There are some surprises that aren’t pleasant. Then there are surprises that make you want to jump for joy. That’s serendipity. It’s one of those words that sounds like its meaning. It’s a happy surprise or joyous discovery. Who wouldn’t want that kind of surprise?
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.
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:
Try some of these techniques to get the focus off of the gift-getting and onto being generous.
Cartoon: Boy says to girl, “If God loves a cheerful giver, why are you supposed to give ’til it hurts?”
We always get conflicting messages in this world, don’t we? To be fair, though, “Give ’til it hurts’ is not found in the Bible.
However, the Apostle Paul did write, “God loves a cheerful giver.” in 2 Corinthians 9:7.
I thought of this idea while thinking about today’s financial climate. Giving is down in some areas because the economy is so shaky. But sometimes the cure for financial uncertainty is to just give and don’t worry about tomorrow.
Today, I’m going to find some ways to give. How about you?
I drew this in Adobe Illustrator CS3
