A More With Less Christmas

Sitting on the dirt floor we ate a dinner of mutton stew, Navajo fried bread, raw hot green peppers, and coffee. A gunny sack served as a tablecloth. There weren't enough bowls and spoons to go around but no one seemed to mind waiting until another had eaten and the bowl was washed. Leftover food and the gunny sack were put away carefully at the end of the meal.
Edith Mae Merky Bloomfield, N.M.

Commemorating God's Gift
This year during vacation our extended family -- parents, three married couples, and one single brother -- discussed how we could make Christmas a time of sharing the good news of Jesus with all the world. We finally decided not to exchange Christmas presents within the family. We plan to replace gift-giving in three ways.

First, each family unit will make a contribution to a joint fund. This money will be given to projects and agencies working on world hunger and peace concerns. Second, we will share one Christmas project that will minister to poor or lonely people in our home community. Inviting elderly people to share a meal or giving a program at one of the institutions near us are possibilities. Third, we plan to have a special family worship service in which we will dedicate the offering of money that would have gone toward personal gifts. At this time we'll have what we call a gifting of each other when we recognize the gifts of love, labor, emotional support, spiritual insights, and vision each person gives to the family.
Ramona Smith Moore North Manchester, Ind.

These Stories were taken from "Living More With Less", by Doris Janzen Longacre. This book is fantastic, full of good ideas for enjoying life at a slower, less expensive pace.