Love is something if you give it away, You end up having more

At about 7am on January 2, I walked through the biting wind into one of my main hospital's lobbies. It was a typical day, I was dressed in scrubs and huddled up in a coat, carrying a few things for work. An elderly lady, probably about 70 or so, stopped me by the information desk. At first, I jumped to the conclusion that she needed directions (this happens multiple times a day), so I was ready to direct her to a set of elevators or the emergency room.

But this lady was different. She asked if I could spare a minute, to which I said I could. Then she proceeded to set her purse down on the counter, reaching for something inside. She pulled out her wallet, fingered around for a bill, and handed me a $20. I just looked at her with a puzzled face and she proceeded to say, "I do this every year and I haven't done it yet. I hope God blesses you with this." At first I couldn't believe it, I mean it's pretty obvious that I'm not exactly poor. I have a coat, I'm well fed, and I am employed. But then I remembered the joy that one can only find if you give wholeheartedly to someone else. I looked her in the eye and asked for a hug, and told her thank you and that I hoped God would bless her as well. We went our ways, and I stuffed that $20 in my pocket and went into work.

For those of you who grew up singing church of Christ nursery rhymes, do you remember this one?

Love is like a lucky penny,
Hold it close and you won't have any
But give it away and you'll have plenty;
You'll end up having more.

It seems rather silly, kind of a fun little tune for the kids to sing and learn about "love" and "pennies." The irony is, of course, that those of us who need that lesson the most are the adults in the room, not the toddlers.

Darren and I have been going to a Crown Financial Bible class at the church we've been attending this month.  While we got some great ground rules on financial topics in our marriage prep class back at A&M (thanks Kelly and Foree), there's still plenty of work to be done on figuring out where our money is going and how we want it to be spent. Without getting personal and uncomfortable, let's just put it this way: we want to use the money God has given us wisely and the way He would want us to.

Now to some people, as I recently learned, that concept is extremely foreign. Why on earth would you ever give 10+% of your income to someone or something that you don't even know for sure will use it wisely? Why would you be so dumb as to hand a beggar a couple bucks when you know that most likely they will turn around and use it to fuel some sort of addiction?

Let's think about this for a second. If God chose to give you a great job so that you could afford to live a certain lifestyle, does He not also expect you to turn around and bless others with the very things he chose to bless you? He has selected you as a steward of His money, so you have responsibility of deciding how to spend it. That's the key: you are spending it, one way or another. So if you decide to buy that new piece of furniture you really want or if you decide to save it to send someone on a mission trip, you've spent it.

I realize this topic can go way beyond that which I really want to talk about, so I'm going to reign it in here a bit:

 How are you using what God has given you?

I realize that some of you are still in college, and your current assets aren't even your own. Some of you, like me, are just starting out and have more student loans than fingers and toes combined. Some of you are established, some of you are very well off. Here's the kicker: it doesn't matter. God has a plan for you, you are in the midst of that plan, and He wants you to still find some way to give what you can.

I am teaching this to myself more than to anyone else, because without access to AFC I haven't found many avenues to donate time or money. But that's no excuse.

Here's the thing: there is no joy quite like that of giving something with your whole heart. You have a financial freedom in knowing that you are using your resources for God's purpose, and it's a freedom that many people struggle with and are never able to find. The nursery rhyme is right: it talks about giving the penny away, but really it shows how giving love away brings back even more.

So, here's what I'm going to do with this. I'm going to find a way this week to give, and give with my whole heart. And after the fact, I'm going to savor the freedom and joy that it brings me.  I hope you do the same.

Meet US in St. Louis?

Oops, it has been quite some time since I updated my blog.  My apologies, I'm sure you're all just dying to know how life has changed for me in over a year since my last post. To keep the catch-up short, I'll give you the top 5 things you've missed since October 28, 2011:

1. Darren and I got married

2. Darren moved to St. Louis

3. Darren and I moved from the loft downtown to a quiet condo in the suburbs

4. I became fully CRM (Cardiac Rhythm Management) certified and began training for the ablation mapping software with my company

5. A TON of my friends got married (and we enjoyed attending the weddings we were able to make)

Phew. That almost covers 14 months of lost time.

Why the sudden interest in posting again? Well, I realized how much I enjoyed catching up with you, my long-distant friends and family, over the holidays and wanted to maintain some sort of connection so you wouldn't feel so far away. It's a new year and with that comes new resolutions. One of mine is obviously to try to maintain this blog a little better than I have been. We'll see how long it lasts!

I would like to quickly give a shout out to those of you who have recently traveled all the way up to the middle of the country to see our little Cannon family. To Kacey & Brian for coming over Thanksgiving, to Alex & Stephanie for stopping by before Christmas, and to Svenja, Lauren, Robert, & Hunter for coming before New Years:  It may not seem this way when you're here visiting, but it means the world to us that you took the time to drive up here and say hello. 

You see, I've relearned an important lesson recently. There are friends you make and keep while you're in a certain time of life such as high school or college and then as you are separated by distance and circumstance, those friendships fade away.  Then there are friends who you personally work hard to maintain but they, for whatever reason, do not put forth as much effort to keep close and eventually they, too, fade away.  Finally, there are friends that no matter what you do, you just can't seem to rid yourselves of them. Haha, just kidding. But really, there are those people who become an integral part of your life that you just cannot imagine life without. Instead of mourning over the loss of friendships that were and no longer are, I am trying my best to continue fanning the flames of those that have the potential to burn on through anything. To you, I say thanks for sticking with us even if we do live in the smack-dab middle of the country. 

If there is anyone who happens to read this and thinks, "Man I wish we had kept in touch." PLEASE say something! This sounds silly, but maybe I've been thinking the same thing and it's time that we reconnect. 

Here's to good friendships and maybe some rekindled ones in the coming year!

Okay, enough serious talk. Can somebody PLEASE give me a WHOOOOOP for this amazing season of Aggie football? If Darren and I are having this much fun with it 14 hours away from Kyle Field, I can't imagine what campus has been like! We watched the Cotton Bowl with a group of friends and spent almost the entire game explaining some of our crazy traditions. From the corps to kissing when we score to how we've got a mascot who is a dog but we're called the Aggies and also part of the 12th man, I tried to decently cover the Aggie basics. Everybody was floored by how much passion and tradition we have. This is really something, having the opportunity to explain the spirit and tradition of A&M to people who literally know nothing about it... and at the end of one conversation they can already feel how special our school is. All I can say to that is how proud I am to be an Aggie. We are the Aggies, the Aggies are we (even in Missouri)!!!