Generosity: the quality of being kind and generous.
I think that generosity is a word we take too lightly and don’t practice enough. I think if we all take a look at ourselves there are definitely areas that we can be more generous in. There are three areas in life that I think we as humans (myself included) can be more generous with. And you might be thinking ah but I don’t have the money to be generous, I promise you, you DO NOT have to have money in order to be generous. Just hear me out: TIME: Yes, time is so precious and can quickly disappear from us but time only gets away from us with things we don’t prioritize. Something we should prioritize is our time for other PEOPLE. They need us, and after all, we are all doing this thing called life together. Time is golden. Maybe its time we reach out instead of waiting for everyone else to message us first. Be the person who actually follows through on their “we should get a coffee soon” statement. Lets not be people that talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. Be generous with your time. I know for a fact, that even spending your time with someone can make their day, even if you’re just sitting doing nothing, sometimes even company is precious. OUR ENCOURAGMENT: Encouragement, so important, SO SO important. By encouraging someone you are bringing someone support and to put it simply that’s sometimes what someone needs! There are times we forget to encourage other people or struggle to and there are times where we might have our eyes focused to much on ourselves. I know there are people out there who find it awkward to encourage…. I find that so sad. I find it so sad that you feel uncomfortable to lift someone else up & bring them hope and support…Maybe it’s jealousy, we all feel it. However, we can not always live by our emotions. You will feel so much freedom the day you learn to not let your emotions rule you. Encourage people in their victories and in there loses. Encouragement restores people’s confidence and brings hope. It helps people succeed in life. Be generous (there’s that word again) with your encouragement. OUR GIFTING: By gifting I mean anything in your life that you you are good with, it’s your element. This might be finance, knowledge, humor, kindness, hospitality, or even just turning. What ever it is be generous with it. We need to start setting each other up to strive in life. If you are known for being kind. Spread your kindness like wild fire to people you know AND people you don’t even know. Make a concious effort to reach out in kindness. If you have a good sense of humour make more people laugh! Bringing laughter to peoples day is such a blessing. I always say laughter is good for the soul. A good belly laugh. If you are gifted financially, you might be able to help out someone who is less fortunate in that area. If people have told you, you light up every room you walk into’ walk into more rooms, do it! Make it happen! We need to stop being so selfish with our talents and giftings and use it to help others. As I said in the beginning, none of these things require money, and none of these things are materialistic, though they are characteristics. They cost nothing. We don’t have to have money to be GENEROUS. So there it is. Three main areas we can all be more generous with. Let’s do it together Corinthians 9:6-8 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Arohanui A x
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Monday 9 July. As I write this, I am sitting in stillness in my favourite cafe, taking time out just for me. I firstly caught up with a dear friend of mine, you know those friends that are just such good company, such good listeners, she is a must have kind of friendship. I’m not at all saying that self care requires us to spend a tonne of money or buy heaps of things... not at all, that’s purely materialistic. What I am saying though, is that taking time out from this crazy busy world we live in matters so much, it’s so so important! Whatever works for you, find that thing gal! Find it and embrace it! Take a breather! Your mind / body / soul will thank you for it!! For me, it’s as simple as: Going for a walk - ( I LOVE walking tracks. If you’re in Christchurch, check out rapaki track, Barnett park or even head up to sign of the bellbird!) These places in particular are great to embrace the fresh air, nature and stunning views! Being present in these moments makes us realise how much we have, and how much to be thankful for. Catch ups with that good quality friend - As I mentioned earlier, these are friends that you don’t even have to do anything with, you can literally just sit in your favourite cafe for hours just chatting about life. These friends that make you laugh till your stomach hurts and you feel like your gaining abs just from laughing.. IT’S ABSOLUTE SOUL FOOD! Something that helps with my self care personally is what I’m doing right now, writing! It’s a great way of being able to process your thoughts and feelings. After a hard day, emotional day, stressful day, or even an amazing day you’ve had and things to be grateful for. I repeat, find something that works for you gal! When you focus on being present in the season of your life you’re in compared to the seasons other people are in, or what they’re up to, that gal next to you, yeah, she is in a totally different season of her life, she has her own struggles, strengths and weaknesses. You are not meant to be achieving what she is achieving. FOCUS ON YOU Your own path, what’s BEST for your season, not for hers. I once heard a psychologist say, “Why is if that we spend more time looking after our teeth than our minds?” I find that intriguing, why do we look after our physical health more than we do our mental and psychological health? One thing that’s important to remind yourself is that self care is not self indulgent nor selfish. It’s necessary. It’s hard work. But let’s start. “Practicing self-care is a process, one that takes patience, self awareness, and a good sense of humour” I hope this encourages you to take care of yourself just that little bit more. Arohanui A xx In the year 2000, when I was just short of two years of age, my life changed drastically. My birth parents decided they weren't in a stable state to look after me anymore. NOW, as heavy as this may seem, let me tell you this... God was watching over me from the get-go, HE HAD A PURPOSE FOR ME. It was no mistake that he purposely placed me permanently into a loving home, with foster parents which, by the way, sounds totally odd to call them foster parents because they have always treated me like any other parent treats their child. They believed in a God that is faithful, tangible, loving, and had a PURPOSE FOR ME, JUST AS HE HAS PURPOSE FOR ALL OF US. I came to know this God for myself as I grew older. As soon as I heard the scriptures: - Galatians 3:26, "So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith." - 2 Corinthians 6:18, "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty" - It changed how I live out my sense of worth and PURPOSE, although the situations in which we are a brought into the world are different, WE ARE ALL CHILDREN OF GOD. .. There has been so many hurdles and mountains I've had to climb thus far, one of which being my sense of PURPOSE. I always had pretty low self esteem and confidence growing up and was a bullies target. I was extremely shy and kept to myself. I felt like I was different to all the other kids my age. I used to get questioned a lot, things like “you and your sister look nothing alike” questions like this knocked my sense of PURPOSE & IDENTITY. I would question myself a lot too, throwing myself questions round in my head like “Why would my parents bring me into this world if they couldn’t keep me and look after me? “Why did this have to happen to ME?” I truly believe that it is by the Grace of God that I am the person I am today, and through the faith and provision of God. God has not left my side since day one, he’s had a PURPOSE for my life. One of my all time favorite scriptures is Psalm 139:13-14, "For You created my inmost being, You knit me together in my mothers womb, I praise You because I am FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE, Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Note the bold... I just LOVE how powerful that is. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. How good is that. Friends we can't do this journey on our own. God knows the plan for our lives. He holds a PURPOSE for us all. Every situation, - every trial, - fear, - weakness, He holds it all! God will use those to help us journey alongside others who went through the same brokenness we did. God has known my PURPOSE from the beginning and is using my story to help me help His children. Living out our sense of PURPOSE knowing our worth is what we’re worth to God... Much love, Arohanui A xx I am starting to understand this phrase more and more, kindness gives birth to kindness. Sometimes it can be a challenge as after all, life has a few frustrations at times. I believe that the world would be such a better place if everyone was kind to everyone. We might not always understand why people make the decisions they make, or believe the things they believe. Everyone has the right to believe what they do, so just make conversation with them and always respect what they have to say. There is an ultimate quote from Mother Teresa that I love. "Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless." I have a classic example of how someone played out this in my life; My best pal and I went on a bit of a roadie to one of the bays over summer. We had an epic time soaking up the sun, swimming, eating, yarning, living our best lives pretty much. We were there for several hours. When we were driving home we decided that we were both super hungry and so we stopped by at subway. So stoked. I ordered my favorite chicken sub and a good ol cookie. Can't go wrong, right? Well this day I did. Turns out I hadn't transferred enough money to pay for my food, so my card declined. I went and transferred the amount I needed, and my card declined again. I went over to get my friend to the rescue (Hallelujah God is good) and just as I went back I noticed the man that was in the line behind me was standing using the Eftpos. He then scurried out of the store. The lady on the till, (lets call her Lucy, because that was her name.) said that the guy in the Que had told her he had been in the same boat plenty of times and that he wanted to give back. This could have been such a small gesture to him, but to me, such a wee blessing. I was a bit stuck with an issue with the bank app (waaah). Again, kindness gives birth to kindness, The dude in subway reminded me that small acts of kindness can go a really long way. You never, ever know what is going on in someone else's life. How much time do we spend wanting to be someone else? We all feel our life would be perfect if we were the beautiful model, handsome actor or star athlete. We don't think twice about how their life is going, because they must be happy. We don't know what personal struggles they battle. We just assume their life is perfect 24 hours a day. You never, ever know what is going on in someone else's life. When I stop at a red light, I often glance at the drivers on other side of me. I'm struck by how often they look like the weight of the world is on their shoulders. Sometimes they even are sitting in their cars crying. We are so focused on what's wrong in our lives that we rarely give a thought to anyone else. Now not everyone can afford to buy people things but hey not everything kind costs money, so a simple smile, a simple letting someone out of a driveway in a busy road of traffic, a "hello how's your day going" can go a heck of a long way. We can do the smallest thing, and it can change someones vibe. That's enough from me for now. A xx I want to start off by saying that friendships are so so important. Having people in your world is so important, friendships should be based on quality not quantity. In school I feel as though it's all about who has the most friends, and who's in the "cool big group" When in the real world, quality of friendship matters most. PS, I'm so grateful to have a couple of my closest friends in high school still by ma side!! If you have people in your life that are destructive, that aren't filling your bucket with the good stuff and are always negative towards you. They can't speak into your life in a healthy way, though we need to love them. You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with, so surround yourself with good people. "As Iron sharpens Iron, so one person sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17 It is so normal to grow distant from some people,one day they can be so close to you and then the next you hardly speak to them nothing has gone down you are both just in different seasons of life and that’s okay! Surround yourself with people bring value to your life as you will do to them. There are give and take friendships, some are unbalanced and some you give just as much as you take. These are the TREASURED friendships. The ones you fully need in your life. Let's get friendships who cheer each other on, through the good and the bad stuff.. With me? Ayyyeee, Amen. It's never too late! A few ways we can be the friend we need, to others: 1. Make sure they’re okay the moment you sense something wrong. 2. Be gentle. 3. Know when to be serious and when to be goofy. 4. Go the extra mile when they need. 5. Make them feel wanted. 6. Introduce them to others ( there's ALWAYS room for more friendships ) 7. Be selfless. 8. Be understanding. 9. Keep in touch (heck yes life can get busy but it takes 2 seconds to flick someone a message!) 10. Laugh lots, & always save room for an adventure!! "A friend loves at all times." ~ Proverbs 17:17 Together lets spread kindness & love. We all deserve these kinds of friendships. Friendships that flourish, friendships that strengthen each other, friendships that make the journey that is life that much better! A xx |
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