Everybody Needs a Little Fresh Air

I've been thinking this Advent season of ways to help my children refocus. It's so easy to get sucked into the holiday season as a consumer. My kids, being teenagers, are (of course) thinking a lot about what they want for Christmas. They both realize that there are some people that they must buy a gift for, but by and large, they're thinking about themselves. It's pretty typical given their ages.

There's really not anything they truly need. Whenever my kids need something we go out and buy it. In some ways, it makes gift giving a challenge - what do you buy someone who has everything they need and much of what they want? How do you change a religious holiday -that's been turned into a consumer event -back into a religious holiday for yourself and your family? I think the answer is by looking outside of your family to others who don't have everything they need or want.

There are many ways to do this. The Angel Tree ministry is excellent. Or you could buy a goat or lamb, or chicken for a family in Africa.

If you're in need of a "Fresh" idea, I have one. The Fresh Air Fund (http://www.freshair.org/) makes it possible for inner city children to get out of the city for some fresh air. The kids may attend camp, or be sponsored in a family's home. What's cool about this organization is that there's more than one way your family can get involved.

First, you can donate money. The camps, organizational expenses and transportation don't pay for themselves after all. Money's vital.

Or... your family could host a child who needs to get out of the city for some fresh air. This is gift giving taken to the next level. When you give your time, attention, and affection it's a way of giving yourself as the gift. It's what Christ did for us in the Incarnation.

As Christmas approaches, I hope you're able to be a little less consumer minded and a little more Christ Mass minded. May you offer yourself to others - family, friends, acquaintances - and strangers just as Christ offered himself. That's a truly priceless present.