"In the Christian community thankfulness is just what it is anywhere else in the Christian life. Only he who gives thanks for the little things receives the big things. We prevent God from giving us the great spiritual gifts He has in store for us, because we do not give thanks for daily gifts. We think we dare not be satisfied with the samll measure of spiritual knowledge, experience, and love that has been given to us, and that we must constantly be looking forward eagerly for the highest good. Then we deplore the fact that we lack the deep certainty, the strong faith, and the rich experience that God has give to others, and we consider this lament to be pious. We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts. How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things? If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even where there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith, and difficulty; if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Teaching generosity
Isaac was given a plastic blue cup at school last week. The goal is to put change in it as a fundraiser for DeVos Children's Hospital. So, we started talking about it with Isaac over the weekend.
We've been praying for my friends daughter, Izzy, for a while now, and Isaac gets that she is really sick. So, we talked about kids like Izzy who have to be in the hospital, and how hard that can be and it costs a lot of money. We talked about obedience to God and the Bible. We talked about how our money isn't our own, but a gift to be generous with.
To be quite honest, it's a lesson I need to relearn. I'm not generous. Money/debt is the #1 stress in my life and I almost always feel like there isn't enough to go around. Beyond our regular tithe, compassion kid & a missionary we support, we don't go crazy giving things away. I never pass a red bucket around the holidays without sending Isaac up to put something in, but this weekend I realized that I'm missing so many other opportunities to teach him about giving and being generous with our gifts.
So, finally on Sunday afternoon, he decided to take some money out of his piggy bank & put it in the cup. He took maybe 10 coins out & put it in the cup and asked me to put the pig snout back on to close his piggy bank. I did. Then a few minutes later he asked me to take it off again because he wanted to put more in. For about the next 1/2 hour, he kept taking a few coins out and putting it in the cup. He emptied his ENTIRE piggy bank with the exception of 3 coins. At one point he looked at me & said, "Mommy, it feels good to give my money away". Gulp. Why don't I always give with that attitude of joy and generosity? Why do I typically feel the sting that comes with being stingy and wanting to hold on to things?
And let me be totally honest. My kid has been scouring the house for change for the last several years. He's earned some, he's received some and he's found some. Saving all that he had in his piggy bank has taken a long, long time. And I wanted to ask him, "Are you sure you want to give it ALL? Don't you want to keep ANY of it?" I resisted. There's also a part of me that wants to go & refill his piggy bank as a reward of sorts, or go buy him a lego set or something to show him how proud I am of him. But then I thought I don't want him to associate giving with getting. I don't want him to think giving is always easy or pain free. I don't want him to learn the prosperity gospel that is already too (wrongly) prevelant in our culture.
So it's been quite a weekend of learning - both for Isaac and myself. I hope to take advantage of the many opportunities I have to teach my son about generosity - not only through words but through my own attitude and lifestyle.
We've been praying for my friends daughter, Izzy, for a while now, and Isaac gets that she is really sick. So, we talked about kids like Izzy who have to be in the hospital, and how hard that can be and it costs a lot of money. We talked about obedience to God and the Bible. We talked about how our money isn't our own, but a gift to be generous with.
To be quite honest, it's a lesson I need to relearn. I'm not generous. Money/debt is the #1 stress in my life and I almost always feel like there isn't enough to go around. Beyond our regular tithe, compassion kid & a missionary we support, we don't go crazy giving things away. I never pass a red bucket around the holidays without sending Isaac up to put something in, but this weekend I realized that I'm missing so many other opportunities to teach him about giving and being generous with our gifts.
So, finally on Sunday afternoon, he decided to take some money out of his piggy bank & put it in the cup. He took maybe 10 coins out & put it in the cup and asked me to put the pig snout back on to close his piggy bank. I did. Then a few minutes later he asked me to take it off again because he wanted to put more in. For about the next 1/2 hour, he kept taking a few coins out and putting it in the cup. He emptied his ENTIRE piggy bank with the exception of 3 coins. At one point he looked at me & said, "Mommy, it feels good to give my money away". Gulp. Why don't I always give with that attitude of joy and generosity? Why do I typically feel the sting that comes with being stingy and wanting to hold on to things?
And let me be totally honest. My kid has been scouring the house for change for the last several years. He's earned some, he's received some and he's found some. Saving all that he had in his piggy bank has taken a long, long time. And I wanted to ask him, "Are you sure you want to give it ALL? Don't you want to keep ANY of it?" I resisted. There's also a part of me that wants to go & refill his piggy bank as a reward of sorts, or go buy him a lego set or something to show him how proud I am of him. But then I thought I don't want him to associate giving with getting. I don't want him to think giving is always easy or pain free. I don't want him to learn the prosperity gospel that is already too (wrongly) prevelant in our culture.
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| Isaac and his completely full cup! |
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Save the Date
Plymouth Heights is doing a craft/vendor show on Saturday, December 1st from 9am - 1pm. We will be in need of many volunteers starting at 7am and going until probably 2 or 3pm. Let me know if you'd be willing to help!
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