Generous Living
Generous Stewards — Curious and Creative
Who knew that curiosity might have anything to do with stewardship? I hadn’t thought about it that way. But some scientific studies approach curiosity not as a predilection or character trait, but as a behavior. As such, it shows our “stewardship of attention” 1 – how we choose to pay attention to certain people and…
Read MoreGenerosity Heroes
Generosity isn’t about what we do with things; it’s about the heart. A generous heart gives quality time to listen to another person, gives follow-through compassion to act on concern for far-away people, gives personal involvement and practical resources to people in need and creatures in danger. And there are plenty of people who demonstrate…
Read MoreResurrection Generosity
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! On this Easter Day, I was thrilled to read today’s meditation from www.generositymonk.com. He cited Franklin Brookhart about “Resurrection Gratitude and Generosity.” Brookhart says: The resurrection of our Lord is the paradigm of the way God works. Resurrection means fullness and abundance of life – all of life.…
Read MoreContagious Generosity
Contagious Generosity: Creating a Culture of Giving in Your Church is a treasure chest of ideas that get us out of the old assumptions and expectations related to giving to church. It’s filled with high-impact examples of actual practices by top congregations in The Leadership Network. Written by Chris Willard and Jim Sheppard, it addresses…
Read MoreWhite Helmets in Syria
Generosity reaches a whole new level when your life is on the line – and when you’re saving someone else’s life at the literal risk of your own. That’s what the “White Helmets” are doing every day in Syria, as they voluntarily rush in after the bombs have hit. The rescuers don’t care about a…
Read MoreEncouraging Generativity
Stephen Post and Jill Neimark wrote a fascinating book called Why Good Things Happen to Good People. It shares some exciting scientific research proving a connection between doing good and living a longer, healthier, happier life. In it, one new discovery for me was generativity. Apparently the term generativity was first used by psychologist Erik…
Read MorePropel: Involvement and Generosity
I just wrote a book review for next year’s Giving magazine on Clayton Smith’s new book, Propel: Good Stewardship, Greater Generosity. The theme of that issue of Giving is “Living Generously,” and I hope you’ll order it online at www.stewardshipresources.org this fall. But there are a lot more ideas from Propel than I could pack…
Read MoreA Reminder from the Birds
These past months the wild birds have been everywhere, first seeking whatever they could to build their nests. When much of the U.S. was still battling snowstorms, Northern California began to see spring. Thankfully we’ve had enough rain this year to cancel the current year’s (although not long-term) drought. Mornings have been filled with birdsong…
Read MoreGod the Artist
“Great work, God!” called out Dr. Don Adams, prompting the conference audience to give a standing ovation in response to God’s artistry as Creator. That was many years ago, but I’ve never forgotten it, both because of its spontaneity and also because of its view of God as the ultimate Artist of life. Years ago…
Read MoreThe Morning-After Net
It’s doubly hard when a dream turns to dust, when people who have gone through a dramatic life event (a significant relationship, a turn-around experience) see all the goodness vanish. The dream dies, our new life doesn’t pan out, loved ones drifts away. Unsure of what to do, we ask ourselves, Can I go back…
Read MoreGPS
Printed maps are mostly a thing of the past. These days, many people depend on their “GPS” – Global Positioning Satellite – to get to their destination, particularly if it’s to a place they’ve never been before. A lot of folks depend solely on their GPS for guidance anywhere. So I was intrigued when I…
Read MoreKernels of Hope
Referring to the current world scene, one magazine writer used the phrase “rise in hate, kernels of hope.” I don’t deny the rise-in-hate part: it’s everywhere! But I prefer to point to the kernels of hope wherever I see them, particularly because some kernels become seeds that sprout and grow as others pick up the…
Read MoreHope for Refugees
The television news has been devastating, showing thousands of refugees running for their lives, swamping train stations to leave one country for another, cradling babies and urging their children forward, in the face of forceful military or hateful crowds. It doesn’t take much to imagine the misery they are leaving behind, along with all their…
Read MoreContagious Generosity
What an act of generosity! Our friends were coming up to this year as their fiftieth anniversary. Having lived in Australia and the United States over the years, they had formed strong friendships with a great number of people. So they decided to spend their special anniversary money, and more, on bringing the two communities…
Read MoreSpecial Olympics
The televised segments of the World Special Olympics this week have related story after story of inspiration, persistence, and generosity. Some of the generosity was spontaneous, as when people chipped in to buy matching uniforms for one national team. But a lot of generosity was planned, for example by the thousands of volunteers who assisted…
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