Culture of Generosity 2008

On the first Sunday in January we presented an envelope with $5 in it to each person who attended our church as a reminder of God's generosity to us and His desire for us to extend that generosity to others. We challenged each person to pray about what God would want them to add to the $5, and to whom he would have them give it. Here are the stories we received of how the money was used.

Testimonies

We didn’t even leave the church parking lot when a man pulled up needing help with gas money. We both pulled out our money and blessed him with it.

I gave my money (and some more) to a lady who had been on family medical leave to take care of her husband who had multiple strokes. He recently passed away. She was not getting paid because she had used up all her paid leave time. She was very thankful.

My husband and I gave our money (along with some we added) to a lady to buy a small heater for her house. She didn’t have the money and said her house was very cold.

I gave my money to a lady I met at a gas station. I saw her standing beside her car, and she told me she needed help. She shared a little. I gave her the $5 plus $200 more that the Lord had told me to give. I told her Jesus loved her, and she left knowing that this money was not from me but from the Lord.

We gave our money (and added to it) to a couple that was having financial struggles with home and auto repairs.

I was making a delivery in the Ringgold area on a wonderful sunny day. As I came off the interstate, there was a man with his “sign,” sleeping bag, and small backpack. I knew the traffic light was red for a reason! I gave him the money plus some…. as I pulled away the Lord spoke again and told me to give him some food that I had and a Bible that I had in my glove compartment.

I sent a card to a 6-year-old girl that was burned while cooking and enclosed the $5.00 in the card.

I gave it to a family who needed gas money.

We gave our money to a family who recently lost their husband/father.

My wife and I felt led by the Holy Spirit to combine our money and send it to the Christians for Israel International Ministries. Within a week of sending our donation, a friend of ours came to our house and said, “The Lord told me to come here and give this to you.” He handed us $100. The Lord is good and His blessings are bountiful.

My son and I gave our money to a cancer patient who was going in for chemotherapy the next day. She needed a little more money to cover her rent for the month.

A coworker’s son was in a terrible car accident 5 weeks ago and not expected to live. I felt led to give my money to my coworker to help with gas costs. He was so touched by this act of generosity. I told him he had been and would continue to be covered in my prayers, and I proceeded to pray with him for his son’s healing. Needless to say, his son had a miraculous recovery. To God be the glory!

Our family put our money together, added some of our own money, and gave it to a family we know that is in financial crisis.

My family and I put our money together and added to it. We took a single woman in our church family who is struggling financially shopping to Wal-Mart for groceries, etc and then filled her car up with gas.

We combined our money and added $20 more to give to a widow. We took her to lunch where she shared that she only had $40 left over after paying her bills and this had to run to the end of the month. Later, when we took her home, we gave her the envelope with the money, and she was ecstatic. Now she could make it to the end of the month without worry.

FROM A RECIPIENT:

You all have been super nice to my wife and I. We are really having it rough right now. This money will come in handy. I was off work for 2 weeks at Christmas time, and it put us in a strain financially.

I noticed a young visiting pastor at our church last week. Then, I noticed his wife was pregnant. I had an urging “give to Ezra, give to Ezra” (indicating their unborn child). I added more money to the envelope, wrote on the inside flap “God blessing you” and slipped it into her Bible when no one was looking. May God bless!

I added money and gave it to my brother who is not working much and having problems meeting his expenses. I also asked him to help me do yard work at my dad’s (who is elderly) at a later date.

FROM A CHILD:

I gave it to my aunt because the Lord told me to.

I gave my $5 to a family who had no food. I also bought them some groceries and took the money and groceries to them. I have been praying God will send people to help them when they are having a hard time.

At my doctor’s appointment, while in the waiting room, two ladies walked in together. The older of the two of them, who had a huge smile on her face, would walk up to several people and say “I hope God blesses you with a wonderful day.” She found a seat next to me. She then called someone on her cell phone who was sick and expressed her concern to him or her and she told the person she hoped God would bless him or her, and they would feel better soon. I smiled to myself because of this lady’s compassion. After my appointment, I came out; she was still sitting in the waiting room waiting on her friend. Our eyes met, and I felt the Lord leading me to give her the money. Even though I felt it might be a little strange, I turned to her and explained. I told her I wanted to bless her with this money. Tears welled up in her eyes. She was so thankful. Well, when I went to the receptionist to pay my co-pay, she showed a credit on my account and I knew that I OWED money. As I walked to my car, I praised God for using me, blessing me, and being so awesome.

I added to the $5 and sent it to our missionary, Carolyn Cox.

I gave the $5 plus more to Connie Maxwell Children’s home in Greenwood, SC.

Our family combined our money and added some to purchase items for clothing for a young Guatemalan woman.

I took the $5 and used it for “seed money”-it grew to $100. I gave it to someone less fortunate who has been called to serve on a retreat but financially couldn’t afford to. The $100 paid for the weekend for this person. I feel God wants him at this weekend to be blessed and to be a blessing.

I made a donation to the Chattanooga Rescue Mission.

I added to the $5 and invested it into a single mother’s hand that has health problems.

I gave my money to my parents. No amount of money can ever repay them for all the things they do, but it was a great joy to give them this gift.

I took my money and put some with it to help someone purchase their prescriptions for a month.

I took an elderly lady to buy her groceries.

I used the $5 and added to it to make boxes of snacks and drinks to leave at a Laundromat in Red Bank, along with handwritten notes about God loving them. The owner of the Laundromat was surprised at what I was doing and asked that I put the name of our church on it.

I added $20 to the $5 and gave it towards the need at the seminary for handicap accessibility.

I blessed my brother who is out of work and has no place to live.

We matched the $10 and bought shorts and pants for a needy child on our Upward basketball team. He has no father and mother. The grandmother has custody of him.

We had the opportunity to use our money (and money we added to it) to bless our oldest son to get a car that he desperately needed.

I was able to combine my money with my wife’s and bless her to give her some spending money while she is in treatment at CADAS.

I combined the handful with another and put it all in an envelope labeled “kindness” and took it to a fast food drive thru and told the cashier that I wanted to pay for the next person to go through. The cashier was stunned.

I gave the money and added some to it and gave it to a lady that the Lord laid on my heart. When I gave it to her, she was overwhelmed. She was recently struggling financially. This really blessed her.

I used the $5 plus $17 to buy candy to send to a project in Haiti for children.

I took my money (and added more to make a total of $100) and gave it to three different people/places. Two of which I sent the “Treasure Principle” book with it.

My family used our money to support a missionary in Kenya. We hope the money plus some we added will be used to support refugees they are taking care of.

I sent my money to a family in Maine who has blessed my family so much in the past.

We gave our money to a missionary in Kenya and added more money to it.

This card and the $5 sat in the front seat of my car for weeks. I had no idea what to do with it. One day at lunch, I looked at the waitress and felt like she could really use some money right now. As I walked out to my car, I sensed God reminding me about the $5. I added $80 to the $5 and put it in the envelope. I went back inside the restaurant and explained that our church had given us some money to hand out to the community. I told her I felt like God wanted her to have it. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she said, "You have no idea! You have no idea!" I said, "God does!" I handed her the envelope and said, "God bless you!"

We gave the first $5 to someone to buy groceries. We gave the other $5 (and added our gift to it) to a family that has financial needs.