{"id":355,"date":"2012-03-02T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-03-02T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=355"},"modified":"2012-03-02T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-03-02T12:00:00","slug":"giving-yourself-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=355","title":{"rendered":"Giving Yourself Away"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">In October 2010, US News and World Report<a href=\"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/blogger.g?blogID=2033096624245795031#_edn1\" name=\"_ednref1\" style=\"mso-endnote-id: edn1;\" title=\"\"><span><span><span style=\"font-family: \"Calibri\",\"sans-serif\"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">[i]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>dedicated a periodical to the spirit of volunteerism in the United States. It was an interesting issue. Here are some of the stats they provided:<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">63.4 million Americans volunteered in 2009, an increase of 1.6 million from the year before (2008).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">This group contributed 8.1 billion hours of service for an estimated dollar value of nearly $169 billion.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">Volunteering in the US jumped last year at the fastest rate in 6 years.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">Charitable giving, though down 3.6% from 2008, surpassed $300 billion in 2009.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">It is estimated that together Americans give 2-3 times more than people in any other country.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">Survey of more than 4,500 adults (April, 2010), 68% said they felt better physically since they started volunteering; 29% said giving back was helping them manage a chronic condition.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">These are secular examples of giving of ourselves and the benefits of giving, but when we add the extra message of \u201cGod loves you,\u201d it\u2019s even more beneficial.<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">So how can we get started if we aren\u2019t giving at all?<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">US News and World Report gives some guidelines on \u201cWhere to Start.\u201d We can use these same guidelines to find where we can volunteer within the local church or community. Ask yourself these questions:<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<ol style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">What\u2019s your passion?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">What are your skills?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">Are you an adrenaline junkie?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">How much time do you have? <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">\u201cGive away your life; you&#8217;ll find life given back, but not merely given back\u2014given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.&#8221;<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">\u00a0 (Luke 6:38 The Message) Now that\u2019s a real benefit to service!<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">A wonderful example of giving of ourselves can be found in the book of Acts 9:36-42. Tabitha (Dorcas) was a woman who was \u201calways doing good and helping the poor.\u201d She made clothes for the widows in town, but one day she got sick and died. Peter was summoned and after hearing her story, he raised her from the dead.<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">There was one thing that struck me about the account of Tabitha. I got a feeling that these widows who were showing Peter the clothing that Tabitha had made for them had nowhere else to go for the clothing. It seemed as if Tabitha was the only person who was providing this service to them. In losing Tabitha, they lost someone who cared for them. And there wasn\u2019t anyone stepping up to take her place. No wonder the women were mourning.<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">Look around you. One day, those who have mentored you through your life will be gone. Who will take their place? You may not believe you can teach or lead a Bible study group, but there is something you could be willing to do. Find the one thing you are interested in doing. Then find an older person who does that and let them know you want to learn how to do it. Ask if they would be willing to teach you. Someday, that person of faith will not be in that position and you\u2019ll be there to take the baton and cross the finish line.<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">Romans 15:1-2 tells us, <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\">\u201cThose of us who are <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\">strong and able<\/b> in the faith need to <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\">step in and lend a hand<\/b> to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, \u2018<b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\">How can I help?<\/b>\u2019\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">How can I help? Now that\u2019s a powerful question!<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;\">Donna<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"mso-element: endnote-list;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><br clear=\"all\" \/><\/div>\n<hr size=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;\" width=\"33%\" \/>\n<div style=\"mso-element: endnote;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/blogger.g?blogID=2033096624245795031#_ednref1\" name=\"_edn1\" style=\"mso-endnote-id: edn1;\" title=\"\"><span><span><span style=\"font-family: \"Calibri\",\"sans-serif\"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;\">[i]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> US News and World Report, October 2010, http:\/\/www.usnews.com<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In October 2010, US News and World Report[i]dedicated a periodical to the spirit of volunteerism in the United States. It was an interesting issue. Here are some of the stats they provided: 63.4 million Americans volunteered in 2009, an increase of 1.6 million from the year before (2008). This group contributed 8.1 billion hours of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-serving-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}