this morning, when i was running, i ran past an old man dressed in a pink and blue striped shirt and khaki shorts. he was collecting old cardboard boxes and aluminium cans from the rubbish dump. and i was reminded of what it means to give.

i was especially touched last sunday when Pastor talked about how the church in india gave money to the myanmar orphanage. they hardly had enough for themselves, and yet they gave. i remember how kenneth once told me that 10% of what you have is what is DUE to God. whether you like it or not, you'd better give it. anything else you give, over and above that 10% is a reflection of how much you choose to give up for Him, not cos you have to, but cos you love Him.

i am blessed, i know it. even though i feel like im drowning in the midst of torts, contracts and sls. i am blessed. even though i may not feel like it all the time. i have a mom who sits around at night watching me study, cooks food for me at 12midnight cos im hungry, fetches me when she can. i have a dad who sat through the o and a levels with me, for hours on end trying to explain to me why what the direction of the centripetal force of a ball swinging in a vertical circle is. i have a brother who helps me -ahem- photocopy stuff and watches all the bimbotic shows with me cos i make him. and i have friends. i have friends enough to get me through life, friends who remind me that the Lord is watching over me, each and everyday of my life.

ive been given so much, nows my turn to give back. i remember Pastor's jokes about how the 50-cent coins and the 1-dollar coins find their way into the offering bag so often, whereas the 10-dollar notes and 50-dollar notes havent seen what a church looks like. that is my rebuke. learning to give with a cheerful heart. for us girls. do you ever wonder why you dont even bat an eyelid when you buy a top that costs 30-dollars. yet, when the offering bag passes you by you think twice before you put that 10-dollar note in? for the boys, think of your own analogy haha but you get the drift. i remember giving 10-dollars to the auntie that sits outside the washroom in far east, collecting 10-cent coins for entry into the washroom. and i cant forget her smile when she said thank you. and in a way, when we give to people, its also a way of giving back to the Lord.

"and the King will answer and say to them, 'assuredly in as much as you did it to one of the least of My brethren, you did it to Me.'" -Matthew25:40

i think many people have a problem with giving away their money. and though i dont face that dilemma very often, i find it hard to give more of my time to the Lord. money, time, its all giving. all you have is borrowed, give it back.

"so let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; but God loves a cheerful giver." -2corinthians9:7 (: