Being a Good Steward - Part 4 Gifts/Abilities

I am sorry it has taken me a few days to get back to my series on Being a Good Steward. Hope no one has been on the edge of their seats waiting...

4. Gifts/Abilities
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. Romans 12:6a

God gives us each gifts and abilities. These are things that we are good at, and that we enjoy doing. God expects us to use these gifts in a manner that will glorify Him.

For me, God has gifted me with the ability to teach. I have a passion to share God's word with others. It thrills me to prepare and present a good lesson. This is my area, and I bask in it. God has grown me in my abilities to teach. When I started, I taught only children. Now, I teach children, youth, and women. I am amazed at how far God has brought me, and where He is taking me.

My son, Ethan, has told me for years that he is going to be a missionary on the golf course. Though this makes me smile, I do not know God's plans for Ethan. I do know that God has gifted him with the ability to play golf, and that he has a passion for Jesus. He is 10 years old, and has been playing since he could walk. Although he is not perfect, he does try to reflect Christ with his behavior. On more than one occasion, he has impressed other players and their parents not only with his golf, but with his honesty on the course. Ethan is using his abilities to glorify God.

What abilities has God given you? Are you using them to glorify God? Are you using them at all?

Being a Good Steward - Part 3 Words

I realize that I had originally planned on 4 parts to this series on being a Good Steward. They were Finances, Time, Gifts/Abilities, and Our Body. However, last night God showed me another area in which we all need to be good stewards. That area is with our Words.

3. Words
Proverbs 29:20 (The Message) Observe the people who always talk before they think— even simpletons are better off than they are.

The Bible tells us that we have power in our words. It is the power of life and death. I know this, and therefore try to guard what words I use. However, God showed me last night that it is the words that we speak without thinking that we need to be the most aware of.

For several nights in a row, my daughter Erin has woke up at 1:43 a.m. (yes exactly, almost like an alarm) and had to "go potty." Last night, as I was tucking her in, I had her get up and go to the bathroom one more time. I told her "to try to potty one more time so we don't have to get up in the middle of the night." Seems harmless right? Well at 2:20 this morning Erin called for me. She was sitting up in her bed crying and told me that she couldn't hold it any longer. Of course, we went to the bathroom. I realized then, that she had been crying, thinking I would be upset that she woke me up again. I don't know how long she sat in her bed before she called out to me. I hugged her as I tucked her back in bed, and assured her that I had not meant that she couldn't get up if she needed to. I then went to bed in tears that I had caused pain for my daughter. I had not intended it, but because I did not consider my words I caused confusion, fear, and pain. When I got her up this morning, I apologized to her. She was quick to forgive.

This really made me stop and think. How often do we say things without thinking? It may seem harmless, but if we don't take into account who we are speaking to, or who is overhearing our words, it can cause misunderstandings or even harm. I often ask God to give me words to speak before teaching or sharing testimony. Now I am asking God to give me words to speak in all situations.

Being a Good Steward - Part 2 Time

As I mentioned in my last blog, God has been dealing with me about being a good steward with my life. This is the second installment of that series.

2. Time
Proverbs 19:15 (New King James Version)Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.

Being a good steward with our time, requires us to consider what we are doing during our day. Are we filling our day with good, productive activities? Or are we spending our day loafing? How much time do you spend with God, with family, working, having fun, and resting? All these things are important, just don't let them get out of balance.

I have to be very guarded with my time. It would be real easy for me to sit in front of the computer, read a book, or watch TV all day. I have had days that have simply "got away" from me. These are the days that I start watching one show, and then another, and then another ... or I start reading a good book ... or I am surfing the Internet ... The next thing I know the day is gone, and I have done nothing. On a day like this, I find that I feel terrible by the end of the day. Thankfully, God has helped me in this area, and I have not had a wasted day in a long time. It helps me, if I make a list of things that I need to accomplish during the day. There is just something about marking off an item that I enjoy. I usually put more on my list than I can accomplish. That is not a big deal to me, I just carry it over to the next day. I am not legalistic with my list. It is just something that helps me stay on task. There are days that I purposefully plan as a day of rest or play. The difference is, these are planned days, and I prepare for them ahead of time.

There is an opposite side of being lazy with your time. It is when you spend too much time at work, and not spend time with God or family. This can be just as dangerous. You may be doing a great job building your career, but what are your personal relationships like? Do you ever have any down time or fun for yourself? Anyone driven to this extreme should find a way to limit the time in which they work. I realize that not everyone can work 9-5 Monday through Friday, but you do need to find a limit that works for you.

Being a good steward of your time requires a balance. Are you using your time wisely, or do you need to ask God to show you where you can make improvements?

Being a Good Steward - Part 1 Finances

God has really been putting on my heart the need to be a good steward of my life. Specifically in four areas... Finances, Time, Gifts/Abilities, and Our Bodies. Over the next few days, I will be sharing what God has put on my heart in each of these areas.

1. Finances
Proverbs 3:9-10 (New King James Version)Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

God expects us to give the first 10% of whatever we earn, and He rewards us when we do. However, being a good steward with our finances goes beyond that. We are supposed to be smart with the way we handle our money. We need to seek God before we make a purchase, any purchase. We need to Praise God for the provision he supplies us with. We need to look for opportunities that we can bless others with our finances. We can't do that if we are living beyond our means, and barely making ends meet.

Before we purchase, we need to pray. April is an expensive month for our family. Easter is in April, both of our kids birthdays are in April, our house insurance is due in April, Jason's truck insurance is due in April, and of course, taxes are due in April. As you can probably guess, we are very cautious on what money we spend in April. I homeschool our children, and the curriculum we use always has a 20% off sale in April. I really felt God leading me to take advantage of this opportunity, and order next year's curriculum. Jason and I discussed it, and I told him that there would be other sales during the summer. However, the 20% is only offered in April. Jason felt like it would be wise to make the purchase when we could save the most.

At the end of March, I went online and placed the desired curriculum for both kids in the "cart." I wanted to see just how much we were talking about and figure out what my savings would be. You see, I was still debating the logic of an added expense in a month that already had so many. I got the figure, and just left the items in the cart. I really didn't know if they would save the items, but they did. The next day, I received an email from the company asking if I needed any help with the items I had left in my cart. I just ignored it. The following day, I received an email letting me know they would ship for free if I went ahead and purchased the items in my cart. This was the last day of March. I figured they were trying to get me to purchase before the sale started. Once again, I ignored the email.

On April 1, God impressed upon me the need to make the purchase. He was providing all our needs, and I needed to trust Him with that. So, I made the purchase. Not only did I get the 20% off, they honored the free shipping also. It was a great savings, as a matter of fact, I almost got Erin's curriculum for free. Not only did I save on the curriculum, God took care of our taxes, and our remodeling business had the best month so far this year. I truly believe, that because I was a good steward with the purchase I made, God blessed us beyond measure during what could have been a financially stressed month.

Another way that we can be good stewards with our finances, is to not be wasteful. I use liquid fabric softner in my laundry. The dispenser that came on my machine never worked well, and left a mess, so I never use it. I would try to listen for the rinse cycle to start, and then add the fabric softner. Often, I would miss this cycle, and therefore have to run the rinse cycle twice. God really convicted me on how wasteful this is in the course of a month. So, I simply bought a fabric softner ball that I drop in when I start the wash. I could tell a difference on our water bill the first month. Other little things like turning off lights, eating leftovers, checking the thermostat, eating out less, the list goes on and on ... anything that can be done to eliminate waste is being a good steward with our finances.

Being a good steward with our finances will require us to do things opposite of what the world suggests. Whether you are living on a tight budget, or you are living well within your means, God expects us to be a good steward with our finances.

Safe in His Arms

Check out this picture a good friend of mine recently posted on facebook. It is of her husband with his arms around their daughter. They are sitting on a ride at an amusement park. Someone had commented that the girl was secure and safe in her daddy's arms. My friend responded that her daughter was not so sure of that. It struck me that we are often like that little girl.

That is exactly where we always are, safe and secure in our Father's arms. Yet, we often do not trust that. We spend time worrying and trying to fix things that God already has control of. Even though we are always safe in our Father's arms, we are afraid of what is ahead of us. We are afraid of the known, and we are afraid of the unknown. God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. No matter what we have done, or what is going on around us, we are secure in our Father's arms.

So, next time you are tempted to be scared, remember where you are. Then, sit back and enjoy the ride.

Take the Time to Think

This morning, I watched my daughter drag her scooter to the top of the slide at the encouragement of her friends. Now had this been my son, it would have called for immediate action! However, since it was my daughter I watched for a few minutes. Sure enough, she had no intention of riding it to the bottom. It did remind me of a couple of events in my own life in which I did not take time to think before following through with what others were encouraging me to do. (There have been many, but I will stick with only two.)

The first event happened when I was about 9 or 10. The house I grew up in had a carport at one end. The roof was low enough that you could climb up on it by using a fence that was beside it. We did this all the time. One day, I was dared to jump off of it. It didn't seem like such a big deal, so I did! As I lay on the ground, with the air completely knocked out of me, I realized that was not such a good idea after all. Thankfully, the only thing injured was my pride.

The second event, was much more dangerous. When I was 16, I worked at a summer camp for children in Louisiana. I was about 5 hours from home, and the only one from Arkansas to work there. I felt like I had something to prove. One weekend between camp sessions, a large group of us rented one hotel room so we could swim, party, and drink. (Yes, I said drink.) The hotel we chose was located right behind a frozen mixed drink stand. The worker at the stand, never asked for an id. So I spent the evening sitting by the pool, sipping my drinks. (Please notice there is an s at the end of the word drink.) When the pool closed at 10:00, the group of about 12 headed to the room. Soon after, another group arrived. They had been to a liquor store. I don't remember what all they had, but one boy had tequila. He challenged me to a drinking competition. (Please keep in mind, this was my first real experience with drinking.) It was a dare, so of course I accepted the challenge. It seemed fun, after all there were three steps to the process, it was a real competition!! I don't remember a whole lot other than the fact that I ate the worm! Ewww!!! The next thing I knew, I was waking up on the end of a bed, still in my bathing suit, with a bunch of strangers passed out around me. Once again, God was looking out for me in my stupidity, and nothing happened to me. I immediately realized how bad the situation could have been, and decided drinking was not for me.

Both of these events could have ended tragically. Thankfully, God looks out for us even when we do not. I chose to do both of these events, and many others, because I wanted to prove to others that I could do anything. I wanted to be just as good or better than everyone else. I was full of pride, and wanted to appear self-confident. When in fact, all I proved was that I was foolish.

Now, after many hard lessons, I try to seek God's guidance before I jump. I remember to do this with the big things, but God also wants us to seek Him with the small things. We should spend our day in constant communication with Him. (1 Thes. 5:17) Then, when we are faced with a challenge, we will know if we should accept or walk away.

Consider and understand, you stupid ones among the people!
And you [self-confident] fools, when will you become wise? Psalm 94:8 (AMP)

Life Changing Seed

How much of your life is based on the word of God? The word of God is to the Kingdom, what seeds are to the natural world. Not only must you plant in order to reap a harvest, you must also tend to the seeds, ground, and plants as they grow. The same is true when you plant the word of God in your heart and mind. In Mark chapter 4, Jesus shares a parable of seeds being planted on four types of ground.

The first type of ground was hardened. This is someone who hears the word, but does not consider it. They do not take in the word.

The second type has no depth. There is a quick spurt of growth, but no roots. As soon as persecution comes, they get discouraged and no longer have faith in what they have learned.

The third type gets choked out. This is a person who allows the cares of the world to occupy or distract them. It does not have to be sinful things. It can be the everyday things of life. The things that keep you too busy.

The fourth type is fruitful ground. This is where we should all strive to be. The word of God is the core of everything we do.

The word of God is powerful, but to get it, you can't just skim over it. You must spend time understanding, considering, and meditating on it. Slow down and let the word soak in. The word of God will draw you into His will for your life.

Mediate on the Word... It will change your life.

This blog is based on Mark 4:1-20. I encourage you to read it for yourself.