Category: Uncategorized

Whenever I think of the most loving and giving person I know, I can’t help but think of God himself. What a big, huge, amazing giver He is! Because He is Love, His whole nature is to give. Giving and loving definitely go hand in hand. As we look at generosity this week, I want you to consider ways that you can give of yourself to others. Generosity involves money, but it is much more than just money. Generosity is giving your attention, your time, your abilities, your compassion, or your money freely to those around you.

Generosity is a demonstration of love. Money is a big part of your life. Your job is all about making money to provide for your needs.

Here are some questions for you:
How do you earn money? Is it doing something that you love?
How do you spend the money that you do make? Have you decided to be a tither? As a kids is when I started tithing, and it was a habit I developed that I have continued throughout my life.

Can you be more generous? We all can! Find ways to be a giver all the time. You can start simple by giving love, kindness, and courtesy to your family.

Can you help others with your generosity? It helps others, but it helps you too! That’s the best part of generosity. It blesses you more than anybody! So determine to be like God, and be a great, big, amazing giver!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

Today we are going to look at generosity in a different light. When we think of generous, we usually think of money, but we can show love by being generous with our abilities. The fingerprint of God is in your life, and God has gifted each of us with talents and abilities that He wants us to use to bless others. We can look to the big picture and see that the purpose he gifted us how he did is so that we can build the kingdom of God. His expression of love in you, can be your expression of love to the world! So what is it that you are gifted at? What are you good at, and what do you like to do? You can be generous with your gifts you give to others. I get to see it all the time in a church setting where people give of their time and volunteer to minister to others….from greeters, to ushers, to altar workers, to the hospitality team, to the interns, to the Bible Study and Life development class leaders, to the children’s workers, to the office volunteers, to the grounds maintenance. There are people that give hours each week to make everything that happens in church to run smoothly. They are using their gifts and abilities, to bless others, and to bless the kingdom of God. That is an act of generosity. What happens as we do that, wherever we give our time, is that we experience satisfaction. When we realize we are called to love, we can find ways to use our abilities, beyond the context of our job. To find the best fit in the secular world for a job, often begins with finding your God given abilities and then funneling them into a career. Then we can use what we are gifted at, not only to earn a living, but to bless the world! Your generosity can go way beyond your job. How can you be generous with your abilities? What can you do? Can you read to children or the elderly? Can you help single men learn to cook? Can you rake leaves? Can you organize a tornado? Can you……fill in the blank! We all can be generous with our abilities and show love as a way of life.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

Today as we talk about developing a generous spirit, and becoming a more loving and giving person, I want to encourage you to think about the gift of time. You may have heard it said that kids spell love, T-I-M-E, but really, everybody spells love T-I-M-E. In today’s culture, time is one of the most important things we can offer someone. To give of our time is to give of a portion of our life. Let’s look at some ways we can give time to others. By….

Getting to know you- Until you take time to know someone, you are not likely to help them.

Asking good questions- Taking time to ask deeper questions helps build relationship and show that you value the other person.

Being a good listener – Offering a listening ear can go a long way in bringing hope and help to those who are hurting.

Spending family time – Being generous in offering time to our families is an important step in giving. The urgent things in your life, may not be the most important.

Sacrificing time- You are the only one who can decide how to invest your time. If we have our hearts set on giving, we’ll be looking for opportunities where we can give the gift of time to someone else.

So look at your schedule, look at the priorities in your life, look to the big picture, and make some changes if you need to. The next thing to look at is what are your time wasters? Are there things that just drain your precious time that you could eliminate? You can probably think of a few right off the bat. You can’t say your kids or your spouses!!! They are worth your time! Think of things that pull you away from those important people in your life. Could it be the phone, face book, pinterest, twitter, the tv, your laptop or tablet, or even computer games? If you log the time you spend on these daily, you might be surprised on how much extra time you might find to go kick the soccer ball with your son, play cards with your kids, or take your spouse on a date. Don’t forget how important giving of time is to the quality of your “love” life. Let’s make generosity with time a way of life!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

Yesterday we talked about developing a spirit of generosity in our lives. As we talk about generosity as one of the foundational principles of making love a way of life, I gave you the opportunity yesterday to begin finding creative ways to live a more giving life. Have you noticed when you do give that joy and energy accompanies your giving? There is something that happens on the inside of us when we give from the heart with an attitude of love. It is a feeling of satisfaction that the world can’t take away! Besides just seeing someone else be blessed, we get to experience the rewards of improved relationships that bring and energy and enthusiasm that nothing can replace. So let’s be ready, willing and on the lookout for ways we can give to others. Here are two things to think about when it comes to giving our “stuff” away to bless someone else . 1) Most of us have much more than we need. Ladies, just look at how many shoes you have! I know there might be a few of you who just have 3 pair, but generally speaking, many women I know have more shoes than they will ever wear. (bring your extras to AGF this week for our clothing sale!) Men, perhaps you have extra tools in your garage that might bless a young carpenter, or maybe there is even an extra car in your garage that could be a blessing to a single mom, whose own car is on its last leg (or tire!). Crisis centers can always use blankets, pillows, sheets, and you might have extras you can give. So number 1, find where you have extras or excess, and bless someone else. 2) Hold things loosely. Too often our early possessions become more important in our lives than they should be. You’ve heard this I’m sure, It not wrong to have things, it wrong to let things have you! What “thing or things” in your life hold a spot that is too tight. Sometimes it can happen honestly, we get our grandmother’s china and are furious if anyone chips it or, God forbid, would drop and break it. We have given the china place of honor because of our grandmother’s memory. Without realizing, we can damage the spirit of someone in our life, because we hold more tightly to the china, than we do to the relationship. Let’s value relationships over “stuff” and keep developing a generous spirit.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

This week we will be talking about the amazing foundational principle of generosity that accompanies a loving life. If we truly are committed to making love a way of life, we will be people of a generous spirit. Generosity is giving your attention, your time, your abilities, your money and your compassion freely to others. Jesus said in Matt 10:42, that even giving a glass of water to someone who is thirsty would be rewarded. I love the simplicity of that thought. Giving of ourselves doesn’t have to be extravagant to get God’s attention. He is watching us to see if we are watching others. Are we sensitive to the needs of others? Do we notice when someone needs something as small as a bottle of water that will quench their thirst and meet a physical need in their life? God notices! We think He just notices the million dollar gifts, or the ones that man applauds. God sees when we give in small and in big ways. The most important thing He notices is the attitude of our heart. If we are looking for the world’s applause with our generosity, that is all the reward we will get. If we are looking to be a blessing, and don’t care if anyone notices, our reward will be great. The greatest reward for living generously is eternal, but the immediate satisfaction, and gratification that comes from being a blessing to someone else, is a feeling that is so wonderful, it is hard to describe. So how can we experience that wonderful feeling of joy on a regular basis? Why not become a regular giver? We can creatively think of ways, every day, to give to others. What are some creative ways you can give of yourself daily to those you love? It can be as simple as an extra hug as you become more generous with your affection, or handing your spouse a $20 bill and telling them to buy something for themselves that day. Operating in a spirit of generosity really has amazing results. Not only are you blessed as the giver, but someone else receives a blessing as you give. Why not determine to develop a generous spirit, and be more generous with others than you ever have been before.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

Intro:
Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword . We have been talking about how we can love more like Jesus, and going over the seven main characteristics of a loving person. I hope you are beginning to exhibit these seven: Kindness
Patience
Forgiveness
Courtesy
Humility
Generosity
And Honesty
So as a review and follow up, we are going to spend this week being encouraged and motivated to walk in love and demonstrate love as a way of life through generosity. Be encouraged today! We can make a lifelong impact on our world by loving others by having a spirit of generosity.

This week we will be talking about the amazing foundational principle of generosity that accompanies a loving life. Whenever I think of the most loving and giving person I know, I can’t help but think of God himself. What a giver He is! We serve a giving God. Because He is Love, His whole nature is to give. Giving and loving definitely go hand in hand. As we look at generosity this week, I want us to consider ways that we can give ourselves to others. Generosity involves money, but it is much more than just money. Generosity is giving your attention, your time, your abilities, your compassion, or your money freely to others. When we think about how much we have freely received from God (Matt 10:8), we can be a conduit that continues the cycle, and show God’s generosity to others. So how can we give of ourselves to others. One of the greatest ways to begin being a more generous person is to begin developing a spirit of generosity in every area of your life. When given the opportunity to give, determine to contribute what you can. That could mean opening your heart to the needs of others. Begin looking at your own stuff, and notice extras that are excess, or just take up space. One of the easiest places to do this is in your closet. Do you have something that you don’t ever use that could be a blessing to someone else? Our Ladies of Grace clothing sale this week is a great place to be generous. What you don’t love or use can benefit someone else! Another area is in our garage, or storage unit, if you have one. Why do we store an extra couch, or whatever, when someone we know might need one right now. Generosity does involve developing a giving spirit, but it also means we develop a heart for helping and serving others. What God has given to me, can be a blessing to someone else. The one foundational scripture that probably all of us can quote that gives us the best example of the love/generosity connection is John3:16. For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son…….. God so loved, that he gave. We can show love, and sow love, by giving. Let’s keep our eyes open, and let’s expect our hearts to be enlarged as we develop a spirit of giving.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

Here are some important things to think about when it comes to living a life of love through humility. Do you realize that everything you are and have is because of God and the people that are in your life? Sometimes we get high minded and think that we deserve what we have, or that we worked hard for it, but really as believers, the proper credit goes to God. His hand of blessing is on our life….without him we would be nothing. How about this thought. My knowledge is limited. Even the wisest among us hold only a small percent of knowledge in our little brain! In light of our great ignorance, how can we be so prideful! That brings humility down to where the rubber meets the road! How about this thought, I am utterly dependent on something outside of myself for life. Everything we have is a gift, including your next breath. Pride is reliance on our own abilities, humility means recognizing how dependent we are on the power of God on the inside of us. So if those thoughts didn’t bring you back to a place of humility, think about this. Where would you be in life if you would forgo your owns rights to be of benefit to others? What if you used your talents, abilities and status in life to help others succeed? Would your life look a lot different that it does today? Certainly our mind wouldn’t be on ourselves nearly as often as they are. Let’s look once again at how Jesus told us to think. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should not look only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Those are words we can chew on, and digest to begin to operate in a greater degree of humility, so that we can make love a way of life, every day of the week, every week on the month, and every month of each year.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

I’m sure you don’t hear people talking about humility too often, but it is something that Jesus talked about that we should try to do. Humility is really the act of stepping down or aside, so that someone else can step up. We can do that in our homes, in our neighborhoods and community, and even at church. We can make the decision to let others look good. I like to think of it this way, we can shine our light on others, so that they can look even better. When we operate in humility, there is a peacefulness on the inside that no one can take away. We are demonstrating the love of God and it empowers us to live like Jesus did. He was humble enough to step aside from heaven, come to the earth, and save us, so that we can be a part of his family. That is humility to the greatest extent ever.
This week, why not see how you can begin to help someone else by letting then shine their light. Don’t try to one up them, or to show them up, but let the love of Jesus shine through you as you recognize their value, by letting them go first, or letting them tell their story, or letting them have the floor to talk.
We can demonstrate love as a way of life by walking in humility. Try it this week, and see how true the Bible is when it say, when you humble yourself, God will lift you up.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

Have you wondered what is the difference is between true humility and false humility? Here are three thoughts that often accompany false humility
1) Look at me! As we mature, we allow our actions to fade in the background and we don’t worry if no one applauds them. Ask yourself this question next time you perform an act of humility. Am I doing this for something in return? Am I doing this for attention? Or am I doing this as an act of love
2) Finding a new focus- A person who goes around saying, I’m not important, I’m a nobody, what I think really doesn’t matter, forget about me, may appear humble at first, but really could be trying to get attention. Ask yourself these questions – am I doing this for attention, do I really want a compliment, or for someone to think I am important?
3) The right motivation – True humility is sensitive to what actions would be most helpful to others. The goal is not to gain merit for ourselves, but to foster the well being of someone else.
That often takes sacrifice.
So let’s think about those ideas, are you the kind of person who is looking of the attention of others? Are you looking for something in return? Are you just asking for a compliment? Or are you truly thinking about the needs of others. We can become Christ-like in a world that is self centered. That is one of the attributes that will draw others not only to you, but to Christ in you and that is the evidence of the Love of God being lived out in your on a daily basis. You can make love a way of life, through true, authentic, humility.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

Part of humility is just being aware of those around us. Keeping our eyes open, and recognizing the needs of others can be an act of true humility. When we set aside our own concerns and consider what it might be like to be in another person’s place, we are making love a way of life, through humility. We have all heard the saying about not judging someone else until you have walked a mile in their shoes. One of the things that I have become so much more aware of since we began The Love Project is that everyone is fighting some kind of battle. So often we don’t see it, or we don’t know about it, but that doesn’t mean it is not happening. There are wars that happen all the time in the minds of those we are around. Whether it be them trying to reconcile past mistakes, or past abuse, or relationship challenges, work issues, self esteem or worth struggles, each person we meet is dealing with something. How can we as people of faith, who want to show the love of God to everyone we meet be able to lay down our own struggles, and begin to help someone else. What is the coolest thing about God is when we do look past our own issues, and reach to help someone else, very often we see our issue from a whole different perspective. It definitely seems smaller, and often just the very act of helping someone else, brings us to a place of humility where we see how blessed we are. We don’t have it nearly as bad as we thought we did. In the very act of helping someone else, we are saying, we will step aside so that you can step up. We will have that peacefulness of heart that allows us to stand aside in order to affirm the value of someone else. So wherever you are, be aware of those around you. Keep your eyes open. Be ready to help someone else. You’ll not only bless someone else, you’ll get blessed in the process too.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS