God loves a cheerful giver!

“Remember this; whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
~2 Corinthians 9:6-7

Now that the holiday season is in full swing, I know that people are busy writing out their Christmas lists of all the things they want this year. One of the greatest joys of the holidays for me is giving! I love to give!! With so many people in need right now, we should not forget about charitable giving.  This bible verse is clear on how to give. We should not give to the church or to charity or to neighbors & friends in need because we feel obligated or even because it’s the right thing to do, we should give because we want to!

There is such a great joy in giving!  To see a child’s face light up when they receive a gift from Toys for Tots, or a Mother’s smile as she & her children are being served food at a soup kitchen, or the joy on a child’s face in a third world country who just received a new pair of shoes or a toy (neither of which they have ever owned), is priceless!  I have had the wonderful opportunity to sponsor a child in Burma, and was blessed to be able to send an extra gift one year of $100 which provided the family with a 50 pound sack of rice, several gallons of cooking oil, a sewing machine and a bicycle for our precious sponsored child. The joy and gratitude that the family expressed was something I will never forget!  The joy it gave my husband and I was enormous!  ”God loves a cheerful giver”!
I know that times are tough for all of us right now, but allow me to suggest a few ways for you to give to charity this year while still having enough under the tree;  One thing we like to do for our parents (since they already have 2 of everything) is to make a charitable donation in their names. One of my favorite charities is World Vision (click the charities tab for more info), you can give livestock to families in poverty that will keep producing eggs, milk & other livestock through breeding!  You can give or purchase all or part of a water well for a village or even housing!

You can do this in someone’s name and have a gift card sent to them saying that you gave to this charity in their name.  This is a wonderful way to give a gift to a family member or friend while also giving to charity!  You can purchase small toys at a dollar store to give to Toys for Tots.  It may only cost you a dollar, but to a child with NO toys, it is priceless!  One of my passions is breast cancer awareness, by purchasing “pink” products like note pads, cookware, beauty products and literally hundreds of items to give as gifts this Christmas, you are also giving to breast cancer charities, because a portion of sales goes to them!  Many charities do that.  Try looking online for charitable gift giving. You can also click the “charities” tab here on my website to see some of my favorite charities that help our troops, vets and their families as well as breast cancer and more.  Also, when you purchase my music, a portion of all sales goes to these charities!
I pray you have a truly blessed holiday season that is filled with the joy of helping and giving to those in need.

In His name,
~Kimbirly