Categories
cartoon

Ever Tried to be Anonymous?

Cartoon of a guy lamenting he has the last name of AnonymousCartoon of two guys. One is lamenting, “It’s tough when your last name is ‘Anonymous.’ Everyone hits you up for donations.”

In my very limited research, I didn’t find anyone whose last name was literally “Anonymous.” I am surprised someone hasn’t had their name legally changed to that. It would be a good way to confuse people.

Have you ever tried to be an anonymous giver? Don’t answer that. It would spoil the whole anonymity thing.

Categories
medicine

You Can’t Take it With You… or Can you?

Cartoon of a grumpy man and a doctor. The grumpy man says, "Well Doc, If I can't take it with me, then you better ensure I'm not going!"We fool ourselves if we think the guy who dies with the most toys wins. The other day, I ran through a cemetery. There were impressive headstones, large monuments, and simple markers. Yet I was the only one there. No one cared about these tributes to a past life and the occupants didn’t seem like they cared either.

Categories
Book Review

The Go-Giver and the Job Search

Cover of "The Go-Giver: A Little Story Ab...
Cover via Amazon
I’ve been on vacation this week. One of the books I’ve been reading is The Go-Giver.

Web site: http://thegogiver.com/

I enjoyed this book because of the stage of life I am currently in.

Categories
CHOG News church cartoons Newsletters

I Gave Online t-shirt

cartoon of a guy in church. An offering plate is being handed to him. The guy has a t-shirt that says,
© 2015 Kevin Spear

It’s fun when tradition collides with technology! For a few months, I’ve been using my bank’s web payment to pay my tithes and offerings. Why not? I’ve paid all my other bills that way for years. I didn’t expect the feeling of guilt when the offering plate came around even when I knew perfectly well I was giving.

So how do you combat that feeling when someone gives online? You can’t put your smart phone in the offering plate. Printing out a receipt seems tacky. If you wave it off and say, “I gave online,” you’re only calling attention to yourself and sound pretentious. Oh, the dilemmas!

A t-shirt would solve all the awkward exchanges. All the church has to do is pass them out in the back before the service. You can make them big enough to fit over any outfit. And if you decorate your church for the season, you can make them match colors for Lent and Advent!

I drew this cartoon for the July CHOGNews.

 

Categories
Christmas holiday

Seven Easy Tips to Nurture Giving in Your Child

Christmas cartoon of a boy at a fast food restaurant

Cartoon of a boy at a fast food restaurant. He asks a worker, “My dad hates gift cards. Can you wrap up a hamburger in festive paper and a bow?

Our children are assaulted with a flood of commercials this time of year. They have seen so many toy commercials, they could probably quote them back to you verbatim. What do you do when everything around your children screams greed and you want to teach them to be giving?

My local paper had a great article by Kathy Schwartz entitled 10 Perfect Gifts Parents Can Give. That got me thinking about ways parents and teachers can teach how to be giving.

Here are seven easy tips:

  1. Volunteer at a community center.
    1. Perhaps there is a soup kitchen, homeless shelter or women’s shelter that would welcome your help.
    2. Be sure it is okay to bring your kids. Also you will need to discern if your kids are mature enough to be a help instead of a distraction.
  2. Find a service that gives gifts to those less fortunate. Two great ones are:
    1. Operation Christmas Child
    2. Angel Tree.
  3. Have your children participate in gift giving for relatives. The family can brainstorm what a grandparent, aunt or uncle wants. It doesn’t have to be store-bought. A homemade ornament can be just as meaningful if there is some thought put into it. (try to get beyond gift cards. It’s just too easy to grab a handful of these guys. Wrapped hamburgers also aren’t a good idea!)
  4. Have the family make and decorate Christmas cookies for the neighbors. The kids can decorate Christmas cookies with icing. The kids can also help deliver the gifts door-to-door.
  5. Team together with a family or with your church to sing Christmas carols door-to-door. Your church or religious institution probably has a list of elderly members that would love to hear some Christmas cheer.
  6. Attend a church service to remind everyone the reason for Christmas. Many churches have a Christmas Eve service.
  7. Read the Christmas story from Luke 2:1-20.
    1. Talk about what the stable would have looked and smelled like.
    2. Why would the king of the world choose to come to earth in such a humble way?
    3. What would Mary and Joseph have felt when all these events occurred?

Try some of these techniques to get the focus off of the gift-getting and onto being generous.