Gratitude Always Leads to Generosity

A Free Gift!

Who doesn’t like a free gift? Undeserved, unsolicited, out of the blue. Have you ever been given a free gift?  How does it make you feel?

Depending on the situation I have felt a wide variety of emotions: unworthy, confused,  excited, etc. But no matter what other emotions that come with a free gift {GRACE}, it is almost always accompanied with THANKFULNESS.

How to be Thankful

Often I’m overwhelmed with gratitude. I never get used to these unexpected gifts but I’m never surprised either. Wanna know why? I know my Father made and owns everything and wishes to give me good gifts; undeserved good gifts! With this truth running through my life I can live unafraid that my family and I will always have what we need. If I am continually thankful for what He gives us (no matter the venue) and know “there’s always more where that came from” then I can freely, abundantly share, knowing He will never run out. I can never out give God!

I’m not gonna lie to you, gratitude does not always come naturally. That’s why the Bible continually tells us to be disciplined about giving thanks.

Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” as on of the principles for life in the spirit.

While imprisoned “…at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God…” (Acts 16:25)

If we make ourselves recognize the blessings in our lives then we begin the discipline of gratitude and eventually it will come more naturally. It will begin to ooze out of us. Out of our family. And possibly those who encounter us on a regular basis.

Accepting grace leads to gratitude and joy which always results in generosity.

I want to be generous in all ways. I’m not just talking about the churches that preach on generosity when tithing is low. Giving a tithe of your income is not generous it’s what was asked of us. It’s being faithful. Giving above and beyond {yes, including but not limited to money}.

I’d like to give you a little back ground on  a seemingly random thing in my life that is just one example of something God’s given me to be thankful for and therefore generous with:

A man and woman were on an anniversary trip. So excited to have a vacation by themselves having left their 3 kids with relatives, they rode with wide grins in an elevator up the St. Louis Arch! FUN! The doors open and a small boy and his father enter with them. The small boy held his father’s hand gazing around the elevator in awe.

When his eyes became fixed in fascination on the man on the anniversary trip. “Daddy! He looks just like a crash dummy!” The man and his wife laughed at the little boys creativity. Yep, they could see where he got that! The man has alopecia. Alopecia Areata. Alopecia areata is a condition that causes round patches of hair loss, and can lead to total hair loss.

This story happened close to 20 years ago. I would have been ~7 years old. I heard this story first hand from my parents, the couple on the anniversary trip.

Acts 2:44-47 says “And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity — all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”

I am grateful God has blessed me with is the ability to grow hair. Sooooo, I’m gonna share it ;o)

I have chosen to live in a constant state of growing, growing, and some years grooooowing my hair only to give it away. With this commitment comes the privilege of trusting that God knew what He was doing when he made me and my hair. Trusting He knew there would be “bad hair days”, “what color is that” hair days, and the most common “I just can’t do anything with this hair” days.

Requirements for hair donations include (but are not limited to):

• Make sure hair is a minimum of 10-12 inches. Pull curly hair straight for a more accurate measurement.
• Hair cannot be permed, color-treated, or highlighted.  Temporary coloring or highlights that washout are acceptable.

Therefore I am committing:

• Not cut significant amount of my hair (I do get trims, mainly from the hubs, hehe) I just feel bad throwing that hair away when other people have none
• Not coloring, highlighting, or perming my hair (actually saves me money!)

I have done “the chop” 3 times now and I am currently in the growing, growing stage. I have donated to Locks of Love the past 3 times but recently found out their wigs are expensive for the recipients so this next time I am donating to Wigs for Kids! If you want to learn more about alopecia, donating hair, any of the sites I’ve donated to or if you would like to join me click: Growing, Growing, Gone process!

My prayer is that I learn to completely live in the understanding of God’s grace so my discipline of gratitude becomes natural and then I will ooze with the joy I am experiencing that leads to my generosity!

What are you grateful for this season? What kind of generosity does that lead you to?
Do you have any stories of God’s grace and provision in your life? Any stories of fun original generosity in your life?