Where did we go wrong? When did the train go off the tracks?

Those were the questions I was asking myself Saturday as I navigated the aisles of local store.

Stephanie and I arrived with a purpose — a goal —for our trip. We came with a focused approach of what we wanted, what we needed and left with far more than I had ever imagined.

It was at that point I realized the focus we had taken to the store had fallen apart and we had fallen into the habit of wandering the aisles aimlessly.

This is where I began asking Stephanie, “where did we go wrong?” And, this is where I learned a very valuable lesson.

“We had a list. It only had five items on it. What happened,” I asked.

“The list is more of a guideline,” she responded.

A guideline? When a list is made, I believe it to be more than a guideline.

When Moses brought down the stone tablets from Mount Sinai, he wasn’t holding the “10 Guidelines.” No, he was holding the 10 Commandments.

But as I began putting up the items on the checkout counter, I again looked at my list of five items, and then worried that I was going to surpass the 20-item limit this particular lane required. I actually think I was one over.

Even though we had surpassed the items on our list, we had done something I hope every local resident does over the next week and that is shop locally.

It is not only important to the retailers you support, but the entire community. The jobs created by local retailers are far too valuable not to support.

The sales taxes generated are far too important to our local education systems and the municipalities who have battled tight budgets in recent years.

Someone once told me shopping locally is a gift that gives back to the community more than I could ever imagine.

I know there are times when shopping in Prattville, Montgomery or Birmingham is a necessity, but I challenge each of you to first make sure those items on your Christmas list — even if you treat it as this magical “guideline” thing — can’t be found at home first.