"Jesus on . . . papers" from the Griffith Children

Gratitude

ByMallory Griffith

Next time you are flipping through the pages of the Bible, Luke Chapter 17 or Luke Chapter 8:4, stop and read them.These would be fantastic examples of literature on gratitude. Read the story below and enjoy learning about what my definition of gratitude would be. I am so grateful for wonderful opportunities that I got to experience this year. Gratitude is an amazing characteristic that should be a part of your everyday life.

The Bible shares an extraordinary example of gratitude. Luke chapter 17 says, A group of ten Lepers sat around the city wall, they see Jesus and they lift up their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" 
When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." It happened that as they went, they were cleansed. 

One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. 
He fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. Jesus answered, "Weren't the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 

Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger?" Then he said to him, "Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you." 
That story says that we should be like the 10% not the 90% who ran away and did not think to thank the Lord. The reason it clearly states that the thanker was a stranger and a Samaritan, is because at that time Samaritan's were not well liked. He thanked the Lord and God does not care who you are. The man was changed from the inside out, His faith cleansed him.We have to thank the Lord for everything we have.

To define gratitude is like trying to define love, it is hard. Gratitude is something you appreciate and is being thankful for what you have. I am a B+ on gratitude, for myself, I am very grateful for everything and am very happy. Here are a few examples of gratitude in my life: being in Hong Kong this year, getting our new puppy, and to be writing this paper on my computer. You should try to appreciate simple things, say thank you and be happy with what you have. Gratitude is different for everybody; it is personal, priceless, and a sign of respect. As Pastor Bret said, "Gratefulness goes a long way in life." I certainly agree.

I am grateful for so many things; one thing that is really special to me is getting my dream dog. Her name is Heidi, our new little maltipoo (Whom we are getting on June 10th). I have wanted a little dog since I was five. It's been 7 years and I thought I would never get her, but when my dad got off the phone and said, "We have a new puppy!" That was so exciting, and I am so grateful to have Heidi.

The one thing that we should remember is the five barriers to gratitude; They are Entitlement not EGO (edging god out). Number two; Focus on the gift, all gifts are from God. Number three is herd mentality, where everybody follows everybody and your voice doesn't show. The fourth one is blame shifting. That is when you don't get something you've wanted for a long time so you blame it on God. Number five is lack of discipline, be a leader. Be aware of these examples that separate us from God. People need to take responsibility for their actions.

Gratitude is a wonderful characteristic that is very hard to follow through on. There are so many great pieces of scripture on gratitude. I have so many blessings in life. Gratitude is a fantastic trait and was really interesting to write about. I am so grateful for everything I have.

Generosity

Lauren Griffith

Generosity comes in many different forms. Generosity combined with the right ideas and actions will make for a better person all around.Generosity comes from the heart, as well as, being kind to others.It is not just giving gifts and money! It is giving your time and your heart to people of all kinds.The following verses below show some simple guidelines on how to be generous. Take care of those in need (Luke: 10-11). Give of your God given talents (Romans 12: 6-8). Give in the amount you can (Luke 21: 1-4). Don't Brag about what you give (Matthew 6:1-2). I can also relate to a personal experience of my own about generosity.Therefore, do the right thing cheerfully, and you will receive plenty of blessings and generosity will over flow into your life.

Take care of those in need. Luke 10:11 says "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do like wise.'' Sharing makes yourself and others happy. In my opinion, people should share and be more generous more often.I can relate to this because I give my clothes Maribell's daughters.I give them my clothes that don't fit me any more.They are very grateful.Being generous to others makes me feel good.

Give of your God given talents Romans 12: 6-8 says, "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him be generous; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showering mercy, let him do it cheerfully."Many people make the mistake thinking that giving is only about money, but that is not true.As it says in the verse above, give what you're good at.In my case, I'm good at sports so maybe someday I will teach the sport I'm best at.And maybe someday the people I taught will teach other people or become famous and so on.

Give the amount you can. Luke 21:1-4 shows some verses on generosity that I believe captures the concept perfectly. It says; "And Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gift into the treasury.And he saw a certain poor widow putting in two small copper coins.And Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put more in than all of them, for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of poverty and all she had to live on."Give what you have; God doesn't care how much you give.He just wants you to care and be a cheerful giver with anything you have. God wants you to give passionately from the heart.

Don't brag about what you give. Matthew 6:1-2 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them.If you do, you will have no reward from your father in heaven."So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogue and on the streets, to be honored by men.I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."People shouldn't care about what other people think. You should only care about what God thinks.You can be recognized for doing good even if you are not around people.

In January, I had a personal experience with generosity. In preparation for our visit to Cambodia, we raised money with the help of friends, family, and HMS.All the money that was raised went to Khnar Chas Primary School in Cambodia. The school was rundown and had very few facilities, but that didn't matter, they were still a very happy group of kids. It was fun playing with them, I hula hooped with some girls and played a few other games. I enjoyed playing with them, and I hope they did too! With the money we raised, the school now has a library, school uniforms, playground equipment, water tank, and a computer lab.I felt good helping out at that school.As it says in the Bible, whoever is generous will be blessed with blessings, and I really felt I have been blessed!

Finally, I hope that you found my generosity guidelines helpful. According to the Bible, if you are generous with your money and share with the poor, good things will happen. These last verses on generosity are the ones that I find most interesting and liked the most. "Feed the hungry!Help those in trouble!Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you shall be bright as day.And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy you with all good things, and keep you healthy too; like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowering spring," (Isaiah 58:10-11)."And see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it," (Malachi 3:10).The way I think of it is you can never be too generous. There's always room for improvement. The people who are generous are guaranteed a lifetime of happiness.

Jesus On…Opportunity

Colin Griffith

5/27/09

"Make the most of every opportunity"- Colossians 4:5. God wants us to use our time on earth to do good deeds, teach others, and grow closer to him. The Bible gives several examples of how to grow and learn the value of opportunity. We need to take advantage of it and not be sluggish. Opportunity is a favorable chance, through grace we are able to grow closer to God and serve him.

Parable of the Talents found in Matthew 25: 14-30 is a story Jesus tells about opportunity and what God expects from his servants. A man was going on a long trip. He called his three servants and entrusted them each with different amounts of money according to their abilities. To the first he gave five Talents, the second two, and the third one. A talent back then was worth a lifetime of wage. The first two servants invested the talents and doubled their money. The third man buried his in the mud. When the master returned he called his servants to him. The master says good and faithful servants come and share my joy. The last man comes and says I know you are a hard and demanding master so I buried your talent and saved it. The master replies in calling him a "wicked and lazy servant, take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten.'' Then the master told the other two "throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Jesus is saying that God is patient and gives us time on earth. When the final judgment comes God will look at your life and see if you have served him. If you have been lazy and don't trust in Christ like the third man you will be sent to have an eternity with out God's love. Jesus is also telling us that God is a just God expecting us to do a lot even if you have much or little.

"To whom is entrusted much, of him will be asked all the more," Luke 12:4 states. Most people like you and I have been given a lot. Pastor Brett used an excellent analogy about blessings and responsibilities using a baseball diamond. A people from a first world country like the US are as if they are on third base. God has blessed us with everything we have: our families, our homes, and our talents. We are so blessed one might think that because we are so close to "home base" we do not have to work as hard to get the rest of the way. Being closer actually is more of a reason why we should do more for the glory of God. To who has been given much, more will be expected. Charities are an excellent way to do that especially if they are related to your church. Donating money and time to those who are less fortunate is an important part of being a good Christian. Romans 12:6-8 says, "Use your God given talents." We must demonstrate our abilities to be fulfilled and please God.

Christians need to realize that God expect us to grow with the things he has given us. Hebrews 5:11-14 is an excellent example. Many people are dull of hearing, God tells them to do things but they don't do them because they are lazy. The word dull in Greek is "Nothros" it literally means slow moving in the mind. It is not that there is something wrong with them, but they are lacking growth in opportunity. "They have come to need milk. For everyone who partakes in milk are unskilled in righteousness." To not be one of those people we need to "exercise our senses to discern both good and evil." People have time and opportunity to learn, and teach others, so we need to take advantage of that and maturely grow. "Solid food belongs to those who are mature."

God wants us to use the blessings he has given to us, we are to give to the needy and use our talents to do good. In Cambodia my family, teachers, and I saw a need, and we acted. Kids were walking to school with no shoes. There was limited water and little school supplies. For our first visit Care for Cambodia bought a school playground equipment, a water tank, and school supplies. We also bought five computers for the village computer center at the local Methodist Church. Later we informed Hinsdale Middle School teachers and students of the opportunity to help kids in Cambodia, and they held a charity "Carnival for Cambodia" to raise money. It all went to a great cause. For this act of charity, I used my privilege of education with my school to raise money and take an opportunity to help. The smiling faces and laughter of the Cambodian children brought a smile to my face and probably to God as well.

Opportunity is a favorable chance that through Jesus Christ we are able to grow closer to God and serve him. Parable of the Talents reminds us that we should trust in God and he will love us, but it also teaches us not to be apathetic. Luke 12:4 says What is expected of you from what you have been given. Hebrews 5:11-14 tells about how we can grow and not being lazy. Cambodia is one example I used my blessings and took an opportunity to help people. Take advantage of every opportunity you can because it will bring you closer to God.