Season of Giving with Brian Smiley
Since it’s the Season of Giving, we're exploring generosity with our Cherish Family. By sharing stories about the spirit of giving from board members, staff, and students, we hope your heart can be flooded with warm memories of giving from your past and present. We’d love to hear who inspired you to be generous!
Discussion on Generosity
with Brian Smiley, Cherish Board Member
(1) Where/from who did you learn to give?
Our understanding of giving came from a study of stewardship with all of our resources (time, money, etc.). We visited with mentors who had more experience and time working through the topic and asked a lot of questions. We came to see giving not as something separate from the rest of our lives, but as fully integrated into our calling to stewardship of all of the Lord’s resources.
(2) Why do you give?
We give out of obedience and JOY. Some of the greatest rewards we have been given this side of heaven have been through seeing the impact of being generous toward others, especially the least of us like our family at Cherish. We know that it is part of our calling as followers of Christ, but also find it to be a huge source of joy and blessing in our lives.
(3) What is the most meaningful gift you have ever given?
If a wedding ring is considered a gift, I gave Caroline her (now) wedding ring almost 15 years ago. It is a ring that was made by my grandmother using stones from her mother and father. It reminds me of the legacy that we are living into today.
(4) If you had to give me a quote about your giving, what would it be?
“God’s invitation to us is for giving and generosity to be fully integrated into our lives, and in the spirit of generosity we are also invited into His joy.”
(5) How do you teach your children about giving?
We invite them into our decisions around giving and ask them the same questions we ask ourselves: Where is God calling us to give? Where are areas in our lives where we need to be generous? They are amazingly aware and thoughtful on big questions like those!