Summer Sparing and Sharing by Cameron
Hi! In this blog post, I wanted to tell you a little about how we have tried to change our lifestyle to a Sparing and Sharing lifestyle, mostly related to recent events this summer. I will give three examples here.
The first one has to do with our birthdays. Years ago, a typical birthday in our family had a table covered in presents with a special meal and cake, and then a big party later with friends. In the last couple of years, we have changed that.
Now we usually get one gift from our mom because half of our birthday budget goes to whatever organization or place with people in need that we want to give it to. We also get one gift from our siblings (that we pick out and put in for together). We also try to make the gifts practical. You may think that this is sad, but it really isn't for us, especially considering the poor and needy. It makes those gifts very special.
For example, my birthday was August 10th. From Mom, I got a Chosen shirt that I had really liked (practical because we are trying to switch to evangelizing clothing), and from my siblings, I got a new fishing pole. In addition, I got many gifts from generous friends (as well as a nice breakfast celebration from our daily Mass friends). I can see through this how privileged I am. And honestly, I am great with the system that we have now, because it helps me show my gratitude for being created by sharing what I have with others.
The second example also has to do with our birthdays. This year, I received birthday money from some very generous friends. My Mom gave me the choice to either tithe the usual 10 percent, or to consider sparing and sharing more. By the way, I have a good record of being consistently broke. :-). As I was saying, I could have kept 90 percent, but I saw that I really have no need for money. I'm not paying bills, taxes, or buying things constantly. So I decided to save 50 percent for my "Sparing and Sharing" fund, and put the other 50 percent to my " Save and Spend" fund that I created recently.
We have been trying to do that for different things now. One example is that recently my older brother and sister and I went on a float trip. We decided to work to make double the money, so that we could put half to a Sparing and Sharing fund, all with the knowledge that many children are not as privileged as us. Again, our choice.
The third and final example is how we act. For past birthdays, we spent money on special activities to do with a group of friends (like rock climbing or something), as well on as a family celebration later. But, for a couple of years now, we have been trying to add to our birthdays a corporal work of mercy with our friends. For example, last year my friends and I volunteered at our church's food pantry truck, and I asked for canned food for the pantry.
This year, I decided to celebrate my birthday at Pizza Night, which was free because we volunteer every Thursday. With some of my friends (who had a sleepover at our house later), we made bouquets of flowers at the farm for each of them to give to somebody that they knew who was in need. We have been trying to do those type of things for about three years now. This frees up more money for those who don't get nice birthdays.
All of this is said not in a "look at me" type of way. We truly are trying to actually live our faith more through these different works of mercy - especially giving not just out of our surplus. Maybe you might feel compelled to at least try to do one of these things. I am merely proposing, not imposing. Here is a relevant Bible verse that I like:
I hope that you enjoyed this blog post. Please pray for us, and every night we pray for all of you guys.
God bless you all,
Cameron
My Chosen tshirt
