The giving season.

Since I am bored of working on my microbio assignment, I'm going to take a break to post (even though I only started working at 12:30 and have taken breaks to have lunch and watch America's Next Top Model). I have finished the written portion of my project though, and only have to make the presentation slides. Other things I have accomplished today include going to church and filling my shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.
The sermon today was the first of a four-week series on money issues. We were prompted to make a goal for the series, and consider what it means to be materialistic and whether we consider ourselves to be materialistic.
I think my goal for the series is going to be to increase my giving to the church and to others. During 8 months of the year when I am at school, my tithing is next to none because I don't make any money. I also wonder about whether I should tithe to Creekside, where I go for most of the year, or Malvern, which I still consider to be my home church and which I feel needs more financial support than Creekside. I also am really lame with giving presents because I never know what people need, and usually consider buying novelties to be a waste of money (and materialistic!). But when my sister bought me pajamas, I was glad that she thought of me and bought me something, even though I don't really "need" a matching pajama set. So this year I am determined to put more effort into buying Christmas gifts so that people I love will know that I care.
Anyway, after church, I went to Dollarama to get items for my shoeboxes. After the sermon, I wanted even more to make a nice box for a child who is less fortunate than me. They say that giving is contagious, so hopefully by the end of this series, I'll be able to loosen the drawstrings on my purse and be more generous. I started by stepping up my game - two boxes this year instead of one!