Well, now I am more than tired of hearing about Black Friday and the whole black week before. I even heard recently that a family had to change its Thanksgiving plans to accommodate shopping on Thursday. While I realize that some folks make their living by these sales days and Christmas I am thinking that when Jesus said ‘where your treasure is there is also your heart’ he wasn’t talking about Christmas shopping. It’s in Matthew 6 where he says that we should not lay up for ourselves treasures on earth but to invest in things that make a real difference in people’s lives. Invest in that which we think Jesus would invest in.

The man who had to place to lay his head would surely suggest we don’t need one more gadget when there are such acute needs of people in our world.
So I have informed our family that while we love them we are not exchanging gifts because my wife and I want to give generously to some opportunities that will make hopefully a difference in people’s lives for the better. I write this to all of you not to showplace our good deeds but rather to let what we do in our own little way encourage you all to do the same.
We are going to give some significant amounts to work in Haiti, especially a school that makes a difference in the lives of young children. And we are giving a gift in memory of a precious young woman named Lindsay who, in her early twenties, died this past year of ‘alveolar soft part sarcoma'(ASPS)  This is a cancer that is not as thoroughly researched as other cancers because it is so rare. But it ravages people’s lives and brings heavy grief to their families. I am hopeful that more awareness will bring more research and hope. Young Lindsay does not need to have died in vain if a cure is on the horizon. If you want to help find a cure for ASPS here are two good organizations you can give to: Lola’s Love and the Sarcoma Alliance