How did we meet Isaac? We haven't yet. But we're praying and loving him from our home in Tennessee

in hopes to one day meet him. You see, Isaac lives in Uganda. And it is Isaac that my 

4 year old son chose to sponsor through Compassion International.

This past Saturday, we were talking about giving to others to our 4 year old. We asked what he wanted for his birthday that is coming up next week. He really couldn't decide on anything. It was then that we asked if he would rather give the money we would spend on a gift for him to a little boy who didn't have as much as he did. My husband asked our son how many toys he thought he had, and he replied with "26". Which for my 4 year old is alot (of course he has way more than 26 but we thought it was a cute, and random number for him to come up with). So we agreed that 26 toys was ALOT! And we have been blessed with so much - a house, a couple of cars, good health, food, toys, clothes, etc. He then looked at us and said "Lets give some of that to a boy who needs it more than we do". Before jumping on that, we wanted to explain that he could make the decision about if he wanted to receive a toy from us for his birthday or give to someone else - someone around his age and from where he has visited before, Uganda. (We went there for Christmas in 2007 to see my sister and her family while they were living there). We kept repeating that it was entirely up to him and whatever decision he made, it was a great one. And thats the truth - if he chose a toy, we would've been happy to give him a birthday present.

About 10 minutes later, he said "I'd like to help another boy instead of getting just another toy for myself." We double and triple checked as we wanted to make sure that he made this decision on his own. He said "Yes, because I know if I didnt have much, there would be another little boy out there who would help me. And I want to help him." 

They get it. They are only preschoolers and they get it. We have found that children will give because they want to. I know alot of times parents force their children to give their allowance to different causes. While that isn't bad to have "the 10% rule", - it's also good to give your child choices. We as parents sometimes don't give our children enough credit about understanding the real meaning of giving. 

I was one of those that was taught that you give 10% to church, 10% to savings, 10% for spending, etc. And I found later one that when I gave that offering, it wasn't heart felt. It wasn't for the right reasons. It was because I was "taught" that way and not given the choice to give as much as I'd like or as little as I'd like. So, in that area, we're raising our children differently. There is an awesome book for all the Dad's out there that my husband read about a year ago - one that we definitely have found helpful in the area of giving and saving, and that is First National Bank of Dad.  We highly recommend this book for any parent to read. It has some awesome advice & tips on money and teaching your children to save well and give from their heart. 

This will be our second child to sponsor through Compassion and I just can't say enough good things about this association. It will definitely change you and your family - who knew $38.00 a month could do just that. We are anxious to really "Meet Isaac" one day.