To be blessed means to have God's favor and divine protection on your life, so....

A Blessed Life = A Happy Life

A couple of months ago, our church taught a series called The Blessed Life. We learned that when we obey God by giving, we will live a blessed life!

I want to be happy... don't you? The kids at our church totally got it! They have no problem giving in the offering... as a matter of fact, they get really excited about it! I really love counting the offering after our weekend services. I find the neatest things!

Check out the pics above...

pic #1 Kids don't always have money to give in the offering. On this day, one of the kids just gave what she had that was special to her.

pic #2 On this day, one of the girls had emptied her piggy bank into her purse. She was so excited about it. She had the biggest smile on her face as she gave handfuls of money to all the kids that didn't bring offering.

pic #3 I love the key that was placed in the offering bucket. Also, check out the candy! The boy that placed the candy in the bucket had just won the candy as a prize, and he was so excited about it. He didn't bring money for the offering, so he gave his prize!

I can relate to these kids. One day, as I was sitting in a church service, God was telling me to give all the cash I had in my purse. You see... I was really excited about this cash because it was MY BIRTHDAY MONEY! I couldn't stop thinking about it through-out the service. You know how you just keep asking God, "Really? Are you sure?" I know.. how silly of me. Well, I did it. I gave all my cash in the offering. I immediately felt so much peace because I had obeyed God. Guess what happened a few days later? I was blessed with more money than I had given. God is cool like that!

How about you... Are you happy? Are you a giver?