Thursday, March 26, 2015

Generosity

I’ve been thinking today about what it means to be generous.
With my time. With my money. And with my heart.

When it comes to my time, I am both super busy, and not busy at all. As a stay-at-home mom, I am “working” twenty-four/seven watching the boys. At this stage of my life, I don’t feel like I have much time to give outside of my family to do acts of service. On the other hand, on days when I’m home, I often long to go out and DO things. So I ask myself: How can I be generous in my community as a stay-at-home mom? Maybe I can open up my home to host play dates for moms and kids who need friends. My boys and I can deliver meals to new moms and flowers to the hospitalized friends from our church. I just have to get creative.

As for money, I know I hang onto it a little tightly. My husband is a student still, and we manage by living off of his part-time jobs. I make excuses for us that we’re just getting by financially, so how can we give to others? But God is constantly spreading the message that if we give generously and unselfishly, He will take care of us.

2 Corinthians 9:6 says, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

I challenge myself, and I challenge you, to go one step farther with giving. There will be enough left over.

Lastly. . . my heart. As a mom and a wife, I am giving a lot of myself every day. I am learning how to “die to self” daily and put my sons’ needs before my own. (This is really tough!) I wonder—how can I give more than that? The answer is—I have so much good in my life. I have more than what I need. And since my cup runs over, I can give freely to others outside of my family. Our hearts have this large capacity—this amazing ability—to grow and to love more and more. I hope that our kids grow up to see Steve and I model generosity to others so that they will in turn become generous young men.

Where are you being generous in your life? What might be keeping you from giving to your community with your time and money and self?

17 comments:

  1. We are on the same wave length today! This topic has been on my heart a lot lately too, in very similar circumstances! In particular, I've been trying to come up with ways to donate my time (with my daughter in tow) to give back to others. I would love to hear what are some things you have come up with? :) The ones you mentioned are awesome! Have a great day! :)

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    1. Thanks! I will have to do a follow-up to this post once I've brainstormed! :) :)

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  2. Love this!! I love that you covered all three - time, money and hearts. Donating (both time and money) always makes our hearts so happy. We always try to do something little each month. Just a little thing. Generosity can really make my heart feel so full!

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  3. All great ideas on ways to give back even as you are busy with your kids at home. Some other fun that is practically free...write sweet comments or scripture on sticky notes and next time you are out let Nolan stick them on bathroom mirrors, etc. And it's true...no one ever is poorer after giving!

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  4. Someone once told me, "If you really want to know what has first priority in your life, look at your calendar and your check book."

    And you are right, you can never out give God!

    As you may have noticed on my blog, I have been giving back to the hospitals and organizations that have helped me and my family throughout my life. As far as giving back to your community, look for those areas that are lacking. You could always get your boys to donate their toys to a single mom and her kids in your community. Kids today have so many toys and some have none.

    I have also given back to my community through my church that gives small items to the nursing home residents. They need things like body wash and lip balm, and the residents where I live LOVE small Beanie Baby type things. Oh, and crossword puzzles! Just check with a nursing home nearby and I'm sure they have a list of things they need. They usually need a lot of little stuff for Bingo prizes. Most people forget about the nursing homes.

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    1. Thanks so much Madison for the ideas!! I love the nursing home items idea! :)

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  5. Hi Rachel: Nice post today - thought provoking. I follow Chelsea on her blog "Anchors Aweigh". She's a military wife - and recently posted on how to help soldiers who have no family - sending letters, care packages, etc. Perhaps this is something you can do with your sons?

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    1. Definitely checking out the link to Chelsea's blog! Thanks Laurie! That would be a GREAT way to give :)

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  6. Hi - it's Laurie again. Chelsea's post was from March 23, 2015.
    http://www.anchorsaweighblog.com/search?updated-max=2015-03-23T15:30:00-05:00&max-results=2&start=2&by-date=false

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  7. So good! These are all such great ideas- sometimes just opening our home gives so much to others! Have a great day!

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    1. I love having people over, so I really need to be more proactive at giving out invitations :) :)

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  8. One of my favorite inexpensive things to do is drop off treats to people. When my kids or I have a doctor/dentist appointment, I pick up a box of frosted or chocolate chip cookies at the grocery store bakery, and give it to the staff when I sign in. I do the same thing when I have to visit my son and daughter's school, and I try to take cookies to our local library once a month. It really only costs me a few dollars, and it makes them so happy!

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  9. You are so sweet! I donate a lot of my time to two different charities and often my real work lags. My wallet is empty but my heart is full!

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    1. I love that last sentence. Perfectly sums it up! :)

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Thank you so much for your comments! I enjoy reading each one!

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