Day 12 - Don't be afraid to give

One of the components of contentment is giving.  I will go so far as to say that you will never be truly content if you do not give sacrificially.  Many folks give from their abundance, supporting organizations and charities for tax purposes, which is honorable; but will never tap into the supernatural system of tithes and offerings, and financial gifts to those who preach or give their lives to furthering the gospel.

Some of the things Paul mentions in Philippians 4:
-the Philippian church supported him when he was there preaching
-they continued to support him when he traveled elsewhere
-no other church supported him at the time
-their gifts were a "sweet-smelling sacrifice that was acceptable and pleasing to God"
-God would reward their kindness

In the gospels, Jesus encouraged his followers to give, cautioning,
"Don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.  Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you."

In the same way that forgiveness must come from the heart, so should giving.  True giving is with an open hand and with no strings attached; and one more thing--in faith.  Let's just get it out of the way right now...you may feel like you have nothing extra to give and yet you know it's the right thing to do.  What then?  Well, then you give in faith and trust God, who you know will keep His word.

"And my God shall supply your every need according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19 NLT)

I can attest to this truth, that even though a balance sheet would find us lacking, we have never gone without anything we needed.  There was a time when we were very prosperous and loved being generous with what God had blessed us with.  We are no longer in that position; yet it is in our hearts to give, even when it seems illogical, even detrimental.
One of the hardest things to learn in this process was how to receive from others when God prompted them to give to us; humbling.  And speaking of humble...

Eating from the Pantry - Day 12

Breakfast - eggs, hash browns ($1)

Lunch - leftover chicken (still have enough for another dinner)

Dinner - Leftover tacos, nachos (finally gone!)

Cost of meals for the day was only $1 because everything else was leftovers.


You can tell how much I love my hubby when I confess that since he was dying for some cooked chocolate pudding last night, I agreed to go get a box for him to make.  Never forgetting my frugal disposition, I had an ulterior motivation and that was to obtain a $10 off of $50 purchase coupon from Winn Dixie.  If you read my couponing blog at http://www.frequentbuyer.blogspot.com/, you know that it is my goal to get this coupon every week so that I can use it when I shop at Publix.  It worked, and we were both happy. 

I am currently planning my grocery shopping for Saturday, when I finish this, my first challenge in the Philippians 4 Project.  Stay tuned to find out what the next challenge will be.