Guest Post - Stewardship

Stewardship

by Steve Van Nattan

The favorite sermon topic of the average Baptist preacher is stewardship. Of course, this short sighted preacher has only the offering plate in mind, and he always hammers the sheep to pay their tithes. Some even use Faith Promise, a totally unbiblical concept, to convince us to pay our tithes forward in the form of vows based on the gifts of God we do not yet have. "Take therefore no thought for the morrow..." [Matt. 6:34] Ever hear that from someone? God holds you responsible for ONLY what you have now. [Also see: 2 Cor. 8:11-14]

So, what is involved in stewardship?

In terms of everything God made, the part we can see and live in, stewardship involves Space, Time, and Matter. How we use these three is the bedrock of stewardship, that is, whatever part of the whole universe God has given to me to control and use. This is a rather large piece of stuff to try to conceptualize, right?

But, a simpler way to deal with the topic is in these three resources which God gives us all, whether much or little:

Time, money, and energy. 

I suggest you take your share of these resources into the laboratory of your mind and soul for examination. For the next week, end your day with a quiet time, and list the ways you used your Time, Money, and Energy, and how much of it clearly was for the benefit of Jesus Christ. Write it down.

Do not make lofty goals for a week. Do the self-examination. Then the next week, look at your previous week, and every evening decide one thing you will do different the next day. It may be to stop by and visit some old lonely saint. It may be to take another Christian out for coffee or lunch. It may be to vigorously watch for a homeless person and see that they have a good lunch, either with you, or deliver it to them.

The notion that tithing is the beginning and end of stewardship is cheap stewardship, and it asks very little of you.

You see, stewardship is so often about doing to others, and the money is the resource that makes it possible. Our time we must also factor in and make space for the deed to play itself out. It is cheap stewardship to hand a ten dollar bill to a homeless person. What is a noble use of my resources is when I invest all three, time, money, and energy to meet someone's need.

I Peter 4:9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

In this text we see no money in stewardship, at least a minimum of cash. What we see is that we are given gifts from God to use to minister to others, both the saved and the sinners. Those gifts are always one or all of the three: Time, Money, or energy. And, God does not expect the same amount of energy from me as he does from you. Verse 11 is the Energy aspect. God may give you lots of energy or ability. I must not use you as my model for ministering. But, I must be a steward of the energy He has given me.

Are we so busy, or plain selfish, that our home is seldom used to entertain the saints? Peter commands us, "Use hospitality." Time, Money, and Energy may mean leaving an evening open, buy some good cuts of beef, and invite some struggling saints to your home for fellowship. It simply all depends on who has the preeminence in your life, Jesus and his people, or YOU?

How about those college students in your church who are far from home and may be lonely? If you have them over, I suggest you also invite some older extrovert senior in your church who loves Jesus so that the students can mix up and learn about the old ways from the past. Ask your senior friend to prepare a short Bible devotional to end the evening.

Jesus does not only give you resources based on your need. He also gives you gifts based on what you did with what He already gave you. To see Him teach this, read Matthew 25:14-30.

Enough said. Now, go be a good steward, not for me, but for Jesus.

-----------------------

Editor's Note: Some of us have limitations - physical, financial, mental, time - that seem to make it harder to do these things. Some may actually have been tricked into believing that if they don't have money to give there isn't much they can do or that money is the only thing that really counts. Some preachers will even belabor the idea of "giving till it hurts," implying that if you don't you lack faith. But, that isn't what the Bible says. In fact, the church in Corinth gave themselves before they gave their money. 2 Corinthians 8:4-5 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. Have you ever stopped to consider what the health of the body of Christ would look like if Christians gave themselves to God's work before they gave their money? I have a feeling it would be a lot better than it generally is at present.

Maybe you should ask the Lord to help you use your imagination or to stretch yourself a little. Set aside some time and energy to phone a Christian lady who could use encouragement (can't we all?) and just talk. Take the time to send out some Bible verses or Christian poetry in texts or email to ladies you know. Ask someone what you can pray for them this week, and then make sure you do it. Buy one or two extra items to give to someone in your church or neighborhood who is struggling to make ends meet. Pray extra for your friends on social media who are going through hard things. Give some flowers from your garden to someone. Send snail mail to someone. Share the bounty of your garden or fruit trees. Use the wakeful hours of the night to pray for others. 

Your list may have things that apply to your God-given abilities very specifically, but whatever the case, there are things you can give beyond the offering plate. There are many ways we can be better stewards of our time, energy, and resources. We just need to ask the Lord to help us find them. 

1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 

Monthly Challenge – August 2016

"Tea Leaves" by William McGregor Paxton
Wikimedia Commons

Things have been rather “exciting” here to start off the month of August.  We have a lot of irons in the fire, as the saying goes.  Consequently, I decided to make the challenge this month something a little easier again.

Here it is:

-------------------------

Invite someone over for a meal.

And/Or

Share a good recipe (that you actually use) with a friend.

-------------------------

Inviting someone for a meal might not seem all that easy to some, but I’m not going to put any limitations on it.  It can be family members or friends for whom you don’t feel any need to do extra clean up. :-)  Just extend some hospitality to someone.  Make it a super easy meal if you like, even make it a joint effort where they bring part of the meal.  Enjoy some fellowship and friendship.

I am making a limitation on the recipe by saying that it should be something that you use.  My reason for this is that we see so many recipes shared on Facebook these days that we know the person didn’t try before they passed it on to others.  So, the idea here is to pass on something that you use, something that is actually a part of you and your life, not just something that sounds and looks good on a computer screen. :-)  It’s more interesting to make a recipe that you know your friend uses regularly.  It gives us a connection that internet recipes never will give.

I hope this adds some joy to your life this month, and that you add some joy to someone else’s life through it.

Hebrews 13:16  But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

1 Peter 4:9  Use hospitality one to another without grudging.

Cheap, Pretty and Good - DIY Tin Can Lanterns

Photo property of DIY & Craft Ideas

These tin can lanterns would be fun and pretty for summer nights outside, either eating or visiting.  You could make them useful by using citronella candles to keep the mosquito away, I suppose - assuming those things actually work. (I've never tried them.)

This site offer very simple instructions.  Pay attention to the instructions about filling them with water and freezing them as this would help to keep the cans in shape. :-)

DIY Tin Can Lanterns at DIY & Craft Ideas

"This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine...
Let it shine till Jesus comes, I'm going to let it shine."

Cheap, Pretty and Good – Natural Autumn Beauty for Home Décor

 

JES at Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth shared these nice ideas for decorating our houses with natural things for autumn.  Since Thanksgiving is approaching in the U.S. I thought some readers might be interested in some ideas for simple, potentially inexpensive decorations. 

JES got her ideas from The Pottery Barn, but she explains how to do them with things that you may have on hand.  For the clear vases she recommends canning jars, but you could use clear glass vases if you have them or the clear glass chimney part of an oil lamp or candle.  Even glass bowls will work as I did above.

You may also like one of my old posts from the “Shop Your Own Stuff” series about Bringing the Outside In.

Here I used a small pumpkin that I bought and some pine cones.  The leaves I used are fake, but if you still have real leaves that are pretty in your area you could collect some for this.  You could also cut some out of craft paper or fabric.

Our Guest Room Do-over, Part 2 – In the Process

 

See Part 1 here.

The process of painting the room took much longer than I expected.  It took more primer to cover these mid-tone walls than I expected.  That means it also took more work!

The work began with removing a lot of things, taking down blinds and laying plastic to cover the floor.  I also covered a few things that we didn’t remove from the room so they wouldn’t get paint on them.

In the above photo you can see a piece of plywood on the floor.  This is covering a weak place in the floor which was caused by water damage before we moved in.  My husband hoped to repair it before his parents came, but the painting took up too much time, so this part was tabled for “later”.

The window frames and storm windows are removable from the inside, which was helpful.  Here you can see that the taping had been started.

I had a new mop head for an old mop that I no longer used much, so I popped it on, sprayed my homemade surface cleaner on it and mopped the walls. :-)  I had tried to remove all the nails, but they were hard to see on this paneling, and over time there had been a lot of them put in!  Anyway, the mop sponge got kind of torn up, but it did the job.

The room began to look SO much better with just the white primer started!

It took three coats of primer to cover the walls acceptably.  All the grooves in the paneling also had to be painted by hand with a brush because the roller didn’t get them well enough.  Of course, the edging was done that way as well.  Sadly, my taping job wasn’t all that great, so we did end up with some white and blue on the trim.  Oh, well.  The room was never meant to be perfect what with the stained carpet and damaged floor!

I was very blessed to have a lot of help on this project!  A friend of mine gave me a good chunk of help two different days and my mom helped with the brushing in the middle areas during the primer stage.  My husband also helped a lot when he was able.

And the paint goes on!

We only had one can of paint and we didn’t want to run out and have to buy more.  Another can might not have matched perfectly which would have meant another coat for the entire room.  It took at least two coats of paint as it was, and maybe a bit extra in some places. I think I spread it too thin on the first coat.  I was being too careful to make it “go far enough” I guess.

In between the painting I worked on other things for the room.  Cleaning up some of the décor, printing and framing pictures, and sewing were some of the projects.  Here is my dear mom taking a nap in our living room after helping me by pinning the valances I was making for above the windows. :-)

Some things I wanted to get done had to be abandon for the time being because I realized (with my husband’s help) that I didn’t have time or strength before my in-laws came and the important things were the painting and getting the bed set up.  Funny thing was that at least one of my ideas turned out to be unnecessary later on.  I was able to work around it quite nicely and with much less effort. :-)  It is good to not overachieve sometimes, and as Christians it’s good to remember how temporary things of this life are and be content with simpler.  I really needed to not be exhausted during my in-laws visit – and thank the Lord, I wasn’t!

I did a lot of looking online trying to find a bed spread, comforter, or quilt for the bed.  I’d thought to make my own, but that was way out of reach in such a short timeframe.  I concluded that I wanted something not too pricey, not too fancy, not too fluffy and not too light colored.  I knew guests would be sitting on it as there isn’t much seating in the room and I didn’t want them to feel like they would soil it or crush it if they did.  I ended up buying a very inexpensive one at Wal-Mart that should serve fine for a guest room that isn’t heavily used.  I also decided I should look for something that I would like to use in our bedroom or the living room if I want to make a quilt for the guest room later.  The one I ended up getting happily fits all the requirements.  I  feel like the Lord helped me with that.  And, my husband was probably glad I settled for something “cheap, pretty and good”. :-)  (Sorry, no picture at this point.  Can’t spoil the surprise.)

My sister-in-law helped take the tape down the day after the paint was all done and then another day she helped set up furniture.  The two of us got quite a bit done.  We got the bedframe from a storage shed, cleaned it and set it up, and collected other furniture and tried out some different options. 

The footboard that I was going to convert into a headboard didn’t work out because the paint had been damaged and also the knobs for the posts had been lost. :-P  (My husband said he may be able to fix it up at a later date.)  My sister-in-law said we should attach a board where the headboard would have attached to keep the metal from rubbing the wall.  I think I was the one who suggested rolling it in an old bed sheet we’d used as a drop cloth for further protection.  It worked out great as you can see in the picture. :-)

I know I’ve just tantalized you with this post, so please come back for Part 3 to see the results! :-)

Our Guest Room Do-over – Part 1

 

Our guest room has been either a mess or mostly empty ever since we moved into this house.  At first it was used as a dumping place for things I didn’t know what to do with, or wasn’t using at the moment. 

When my in-laws came to visit and stay here a few days, we did a massive clean up and got it presentable, but the accommodations were very sparse.  (My brother and sister-in-law also spent a couple nights in here when their 5th wheel was being worked on.)

I used the room for sorting stuff between visits and then would have to clean it up whenever my in-laws came, at least to the point where we could set up an air mattress.  We set up a double layer, queen-size air mattress when we had overnight guests. 

It worked out OK for a few years and my in-laws were fine with it for awhile.  But then, last winter when they were here the wrong mattress was set up and they didn’t sleep well at all.  They said maybe they would stay at a motel the next time they came. 

I felt really bad, and so it occurred to me that it might be a good time to really fix the room up and get a real bed!  I wanted them to know they are welcome in our home and that we want them to come and visit, especially since I have been unable to travel to their home for a few years now.  My husband was onboard, and we could afford to do it at this point, so we began to make plans.

My Inspiration

A new housing development is going in “up the road a piece” from us.  They are building large, fancy houses, and when my in-laws were here to visit last January my mother-in-law wanted to stop in and look at the model homes that are open to the public.  It was a fun little sidetrack “just because we could”. :-)  These houses were definitely out of our league!  I would feel very uncomfortable living in anything so grand.  But, in one of the houses I saw a room that I REALLY LIKED.

I loved this pale blue color because it felt so airy and light.  It made me feel like I was up in a high open space.  If fresh air had a color, this would be it, especially near a fresh water lake. :-)

(By the way, this was a secondary bedroom, not the master suite in this luxury home!  Also, although this room was my inspiration, anyone who has spent much time on this blog or The Home Maker’s Corner should know that my style is not exactly “chic”.  :-)  My husband says my style is “eclectic cottage”.)

I got to wondering if I’d like this color in my own bedroom “if we build our own house someday”.  But, blue can be depressing to me, so I wasn’t sure.  When I started thinking about re-doing the guest room, it occurred to me that we could paint it this color so that I could see how it looked in a more “normal” house and decide if I liked it.  After getting some paint chips at a couple stores we headed over one day to see if we could match it, and we did.  It turned out to be a pale shade of aqua.

We bought our paint and primer and some odds and ends for the job and were planning to start on it “soon”.  Then my in-laws let us know they were planning to come for my husband’s birthday in June.  I don’t remember exactly when they told us this, but it seemed doable to me at the time, so we decided to try to get it done before they came.

I’d already decided to try to “shop our own stuff” on this project as much as I could, and had been making a mental inventory of things I could use in the room.  My sister-in-law offered a queen size bed frame she had, and my dad let me have some of his 1950s collection that he was planning to get rid of.  So, it wasn’t like we were starting with just paint.

This is what our guest room looked like when we started.  I may have removed a few things already before I took these.  I can’t remember now.

It was a real hodgepodge of stuff, but not nearly as bad as those first pictures at the top which were taken around 2009 or ‘10.  It definitely needed a lot of help, though!

--------------------------

Due to the size of this project, I’m breaking it up into parts.  Stay tuned for more installments! :-)

Part 2 – In the Process

Sew Happy Friday – Tea Cup Coasters Tutorial Link

 

Coasters are a good item to have in areas where you entertain guests as well as for regular use by your own household.  They can save your furniture from water spots, or just keep that little mess off of surfaces that are not damageable.  This saves you a little bit of work, especially with coaster that can be tossed into the wash when they need to be cleaned.

These tea cup coasters are so pretty and they look like they are easy to make.  Here is the tutorial from Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose:

Tea Cup Coasters

 
These would be quite versatile.  You can make them “your own” by using fabric and trims that fit your décor and style.  Wouldn’t they be cute in red with white polka dots and a bit of white rick-rack?  I leave you to your imagination. :-)

Note: If you drink a lot of tea in your house, you may want to use a dark color that will camouflage tea stains.  Tea can be hard to get out of fabric.  In fact, tea can be used as a fabric dye.

Monthly Challenge – February

 

Illustration property of Holly Hobbie.
There are few things that will add sunshine to any day like receiving an
unexpected package from a friend or family member.

Hebrews 13:16  But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Well, it’s time for our second monthly challenge of the year! :-)  Hope you all enjoyed the first one.  Please go back and read the introduction if you don’t know what is going on. :-)

---------------------------------------

Challenge 2

Make a special treat for family or friends.

AND/OR

Send a small care package to someone who needs cheering up.

----------------------------------------

You can make these as simple or complicated as you like, but simpler things are more likely to get done.  Just sayin’…as much for myself as anyone! 

The special treat could be as simple as cinnamon toast and hot cocoa or it could be as complicated as a decorated cake.  You could even skip the making part and buy a watermelon. :-)  (Please invite me in that case.)  You could invite the friends over to share the treat with you/your family, or you could deliver something to their house.  You could even combine the two and make a treat to mail to someone. ;-)  [The Lord worked it out that I had the opportunity to make a treat for both family and friends yesterday.]

The care package can be something special or it could be something very simple.  It could be something very useful, or it could be something that is just for fun or “luxury” (like a chocolate bar if the weather where you are is cool).  But, please do send it to someone who needs cheering up, or…as the case may be, someone that the Lord lays on your heart.

My dad and youngest brother making ice cream while my mom supervised. :-)  This was taken approximately ten years ago.

A Couple Articles On Things that Make House Cleaning Difficult

 

An old picture of me from when we were first moving into our house here.

I guess we all have housekeeping jobs that we dislike and reasons or excuses that we use to avoid doing certain things when we should – or ever.  Patty Gardner at Homemakers Daily posted a couple of useful articles on this subject. [As usual, probably disclaimer on some content of this site.  I’ve actually read very little of it.]

Patty wrote a two part article:

10 Things That Make House Cleaning Difficult, Part 1

10 Things That Make House Cleaning Difficult, Part 2

Some of her observations are so accurate, and some of her suggestions are really helpful.  But, as she seems to make clear, to really overcome the difficulties you’ll have to work out a plan that will help you according to your particular needs.

There are few things I want to emphasize or point out. 

First off, she stresses that if you’re dealing with health issues and that’s a hindrance to your cleaning, not to overdo things when you are able to work.  This is so important.  I have learned this the hard way to my sorrow.  When we feel better and we start overdoing things we’re very apt to cause a new flare up or such.

Secondly, more than once in certain situations she recommends lowering your expectations.  This is something that my mom taught me by example, but I still struggle with it in some areas.  I also know there are some people who really let their expectations rule them.  Be realistic about your situation and decide what is really important and what people will really notice.  I know one person who regularly goes “crazy” when company is coming and will clean things that no one is going to see – and if someone does see them they should probably be rebuked for putting their nose into some place that wasn’t any of their business.  You really don’t need to clean the shower of the master bath when company is coming for dinner.  Close the curtain or hang a towel over the door if there’s a remote chance someone might need to use that bathroom.  If your lady friends are coming for exercise and Bible study and there’s a load a laundry that needs to be folded in the living room carry it somewhere that they won’t be.  It is not necessary to fold it and put it away if you’re already struggling to get things done.  Also, people aren’t likely to look behind your dressers or in your laundry room on casual visits.  (I know some of my readers may wonder at this kind of advice, but I’ve seen some pretty ridiculous behavior – when company was only coming for the afternoon and dinner.  Sorry to say, I’ve done some silly things myself in this line!)

In point No. 7 she recommends if you have kids making them help you with chores, and working together rather than at different times.  This is good advice.  However, one thing she seems to indicate is that certain ones in her household did certain jobs all the time, or their preferred jobs.  I strongly recommend mixing things up and making everyone take a turn at all chores suitable to their age – and, yes, that means the boys too.  Sadly, there are some homes where the boys get away with not learning to do certain chores because it’s “girls’ work”.  One day they may be very sorry or hindered by that, mothers, so don’t deprive them of the full education they may need to run a household if they remain single or “wife” is sick in bed or, even worse, dies.  There are also some homes where certain jobs are considered “men’s work” and so the girls never learn to do them.  This is just as unhelpful for the same reasons.  By having everyone learn all jobs they can cover for each other, and there won’t be holes in your house work when someone is away or leaves home. 

My mom and I experienced this because for some years my brothers were always the ones to clear the dinner table and wipe it after meals and we girls cleaned up the kitchen.  Mom and I both have struggled with remembering to wipe the table because of that.  For me it’s partly an irritation thing because for so long someone else did that and I only had to do it when he annoyingly forgot.  You get the picture.  This is why I recommend sharing the chores around.  Plus, if you share them around the least assertive person won’t get stuck with the most tiresome or tedious chores all of the time that no one else wants to do.  If you had a few siblings or have a few kids you know what I mean.

Who Would You Invite for Dinner?

 

(For some reason I like the blurriness of this photo.  It gives it a foggy look from the past. :-)  My mom is on the left and Gramma is in the middle.)

 

My friend Jo at Stop…Have A Chat posted this interesting challenge recently and I thought I’d join the fun by making my own list. :-)

----------

You are planning a  dinner party and you are allowed to invite six people that most fascinate you, they need to be famous.

Who are you going to invite?

You need to have a combination of those who are alive today and those who have died?  Please note that you are not allowed to invite people from Biblical times just to make it a little more tricky.

---------- 

Some of my choices are not “famous” by the world’s standards, but I consider them to be so.

1. Isobel Kuhn (1901-1957) – missionary to China and author of a number of books. 
2. Annie Johnson Flint (1866-1932) – a prolific Christian poet.
3. Nate Saint (1923-1956) – the missionary pilot who flew for the Auca endeavor. He is the subject of the book Jungle Pilot.
4. Jane Austen (1775-1817) – author of Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion, two books I especially like.  Also, I think it’s likely that she was a Christian.
5. Amy Gibson (19??-) – one of my favorite quilting personalities.  I think she would probably enjoy this group.
6. The Lord Jesus (eternity-eternity) – although Bible times people are excluded I’m going to add Him because He is alive today! :-)

----------------

Would you like to make a list of six people you’d invite for dinner?  Leave a comment or post it on your own blog.  Please give Jo a link back if you blog about it. :-)

Memories of Meals – Some Great Pizza

We have some friends who have us over occasionally, sometimes inviting all six of us at once (my parents, my brother and sister-in-law, and us).  You gotta love folks who are hospitable enough to invite over 6 adults for dinner. :-)  It’s not as common among Christians as it once was, in my experience.  We usually do take something to help with the meal, but that’s fine with us! :-)

Earlier this year when they had all of us over they made some fabulous pizzas!  Wow.  I still get hungry thinking about them.

They started with their homemade pizza dough and all these great ingredients.  They raised the dough properly…

…then they piled on all this good stuff!  I see fresh spinach, fresh mushroom, ham (or Canadian bacon?), ground beef (pre-cooked) and the sauce.

This is the second pizza with one end without cheese since one of their family can’t eat dairy much.

 

The finished product!  Was it ever delicious!

All those yummy veggies and meat and cheese.  Well, it was a feast, and more like a cross between a casserole and a pizza! :-)  (Now I’m all hungry!)

Thanks, M. family, for such a great food memory, and for your hospitality! :-)