Does your child see you having the heart of a servant? Do they see your kindness, compassion, and care for others as they shadow you? Are you helpful? Are you deliberate? Are you a cheerful giver? When you see a need, do you act?
I have prayed that my daughters would have a heart of compassion and service since before they were born. Why? Because in our current world, children and adults alike have become so selfish and so self-centered that they forget the very teachings of Christ–to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31) As a rule, I am not naturally a very compassionate, serving, or giving person, yet I’m still trying to change both for me and my family, to set the example for what it means to be more like Christ.
Currently, I am reading through the book of James, a book all about serving others. It has really gotten me to think more and more about how I can serve more in my church and my community as a means to spread the gospel. However, my concern up until recently was: “how can I serve others with preschoolers?” They can’t exactly serve meals at a homeless shelter or sort food at the Food Bank or donate money for a Compassion International orphan. In addition, some people actually find the presence of preschoolers in their environment annoying (I know, who’d have thought, right?). So, how can I model service to others for my children, in an environment conducive to their participation?
At a loss for ideas, I became very excited when I learned about the book Teach Me to Serve by Kristen Summers. A thirty page e-book, this book is jam-packed with ideas. There are ideas for teaching your children how to serve in your home, in your neighborhood, in your community, at church, and around the world. And they are simple low-cost ideas too that you can implement almost right away. Things like being a waitress for a family meal, donating toys, or taking your elderly neighbor’s newspaper to the door. Talk about doable. These ideas make me totally rethink some of my annual goals for next year. We are definitely going to be implementing some of these new strategies for a more service-oriented 2013.
However, before I totally mislead you, this is not just some extended blog post with a massive list of ideas. No, this is an e-book that focuses not only on the action but the heart issues associated with service. In fact the first two chapters focus on nothing other than that–understanding the heart of the matter both for yourself and your children. As Kristen so beautifully summarizes, “in all of our service, in all of our giving, at the root we are giving to Jesus.”
So, what are you doing these days to serve Jesus? Have little ones and need some ideas? Then I totally recommend this 5-star e-book. In addition, you may want to check out Kristen’s blog, Celebrate Every Day With Me in which she shares even more ideas on how to celebrate more in your every day. By the way, if you purchase today, you can get an extra 25% discount if you use the the discount code cornerstone25! Check it out and let me know how your family chooses to serve Jesus, by serving others. I look forward to reading each and every story!
I received this book for free in exchange for this review. However, the opinions therein are all my own. As always, I choose to only review products that I feel are beneficial to my readers and my family.