Archive for the ‘Stewardship’ Category

We were so blessed this past week by the “Thirst” Revival Summit, presented by a team from Life Action Ministries.

I have a LOT I want to talk about from these meetings, but of course I’m going to be bringing it to you in bite-sized pieces.

Our speaker was Ryan Loveing, and I want to share a neat illustration he gave us.

Ryan asked for anyone who had been given M&M’s by Ben (another team member) during the break to stand up. This turned out to be about two dozen folks.

Then he asked for anyone who had been given M&M’s by one of those people to raise their hand. I think there were two.

Half-joking, he pointed out that they had all been very selfish with their treasures. (And, half-joking, asked if they were mad at Ben for setting them up!)

On stage with him, he had the rest of one of the big bulk bags of M&M’s – still a pound or so of them in there. He carried it around with him and shook it in illustration as he talked.

Next he asked who in the audience was crazy about M&M’s. Who would choose them over any other snack or treat, who just craved them, and hadn’t had any in a while…

Of those with their hands raised, he selected a teenage girl and asked he to come up to the front.

Asking her name, he then proceeded to PRAY FOR HER!

Dear Lord, please bless Jasmine. She loves M&M’s so much, I ask you to please bless her with M&M’s. In Your power, Father, as you love and care for your precious daughter, bring her the desire of her heart – M&M’s.
Amen.

Then he asked her to sit down.

After a moment of confusion, he helped those slow on the uptake. He smiled, raised his eyebrows inquiringly, and shook the bag of M&M’s.

How many people do this every day?

How often to we, the church, just PRAY for someone – when we have the resources to meet their need?

(Hear me, I’m not by any strech – as Ryan wasn’t – belittling prayer. This is about another factor in the equation, though).

“Resources” here is a lot of things…

Money, obviously, and what everyone naturally thinks of.

Not only tithing to the church, but also giving some extra grocery money to that family in need with the husband unemployed, donating a little something extra for Haiti relief, or putting something in the Love Offering for the revival team that was such a blessing.

But there are also the resources of your time and talents.

The church nursery is always shorthanded, and looking for folks to sacrifice one Sunday a month in service. Deacons and others are needed to go visit and pray with the elderly and infirm who can’t get to church services (even bringing them the Lord’s Supper! So beautiful!). I’ve heard of groups getting together and going to clean up the yard of someone who just had surgery, or paint the house of an elderly shut-in. Could you use your specific skills to help someone? Show that new homeschooling mom how to access the local online library resources? Help a neighbor fix the audio driver on their computer? Teach a new mama to sew dresses for her little girl?

It all belongs to God.

My prayer is that He will coninue to remind me to hold it loosely, and be a good steward by allowing it to bless others.

…

This is similar in theme to one of my favorite songs, by one of my favorite groups. Here is Casting Crowns’ If We Are the Body, with a video that a church did as a ministry project.

I don’t think of myself as a fanatic in the “environmentalist” category.

I absolutely care, don’t get me wrong… But I think people can get a little nutty with that stuff.

Like the impression I got from the woman in front of me in line at the health food store last week: Crepe-y mumu type dress, Birkenstock sandals, re-usable (purchased) shopping bags, buying granola, organic overpriced everything, drives a Smart car – when not riding her bike, vegetarian, doesn’t shave, wirries a lot about Global Warming…

I just don’t see myself in her.

And then I got to thinking about it some more.

Of course we turn off lights when we leave the room, hang laundry to dry, use Tupperware over plastic baggies, and turn off power strip to kill “vampire” draws… But everyone does that stuff, right?

People who are “environmentally conscious” use paper towels that are made from recycled paper, and they make sure to put them in the recycle bin whenever possible.

But we use cloth for everything, and don’t buy paper towels at all. (I do keep one roll in the house for a few exceptions – like bacon).

Sure, I have to wash them, but tossing a few “un-paper towels” in with my regular wash doesn’t seem like it’s an awful lot of “footprint” compared to the manufacture, packaging, shipping and disposal of a roll of paper towels (plus cardboard core, plastc wrap outer, etc.).

Skating on the daring edge of TMI, I’ll just allude to the fact that we also use cloth for personal hygene matters, eliminating the need for disposable feminine products, and greatly reducing our consumption of toilet paper.

Those cloths all go in with the diaper laundry… Oh yeah, cloth diapers…

It is so tied in with my feelings about being a good steward for my family’s resources, that I often don’t think as much about the environmental impact.

Hey, green’s my favorite color. I’m glad our cloth makes us Greener than I thought!