• Volunteer your time to baby-sit for a mom in need, clean the home of an elderly friend, or put your knowledge to work tutoring students or leading a Sunday school class or Bible study. Your efforts may be just what someone needs.

• Depending on your schedule, you may not be able to commit to any large or long-term projects, but you can still make a difference. Offer to bake or bring treats to a church activity or event. Pick up the trash on the side of the road when you're walking. Take someone who is involved in full-time outreach or ministry out to lunch. Little things do make a big difference!

Remember that giving is also contagious. When you get excited about giving, your efforts multiply. Like a pebble thrown in a lake, the tiny splash it makes soon creates a ripple effect that can move the surface of the entire lake. Consider the true stories told in the little books Kingdom Assignment 1 and Kingdom Assignment 2. Author and pastor Denny Bellesi preached at his Coast Hills Community Church in Aliso Viejo, California, on the subject of being faithful stewards. He ended the sermon by handing 100 members of the congregation $100 each. He instructed the recipients that the money was not theirs but God's, and that they were to invest it to please him. The congregants got excited about helping others and multiplying that money and began charity effort after charity effort. It did not take long before those few hundreds turned into hundreds of thousands of dollars being put to work to transform people's lives. You can do the same. We encourage you to start today.

Adapted from "Five-Star Living on a Two-Star Budget" by Margaret Feinberg and Natalie Nichols Gillespie © 2006 Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon. Used by permission.

Margaret Feinberg is an award–winning journalist, speaker, and writer. She is the author of "Simple Acts of Faith"," Simple Acts of Friendship", "Twentysomething: Surviving & Thriving in the Real World," and "God Whispers:  Learning to Hear His Voice." She has also published countless articles in national magazines including Christianity Today, New Man, BookPage, and Christian Single. Margaret and her husband, Leif, live in Alaska.

Natalie Nichols Gillespie is a mom and stepmom of six who enjoys shopping, reading, and staying in five–star timeshares for only $30 a night! She is the author of "The Stepfamily Survival Guide" and "101 Ways to Find God’s Purpose for Your Life" and has written countless articles for more than 20 publications including Charisma, Christianity Today, Spirit–Led Woman, and CCM Magazine. She lives with her family in Florida.