a homemade gift for that family member that let them know what we gave for them. i.e. My father-in-law loves fishing so we gave fishing nets {through Gospel for Asia} to help families have the means to feeding as well as to have a new job to provide for their family.
2. We gave "birthday presents to Jesus" at His birthday party. My husband made up pictures of animals and how much they cost. Then each child was given a 'budget' to buy whatever they wanted. FUN!

We had so much fun with working through the process of rethinking gifts! This year, we are giving our children gifts but are definitely still contributing to gospel oozing ministries as well as limiting gift giving among ourselves. Again, I wanna say, we do not think there is anything wrong with giving gifts among family! We just want to make sure we aren't turning the birth of our promised "God with us". We want EVERYTHING in our lives to spread the good news of our loving God.

We let our kids help choose OCC box items as well as gifts for needy children we are helping this year. But this year was the first year we allowed our children {oldest 4.5} to help pick out gifts for us. Matt and I took the kids shopping without each other. Through this process we wanted to begin ingraining in them what it means to be selfless, thoughtful, sacrificing, all the while learning the joy of creativity, surprises, and giving in secret. This will also be done through giving more gifts to Jesus on his birthday.

I'd love to give you and your family just one fun opportunity to compassionately give this year.

A Note About Gifts {from compassion bloggers}

You get it. Christmas isn't about the gifts or the toys. It's about celebrating the birth of the greatest gift, and really, the only gift we will ever need, Jesus coming to earth. To save us from an eternity apart from God.For Jesus, "It's About Giving" was about giving everything.

Brianne, from compassion international, has visited a few of the countries where Compassion works and has talked to the children about Christmas, and what they do. For many of them, it is just another day. Another day to wonder if they will eat. Another day to walk for miles for water. Another day to get up early and go to the market with their mom or dad to try to bring in some money. Giving through the Christmas Gift Catalog provides an opportunity for the churches we partner with in South America, Asia, Central America and the Caribbean, and Africa to personally hand these gifts to a child in poverty, to meet their need, and to tell them Jesus loves them.

We have a goal of gifting $20,000 through compassion bloggers could shift the focus for so many children this year. As just one of the ~2000 compassion bloggers, my goal is to raise $100 for the gift catalog through this final post.

Here is the support in raising this gift that I'm asking of my readers:

• I would love just 10 of you to give $10
• About five to give $20
• And if just two to give $50 then we've met our 'as Jules is going" community goal

Any amount will be helpful. Greater or small than the suggestions above. You can leave a comment encouraging others to participate if you like!