Giving to the Lord: A Fun Way to Get Your Kids Involved

My kids are 5, 3, and 1.  Needless to say, when it comes to money, they’re broke.  We haven’t started giving allowance yet and, unfortunately, their resumes are lacking the experience needed to secure a decent-paying gig.  So, how can we get them involved in the act of giving to our local church or one of the missionaries our congregation supports?  Here’s a fun idea that I plan on unfolding for my family later this week:

1. Sit down with your kids and read to them Matthew 6:19-21, explaining to them that there is no treasure on this earth that we can keep forever, but by giving it away for the glory of God we can “store up for [ourselves] treasures in heaven”.  Explain to them the awesome giving nature of God who  “gave his only Son” for sinners and promises to give us more blessing in heaven as we give to him (John 3:16).
2. Then, tell them that they’re going on a treasure hunt in your house, looking for money they can give away for the glory of our giving God.  If your home is anything like mine, then you’ve got multiple junk drawers, seemingly bottomless collection reservoirs in the crevices of your couch, and ready-made excavation sites under the beds.  Let your kids have at it and set up a central location in the kitchen for them to turn in their findings.
3. Make them an integral party of the actual act of giving as well, so that, whether they’re putting it in the offering plate or making a card  in which to send the money for a missionary, they can experience the joy of sacrifice.

Star Wars, My Wife, and a Better Choice

When my wife was a kid, all the way up through college, in fact, she was a huge Star Wars nerd.  If you were to look at her today you would never guess it, but she frequented conventions, had a subscription to Star Wars Insider, and could quote to you the most obscure lines from each of the movies.  She was one of those people who lined up outside of Target the day the new action figures released and after purchasing them kept them in their packaging on a shelf so as to maintain their pristine condition.

As we’ve been married, Keri’s parents have been strategically transferring her collection to our home (it has taken multiple trips) so that at one time my eyes would be bombarded with Star Wars figures in my garage, our closet,  my boys’ closet, and my daughter’s closet.  Now, I do a pretty good Yoda impression, but I had to admit this was a little nuts.

You’re probably wondering what my wife thinks about me revealing her past of geeky revelry.  Let me assure you that I have her full permission to tell this story and you’ll see why in a moment.  See, my wife made a decision last year (without any coercion on my part) about the mountains of Star Wars stuff in our home that makes me love her more.  A family in our church is in the process of uprooting their lives to move to Uganda for full-time mission work and another of our member families held a garage sale to help them raise support.  Keri donated the majority of those action figures to that garage sale and the ones she kept she set aside for a special night of childhood wonderment when we let our boys sit on the living room floor and have at it.

Her collection held many special memories for her and it represented a sizable chunk of her own money, but my wife has found her true delight in the Lord (Psalm 37:4), she understands that a disciple of Christ denies oneself (Luke 9:23), and she believes that treasure is to be stored up in heaven and not on earth (Matthew 6:19-21).  My wife still smokes me when we play Star Wars Trivial Pursuit, but because of God’s sanctifying grace, it’s not near as important for her to win as it once was.

 

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