Sharing ~ It's Important

Good morning son! I must tell you again that Autumn is in the air. The last couple of weeks I've noticed the leaves slowly creeping into their Autumn wardrobe around the edges. Now they are just getting more blatant. Yesterday on the way to Albany we passed a tree, standing all alone along side the freeway in it's own brilliant red coat. It was absolutely breath taking. As I look our our living room window recently I have only seen the green of our trees but yesterday I noticed the faintchange in color, although faint, of the leaves giving up their green and the Autumn golds and browns appearing. It was a very wet and humid summer but we enjoyed every minute of it. 

I continue my work on the display case for your Monopoly collection. It was a very busy week last week and so I didn't get as far along as I had anticipated but I just keep on keeping on and it will get done. The sooner I get it done the better because the longer it takes the more ideas I come up with on how to "make it better". I was ready to tear the entire thing apart a couple of days ago and start all over. NOT a good idea! 

Fabric flower pins

I had tons of fabric someone had given me and the buttons I got for free on Craigslist and so I've been turning those into flowers for the Christmas Child's boxes Auntie Di is putting together for their church. I'm making fabric flower pins. It's a great project for the evening hours. I have to have something to work on in the evening if we're watching TV or a movie. I cannot just sit idle for some reason; never have been able to. I made a few for Josie to add to her treasure box she made last week and added some to headbands for her. It's been a lot of fun and it's another way to give for Christmas.

Jon & Corey's wreath

My very first complete wood project, although not complicated, was building a "wreath" backdrop for a Autumn wreath for Jon and Corey. I love making wreaths. Rather than a standard round one, I made one that has a lattice look to it and used dark autumn colors such as burgundy, browns and colds...with a touch of orange. I was pleased with the results and I do so enjoy doing things that make people happy. I was just telling dad yesterday how much I appreciated how he has always given me time and leeway to make things to give to people. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't do that. Dad will always say, "Jannie, you should make those and sell them, they're beautiful". But I get so much pleasure from making them and giving them away that he just smiles and knows. I am so thankful he understands.

There is just something about giving that cannot be surpassed. I've had great examples over the course of my lifetime. When I think back through the last many, many, many years (By the way, where have those years gone?) Givers in our family have been many. Giving and sharing are two character traits that I have known and experienced my entire life. I have been surrounded by people who love to give and share. My mom and dad were constantly giving and sharing all that they had based on the scriptural principal that everything we have belongs to our Heavenly Father and we are simply custodians. God said it very straight forward and clear when speaking to Job in Job 41:11, "Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.". 

Your dad has always been a giver and sharer. If he had something and saw a need, away it went. If there was anyway he could possibly fill a need, he did so. Since we have retired and live on the fixed income it has become more of a challenge to find ways financially to share, but we find them. Maybe not in the $100's, but we find them, and God is able to multiply whatever we're able to give and use it for his glory.

There is something about "paying forward" so to speak or "giving back" that feeds a persons soul. There's something about that look on someones face of an unexpected act of kindness that just makes you want to do more and share more. The more you do, the more you want to do. Giving and sharing is addicting. It's one addiction that I wish everyone could have. So they could feel and experience the joy of sharing and giving. I don't think there is a greater feeling in the world. Outside of seeing your child's face the day they are born that is. 

The acts of sharing and giving appear all around us every day. We just have to look for them. From unexpected placed and unexpected people. We might not recognize them right away because in today's world we not use to looking for them, but they're there. There are people everyday who share and give at great expense to themselves. Not everyone has money to give. Sometimes that's too easy anyway. It's pretty easy just to pull out your wallet and checkbook and hand over that cash or write that check. It's something altogether different to share and give your time. Time seems to be our most valuable possession. To give it, willingly is the ultimate gift. I find, in my own life, since I've been "retired" time continues to be precious, but when you share or give your time and you see the look on that child's face having spent real time with them doing something they love, or you spend time with an elderly person just visiting and letting them talk about the things that are important to them and you see the look of gratitude that you listened it's both gratifying and sad at the same time. Gratifying because you saw the opportunity and took it, sad because you see gratitude in those warm, smiling eyes. No one should have to show gratitude because someone listened to them. Listening should be one of our skills in our sharing and gift giving heart. The gift of listening is one of those things we can do that costs the most, not in dollars and cents, but of our time. It seems so difficult these days to just sit quietly and listen to someone. Our minds seems to go to all the other things we think we could or need to be doing and yet, at that moment. the most important thing we can be doing is listening, truly listening. One of the greatest gifts we can give.

Until next week, be Aaron, love mom