Share the Harvest

Dawn Wilson says, "Whether it's sharing a Thanksgiving care basket or a large sack of groceries, one of my favorite things to do at Thanksgiving is to Share the Harvest."

Our traditions of sharing the harvest in America go back to the days of the Pilgrims.

But sharing goes back much further than that. 

In Acts 2:46, we see the early disciples meeting together to break bread in their homes and eat together with glad, generous hearts. They were sharing the bread of harvest as a sign of their love and commitment to each other and the Lord.

And it goes back further than that.

After the exiles returned to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 7:1-5a), when Nehemiah was the governor and Ezra the priest and scribe, Ezra read the Book of the Law of Moses from morning until midday (Nehemiah 8:1-8); and the people understood the law and wept. But the priests told the people, "Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:9-11).

That day was recognized as a special holy day for God's people and they worshiped and celebrated in booths—temporary shelters—at The Feast of Booths (Nehemiah 8:13-19). The Levites had already encouraged God's people to eat and celebrate and "send portions" of food to those who did not have food as part of their own celebration! (Nehemiah 8:12) They were to share their harvest!

And it perhaps goes back further than that.

Many people believe the Puritans' celebration of the harvest springs from the Hebrew Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), as taught in Leviticus 23. "For the ancient children of Israel, thanksgiving was a time of feasting and fasting, of praising God, of singing songs," one pastor writes. "It was a rich celebration...."

Perhaps their feasting might be considered sharing the harvest too.

Today, we have many opportunities to share the "harvest" in our pantries and refrigerators. 

1. We might share with and serve at a local soup kitchen;

2. Or take food to our church food pantry to help locals in need;

3. Or take a care package to a friend or neighbor;

4. Or invite a friend or family member—or a stranger-now-friend—to dinner in our home.

5. And if we don't want to share actual food, we can share cash or a check so a college student, young single mom, or needy family can enjoy buying their own special dinner.

At one time, I didn't even think about sharing my food. It wasn't that I was being selfish; I just assumed  everybody I knew had what I had in my kitchen pantry.

I didn't realize how privileged and blessed I am.

There is always someone with something more ... but far too often, there are MANY with far less.

It's not only a matter of good stewardship, but of Christ-like love. Thanksgiving leads to Thanks-living.

As we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we must see the needs around us, and if we have the means to help, it's our responsibility, joy and blessing to share.

So how will you share the harvest—YOUR harvest—this Thanksgiving?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is the creator of three blogs: Heart Choices Today, LOL with God (with Pam Farrel), and Upgrade with Dawn. She is the Director of the San Diego chapter of Network of Evangelical Women in MInistry (NEWIM San Diego). Dawn is the co-author of LOL with God and contributed "The Blessing Basket" in It's a God Thing. She and her husband Bob have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

8 Ways to Celebrate Savings

Ellie Kay, "America's Family Financial Expert" ®, offers some easy, practical money savers in this Financial UPGRADE to help us become better stewards of our financial resources. With financial wisdom, we can share with people in need and support the Kingdom in tangible ways.

"Saving money can be a lot easier than you think," Ellie says, "if you know when and where to use the right websites and apps."

I (Dawn) have appreciated Ellie's budgeting and saving tips in the past, and this post has a few ideas I hadn't thought of before!

Ellie continues . . .

I just returned from Barksdale AFB, where we had the latest Heroes at Home Financial Education event. I absolutely love traveling around the country giving these events to our Heroes and Heroes at Home! 

There are several apps we always love to recommend (RetailMeNot, TravelZoo, etc.) because they are so easy to use and save money. But one of the things I love is that we are always learning more and more websites and apps through these military families we encounter.

According to James 1:5, if we lack wisdom, we can ask of God who will give it to us.  

So let’s CELEBRATE the savings with a few of our favorite ideas, that can help you become wise in the use of your money.

1. Organize your Inbox: Sign up for emails from your favorite stores and brands because they frequently send out sales, deals, and coupons to get you back into the store! But if you don’t want to get 20-30 emails in your inbox every morning, sign up for Unroll.Me. You are able to unsubscribe from lists through this email that you no longer wish to see.

2. Budgeting: Mint is a great site and app for budgeting that I recommend quite frequently. You are also able to pay your bills and see your credit score. Also check out GoodBudget (formerly EEBA) if you are an envelope system family, and for sharing budgets with members of the same household.

3. Gas: Waze is my favorite GPS app out there. It calculates the best route using both major highways and side streets. But one of my favorite features in this app is that it tells you the gas prices for all gas stations in your area. It will also calculate how far off your route each gas station will be. TripTik (by AAA) calculates mileage based on most economic route.  GasBuddy is another great tool for calculating a trip cost, gas price charts, and more.

4. Coupons: RetailMeNot is my recommended coupon app for retail stores. But also check out Coupon Sherpa for in store coupons to make sure you are always getting the best deal. If you are a fan of paper coupons, use SnipSnap to take pictures of the coupon and use your phone when it comes time to redeem.

5. Entertainment Tickets: Goldstar is a great site for finding half-priced tickets for shows and concerts in cities around the world. For Veterans and families, take advantage of Veterans Tickets Foundation, which is a great organization that provides free tickets to family members of troops Killed In Action (K.I.A.), our Military and Veterans to sporting events, concerts, performing arts and family activities.

6. Parking: Never overpay for parking in any city when you use BestParking. You are able to search city and airport parking to find and compare the best rates. This is a great tool for both planning trips, and getting a good price on the go.

7. Airfare: Looking for that special price for that trip coming up? Keep an eye out for the best time to fly at the best price with Hopper or BookingBuddy.com.

8. Other Apps – Travelzoo.com

What are some of your favorite ways to be a better steward of God’s resources? Let me know so I can keep spreading the word!

Ellie Kay is a regular expert on national television with ABC NEWS NOW’s Money Matters and Good Moneyshows. Ellie is also a national radio commentator, a frequent media guest on Fox News, and CNBC, a popular international speaker, and the best-selling author of fourteen books including her  newest release, The Little Book of Big Savings (Waterbrook, 2009).

Graphic adapted, Image courtesy of Feelart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.