Happy New Year friends! We're already well into January and I'm just now getting around to posting new year's type things. If you've hung around here for much time at all, you'll know that my posting has gone from less frequent to practically non-existent. I will blame grad school for it, because now all my days off are spent doing school work. Last quarter I was in two classes and now I'm in three so it only gets harder from here on out. My goal is still to post once a month but no promises.
At the end of 2015 I spent some time reflecting on our word of the year: generosity. I LOVED the word and the challenge it brought with it. Below are some of my reflections on how we lived that word out. They're not intended as a brag but rather to give you ideas on how to extend generosity to those around you. The pieces highlighted in yellow are from my original post that was published on January 1, 2015 outlining what my heart was for the year.
Generosity with Money
I've shared my struggle in not letting money control me, and I think my challenge will be trusting in the Lord's provision as we strive to be generous financially. This continues to be a struggle for me but at the same time the Lord has brought me SO far in this aspect of my life! It was so fun to be able to give to several organizations that were near and dear to our hearts, and faithfully tithe at church. It's sometimes hard to look at the budget and see the money that we're giving away and think of what we could be spending it on (i.e. tuition). This next year Alex and I will both be in school full-time and at some point I may need to drop down from full-time work. This will be incredibly challenging as we navigate how to be stewards of our money and continue to faithfully give.
I've shared my struggle in not letting money control me, and I think my challenge will be trusting in the Lord's provision as we strive to be generous financially. This continues to be a struggle for me but at the same time the Lord has brought me SO far in this aspect of my life! It was so fun to be able to give to several organizations that were near and dear to our hearts, and faithfully tithe at church. It's sometimes hard to look at the budget and see the money that we're giving away and think of what we could be spending it on (i.e. tuition). This next year Alex and I will both be in school full-time and at some point I may need to drop down from full-time work. This will be incredibly challenging as we navigate how to be stewards of our money and continue to faithfully give.
Generosity with Time and Home
I want to be generous in my home by opening my doors to friends and strangers alike. I want to serve others food and show love at my dinner table share community around our couches. In 2015 we had many friend groups over and a big family gathering over. We really tried not to let our small space stop us from inviting people in. Game nights, Bronco games, and dinners were some of the sweetest memories of 2015 and I'm excited to see what 2016 holds.
I want to be generous in my home by opening my doors to friends and strangers alike. I want to serve others food and show love at my dinner table share community around our couches. In 2015 we had many friend groups over and a big family gathering over. We really tried not to let our small space stop us from inviting people in. Game nights, Bronco games, and dinners were some of the sweetest memories of 2015 and I'm excited to see what 2016 holds.
Generosity Out the Front Door
I want the generosity to extend outside of my front door. In my original post I mentioned bringing soup to the homeless that stand on a corner near our home. I'm sorry to say that that never happened. But in 2015 generosity outside our front door meant knocking on our neighbor's door and offering to bring them dinner because they just had a new baby. It meant introducing ourselves to another neighbor that was new and bringing him cookies. Small things, yes, but at the same challenging and out of my comfort zone.
This year, I will fight against the excuses and the heart of waiting that so easily turns into the heart of postponing. I read that line from last year's post and it still strikes me deep down in the heart. I do believe that 2015 was successful in terms of our goal to be generous with our time, home, and money.
Just because it's 2016 doesn't mean that we're giving generosity the boot. Generosity will always be one of our goals. This year it may be the most challenging as we start paying tuition for the both of us and drop down to a single income again. But God. We know He's got us. And we pray that our hearts and homes stay generous even when the numbers don't make sense.
How did your word of the year for 2015 turn out?? I would love to hear about it!
Just because it's 2016 doesn't mean that we're giving generosity the boot. Generosity will always be one of our goals. This year it may be the most challenging as we start paying tuition for the both of us and drop down to a single income again. But God. We know He's got us. And we pray that our hearts and homes stay generous even when the numbers don't make sense.
How did your word of the year for 2015 turn out?? I would love to hear about it!
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