According to the article, only 24% of Nevadans become volunteers. Yet, right next door to us is the State in first place. 49.9% of the people of Utah volunteer. Utah is followed by Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota. Who's at the bottom with Nevada? Louisiana, Rhode Island, New York and West Virginia. Utah also ranks first in Gifts of Money. What's with our neighbors? Don't they realize they are making Nevada look bad?

          I can think of plenty of reasons why Nevadans are too busy to volunteer. We have too much to do! With all of the entertainment, the gambling, the entertainment, the gambling, the entertainment, the gambling..who has time to volunteer. We're too busy to volunteer because we want to make those millions that will enable us to give of our time and money, right? Wrong! There was also another category in this article, "Generosity by Income." The vast majority of top givers make between $50,000 and $199,000 per year, with the exception of the $10 million and over group. You would think that those who are in the million and up to 9 million categories would be one of the top groups, wouldn't you? Instead, someone who makes $60,000 a year is more likely to let go of some of their money for good causes than someone who makes 2 million. Does that make sense to you?

          It makes sense to me. It makes sense because I believe that giving has very little to do with how much you make, but who you are. It's all about the heart. It's easy to give from abundance. We would like to fool ourselves into believing that if we were millionaires we would give, give, give. But if we don't give when we're making $50,000.00 a year, chances are we will not give when we're making millions. I believe that "as we give we receive." That is a universal principal that has been proven over and over again. Not just in my life, but in the lives of many people. If you are feeling financially broken, give something to someone or a group you care about. Whether it is time, talent or money. I believe it will turn things around for you. You cannot receive with closed hands; you must let something go in order to receive. If you are holding onto something so tightly that you have white knuckles, it's time to step back and take a look at what is going on in your life.

          Generosity is a matter of the heart. Generosity is all about compassion, caring, loving. When you care, you give. What do you care about? Even if you begin by giving pennies to whatever it is you care about, you will begin to see changes taking place. Next thing you know, giving more and more won't be so challenging because you will receive more and more. "But the greatest of these is charity." I Corinthians 13:13, KJV.