All of my birthdays -- and Christmases for that matter -- have always been about stuff. Stuff I don't want, stuff I definitely don't need. And to be honest, the stuff I do want, most of you couldn't afford it anyway. Reality is I've got all that I need, and the stuff I want, well, I really don't need it.

So … I gave up my birthday. And while I'm at it, Christmas … I'm giving that up, too. Oh yeah, and if you thought about me during Pastors' Appreciation Month (which was October), yeah, I gave that up that, too.

I turned 50 years old this month (admit it, some of you never I knew I was going to be THAT old), and with Christmas soon after, I'm asking that instead of gifts - or anything for me - I'm asking for you guys to think of someone else. Check that … a whole lot of someone elses - like a whole village of them.

What I'm asking for this year is for all of us (yes, me, too) to help people with something we take for granted in our part of the world:

Clean drinking water.

A billion people in the world are living without clean water -- but how much are they really living? Millions contract deadly diseases from contaminated water. 45,000 people will die this week alone. The lucky ones won't, but still walk hours each day to get dirty water to give to their families.

My birthday and Christmas wishes this year is not for more gifts I don't need; it's to give clean and safe drinking water to some of the billion living without it. I want to make my birthday and my Christmas matter, really matter, to someone else this year.

And, yeah, I know $5,000 is a lot of money. Yet I'm not wanting to -- we should not settle for -- aiming at a lower target when we can go for the bigger one. And any amount you can give will help.

Please join me.

Please note: Because of charity:water's unique model, 100% of all donations go directly to direct water projects costs, and each donation is "proved" and tracked to the village it helped when projects are complete.

Please note 2: If you miss it this time around (this campaign ends in January), or you like giving so much and want to do more, no worries ... I have a marathon coming up in June ... :-)