Brilliant

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This year's knitted creations!  (No, they are not earrings,)

Sunday, December 12th our daughter filed into her church in Charlottesville, VA and along with her entire congregation was the recipient of a brilliant idea.  A Reverse Offering!  Every family in church received an envelope containing $75 in cash and they were instructed to keep it if they had a need.  If not they were challenged to give it away.

A letter of instruction said,

 "Follow Jesus: Our generosity reflects God's generosity to each of us. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:16

Serve Others: The Surprise the World Reverse Offering encourages our congregation to look for opportunities to bless others-not just in the typical ways our offerings usually do; but also in he daily ways each of us is called to bless others. Also, many of you will view this money as 'God's money,' and we hope  this exercise prompts a more accurate view of being a steward of everything that God has blessed us with, not just the amount in the envelope."

How much fun it that!  There was also a scan code where people could write back the giving experiences they had.

Perfect video for this post Immanuel Melanie Penn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iwPNPVzJG8

The Song It's Christmas by Mandissa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG14DXeXD3U

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