Categories
Attitude

Why we Can't Stand Grinchie Porch Pirates

Santa Claus is the antithesis of porch pirates. We love the story of Santa Claus because he gives presents. Porch pirates, on the other hand, steal them. A study shows as of this year, (2019) over a third of Americans have had delivered packages stolen from their front porches.

Cartoon of a policeman interrogating Santa Claus. Santa says, "But you have to believe me! Santa is not a port pirate!"
We believe you, Santa. You are nothing like a porch pirate!

It is much better to be a giver than a taker. That should go without saying. Yet, when I get into a scarcity mentality, it can be easy for me to think of what I can get instead of what I can give. If I start to believe there is only a limited amount of resources, I begin to get selfish. It happens to all of us.

That’s when I remind myself it is much better to give than receive. It is much better to be a blessing than to make it all about me. It’s much better to have an abundance mentality and to give freely.

May you be blessed this Christmas and be a blessing to others. No porch pirates allowed!

Categories
church cartoons

Electronic Giving is NOT E-Waste!

Cartoon of a guy lugging an old PC. Another guy says, "Electronic Giving doesn't mean you donate your old PC!"
© 2019 Kevin Spear. Published in the October 2019 Church of God Newsletter

I noticed this has been an issue anywhere I worked with more than twenty years of history. There’s an old PC in the corner. There are old hard drives, zip disks and even floppy disks. Does anyone remember the old 5 1/4″ floppy disks? They still make great coasters. But they’re not very good for storage these days.

Today, you can get a 64mb flash drive for the same price an old floppy once cost and it could contain the equivalent of 42,667 floppies! Yes, I did the math. You can get a 64 mb flash drive for about $2.00 USD today (October 20, 2019). That is what I remember floppy drives going for in the late eighties and nineties. They carried about 1.5 kb. Alas, that old hardware, software and storage devices aren’t useful anymore. So please don’t donate them to a church or charity. They don’t need your ancient e-junk!

Electronic giving has been a thing at the churches I’ve attended for over five years now. You can have funds withdrawn to your account and not have to worry about bringing cash or paper check for the offering plate. When I’ve heard the phrase “electronic giving” from the pulpit, I’ve often wondered what if would look like if someone took it literally and placed a flash drive in the plate as proof they actually gave something!

I drew this for the October, 2019 CHOGNews.

Categories
cartoon Christmas holiday

A Viral Christmas

Cartoon of a sick couple. One says, “This is the last year that for Christmas, we’re giving each other the flu!”There are some things that are just not nice to give. The flu, bronchitis, and a host of icky, sticky viruses and bacteria are way too giving They will find you, greet you and put you out of commission for several days.

Here’s to hoping your holidays will be virus free!

Categories
children's ministry Christmas holiday

Generosity at Christmas

There’s no cartoon this morning. As this post comes out, I am getting ready for our church elementary large group. We’ll be talking about generosity. You may say, “But wait! It’s Christmas! Why are you talking about generosity?”

Categories
animal cartoons cartoon pet cartoons

Giving Tuesday Surprises

Cartoon of a dog and cat. The dog says, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone you donated to a dog rescue organization.”Welcome to Giving Tuesday! This has nothing to do with the cartoon, but if you’re looking for a great organization to give to today, I recommend a place I’ve worked for. Elizabeth’s New Life Center in Dayton helps families make godly life choices. 

There are, of course, many organizations that can use our help. If you favor another cause, be sure to make a difference today.