November already! Can you believe it? And Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. And you're right if you're thinking ... "Yeah. The stores and all of their advertisements just won't let us ever forget that, will they?"

So, what does Christmas mean to you? Is it all about the lists of things that you have to do ... or it just wouldn't be Christmas? Is it about all of the gifts that you have to buy ... you know--to let people know just how much you love them? Or is it really about all of the busyness of the season--the hustle & bustle all around us? And how 'bout those commercials? (Well, the mid-term elections are over, so we've got to have something to entertain us, don't we?)

The conspiracy that is coming is called ... The Advent Conspiracy. It's an idea--a program, if you will--started by a church a few years ago and the idea revolves around the water crisis in this world that we live in. For instance, did you know that there even was a water crisis? Maybe not. We are so used to having water--and good water--when we need it and wherever we are. We are a spoiled people in a spoiled nation (compared to much of the world). Hundreds of children die each and every day simply because they don't have access to clean drinking water. The conspiracy? Well, I'm getting to that. It makes my mouth drop and my stomach turn every time I stop to realize how much we spend on Christmas each year. As a matter of fact, the amount spent on Christmas in America is close to 45 times the amount of money it would take to supply the entire world with clean water (approx. $300 per well drilled). Isn't that amazing? So, what if we spent some of the money that we usually spend on Christmas ... to save lives this year? How's that for a conspiracy?

Christmas is supposed to be about what or who we worship at Christmas time. We're supposed to be worshiping the Christ-child who was born in a stable outside of Bethlehem a couple of thousand years ago. But, quite frankly, there is so much 'junk' in between us and the stable at Christmas time that we can't even see the stable to begin to worship the Christ-child! How 'bout this year, we work at moving some of that junk out of the way--all that stuff that gets in the way of us worshiping like we should at Christmas? If we could do that ... together, then I believe Christmas could once again change this world we live in in significant ways--even eternal ways. What do you think? Are you ready for a conspiracy like this?

On the path together, Rom