Perfectly Practical #84- Give to Your Family


30-Day Giving Challenge




Last week we kicked off the 30 Day Giving Challenge with ways to give to your church.  This week, I would like to focus on giving to your family.  (I almost wrote focus on the family but thought there might be a copyright issue.)  ;)

I have written previously about how important it is to connect with the past.  Family history is such a wonderful gift to give your children/grandchildren.  But what else can you give your family?

Time - Time to play games, to listen to workday stories about I-Beams and the latest construction standards, to watch them do their latest mime piece entitled "Man on a Treadmill", just time - this is the most important gift to give.

Knowledge - No, not unsolicited advice, but true knowledge of how things work - life experience.  Theories are great but practical applications are better.  Show your son how to do laundry, show your daughter how to change a tire, show your husband how to change the toilet paper roll, etc.  This also ties into sharing your gifts or skills with your family.  Recipes fall under this category as well.

Support - Your family "sees your rear" so to speak.  They see the worst you that no one else sees and love you anyway (and vice versa).  Sometimes even when you or they are "showing your rear" all that is needed is support; not advice, not a solution, just a pillar on which to lean.

How to Be Treated or to Treat Others - If you have read here much at all, you know that Engineer and I feel very passionately about having a strong marriage for Diva's sake.  We want to be good examples to her.  The day she said that she wanted to marry someone just like Daddy, she gave the highest compliment she could possibly give.  It's not just about a marriage relationship though.  We want her to see us respect our elders, help those in need, and show kindness to strangers.  On the flip side, when we are wronged we want her to see us handle it with grace.  I'm not saying that always happens, but we do try. 

Financial Footing - Engineer and I feel like besides a strong marriage, the best thing we can do for Diva is to get her on the right path for financial stability.  I'm not talking about trust funds here; I am talking about getting her in a mindset for being a good steward with her resources so that she will have financial freedom all of her life.   Being rich won't make her happy but being in bondage will make her unhappy.  If we get to guide her to make the choice of which path to walk down, we want our child to be happy.   

All of these aspects of giving to your family line up to give them the best possible chance at life and the best possible legacy for your family.

I have a hard time with this one.   My family often gets the leftovers of me after I have done for everyone else.  It seems I have things a little backwards.  My family should get the freshest me, the most willing me, the best me; but, instead they get the tired me, the most reluctant me, the worst me.  My personal challenge for this week will be to give my family me - cheerfully.

This is the second in the series of 30 Day Giving Challenges.  You can read the first part on giving to your church here.

This is part of We Are That Family's Works for Me Wednesday and the 30 Day Giving Challenge.

Comments

  1. Pary, you raise such good points here. I love the part of your family "seeing your rear"! How funny and SO true - my son's preschool teacher said this was a good thing because it meant we feel safe BUT...words are so powerful. Love how you put that.

    Sounds like you have a good plan on raising your sweet girl and yet still allow yourself the grace of knowing that He gently leads those with young. Praise Him for that, right?
    Nice to "meet" you through the giving challenge!

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  2. Excellent points! I'm often guilty of giving family my "leftovers." I'm trying to learn the principle of starting in the center and working out, and am finding that encouraging my children to work along with me is a great way to not only teach them, but serve others. Such a balancing act we have!

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  3. Howdy Ms. Natalie! Absolutely we praise Him for gently leading those of us with young - even when we are not so gentle about leading our young. Pleasure to meet you as well. :)

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  4. Howdy Ms. Kristin! My balancing act is woeful at best sometimes but that's where grace comes into play. I am so thankful for my Lord's grace and my family's grace all the time.

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  5. I love this! And creatively reposting of course :-)

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  6. Glad you do Ms. Cricket, but selfishly, this post is to remind me to prioritize my family in my giving.

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  7. These are all great tips. I love the one about financial footing. I follow Dave Ramsey and he is a big proponent of that. I am a new follower from We Are THAT Family. Vicky from Mess For Less

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  8. Howdy Ms. Vicky! We are Ramsey fans too. :) Thanks for stopping by.

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  9. I love this! I totally agree that time is so important. Sometimes it can be hard to balance (like DD7 wants me to stop cooking supper so I can watch her turn a cartwheel, LOL). I'm not always good about remembering that while stopping may be a pain for me, my watching is important to them. Thanks for the reminder!

    -Amy

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  10. You are absolutely right Ms. Amy. A little time may be an inconvenience for us but such a treasure for our family. Thanks for stopping by!

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  11. I am really working on training my children's heart. We are working on gratitude and humility this month.

    The Lord has blessed you with great wisdom. Thanks for sharing.

    We actually have a Thanksgiving journal that we write in each Thanksgiving.

    http://www.blessedbeyondadoubt.com/2011/11/16/wfmw-thanksgiving-journal/

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  12. Howdy Ms. Blessed! I love the Thanksgiving Journal idea. That is a fantastic way to remind each other to appreciate the important things.

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