Hey all,

First off, an apology. As you can probably see, our blog site has been less than, how shall we say, fruitful. Truth is, I’m not an avid blogger, and neither are some of our co-conspirators. But the main reason why we haven’t blogged much on here is simply due to the fact that we have been SWAMPED with AC related stuff while at the same time keeping our full time jobs running on all cylinders. The primary worker bees for this site have the pleasure of working at two different churches, one in St. Louis and the other in Portland. We will definitely try to keep this blog updated especially now that we’re entering into the season.

So, since I stink at blogging I’ve been cruising around other blog sites lately to see what people actually chat about. And get this...I have found countless bloggers talking about AC.
I love stumbling upon a random blog to find people actively engaging in conversation about what AC means to them and how they plan to “conspire” this season. I also really love the honesty some are sharing on how doing this thing is going to challenge their own needs/wants. I mean, who DOESN’T want cool stuff for Christmas, right?

The first thing to remember is that this is a heart thing, not a numbers thing. We want people to do this not for the sake of pushing back on consumerism, but to give them a personal connection to what this season really means. I would much rather see someone buy one less gift and have it mean something deep and holy and true than someone who doesn’t buy one gift, gives all their money to charity and walks away feeling empty and isolated as the “scrooge” of the family. As you’ll read in our brochure and website we talk about the idea of just buying ONE LESS GIFT. Just one. Start there, and see where God takes you. Last year my family did just that. One less gift. This year we’re taking a bigger step by making relational gifts and buying things like board games that we can all do together. We are a consumer-driven culture, and it’s this creative’s opinion that cutting out the buy/spend mentality entirely from Christmas would be like going cold turkey to quit smoking. It would work for some but for many it would get them clawing at the walls.

On the flip side I know families who did go the cold turkey route and had wonderful results. I celebrate that with them! At the same time, I know that I am not them, and that my journey is just as unique, mysterious and wonderful as theirs. I want to encourage everyone to do the same. We are the beloved, my dear friends. Let’s enter this story the uniqueness that God has crafted for us.

Tony