The other day as my daughter and I were leaving Aldi, we walked past an older gentleman returning his shopping cart to the store. Isn’t that quarter thing brilliant at achieving results?  As we passed by him, a shopping receipt and six dollars in cash fell out of his pocket.  He was unaware.

I stopped him, grabbed his items and promptly delivered them back to the rightful owner.  He was entirely grateful and even made a comment again as he was walking back to his car.  About 3-4 minutes later, as I was still unloading my unbagged cart items into the back of my messy car, he came back with two mini-Snickers.  They were somewhat melted from the heat of the sun and he shared that he keeps them around for his grandchildren, apologizing for their condition.  But nonetheless, he wanted my daughter and I to each have one.

As he was turning to go, I noticed an EKG pad on his chest just tucked behind his button-down shirt.  I wonder what his day was like.  I thanked him and we both went on our way.  As my 5 year old and I drove away, I asked if she knew why he gave us the candy.  She answered correctly and I felt I scored one point in the good example arena of teaching my children to serve.

Now, raising givers most assuredly involves us, the parents, being good examples.  But it is more than that.  It is taking deliberate steps in involving our whole family in turning from self-focus to other-focus.

I recently had the opportunity to read Amy L. Sullivan’s new book, When More is Not Enough – How to Stop Giving Your Kids What They Want and Give Them What They Need.  I have gotten to know Amy over the last year and love her heart for others.  She is the real deal and I am so excited for the launch of this book.

Her book is a must-read for a family wanting to serve.  And it isn’t the kind of book that will make you feel guilty.  Amy is motivating, engaging and … well, she is plain funny too.  Pulling from her own experiences (and let me tell you that this lady delivered a baby on the side of the street with the help of strangers), she will walk you through her family’s experience of turning hearts from an inward focus to considering and acting upon the needs of others.

In This Book, You Will:

• Discover how to get started serving as a family
• Work towards goals that engage your family’s interests
• Be inspired to be generous with your skills, strangers, time, prayer & money
• Find practical ideas for your home, community and world
• Open the door to heart-checking conversations in Amy’s Dinner Table Dialogues
• Find lots of awesome resources in the back of the book

Do you want to start serving as a family?  Then go grab a copy of Amy’s book, When More is Not Enough – How to Stop Giving Your Kids What They Want and Give Them What They Need.

P.S.  ALL proceeds of the book go to support the Transformation Village, a new housing development for women, children and families in crisis in Western North Carolina.

P.P.S.  Check out this great trailer:

 Disclosure:  This post contains an affiliate link.  Please see the my Disclosure Policy on the About Page for more information.