Goodwill Towards Men

Early this December I was riding down my street and noticed a new bench by the bus stop sign. (The little yellow note says, please leave this bench alone..it is for the comfort of those who ride the bus! It touched my heart to see that there are some wonderful people who are still showing that they care..that it is not all about what you are going to get or not get, but it is about what can I give.

It is important for me to instill this in my children's hearts. We have been so blessed by the Lord when it comes to provision. I'm not sure why..other than He says it in his word. Philippians 4:19 "And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." or 2 Corinthians 9:8-11 "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever. Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us you generosity will result in thanksgiving to God!"

His Word is truth! For years I sat in my prayer spot and read these scriptures along with others back to the Lord. (Malachi 3:10-12, Habakkuk 3:17-19...)We have never ever gone without...because He says He takes care of His children. Anyway, back to the picture. Whenever there is an opportunity to give when we can..we will...and sometimes even when we can't we still will.

We don't have much, but the Lord has provided a way for me to stay home and homeschool my children, my husband to go to nursing school full time and we have food on our tables, a roof over our heads and we are even going on vacation next week. He is so good to us and we are so grateful for the blessings He has bestowed. I will be starting a small job when we return from our vacation as well as teaching beginner guitar lessons. So excited for the opportunities that the Lord has placed before me. In the meantime, we practice hospitality and generosity in any way we can.

My little boy with a big heart..made candy canes with little messages he printed out from the computer. He handed those out to all of the homeless people that we serve once a month. His idea completely!

 We made snowman soup and delivered these to special neighbors and family.

 Of course, we delivered lots of cookies...apparently next year my boy with the big heart says.."Mom, if we deliver cookies to all the people you love and care about we would be like Santa..can we do that next year!?"...I'm thinking I need to get started pretty soon in my planning.

 These are our precious neighbors Mr. Paul and Mrs. Helen. We love them so much! We made them a tray of cookies along with some snowman soup for each of them..left them smiling big!

 Some people stopped by for cookies..which I love!

But, the best part was delivering. We were able to sing Christmas carols instead of knocking on doors...delivered cookies with a smile and every single person was touched.

 We even received a gift...and we were serenaded too.

You know it isn't always about the gifts we give, most of the time, it is the love and hugs that are most meaningful. The genuine love of a child is one of our best examples of how to love another!

This is one of my favorite pictures. Kyle with our dear friends from Michigan...we call him Grandpa Jack. He and Grandma Carla are just so special to us. My boys absolutely love them from their core!

One of my all time favorite authors, Randy Alcorn says in his book The Treasure Principle.."Gaze upon Christ long enough, and you’ll become more of a giver. Give long enough, and you’ll become more like Christ." Oh how I love that quote!

You see, with Jesus living in us...we have Peace on Earth....and if we can remember to have a generous spirit and goodwill toward men..we will be more like Him!