Thoughtful girl...

With the end of the school year literally just around the corner (JUNE 1!), Samantha and Hudson are bringing home copious amounts of paperwork each day.  Yesterday, in my attempt to "sift and purge" through some of these items, I came across a journal that Samantha wrote on February 16.  I wanted to share it with you because it made me think... (and I retyped it just as she wrote it)

"If I won $1,000 in a contest first I would give 300 to the elderly and charity and church.  Next I would help people who need medical attention but can't afford it.  Then I would buy clothes for the people who don't have many clothes.  Last I would buy security systuems for the people who got robbed.  As you can see, I think I have enough stuff and I would like to share."

When I was a 2nd grader, would I have thought the same way she did?  I think I would have wanted to buy a bike or a new boom box or gone to Disney World with my $1000.  Even now, my first thought wasn't to give it away.  It was, "Wow!  That could buy a lot of new running gear or scrapbooking paper...or that Pottery Barn quilt I've been wanting for the boys."  Seriously.  How shallow am I.  God blesses me with $1000 in a contest and I would blow it on things I do not NEED.

But my daughter was willing to give it ALL away to people in NEED.  Not just people she knows -- not EVEN people she knows...people she's never met.  She was willing to give it to people that need in ways she and I have never known.  Trust me, my husband and I do work hard to teach our children about generosity and tithing and sharing and caring for those in our community, and we do try to live what we preach, but we are not THAT great of examples -- believe me.  This is TOTALLY God working in her heart.

So how do you encourage your kids to think about others before themselves?  How do you teach tithing?  What situations do you put your kids in to allow them the chance to serve others that are less fortunate?