Credit Crunch or Christmas Contentment
Hello Friends! I have missed you! Between going to the mountains with my family for a few days and getting used to my many new responsibilities at Proverbs 31, I have to get used to using my time differently!
While we were in the mountains, I heard the tv blaring out the news that the credit crunch would definitely be affecting the Christmas spending this year. Credit card companies are lowering credit limits and raising interest rates. Gone are the days of zero percent interest for your first few months on newly opened cards. I pictured many American families beginning to worry. Where was the money going to come from to keep up with the way we have grown accustomed to celebrating Christmas? Is there any possibility, though, that this could actually be a good thing?
Overspending during the holiday season is a joy robber. Romans 13:8 encourages us to owe no one anything except love. My sister and her family practiced these gifts of love last Christmas. They all chose one family member’s name to buy a gift for. In addition to this gift, they also wrote a letter of love to the receiver. My sister shared with me that the reading of these letters out loud before they opened their gifts created tears of love, healing and forgiveness. As the tears flowed from her family, she celebrated in her heart their best Christmas ever. The boxes may have been the fewest, but the love was the most!
How about your family as this Christmas season approaches? Is the credit crunch exactly what your family needs as a reason to rein in your traditional spending and refocus this year? I know it is for my family. I pray it will be for your’s as well.
If you would like some resources on ways you can refocus this Christmas, here are some cool ones I found at Shop 31.
Brenda Poinsett’s book, Can Martha Have A Mary Christmas?
Celebrating A Christ-Centered Christmas by Sharon Jaynes
Pampering Gifts: Crafting a Ministry of Treating People Well for Less by Lara Krupicka
Lynn – I like the idea you share from your sister’s family. I’m always trying to think of new ways to make giving more meaningful and that sounds like a good one.
And I also wanted to thank you for mentioning my book. Hopefully people will be encouraged that they can still bless others even if their bank accounts are leaner.