Paying It Forward

This week, there has been much talk of injecting something into life rather than restricting yourself from something during Lent. Sydney talks about availability being one key to a Godly character on Faithful Always and Lysa TerKeurst is using Lent as a season of "And then some" to help others.

If you're dealing with the budget strains many of us face right now, it can be hard to realize that you can still be a giving person without spending a ton of money.

• Volunteer to Help. Find a group you are passionate about and donate your time. Whether it's helping out during Sunday School, assisting a food pantry or youth center or finding your local Habitat for Humanity sites, you are giving something even more valuable than money.
• Donate Goods. You can go through your own home and find things that are no longer loved and pass them on to someone in need. Contact your local homeless shelters as well as Goodwill, St Vincent dePaul and any local care closets to see what they will take for donations. In this way, you are giving them items to sell to continue their missions.
• Be a Friend. Is there someone in your neighborhood who may not have many friends or family around? Why not stop by to say hi someday? How do you act when you're walking down the street? Do you greet others as you pass them? In the busy time we live in, common courtesies seem to take too much time for many of us.

These are just a few things that you can do without spending a dime! As I think of more, I will be sure to pass them along! In the near future, I'm hoping to have my own site, God willing, at which point there will be a "Helping Hands" page!