Don't get me wrong -- I love Christmas. It's time for family, for comfort, for love. And for Christians, it's a time to celebrate what's most important: the birth of Jesus Christ.

But there are a lot of things we get wrong about Christmas.

For one, we give each other so much stuff. Whether it's out of obligation or to truly show someone we care, we're still essentially material-rich people giving other material-rich people more... materials. The purpose of our holiday, though, is Christ. And Jesus made his purpose clear to us -- sacrifice. He died so that we could live. And we struggle to keep this the focus of Christmas while we're busy buying and unwrapping gifts.

Let's face it, we actually sacrifice very little at Christmas. But what's small to us can be huge to someone who lacks basic needs. For example, almost a billion people in the world live without clean water. That's a pretty fundamental need.

So this year, I'm giving up my Christmas. I'm asking everyone who would've bought me gifts (and those who wouldn't) to instead donate that money to help build clean water projects. 100% of all funds we raise go directly to the work on the ground. And when the projects are finished (in about 18 months), charity: water will show us the communities we've helped!

Between now and Christmas, I hope to raise $1000 (or more!) right here on this page.

Jesus sacrificed himself for me. This is the least I can do.

Please join me.

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18