Money

Leave a comment Posted on Daily Blogs, Faith Journeys

Overflowing Love

When Jesus sent out the 70 disciples, He told them not to take anything–not even an extra change of clothes!

The early church sold all of their extra stuff (they shared everything else) and dumped the money at the apostles’ feet. 

The widow in the temple gave everything she had. 

Paul teaches us the secret of contentment: Do all things through Christ who strengthens you whether you’re broke or rich. 

We’re told to not covet in The 10 Commandments and by Jesus Himself. 

We’re told to seek The Kingdom first because God is the supplier of our every need. 

And I could keep going with examples!

I’m packing up to move and I wonder if I’m too greedy…

Am I willing to give everything away?

To share everything?

To see my life–time, giftings, possessions, and money–as simply a means to help others?

I want to say yes. I want it to be an all-the-time truth, but I struggle…

Can’t something be mine?

Here was God’s answer:

Yes, the one thing no one can take away is your relationship with Me. What else do you want?

Ouch!

God is an all-in kind of Father. He gave us everything He had. Nothing was held back from us. 

I want to be that kind of person. 

I want to be all-in. 

My life was so empty before my relationship with God. No amount of success or approval or stuff could fill the void. 

My response to His great grace is that I want to live a life stripped bare of anything that keeps me from being full of Him, of His overflowing love. 

Leave a comment Posted on Business Sense, Character Corner, Daily Blogs, Faith Journeys, Family

All I need is a cup of coffee and a little perspective

I used to be a chipper morning person. My grumpier self told her to get lost.

My younger siblings do not care.

They are loud and boisterous and excited about the day–even if they don’t know what day it is.

“Audra, what day is it?” Caleb asks.

“It’s Tuesday,” I reply.

His response is normally something like:

“Yay! That means we get to ________” or “What are we going to do today?”

Maybe us grumpy adults should be more easily excitable.

We tend to see each day from a more practical, soul sucking point of view. I don’t think we mean to, though, but it’s easy to fall in line with our work hating, wish-it-was-the-weekend culture.

Last night my little brother–in his childlike wisdom–prayed the most beautiful blessing over our dinner.

“Dear God,

Thanks for having us today.

Thank you for dinner and this time with my family.”

Amen.”

Caleb thanked God for letting us live.

And the thunderbolt of conviction struck my heart….

IMG_1692Every breath, every day comes from God. Begrudging my life and all the things I “have to do” is a slap in God’s face.

I understand that we all have hardships and bad days, but our worst day–especially if you live in the West–is someone else’s best day.

The minor inconveniences of our life will not affect whether we live or die. With that in mind, you and I have very little to complain about.

This is not meant to be a guilt trip.

Just call it a good, old fashioned reality check.

Sure, you’re not a morning person but you can be a thankful–yet quiet–non-morning person.

Sure, money is tight but you have food, water, and shelter. A cancelled Netflix account or a month without cable will not kill you.

Perspective has a way of making us honest.

Leave a comment Posted on Character Corner, Daily Blogs, Faith Journeys

Defining enough

You are enough and you have enough. 

I just summarized half of the self-help books in the world. 

We struggle with the concept of enough. 

“I’m not _________ enough.”

Fill in the blank with the first thing that pops in your mind. 

I bet this thought is the biggest obstacle for you. 

The Lord’s been challenging me with seeing the truth: 

  • Everything I need to be content, to be fulfilled is already in me. 
  • Everything I need to live, serve, and follow Him is already in me. 

I am enough. 

I have enough. 

The scarcity mentality is wrecking our lives. 

Chasing enough is like chasing the wind. You’ll always be empty handed. 

You’ll also be lonely. 

There’s not much time to build relationships when you’re on the hunt for enough. 

Some Christian circles talk about operating out of lack or being plagued by a spirit of poverty. 

Others talk about the American Dream myth. 
However you want see it, we need to wrestle with this bear. 

Does your definition of success, of enough leave you feeling empty?

If so, what needs to shift in your thinking? 

Get ready for a fight because what you discover will not line up with our culture today. 

I really believe, though, that changing your view of enough will change your life. 

6 Comments Posted on Faith Journeys

No U-Haul Required

 

This is a topic that I’ve been thinking about for a while: 

Materialism.

Another word for it is greed, selfishness, stinginess…all of these terms are synonymous with materialism with me.

What’s the deal with needing stuff?

Why do I need 57 pairs of shoes, every new gizmo and gadget that hits the market, and a new car?

I go through my stuff periodically. When I start purging this question runs through my mind: When was the last time I used this? If I cannot remember the last time I’ve used something I get rid of it. Here recently I have been selling things that I haven’t used in a while, and I am proud to say that I have made some nice money doing so.

Now here’s an obvious statement:

When you die, nothing goes with you.

This fact has really inspired me to become more introspective. Why am I hoarding?  If nothing can go with me anyway why do I want so much stuff? Someone tell me that I am not the only one who feels this way.

What if I put the same amount of energy into reaching out to others that I put into seeking wealth and possessions? 

Maybe this is an extreme viewpoint, but I am quite confident that the issue of materialism is really stunting the growth of Christians.  

My dad shared this verse with me:

Luke 12: 15:

“And [Jesus] said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness,” for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

So Jesus says that your self-worth is not tangled up in what you own…that’s awesome! That’s freedom! That’s the gospel! And I love it!

I want my life to be filled with sharing the gospel, raising a family, you know? Things that actually matter.

The floor is now opened for discussion. What do you think about materialism? Share your thoughts, Bible verses, etc. I want to hear from you!