All I Want For Christmas

For more reasons than you want to read about, Christmas this year is going to look different (for me). I have next to no money, so buying a bunch of people useless gifts seems... unfitting. I did some Christmas shopping at an amazing Craft & Bake sale, and I've written some letters to loved ones. I spent very, very little on things... and hope to spend a lot more time on relationships.

For the first time in five or ten years, I don't care about gifts. I don't care what gifts I get; I don't stress about what gifts I'm giving. I think at this point most people that know me also know not to expect much in regards to Christmas gifts. And that's a good thing! Christmas isn't about gifts. iPods, Wiis, gift cards and even cars seem to have nothing to do with Christmas, and everything to do with our insatiable need to have more stuff. I'm not setting out to ruin Christmas; far from it! I just hope that it can be about what it IS about, not what we're TOLD to make it about. This Christmas, my parents' gift to me will be an ESV Study Bible and three weeks of shared meals, funny stories, good conversations, and afternoon walks.

If you haven't gotten this by now, I don't really want anything for Christmas.
Though, that's not entirely true. Here's my wish list for Christmas:
- Quality time with loved ones
- New adventures/outings that don't cost anything
- Time to sit down and read a good book, listen to some new music
- A changed paradigm about Christmas (for me AND you)
- Fresh conversation with the one who came that first Christmas

Oh, and one thing that you could actually give me this year (or next) is...
Prayer and support as I prepare to go to Morocco in 2009. I'll update more on this over the break, but if you were going to buy me something, I hope you won't! I would much, much, much rather have you "in my corner" as it were, because this is such a big deal to me. I'm excited, nervous, eager, terrified, ready, and psyched to be going to this corner of the world. It'll be my first time in Africa, my first time on a mission trip with the IMB, my first time being in a predominantly Muslim country and my first time actually doing what I have felt God leading me to for the last eight years (or really more!)

It's pretty costly at $3052, a lot of which is just getting there :( So if you know me, and this is something you'd like to be a part of, and you were debating what I would actually like for Christmas... look no further! This would be the best Christmas gift ever! Seriously, even five bucks towards this would mean so much more than 20 bucks on something else...
Email me at annemarie5353 at gmail dot com and I'll get you more info.

For all the other people in your life that wouldn't understand if you gave them quality time or a nice letter, maybe you should buy them some TOMS. Check out some ideas my friend has over here, and especially watch this video he posted.