Monday, May 24, 2010

Living Generously

The theme that I seem to be learning about most in my life is currently that of generosity. I'd like to share a few thoughts about what is happening in my life right now in hopes of sparking some thought and conversation in your mind.

Generosity is most easily defined as extending grace to others. It seems an odd pairing to have grace & generosity linked to tightly together, but with what I am learning and experiencing as of late...these two terms seem to have more parallels that one may think.

There are typically three areas people speak of when referring to living a generous life: time, treasure and talent. Time speaks for itself. Giving one's time to another person involves doing just that; finding flexible moments in your schedule to be FULLY present with and for others. Talent refers to using ones gifts to serve other people. Treasure involves the stewardship of one's resources.

The area I'd like to spend a little bit of time writing about today is time. I find it easier to be generous with my talents and treasure than I do with my time. I've learned that I guard my time more than anything else in my life. I'm not sure why, but I do think it's linked to my personality. I describe myself as being a natural introvert with extrovert tendencies. Part of being a natural introvert is discovering that I recharge my batteries by spending time alone, by myself, doing things that I enjoy doing. Being a dad has challenged me to change my habits, my rituals and my routine in order to be able to give quality time to my children. Time where Dad can be fully engaged, relevant and present with both Saydie & Cannon. Giving my time to my kids is very important. Will my kids know that they are important and valued? I not only need to give them my talent & treasure...I need to give them my time as well.

When you think about living generously, what is one thing you may need to work on?

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A Little Something from Psalm 8

 Had a lot of fun with this one.