Thursday is a major holiday here in the United States, Thanksgiving, in which we remember the families who escaped religious persecution and came to find new life and freedom. My ancestors, the Cookes, were on the Mayflower and my great aunt actually has a plate that has a map drawn on it of everyone's homes in the original settlement - it is a pretty cool piece of American history to look at.

The day after Thanksgiving is almost as big of a holiday and it is planned for by some with almost the same amount of diligence. It is what is known as Black Friday or Buy Nothing Day, depending on which side of the argument you fall on. This is the day that the holiday shopping season begins in America and the day that retailers are finally in the black, accounting-wise. For the buy nothing folks, it is a day to boycott the shopping and mass consumerism, and well, buy nothing.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving and gratitude, I want to encourage all of you to buy something on Friday, but something very specific: life for a fellow human being. World Vision offers you the opportunity to do just that through their Gift Catalog. These aren't gifts in the traditional sense, they are gifts that enable people to have better lives, or simply to live at all. Here are some examples of how you can spend some of the money you have set aside for the Black Friday; there are lots more in their catalog:

$75 buys a goat for a family in Haiti or Malawi. This may seem random, but a goat provides milk, cheese, yogurt and other products that can both feed the family and be sold, which brings in revenue so that family can purchase other necessities. It can even provide fertilizer which can be used on other crops, allowing them to produce more for harvest.

For those of you who want to help people here in the States, World Vision has partnered with corporations who will match every donation of $25 to help kids in New York City have food, clothes, school supplies, and Christmas gifts.

$35 rescues young girls out of the sex-trade industry and places them into a safe environment. Can you think of a better way to spend $35? Neither can I.
Here is a quote from their site:
“My mother sold me for $500 to the brothel owner [to buy] food,” says Lea (not her real name), who was required to serve eight to 12 “clients” a day until being rescued and brought to a World Vision-supported shelter. Your gift will offer assistance such as medical care, nutritious food, nonformal education, vocational training, compassionate counseling, and, where possible, reintegration into a loving family environment for girls like Lea whose innocence has been damaged through sexual exploitation.

This weekend is a time to reflect on what we've been given, and for a lot of us, that is very, very much. As we celebrate gratitude and remember the freedoms we have, let's also make sure that we use what we have been blessed with to bless others and give them a chance at life as well.