Christmas is a time of giving. Santa gives gifts to girls and boys. We celebrate the birth of Christ because God unconditionally loved the world that He gave His Son. We spend hours in crazy traffic and malls to buy gifts to give to friends and family. Beside presents under the tree, there are plenty of other ways to give.
To be honest, I am often selfish and do not think about giving. I am challenged as I think about these ways I could be a better GIVER this coming week during the Christmas season and this coming year.
- Look to give encouragement to someone each day.
- Practice saying “thank you” to the cashier at the checkout and others who serve you in various ways (your husband or wife, your children, your boss, co-workers, etc. The fact is there are people all around you to whom you can express your gratitude. There are real benefits to gratitude!
- Stop complaining and gossiping.
- Take responsibility to develop yourself: New habits, relationships, experiences/hobbies give you new life. You can’t offer new life and energy to others if you are dead and drained.
- Listen to others. Engage with them in their life and their issues. Give focused attention rather than an occasional glance up from looking at your iPhone; give listening with acceptance rather than judgment. This does not come naturally, so I have seen that I need to be intentional about it.
- When giving critical feedback about ideas, don’t just shoot down the idea; come up with a better alternative; then, be willing to help implement the idea.
- GIVERS are also takers: they take responsibility for their own life and results instead of blaming others.
What are some other ways to be a giver?
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