Episode 121: Unexpected Lessons in Giving: Cultivating a Spirit of Service and Joy

Have you ever considered that sometimes our greatest lessons come from unexpected places? Join me, Stephanie, as I recount a surprising Sunday at church that reshaped my understanding of serving and giving. 

Through my story, I invite you to explore the notion that service doesn't always mean being in the spotlight but contributing joyfully, even when plans shift unexpectedly. This revelation extends beyond the church walls, reminding us that having a servant's heart can significantly enhance our lives and those around us. 

Whether you're a regular churchgoer or seeking a faith community, I hope this episode inspires you to find simple yet meaningful ways to serve, tailored to fit your lifestyle, just as my role as a substitute volunteer does for me. 

Let's embrace the chance to uplift our communities and enrich life's journey with a focus on giving.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 0 (00:00):
Hey friends, it's Stephanie here, and today I want
to talk about a lesson Ilearned at church.
Now, I don't know about you,but if you go to church, I'm
always learning lessons from thepastor every Sunday sermon.
For me it's expected.
I hope I am learning, I amgrowing, but I had a lesson as

(00:22):
it relates to serving and togiving.
But I had a lesson as itrelates to serving and to giving
.
I encourage you that if youattend a church, that you're
involved and you're finding away to serve.
You're not I don't want to sayjust showing up on Sunday, you
know getting a sermon andleaving, but you know finding a
way to serve.
And what I have found inserving in a church, at least in

(00:45):
our church, is a lot of timesit's not a huge commitment.
There's a lot of differentthings that you can do and some
things are, you know, not a hugecommitment.
They may take an hour or two, amonth or a week, and then
others are much biggercommitment.
But I just really encourage youto serve and serve in the

(01:07):
church.
And if you're not going tochurch, you know, I really
encourage you to find a churchhome and take some time and go
to churches that are in yourcommunity or maybe go back to
one that you've just gotten awayfrom.
Anyways, that wasn't my message, what I was going to share
today, but it was just on myheart.

(01:27):
So I serve.
I am a sub on our church'scoffee bar, so we have a little
coffee bar and it's free foranybody that you know walks
through our doors.
They can come get coffee or hottea.
In the fall and winter monthswe have hot chocolate with the

(01:47):
kiddos love, and I'm a sub, soI'm not even on the schedule.
Just due to my travel schedule.
It was hard for me to commit tosay, oh yeah, I can be there
every third Sunday of the month,so I'm a sub and if someone
can't make it, I get a text andhey, can you come in and serve
this day, which I love.

(02:08):
I feel like it's a great way tohelp and it kind of it serves
my schedule a little bit,because I don't like making
commitments and then not beingable to keep them, but it also
is a great way for me to serve,and so, anyways, usually at
coffee bar there's just two ofus that are serving, and so and

(02:30):
as busy as it is everybody youknow, you're both kind of making
the coffee, getting everythingset up, and then, as church is
getting ready to begin, you'refilling people's coffee cups.
You're interacting with peopleand that's my favorite part.
I love interacting.
I've gotten to know people atmy church.
It's like I love it.

(02:52):
Well, this Sunday when I showedup, there was somebody already
there and I didn't think theywere on the schedule, but it was
great.
I love working with this ladyand we started to chat and she
already had the coffee going andit was just like we were
rocking and rolling.
Well, then another lady showedup with her son to serve, and

(03:14):
they were the two that I thoughtI was supposed to be serving
with.
And so now, instead of just twopeople, we had four people,
which it doesn't take fourpeople to work at our coffee bar
.
And so the mom and the son tookthe role of, you know, filling
the cups and interacting withthe people.

(03:36):
And I gotta admit, like in thebeginning I was so disappointed.
I was like, ah, and in my headI thought this is why I serve,
like I love to come serve andinteract and smile and tell
people to have a great day andjust be like one of those first
touch points in our church.
But as I was like standing backwhere you know, I mean I don't

(03:59):
know how many pots of coffee butyou're constantly like emptying
filters, refilling coffee, youknow that sort of thing is I
don't want to say the busy work,but you know I can't even
define what that is is then Iwas, it just hit me and it's
just like sometimes we get to dowhat we want to do in serving

(04:22):
and giving and sometimes wedon't.
And we should still be.
The Bible says you know acheerful giver and have a
servant's heart.
And whatever we do, we work forthe Lord.
And it was just a good reminder, in something that was so small
of, like Stephanie, it's notthat big of a deal, do this and

(04:46):
do it well.
And so it was just like, okay, Iwent ahead and filled all the
little coffee containers that weuse that a lot of times we just
let it run out because we don'thave time to refill.
And you know I was gettingextra cups out and just I don't
know, trying to do some littleextra things that usually we
don't have time to do.

(05:06):
And then I had another.
So you know me, we talk aboutgiving your best life is, you
know, giving gratitude, havingone good goal, and obviously the
foundation of your faith is Godand your relationship that
you're building with God.
And so I had anotheropportunity at church.

(05:28):
So when you're serving, thenyou're usually late for the next
service if you're going to stayfor that service.
But we do have places late forthe next service if you're going
to stay for that service.
But we do have places outsideto not outside outside, but like
outside the sanctuary, whereyou can sit and watch the sermon
.
So I just decided to do thatand when I got up there was an

(05:50):
older gentleman who had beensitting behind me that I hadn't
noticed and he just had a hat onthat indicated that he had
served in the Vietnam War.
And so I just extended my handand thanked him for his service.
And, as always, every one ofour servicemen and women are

(06:10):
always very humble, you know.
And but it was just a goodreminder like to pay attention,
to slow down and you know when.
But it was just a good reminder.
Like to pay attention, to slowdown and you know when we see
those opportunities to thank ourmen and women in service is we
show them gratitude and it's agift that we can give.
So not a long episode today.

(06:30):
Maybe you're in a season oflife where you're serving um,
maybe you're volunteeringsomewhere and it doesn't look
like what you thought it wasgoing to look like, or even at
work, um, maybe you're in a rolethat you're like, uh, I just am
not enjoying this Um, and maybelook at it from a different

(06:53):
perspective.
Like I had two of servingcoffee bar and you know I I
still look at it from adifferent perspective.
Like I had to of serving coffeebar, and you know I still look
at it as the two of us that werekind of behind the scenes is it
took, it took us also to beable to serve the people coffee
that day and, you know, tobrighten their day.
So hopefully this gave you alittle encouragement and just

(07:17):
another way that you can get togiving your best life.