My 12-year-old granddaughter, Sierra, has been front and center for my experiment. Having recently come to the Lord herself, she is very interested in what I am doing and why. So she was thrilled when I asked her if she wanted to participate.
Sierra loves to shop - especially for cute clothes. She got that from her grandma. So she was very concerned when I cleaned my closet. "But grandma, don't you ever get to buy cute clothes any more?" she asked. I told her I would, but not at the mall, only at thrift stores and yard sales and if I found something great, I'd take something else out of my closet and give it away. I can have cute stuff, I told her, I just don't need so much of it. It's not right that I have more than one person needs when there are so many people right in our city who don't have an extra set of clothes to wear. Giving of yourself to someone in need is called charity, I told her. God so loved the world that He gave. He gave His only son to a world desperately in need of a Savior. That's why we who are believers give to those in need. She understood.
I had both my granddaughters with me when the Operation Christmas Child booth was set up in the foyer of our church. I explained that this was charity and asked if they wanted to get involved. We took a box and I let the girls choose the age and gender of the person we would shop for. We went to the dollar store and with $20 filled the box with stuff they picked out for this needy child for Christmas. They were happy that they got to make a difference in a child's life. They understood what it would feel like not to get presents at Christmas and knew they'd made someone happy. It was a good introduction to charity.
Last Sunday after church there was a Christmas tree set up in the foyer with paper ornaments on it. It was the "Be a Santa to a Senior" program put on by our church's Love Thy Neighbor ministry and Home Instead Senior Care. Sierra's eyes lit up when she saw it and asked if we could take an ornament from the tree. I told her to pick one out. I thought for sure she'd choose a woman we could buy pretty clothes for but she brought back an ornament with a man's name on it. Why this one? I asked. It just called to me, she said. Aah, being Spirit led already.
Wednesday night after church we went shopping for our ornament gift. Giving to charity is fun, Sierra told me. Yes, I replied, but it's more than fun. It's important. It's how we show Jesus to people in need. They might need food and clothes but they need Jesus more.
Where do children learn about charity? Charity needs to begin at home. They need to learn it from us, their parents and grandparents. They need to learn why it's important so it becomes a part of their lives. Serving God and living for Him can be fun. I'm so glad Sierra is learning this at such a young age.
Sierra loves to shop - especially for cute clothes. She got that from her grandma. So she was very concerned when I cleaned my closet. "But grandma, don't you ever get to buy cute clothes any more?" she asked. I told her I would, but not at the mall, only at thrift stores and yard sales and if I found something great, I'd take something else out of my closet and give it away. I can have cute stuff, I told her, I just don't need so much of it. It's not right that I have more than one person needs when there are so many people right in our city who don't have an extra set of clothes to wear. Giving of yourself to someone in need is called charity, I told her. God so loved the world that He gave. He gave His only son to a world desperately in need of a Savior. That's why we who are believers give to those in need. She understood.
I had both my granddaughters with me when the Operation Christmas Child booth was set up in the foyer of our church. I explained that this was charity and asked if they wanted to get involved. We took a box and I let the girls choose the age and gender of the person we would shop for. We went to the dollar store and with $20 filled the box with stuff they picked out for this needy child for Christmas. They were happy that they got to make a difference in a child's life. They understood what it would feel like not to get presents at Christmas and knew they'd made someone happy. It was a good introduction to charity.
Last Sunday after church there was a Christmas tree set up in the foyer with paper ornaments on it. It was the "Be a Santa to a Senior" program put on by our church's Love Thy Neighbor ministry and Home Instead Senior Care. Sierra's eyes lit up when she saw it and asked if we could take an ornament from the tree. I told her to pick one out. I thought for sure she'd choose a woman we could buy pretty clothes for but she brought back an ornament with a man's name on it. Why this one? I asked. It just called to me, she said. Aah, being Spirit led already.
Wednesday night after church we went shopping for our ornament gift. Giving to charity is fun, Sierra told me. Yes, I replied, but it's more than fun. It's important. It's how we show Jesus to people in need. They might need food and clothes but they need Jesus more.
Where do children learn about charity? Charity needs to begin at home. They need to learn it from us, their parents and grandparents. They need to learn why it's important so it becomes a part of their lives. Serving God and living for Him can be fun. I'm so glad Sierra is learning this at such a young age.
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