GENEROUS

GENEROUS; ADJECTIVE - kind: willing to give money, help, or time freely

I love how the dictionary defines it, but how is it defined in your life?  Take a look at a few ways you can gauge your families generosity.  When we talk about being generous we aren't necessarily talking about what you do and don't do with your money.  It's about the heart behind the matter.  There is so much blessing for the giver when we give.   I know we WANT our kids to be generous but the truth is, its starts with US. So, here's our quick and easy how-to guide to generosity.  I don't pretend to have all the answers or the perfect kids.  I've asked other parents and compiled this in hopes that it will encourage and challenge you!

Live it--Live a generous life!  Sounds simple but let your kids see you give, in obedience to the church and as an offering to the people and opportunities God places in your life.  Give away what you don't need anymore because someone else does, or even better give away something just because someone else needs it.  Sometimes our kids are willing to give away something they love if we show them a need that someone else has. Our lifestyle teaches!

Tell It-- Don't miss an opportunity to tell your kids about how God has charged us to be generous.  And not just with our money or possessions but with our time.  When we spend time with people when we go to a nursing home or help a stranded person change a tire, we are living generously.  Take every opportunity you can to share about the times you were able to be generous, a way that someone else was generous with you or a way you saw someone else being generous.  Our stories teach!

Do it-- Empower them.  Brainstorm ways that you as a family or they individually can be generous with what they have and even give them the means to do it.  Set aside some money each month for your kids and challenge them to come up with their own ideas of how they can be creatively generous.  I promise, your heart will be even more blessed to see this heart of generosity well up in your kids as they become actively generous.  Our experiences teach!

Re-tell it-- Talk through what you guys have done to be generous and how it impacted someone else, praise them for their efforts, and pray with them that God would continue to grow and use your family in this way.  And remind them, that these are stories to be told...because we don't know what God might want to do through our story in the life of someone else.  Sharing our stories teaches!

Deuteronomy 15:10 talks about how we should give freely to the poor, and our heart won't be grudging about it, and because of this, God will bless us in all we do. (my paraphrase)  But the "poor" isn't just isolated to the homeless people in a shelter and the "give" isn't just the money we have or don't have.  The "poor" can be someone who is down and out and just needs a little love and encouragement.  Help your kids find those ways to be generous too!  The truth is all we have isn't ours anyways.  It's all a gift from the Father entrusted to us to be faithful with the things we have.  Sometimes we keep our "stuff" for a long time, sometimes we are encouraged to give up something we really like, and other times we need to give away what we don't need.  A generous heart comes from a thankful heart.  So, as we walk into the Thank-Full month, talk about being generous and then, be intentional and set aside some time to actually live it out.  

Praying for you and your family!