Teaching our children to be cheerful givers is our way as WELLthy parents to instill in our children what it means to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, but with God in mind and in heart. This world can encourage the wrong motives in chasing all that money can buy that we forget to keep eternity in mind.
Teaching our children to be cheerful givers is thanks to both our mothers who have modeled this generous spirit to Hubby and I till this day. I still remember my mom teaching me through her actions why it’s more blessed to give than to receive. I also recognize that her generous spirit is the reason why even though we didn’t grow with much, we had so much to be thankful for.
Teaching our children to be cheerful givers is part of what financial stewardship and legacy looks like to us. There are about three things you can do with money: spend wisely, save regularly and give generously. Hubby and I are passionate about giving not only of money but also of our time and God given gifts. As Christians we are called to be light of the world and we want to model it to our girls in a way that they can also participate.
When our oldest was born, we wanted to be creative in teaching her to be a cheerful giver. One way that has impacted her and has become a family tradition is our backpack to the homeless tradition. Christmas to our family is all about celebrating the birth of Jesus so when Christmas comes, we have a birthday party for Jesus.
We agreed as a family that the way to celebrate the person who gave His life for us was to honor Him by honoring another life. Christmas in the NorthEast is usually freezing cold and we decided to fill up a backpack with items we felt that we would need if we were to be outside for one night.
Teaching our children to be cheerful givers started with a trip to Walmart with a shopping list in mind to get various items for a homeless man because most homeless we came across were males. We first purchased a backpack and then added items like bath soap, deodorant, underwear, undershirts, hat, mittens, scarf, ear muffs, toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving cream, razors, shampoo, conditioner, bandaid, lozenges, washcloths, nail clipper, comb and a sleeping bag.
Last year around Christmas week, we filled up a backpack as usual. The intent is to give when all of us are together because children learn more in tangible ways. Homelessness as we discovered is by circumstances and realizing that there are others who are less fortunate than us is a lesson our girls are learning all too well.
Teaching our children to be cheerful givers is giving with others in mind and includes eating healthy so we purchased nuts, dried fruit, water bottles, gift cards to McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts and a bible with a prayer written in it. We then keep the backpack in the car until we find someone to give to.
Teaching our children to be cheerful givers is all about the tangible ways children can see generosity in action. Last Saturday we saw a homeless man on the street and we knew that it was the day to give the backpack away because the whole family was together. We parked our car across the street because the man was standing at the corner of an intersection and Hubby made his way to him with the backpack.
Teaching our children to be cheerful givers is about sharing the memories together as a family that loves to give. The girls were so excited watching Hubby make his way toward the man to give him the backpack. Hubby spent a few minutes with him because one thing we have learned from teaching our children to be cheerful givers is to take the time to really see the person and not just throw the backpack at their feet.
When Hubby made his way back to the car, the girls and I saw the man kneel down and pray as if to thank God for the backpack. We had happy tears in our eyes and were so excited for him having a bit of heaven with him. Hubby told us that his name is Wade so we now make sure to pray for God to turn Wade’s circumstances around for the better.
Teaching our children to be cheerful givers is understanding that when we trust God and honor Him by generously giving our time, treasure, and talent, we are truly letting our light shine before men, and our goodness will reflect the God we serve. It’s also important to include giving generously in our WHY for financial freedom because no one can help everyone but everyone can help someone, especially as we remember 9/11!
WELLthy MOMent NODte:”It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”
-Mother Teresa
