Perspective

I was doing an errand at work today, and while walking, looked down and realized something.

I was wearing nice clothes, a nice warm coat, and the biggest complaint in my life right now is that i have a blister on my toe that has kept me from running.

I was honestly going to blog tonight about my toe blister.

And then i gained a little perspective.

There are (i would guess) millions of people living in poverty. Some are on the other side of town and using their ovens to heat their house in below freezing temperatures.

Some are in a small village dying of starvation or unclean water.

I recently read Radical, by David Platt. I recommend it for sure. But i don't recommend reading it in one sitting, putting it down, and saying "that was a great book!"

No, i would suggest reading it slowly, putting it down to ingest not what DP is telling you to do, but the Biblical principles and commands that you suddenly realize you've been missing/ignoring for years.

One thing that stuck out to me in the book is what he said about sacrifical giving. It's not giving away clothes that you're never going to wear again anyways. Sacrificial giving is giving when it hurts.

I read this right after i had given away about 3 trash bags of clothes. I was feeling pretty good thinking of all the great clothes and shoes i gave away to people who needed them more than i did.

But it didn't hurt at all.

It didn't cost me anything.

Daniel and I have been praying about what this looks like for us. Since we still have debt, any money we would give away, takes away from paying off the debt. I'm assuming if we were debt free extra money given would be taken away from entertainment or new clothes.

We want to find the balance of being good stewards of what we do have, paying off our debt, yet still looking for opportunities that we can give in a way that still costs us. Not because if it hurts that means it's better. But we are blessed for a reason. and i doubt God has given most of us the income He did so that we could be comfortable.

Think about your current household income......could you live on half of it? could you live on a lot less?

I'm not by nature a very generous person, i have my moments, but it's not always on my radar. Daniel is naturally generous. He recently did something that still shocks me. He gave away something that cost. That hurt.

My point.....

I am a huge fan of World Vision. They have a gift catalog on their website that i'm obsessed with.

$35 provides $385 of life saving medicines.

$18 provides 3 ducks for a family that can use the income from the ducks for medicines and school tuition.

$50 can help children with disabiltiies receive the care they need.

There are SO many other opportunities and ways to give through their site. I love that by giving 'small' amounts your gift is able to multiply to do much more than what seems possible.

I'm not buying Christmas presents for my parents this years.

A, They don't need anything

B. Anything they want we can't afford :)

We're going to be donating a gift in my parents name instead. I could give my parents small gifts that don't have any real value, OR give in a way that will provide shelter for a sexually exploited young girl, or care for an orphan; the possibilities are endless.

I would encourage you to look thru their gift catalog and find a way you can give. They not only have cash donations, but actual items like purses and jewelry made my girls/women who use the income to stay out of prostitution.

If you end of doing this, please leave me a comment or email me. It would make my day! Let me know how you decided to help and what your gift is providing, whether it's a goat for a family or a home for an orphan.

love
laura