The holidays are a time to enjoy our families...give thanks for all we have and maybe remind ourselves of others who may not be as fortunate. Don't get me wrong..I am behind in my mortgage....have no idea of how I'm going to buy Christmas presents...and I am desparately trying to forgive fate for this truly shitty year it has given me both financially and emotionally! But....every year around this time I try to give extra to the food pantry....and try to make gift bags for children with coloring books, crayons, and holiday pencils.
I feel bad because each year I feel as though I have less and less to give....which brings me back to Joel who stated " When you live to give you will have more joy than you dreamed possible!" How true this statement felt to me...I had just finished helping my daughter Mikki serve food to the homeless that night...and my heart was open and how perfect to come across a book I had by Joel and turned to the chapter on giving!
I would like to share a few things that I read that night:
*We were not made to function as self-involved people..we were created to be givers...we will never be truly fulfilled as human beings until we learn the simple secret of how to give our life away...
*If we want our dreams to come to pass...we need to help someone else fulfill his or her dreams...
*Don't feel like you have nothing to give....give a smile...give a hug...visit someone who is ill or alone
*Wake up everyday and say "I'm going to make somebody else happy today!"
*It is human nature to hold on to things we no longer really use...unclasp your sticky fingers...give away those baby clothes...books you already read...those duplicate gifts such as pots and pans...
*Giving is a spiritual principle....not necessarily a Christian principle...
*Somebody needs what you have to give...it may not be your money...it may not be your time...but it might be your listening ear...your arms to hug and encourage....your smile to uplift someones spirit...
*Your arm around someone might just let them know that you care and this can help begin to heal that persons heart...a rescue hug...
*You don't know what one word of encouragement might do...you don't know the impact just one simple act of kindness might have...
*Keep your heart of compassion open...be on the lookout for people you can bless...
My blog friends...so many of you have been there for me through my ups and downs...I haven't personally met any of you...heck I don't even know what half of you look like...and yet when I needed encouragement...you were there...when I needed prayer...you were there...and when I just needed to talk you listened!
So think...who can you bless today...please leave a comment on what you do around the holidays for others...or share if you have blessed anyone lately...or maybe you yourself has been blessed lately!
