The Intentionality of Giving

Once the snow is gone, the yard work begins.

While it should not amaze me, it still does...the intentionality of giving is powerful. I know this and believe it to my core, but every now and then, I slip away from believing and forget. And then something like today happens and I am reminded that the intentionality of giving is POWERFUL!

My house is surrounded by huge trees, some of which drop over 100 bags of leaves each every fall. When the previous owner of my ome thought about removing the trees because she was too frail to rake the leaves that fell, the neighborhood rallied and agreed to rake her leaves for her. Unfortunately, that offer did not go with the house. year after year, our family has raked and removed leaves and branches and sometimes trees as they fell.

The City of Austin has a great leaf recycling option and so the leaves get reused as mulch, but the branches and trees pose a much more complex problem. At this point I could have a bonfire every night for a year and still have a woodpile that would be the envy of any Survivor contestant. This winter has been hard on our trees and they are dropping branches faster than I can keep up. Our chain saw is being repaired and so there is a lot of manual labor that needs to go into cleaning up the yard each day.

One of the many piles of wood in my stockpile

Just yesterday, I piled up all of the branches that had been revealed as the snow melted and I had quite a pile. Stacking up the wood I said to my husband, "wouldn't it be great if the kids from the apartment next door wanted to have a bonfire - I would have them come over and take this entire pile." His response was not helpful, something like "do they want to have a fire?" and I got discouraged. He was right of course, who was I to impose my will on someone else. So I resigned myself to having to chop up all of that wood and add it to my stockpile. It actually made me really sad. I love watching the kids in the apartments next door playing outside and I especially love bonfires, so thinking that I couldn't do anything to make it happen made me really really sad. But I secretly hoped...

It is a beautiful day today and I have resigned myself to cleaning up the yard. And, wouldn't you know it - as we pulled in the driveway from grocery shopping there was a family circled around the fire pit next door watching the smoke from the dank wet 3 pieces of wood they were trying to light. Stan hadn't even stopped the car and I was out the door running down to the family to share with them my gift.

These trees continually give us plenty of fuel for family bonfires

The family is four boys and a mom who had just moved in after losing their house and their shouts of pure joy as they ran over to my yard and gathered as much wood as they could carry and then came back again - was beautiful. Not only did they completely clean up my yard and filled their firepit and stockpile with loads of nice dry wood, but they began inviting their friends and neighbors to come and gather and enjoy the bounty.

I just want to cry, I am so moved and inspired. It is good to be reminded of the power of giving and the increased impact of intention.

For more about giving intentionally and One Hundred Days of Giving and let the giving journey begin.

Day 2 - Intentional giving is meaningful giving

Now that 100 Days of Giving is available electronically, it is time to put the words into action for you. I began the exercise of giving every day at a time when I could have used a little push to get underway; we often need that little extra encouragement, accountability, support...whatever you want to call it, so this time around I am giving to all of you a few questions to respond to, journal about or contemplate related to your individual daily giving experience. If the questions stir something in you - great, if they do not - great, write about that. The most important part is to do something...and as one of my favorite mentors Yoda said, "There is no try, only do."

Today's Giving Thought: "Intentional giving is meaningful giving."

Day 2 - For your daily giving journal:

• What did you give today?
• What did it feel like?, How did you feel? How did the person/organization you gave to respond?

Please feel free to write about your experience in the comments section, share with someone else, or keep to yourself...whatever works for you, just keep in mind that one of the most important part of giving is being open to receiving and the more you share with others, the more you will receive in return. As difficult as receiving may be for you, it is an essential part of giving, so challenge yourself and give receiving a try, or a "do...there is no try, only do."

To read about today's giving experience you can download the book at:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/324772
or through Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/100-Days-of-Giving-ebook/dp/B00DD1HWUO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1371567320&sr=1-1&keywords=100+Days+of+Giving

Day 75 ❦ The Gift of Giving

Day 75 ❦ The Gift of Giving

THE GIFT: Giving

Today, I finally noticed that when I woke up, the first thing I thought about was, “What am I going to give today?” Now, I can’t remember how long or how many days I have been waking up thinking about giving, but today I became aware of what that felt like - to wake up being excited about something. And I found myself thinking back to the day that I decided I needed something to get me out of bed in the morning...wow, I feel like a different person...I am actually excited to see what the day holds, and more importantly, I am excited about my role in my day.

I am in charge of how I feel about my day, or at least making an intentional decision about how I am going to feel about my day, and now it seems like ages ago that I was waking up with the dread that consumed me. I can’t wait to get to my day today, I can’t wait to see what giving opportunities lay ahead, I can’t wait to see what impact I will have, or better yet, I can’t wait to make something happen and not know the impact...that is the thing that dreams are made of and I am aware that I can’t wait to get started...

Today I gave a $5 donation to leukemia that was requested by a cardboard box at the Kwik Trip counter, but I am not even considering listing that as my giving opportunity today because today I gave myself the gift of giving, the gift of purpose, the gift of dreaming again and I am a grateful receiver of that gift.
 ❦ Give yourself the gift of giving and dream

Day 65 ❦ Give intentionally

Day 65 ❦ Give intentionally

The Gift: Cash

I don’t know about you, but I love the Fair. We happen to live in the County seat and so the Mower County Fair is a big deal. And, it is a free fair so that is an even bigger deal. Except, free is not really free when you talk about a Fair. Sure, we don’t have to pay to enter the grounds, and there is a lot to see and do that does not require money, but who can resist the Tom Thumb Donuts, the friend pickles on a stick, the cheese curds, cotton candy, freshly made lemonade...you get the idea. I can smell the food wafting in my office just thinking about all of that wonderful Fair food.

What is it about Fair food that makes it so enticing? I don’t know but I know that when I head off to the Fair, I’d better have some major money in my pockets so that all of my Fair food urges get satisfied. Now, it is bad enough that I can’t resist this food, but trying to control a child who is experiencing this same bombardment of senses is fruitless. So today, as we head off to the Fair I decide that I am going to tip the begging balance and eliminate it. I give our children money without being asked and they are now in control of their food destiny. It was one of the smartest gifts I’ve given and it was really fun to watch as they started adding the various selections in their minds, balancing out their resources with their desires.

In the end, both girls decided to save some on their money and play some games instead of sending it all on food. What fun, and what a lesson for me. I shifted the begging balance by intentionally giving. Pretty cool.

❦ Give intentionally and empower someone else.