"Give!" said the little stream.

When I was a small little girl, our family was poor. I mean really really poor. There were times when we spent a night or two in the back of an old pink Rambler, and months when we only ate flour and water pancakes, morning, noon, and night, literally for months on end. That said, I did have pancakes to eat, water to drink and wash in, and some roof over head.

I also learned to give, because there are always people who have less than I. We were taught to give with both hands, to not withhold, but to give as we would want in our time of need. Part of that education was learning the words to a simple song:

"Give!", said the little stream; "Give, oh give!", "Give, oh give!"
"Give!", said the little stream as it hurried down the hill.
"I'm small I know, but wherever I go the grass grows greener still."
Singing, singing all the day, "Give away, oh Give away!"
Singing, singing all the day, "Give, oh Give away!"

"Give!" said the little rain; "Give, oh give!", "Give, oh give!"
"Give!" said the little rain as it fell upon the flowers.
"I'll raise their drooping heads again!" -as it fell upon the flowers.
Singing, singing all the day, "Give away, oh Give away!"
Singing, singing all the day, "Give, oh Give away!"

Give then, as Jesus gives. Give, oh give! Give, oh give!
Give then, as Jesus gives, there is something all can give.
Do as the streams and blossoms do; For God, and others live.
Singing, singing all the day, "Give away, oh Give away!"
Singing, singing all the day, "Give, oh Give away!"

words by Fannie J. Crosby

The thing is, there is something we all can give. If we do not have money, we can pray. We can volunteer at a shelter or assist in humanitarian efforts so that others may benefit. Service is free! Clean out a closet, sort through some shoes, find those extra things that we can donate to someone with less. We can also look to our right and look to our left and see the need within our own reach. Lift a heart with a warm word, hold a hand, share a moment in each others' eyes. Giving is easy and the rewards are great. It is a precious gift we each received from our Father in Heaven, the ability to smile and to love. There is no time here to judge unrighteously, besides, that is God's job. Ours is to find ways to give love to one another...

Because God and others do truly live!

There is so much need right this minute. In Haiti, and around the corner. God does live and He has no hands but our own to lift the needy and poor in Spirit. Thor, about a week or so ago, commented on how amazing it is- all the "God work" that gets accomplished by all of us who are so bungling and ill qualified for the job. But God whispers to us to do more than we are capable, He fills our weakness and makes us stronger; and He, through our giving (in many ways), creates a miracle.

Seems like a fabulous day to give with a song in my heart. How 'bout you?