Wednesday

Teaching Your Children How to Help Others

Yes, you can! Pampers has points that you can save on their website. I don't even buy Pampers diapers, but am still able to come across Pampers codes to enter.

You can get these periodically from http://www.couponcravings.com/ or http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/.

I like these daily e-mails because they tell me about deals that are out there at the stores whether it be food, toys, games...or Pampers codes!

I had been saving my Pampers points for over a year when one day I decided to check to see what I could redeem. I noticed that Proctor & Gamble had a section where you could submit 10 points for a child to have one day of clean drinking water. I looked through the other prizes I could redeem (magazine subscriptions, toys for the kids, photos, etc.) and just couldn't justify getting a magazine subscription or something else so meaningless when I had the power to help children get fresh drinking water! So, I submitted ALL my points that day and was able to buy over a year's worth of drinking water! Wow! That was a good feeling to know I was able to help children in such a simple way.

Then my children and I came across this video today and I thought it would be a good time to "purchase" some more drinking water and explain the process to my children.

Ironically, we had just finished reading the book "If Jesus Came to My House" which is an excellent book that teaches the concept of when we do something for others it is just like doing it for Jesus. Matthew 25:40 "I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!"

Take a minute to watch the powerful video I mentioned. Our family needs to pray about how God would like us to reach out more to others in our world.

Several years back I used to help take care of children with special needs. One of them had a trach that was really unpleasant for me to have to take care of (I won't go into details!). However, the Lord showed me that oftentimes we have to minister to people physically in order to minister to them spiritually.

When others see we care enough to help them with physical struggles they face, they will be more likely to listen to us share the love of Christ with them.

It's not helpful to hear about a need and not doing anything about it if you have the power to do so. "If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?" James 2:16

So, has our family "arrived" and are we perfectly ministering to the needs of others?

No, but we are making strides to improve how much we do all the time. For now, the kids have been collecting money in a jar for an orphanage in India, we try to stock up on food and health/beauty items to give to others at our church that might be in need and we are putting together a shoebox, along with our youth group, that we will all be donating to a local center for kids and teens for Christmas.

(Basically, you take a shoe box, fill it with age appropriate items (crayons, toothbrush, toothpaste, stickers, etc) and wrap the shoebox. That is a present for one child. You can also done ones for teens and adults.) If you live near me and want to participate in the shoebox program, let me know. If you don't live near me, maybe you could start your own shoebox project!

All of these minstry opportunities is costing us very little! We all have something we can give to others. No matter how much we think we are struggling there is always someone out there worse off than we are.

God doesn't want us to only give out of our abundance, but also out of our need.

Check out this AMAZING verse! II Corinthians 8:2 "They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity."

Wow! That is powerful! God can do amazing things through us if we let Him. One more reminder for us to follow our family's goal which is "to live frugally in faithful dependence upon God our Father so that as we grow in grace we may have more to give to others."

Lord, help us to do that! It is not easy and is sometimes down right hard! When I get discouraged I remember that God is able to teach me more when I have to acknowledge how dependent I am on Him.  It increases my faith because I see Him provide for our needs.

I hope these are ideas to help get you thinking of ways to reach out to others. You won't regret it! :) What are ways that you reach out to those around you? Please share!

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...