Giving is powerful.  I write this partly because we say that this is the season to give.  However, I write to say that every season is the season to give.  Every day in every season is a time to give.

When I was a child I did not really know how to give or receive.  I was bad at both.  Then I learned to give, but did not learn to receive.  I still work on the receiving.

We can make giving more powerful for ourselves and others when we don’t expect a gift.  When we expect a gift, we reduce the power of giving.  Expectations turn gifts into obligations

Feeling entitled is the worst form of expectation.  We depower the very gift we receive.  I know it’s hard, but we can make giving more powerful by reducing our expectations

Sometimes people ask me how am I doing and I say, “I’m blessed. My cup runneth over.”  Then I will say, “I try to keep my cup small so it will run over easy.”

Our ever present cup is our expectations.  We receive more gifts as we expect less.

Who we give to says something about our giving.  If we give mostly to those we think can help us sometime in the future, we are usually making an investment, not giving a gift.  If we give mostly to those who have plenty, then the gift of giving is diminished.  If we give mostly to those who have status, we may well be trying to impress and therefore investing.  True giving is based upon needs.

Sometimes a good word is just the gift needed.  Sometimes a pat on the back or a warm smile or a listening ear or a phone call is just the thing needed at that moment.  I think hugs are special gifts. I give hugs because they are therapeutic.  Sometimes people don’t know what they really need.  Oftentimes I have given hugs and someone will say, “thank you.”

I want each of us to give our best whether material, emotional, physical or spiritual.  I want each of us to give what is needed, not what is wanted.  I want each of us to allow each other to give.  I want each of us to reduce our expectations so that we can be truly thankful for the gifts we receive.  I want each of us to know that we have a lot to give.  I want each of us to know that giving is powerful and we control the gift.