God loves a cheerful giver!

2 Corinthians 9:7 

"Each of you should give

what you have decided in your heart to give, 

not reluctantly or under compulsion, 

for God loves a cheerful giver."

I promise you this will not be a lecture on how you should give more!  This is rather a narrative on one way of giving that I have found to be rewarding and that just might lead to my cheerfulness in doing so!  And it is totally prompted by my experience today in this event at my church called the "Golden Gathering".  

Having lived in Southern California, I am used to hearing that Disneyland is "the happiest place on earth" but is it?  I think I have evidence to the contrary!  Because today at the Golden Gathering, I could not get the smile off my face!  I heard laughter and conversation and singing, I saw bunny bags being made and dancing, I watched engaging entertainment and enjoyed a great lunch and fellowship and I even played bingo!  


So what is this Golden Gathering you ask?  It is an event we present once a month and is open to those who are being challenged with dementia or Alzheimer's Disease.  They are our invited guests for 3 hours of fun and laughter and entertainment and lunch while their care partners get a well-deserved break.  This is only my second time volunteering at this event but it has fast become my favorite volunteer activity.  We started with crafts and helped our guests make a "bunny bag".  That's the picture above on the right.  Then we got into a circle and talked about March calendar events then enjoyed a music concert from the onsite preschool.  

We sang Happy Birthday to those with March birthdays.  We had musical entertainment today and they sang a variety of songs that most of us knew.  It was so delightful to see our guests and our volunteers get up and dance as well as sing along!  After a game that involved passing balloons and other movements, we finished up with lunch and a rousing game of bingo! 

The best part is the interaction with our guests!  They are fun and so very interesting to talk with!  And the entire program is planned around the continued well-being of our guests - crafts are to exercise their fine motor skills, calendars help with their recall, games assist with muscle movement, the entertainment is different each month and all the volunteers are fantastic!

Cheerful giving!  Cheerful for the guests and cheerful for the volunteers!  From the number of exclamation points I used in writing this, can there be any doubt I like this volunteer activity and will keep doing it!  It is good to know that many places around this area of Houston offer a Golden Gathering and they all happen on different days so the care partner has some options for taking advantage of this opportunity!

Now I know what Jesus means when he says "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35)  I feel blessed to have been led to this gathering...