Generosity: receive and reflect

I love to listen to her song, especially in church.  She was once so sick I thought she would be silenced forever, but now, she stands beside me healthy, for no reason except the undeserved mercy of God. And she sings. She receives what He gives with delight and innocence, and she replies with song, even when she doesn't quite understand the words.

One day we sang "God moves in mysterious ways."  She sang those words, then she whispered to me, "You mean like this?" and she shook her hips and waggled her arms right there in the pew.  I got the giggles for the rest of the service. 

Last sunday in church we read about Elijah and the widow 1 Kings 17:7-16

As I listened to the widow's story, I kept thinking with amazement how she must have emptied her stores, every single day, and found them refreshed again the next day, every time.  What was that like?

I imagine the first time she made the cakes, she probably ate with mixed feelings.  Faith moved her to mix the dough, and to share, but faith does not extinguish all wrestlings, all human feelings and worries.  She may have yet wondered if this was really her last meal.  She may have second-guessed herself, wondering if she should have said no, should have held something back.  She may have wondered if God would really keep death away. Would He really fill the jars again? Would He really provide as He promised?

On the second day, I imagine she made the cakes with more confidence, with less fear, and a not little bit of joy.  It is amazing, when God provides. It is a joy to be His child, to be given something unexpected, free, and exactly what is needed in the moment.

Did she come to expect it? Did it get easier to trust God as He proved His faithfulness to her, time and time again?  Did she open her hand gladly, knowing that whatever she shared with one hand would soon enough be given back in the other?

Her story reminded me of Grace upon Grace, when Dr. Kleinig implores us to live lives that "receive God's goodness and reflect His generosity."

Receive His goodness,
reflect His generosity.

How's that for a mission statement for the Christian life?

What does this look like, exactly?  When I read those worse, I think of my most unusual child: the extremely generous one.  This child loves a bag of Skittles, but more than that, she loves giving Skittles away. She loves making money, and she spends it all quickly, but on the most undeserving of her siblings, and rarely on herself.  A bag of Hershey Kisses makes her happy if she eats them, but not near as happy as she feels when she leaves kisses on our pillows in secret.

Her smile comes to mind, every time I think of "cheerful giving."
You know what else?  She is also amazing at the art of "cheerful receiving."

When God gives a spring day for bouncing on the trampoline, she bounces, and sings, too, and notices the flowers and the blue sky and the birds, and she thanks Him for it.  When God gives her chocolate milk, she drinks it down to the last drop.  In church, she sings hymns with loud voice and full heart.  

Fill up, give thanks, pour out, give thanks, repeat. 

This is the example of the widow, and my daughter, and so many others who live generously.

This is the life of faith, the freedom we have as children living under an open heaven, we who are loved by a generous God.  He did not spare His Own Son; surely He will provide for all of our needs. There is no need to hold back in fear. 

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ 

or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 

For the Gentiles seek after all these things, 

and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

Matthew 6:31-32 

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19 

Childlike Gifts

 

When I was a child, and the offering plate was making its way towards us, my mom would hand me a dollar from her purse, and I would put it in.  I'm sure, when I was young, I was quite proud to do this.

As I grew, it became a little awkward. “Was it really a gift for God if it wasn't at my own expense?” I wondered. I knew that God loved a cheerful giver, but shouldn't the giver have to make some sort of sacrifice for the gift to count?

Soon I grew big enough to have my own job and my own money. I could put my own dollar in the plate, and I felt better about it, knowing it was the fruits of my labor that I had given to the Lord.

As I joined the workforce, I became responsible, competent, and proud.  I received wages as my due, not a mere handout from my ever-giving mother.  The list of things that I understood to be mine, by right, grew longer.  And I shared my wealth with God, a dollar here and a dollar there, and with good cheer. I was such a big girl.

Then, I became a mother. And I felt small again.  Surrounded by needs, and feeling only my lack, I saw myself as unable to fill all the holes around me. I could not imagine ever finishing this “job,” or doing it so well that I had a credit in my account at the end of the day. On top of this, was I expected to have something left over for God, too? Impossible.

           

            And yet, as I tearfully questioned him in the rocking chair, he gently asked me, “Daughter, what do you have that you did not receive?”  And I began to see. It was all grace: the energy to work, and the wages collected; the gift of marriage and children; the gift of service where I am right now. My hands doing dishes—even the dishes are grace.

Again, I am that child, whose empty hands receive what she needs.  He provides for myself and my family until we are full and running over. He is the cheerful giver.  He gives to me, and I turn around and give back to Him what he has given.

As the years pass, I feel less like a big girl.  My sacrifices, my efforts, my pride, my rights- these are nothing compared to the love of God in Christ. I receive what He gives, and He gives generously.  Though my muddy fingers stain His perfect gifts, He washes the stains with the blood of Christ, and He covers me in His righteousness.  He receives my feeble offerings of His gifts back to Him, and He calls me good.

Thanks be to God for this indescribable gift.

2 Corinthians 9:15

We give Thee but Thine Own

We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.

May we Thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive,
And gladly, as Thou blessest us,
To Thee our firstfruits give.

O hearts are bruised and dead,
And homes are bare and cold,
And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled
Are straying from the fold.

To comfort and to bless,
To find a balm for woe,
To tend the lone and fatherless
Is angels’ work below.

The captive to release,
To God the lost to bring,
To teach the way of life and peace—
It is a Christ-like thing.

And we believe Thy Word,
Though dim our faith may be;
Whate’er for Thine we do, O Lord,
We do it unto Thee.

Advent Plans

I always get overly excited for advent. I make BIG plans, and I put them all in our little advent calendar tree. And then, next year when I get the tree out? I laugh because half of the little doors still have stuff in them.  

I know life is going to happen. I know we are going to be down with illness or chaos. And still, I plan.

This year, I have been prayerfully considering what and how to plan. I'm trying hard to keep it simple so that we can stay focused on what is important. And so, it's is now December 5, and I have my plans finalized.  

And you know what else? I'm giving myself permission to ignore any other great ideas that come my way from here on out. Yes there are other fun things we could do. But, enough. It is enough.

(And I hope you will say that about these ideas, if they are more than you need. You can ignore them! Or, you can always pin them for next year!)

What is needful?

Simply, Jesus.

I want us to soak up His grace and His Word. I want us to wallow in it.

Our plans

(As I said above, don't let these ideas distract you! If you already have a full list of great plans, you have permission to ignore these, or pin it away until next year.)

First, we receive

Daddy leads nightly devotions.  This time of year, devotions include more singing and even candles. The kids (and I) just love that.  The change in the lighting makes for a (slightly) more serious mood.

The Story Bible- Recommended

We are also trying to memorize Luke 2 as a family. (Click here for a free downloadable copywork book to use with your kids!)

We give thanks

I loved this idea.  We are started a journal of "gifts we already have," and we are thanking God for them. I wonder how many we can list?  Our first attempt stopped at 157!

I'm not a fancy, scrapbooking type girl, so our journal isn't exactly pretty. It's an old notebook from college, plus a sticker, and a Christmas card, and a ribbon I found in one of our Christmas boxes. This is as fancy as I get.

It is enough.

We've done a gratitude journal before, and I love how it helps all of us change our perspective, and see God's hand of mercy in the things around us- from the blessings of family and friends, to hot water, and technology, and milk for breakfast.

Feel free to use this label if you like.

Finally, we give stuff.

We are making our lists, for family and friends and teachers and so forth.
It is a joy to give to our loved ones, and  those close to home.  

We keep giving

The children have been putting money in a special jar to give away to those in need. They receive an allowance, and additional money for extra jobs. We tell them to give part to our local church. Then they have the choice of saving, spending, or putting some in our giving jar.

The giving jar

Confession: I have offered them a small incentive for writing in the gratitude journal. For every 25 gifts they list, I donate a quarter to their giving jar.

They write, and again and again they see it, and we see it:
We are blessed.

Inspired by Ann, I'm working on compiling and assembling our own giving catalog so that they can choose how to give their money from a host of good things.  Gifts for the least of these

(Childrenwithnoone.org)

The joy in it

Having counted our blessings, wallowed in His grace, we can hear His joyful invitation to us:

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:40)

Is all this giving sucking the fun out of the joy of Christmas for these little kids?  No, on the contrary. Their eagerness and delight spills over into my heart, and all good things in this house are increasing.

We don't have to, but we get to

we get to

give gifts to God for Christmas,

as we see Him in our loved ones,

and in the least of these.

Now, don't forget to read the post that inspired this one: The Grateful Christmas Project. It's beautiful.

Kindness week: Inspired by Scripture and Pinterest

"Kids! It's not polite to beg for three cookies when someone gives you two!"
"Don't hit him with the shovel! Take turns!"
"I understand that you like that bike too, but what is the KIND thing do right now? Will you share with your brother? Wait, no, don't hit him! SHARE!"
Sigh.

They fight like these guys:

It's hard to teach kids to be kind to each other, isn't it?  We teach, we discipline, we tell them all about starving children in Africa, and still, they refuse to get their fat, greedy hand out of the cracker box so little brother can have some.

Why is this so hard?