Generosity and financial success
10 ways to celebrate this thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a great time of year to pause and celebrate. Here are a few ideas to help you embrace the time.
A road away from Stress.
Are you being thankful for what you did accomplish?
From time to time I find myself in the midst of a busy week. I take one thing off the to-do list and another goes on. This is not bad or good, it just is. I came home from the day’s work and had not completed the list I wanted for that day. I was sharing with my wife, ok complaining, that I did not complete my list. I was frustrated with my limited capacity.
Then my wife asked a great question. In the moment though, I did not understand what she was getting at until I finished answering her question. She patiently waited for me to share my answer to the question. Then said, “why not celebrate and be thankful for what you did accomplish.”
Her question was “what did you accomplish today?” It was a great reality check question. We need to ask such a question from time to time to gain a better perspective of our situation in life.
Sometimes my expectations keep me looking at what I did not accomplish this week or day. Expectations can help drive us, but we need to celebrate and be thankful for what we have accomplished. It can be exhausting always running after the list that never ends.
Perhaps you find you have a long list and feel frustrated at not completing it. Ask yourself, what have I completed, have I taken steps in the right direction today. Celebrate and be thankful.
Perhaps at the end of your day, you can create a celebration or thankful list. You can do this mentally or write it down. Writing it down is a great way to help process your thoughts and also lets you look back on your life.
Here is some help to get started, it will just take five minutes.
What can you celebrate from your day?
What steps to accomplishing a task or tasks did you complete?
What do you have to be thankful for in your day?
Being thankful is a road to helping you relieve stress and gain perspective.
When we Live Generously
People who learn joyful generosity will experience the generosity of God in greater and unexpected ways.
One governing life principle of someone who is entering, embracing and engaging a life they were created for is a life of generosity.
Often we focus on what we do not have and that will lead to a belief in scarcity. This in turn steals joy away from our life. At the same time it wars against generosity.
Greed is destructive for community and for our self. It is at the core of our struggle with generosity. Much of the greed has roots in the pursuit of identity, security and significance.
There is some research out now that even suggests that living a generous life can bring greater joy and fullness. .
For Jesus followers, who are people saved by radical grace, we are to live radically generous lives. This is Jesus’ dream for our life and one that brings wholeness, a wholeness both to us and our community.
The gospel of Jesus calls us to a new identity, to trust Jesus for our security and significance. Paul, in Acts 20:35, shares that Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Jesus wants us to image a world where those who have help those who do not. Life in the kingdom of God has different value. In following Jesus we understand we are just stewards of resources.
When we live generously, we are declaring God is in control of our environment.
When we live generously, we understand that for those with wealth much is expected.
When we live generously, we understand our life does not consist of our abundance or possessions.
When we live generously, we live by a budget. This allows us to be stewards
When we live generously, we understand it is not just money, but time, and how the things we own are used. How could you use your car to serve others?
Being Generous is something we learn. One step at a time. This week, even this year, what if you gave 1% more then you gave last year.
People who learn joyful generosity will experience the generosity of God in greater and unexpected ways.