Give - to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation; bestow.
Synonyms for Give: offer, vouchsafe, impart, accord, furnish, provide, supply, donate, contribute. Give, confer, grant, present may mean that something concrete or abstract is bestowed on one person by another. Give is the general word: to give someone a book, permission, etc. Confer usually means to give an honor or a favor; it implies courteous and gracious giving:
Deuteronomy 16:17Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.
I've been thinking a lot about giving, what it means to give, how much, to whom or what to give and why should we give. I think we are so used to receiving and expecting something from others. What am I going to get for doing __________? Our society as a whole is selfish and when we give we expect something in return. We make up excuses why we can't give or help.
I want to teach my kids why they should give, how they can give and to whom or what they can give. They can only learn this by watching others demonstrating it and by being involved themselves. There are so many ways we can give of our time, our money, or our resources/talents/skills. A few months ago I mentioned to a friend that I wanted to start teaching my kids how to live missionally. I chose the day Monday and thought I'd call it "Missional Monday" even if we ended up doing our mission work on another day of the week. This was an idea that I hadn't put forth until my friend said she'd like to join me. Now I had to be accountable. We were able to accomplish two weeks together before she moved. With our eight kids in total the first week we made cards for some people in our church who were recovering from surgery or an illness. We had the younger kids draw pictures and we wrote Get Well and addressed the envelopes. The second week we ventured out of our homes to a local park, put gloves on all the kids hands, and picked up trash throughout the park. When my friend moved, I offered to watch her kids while she and her husband packed up their house for a few hours. That is another way of giving. My family participated in Operation Christmas Child where you buy items for a child that is placed in a shoebox and sent to a different country. When the child receives the box they not only receive the goodies inside (toys, school supplies, basic toiletries, etc), but they hear about Jesus, who loves them and wants a relationship with them. Victoria chose for us to give to a 10-14 year old boy because she felt that girls may receive more boxes and she wanted to be sure an older boy received something.
Ways that others have given to me - I have been so blessed the last two weeks following my surgery with an abundant amount of help from family and friends. I have meals scheduled for three weeks every other day. This takes time and money, but it is such a blessing to a family who needs it. I have brought meals to families for many years even to people I have never meant until I dropped off their meal. Giving can involve a simple text, email or phone call to check on how a person is doing after a surgery or a new baby. I am amazed at how many people have checked on me to see how I was doing and my spirits are lifted after talking to them. My mom, brother, sister in law and friends have taken the kids off of our hands to drive them to an event and entertained them so I could get some rest and Allan could do some housework. I have been unable to drive, so my mom has helped Allan by taking Ben to school or picking him up from school. My friends have picked up medicine or food for me. I am fortunate to have a friend who is a nurse to help answer my medical questions. All of these people have shown love toward me and my family by giving of their time, money or talents.
James 2:15-16
If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
Deuteronomy 15:10Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.
I made a list below of ways my family could give or help others. I'll be honest it isn't always comfortable or easy to give. I know for me it is difficult to ask others for help, so don't always wait for someone to ask if they need help. I am still learning how to live missionally and to give more of myself. I certainly have not arrived by any means. I write this post in hopes to encourage others and to spur my own self on to giving more. If you ever want to join me in a Missionally Monday, Tuesday, etc please let me know. I need the accountability. I am privileged to have many people that I have witnessed live a missional life, a life that gives to others. I have seen lives that others have touched and helped change.
Here are some of my ideas on giving or helping others in our community:
Delivery a surprise meal or food to someone (muffins, cookies, breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Delivery groceries (staples) for family in need
Drop off a sick basket (crackers, electrolyte pops, Gatorade, ginger ale, chicken soup/broth)
Bring in a neighbor’s trash cans, newspaper, etc
Weed a neighbor or friend’s garden (could add flowers too)
Make Cards for someone sick, elderly neighbor or home, etc
Offer to watch someone’s children (even if not close friends)
Offer to watch or walk someone’s dog or other animal
Have older child read to another younger child(ren)
Donate Blood
Get Haircut & Donate (Locks of Love)
Give $ to homeless person or give bag of useful items (food, blanket, water, etc)
Help Neighbor (water, garden, bring in trash, put up a shelf, household chore, etc)
Make Birthday Charitable (donate to a charity – for older children 10+)
Invite a family to lunch or dinner or dessert (someone new, neighbor you don't know)
Help someone move (watch their kids, help them pack boxes, buy them boxes, markers, tape)
Prayer Walk (walk around your neighborhood or child's school and pray for people)
Teach someone a skill (organization, art lesson, knitting, how to read, write, etc)
Visit fire or police station & have kids make a thank you card for their service to community (could make food too)
Help at LB Rescue Mission– food sorting (kids 5+), serving food, etc.
Participate in Canned Food Drive (have kids help) - Project Shepherd, etc
Participate in a walk/run for a charity
Pick up garbage in our neighborhood, park, or beach (trashbags, gloves, & rules)
Work at soup kitchen/mission serving food or cleaning up
Help someone with a home repair
Play a game with elderly person (cards, board game, bingo, etc)
Give money to organization, Tithe weekly at your own church (have kids save money)
Write a letter to a community leader thanking them & encouraging them in their decision making
Surprise someone with a plant or flower & note on their porch
Donate clothes, toys etc to schools, church, or other organizations/people in need
Donate things to local schools (box tops, school uniforms, school supplies, etc)
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him wouldn’t perish, but would have eternal life.
