Donation Corner: Prayer

I know, I know....it's been a long time since I've been consistent with the Donation Corner. I've let 'life' get in the way. And not just on the blog, but in many areas of my life. That is part of the reason why this time around, I'm focusing on prayer. This post may read wrong. I may ruffle feathers. I may alienate some of the few readers I have for this section, but I'm going to try to be honest.

Charities, foundations, non-profits...they are all GREAT and there are many that are well-deserving of our money. However, giving money to those less fortunate, or less healthy, or less privileged has become 'easy' for me. That's not to say the money our family gives couldn't be used in other areas of our budget. But I have found that it has become rather routine for me to donate to a charity or two each month. And then I find myself mentally checking that cause off my 'to-do' list for a while. I think that is wrong. I KNOW that money is needed and very appreciated, but needed at least as much is prayer for those in need of the funds, supplies, medical attention, etc. And I haven't been keeping up that part of my 'donation'.

I guess what it boils down to is that donations should be an act of giving. And while I am giving monetarily, it's not enough of a sacrifice to me. It's like if you heard that a multi-million dollar company donated to the Red Cross. $1000 whole dollars. For any one of us to give that much would warrant a big "WOW". But was that really the true spirit of giving for Richie Rich, Inc? Or was that more like a 5% tip? My practice of giving money without prayer is starting to feel like a 5% tip....

What IS most valuable to me is my time. Way more than money. My time with my husband. My time with my kids. My time with my work. My time with me. To give that up is a BIG sacrifice. One that I don't often make. But I think God calls me to do that. Because I've been so blessed to have health, family, a house, a car, food on the table, I think God may be a bit ticked with me for not taking time each day to pray for those that haven't been as blessed in this life. So starting today (and hopefully going forward EVERY day), I plan to take at least 15 minutes each afternoon (during my hour of 'down time') to pray for others. That could mean Haiti, that could mean my neighbors, that could mean Kenya, that could mean our government...who knows. I hope that once I start, I'll find I have a lot of prayers on my heart.

If you feel so inclined to join me in this Donation Corner, you can check out a site my church set up this year for prayer.