to be a part of something richer.

We made it! We cut it very close, but we’re ready for Christmas. As I type this, the three little pigs are napping and I’m running over mental to-do list for the next 24 hours.

Pack outfits for the Christmas Eve service tonight. 
Meal plan for the next few days, since I work three in a row after Christmas. 
Pack the camera and try to remember to snap a family photo.
Figure out what I’m wearing tonight, and whether or not I’ll wash my hair.
Get rid of my headache. More caffeine?
Sneak a few stocking stuffers by the big boys.

Get in touch with the big boys’ mom about clothes for tonight. 
Straighten up downstairs.
Don’t forget snacks to help the sisters sit quietly tonight.
Make sure Chris saved us some seats at church.
Ask Ames to stop telling people we don’t have a Christmas tree… ours is just ornament-less.

The thing is, these are all rich person problems. We make jokes on Twitter with the hashtag #firstworldproblems, but the truth is… it’s all true. We’re all rich, every single one of us. This week, my church wrapped up of a series called Be Rich, along with twenty-something other churches all over the world. Thousands and thousands of people have been learning what it means to be rich, not just get rich. According to the statistics, you and I are already there. It’s time to act like it.

Across the world this month, people came together to be rich towards others. Check out these stats:
The goal: 1.5 million dollars. Instead, people gave over $5 million.
The goal: 15,000 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. Instead, over 20,000 kids got one.
The goal: 50 tons of food. Instead, 87.4 tons were collected.
The goal: 20,000 hours in our local communities. Instead, we hit 32,854 hours.