12/17/08

Welcome back to the informational corner to keep you up to date on all things relating to and concerning Stewardship.

As was discussed last month, the stewardship committee has come up with a 4-step challenge for all members of our church.  We will list all the steps, and then we will highlight one each month.  So here we go!

#1 – Count your blessings.

#2 – Pray.

#3 – Increase your time involved in church activities and/or projects.

#4 – Increase your financial giving.

Once again, before you start worrying about any particular challenge, please read each month’s challenge carefully, and prayerfully consider what is being asked.

Last month we counted our blessings.  I hope you REALLY thought about all the fantastic ways God has blessed each and every one of us.

 This month, let’s all pray.  For me personally, this is probably the hardest of all the challenges.  I am not one for praying every day at a certain time.  I pray in the car, during brief moments at work, but it is a “catch as catch can”, not a planned and organized idea.  While I think this type of prayer is fine, I also think most of us need to put more effort into our praying.  Pastor has given us a great tool to organize our church related praying by making the prayer list a separate sheet of paper, so we can pull it out of the bulletin and keep it with us.  Now I am going to have to admit, I do not look at this EVERY day, but I am trying, and I am doing it at least two to three times a week. 

Just like all our challenges, I do not expect us to overnight go from 0 to 60.  As we think about this process, we grow, we take baby steps, we fall down, but hopefully we get back up, and we strive to do better tomorrow.  We are all sinners, and we all fall short of God’s great glory, but that doesn’t stop us from trying.  (I can’t play basketball like Mike, but I keep playing anyway.) 

Here is a “prayer plan” to try.  Today, wake up and look at your list of your blessings (I hope you kept it).  Take 2 minutes and praise God for all these fantastic things He has given us.  At lunch, instead of saying the common table prayer, take an extra minute, and pray for all those who are sick, and in need of God’s continued care.  Before you leave for work, look at the prayer list, and spend a minute or two praying for those with birthdays and serving in the military.  Now when you go to bed, pray for the things you want in life.  Do you want a closer relationship with a spouse, parent, child or anyone?  Do you want to lose some weight?  Do you want your presentation for work to go well?  There are plenty of things we want to happen in our lives, and I think each and every one of these is great chance for us to speak to God, and ask for his help.  Just like a child asking a parent for something, we may not always get the answer we want, and maybe not in the time we want it, but what does it hurt to ask?

Now for some people this plan may not be up to the amount of praying they already do on a regular basis, but for some of us, this will be a good increase.  They say it takes 21 days to create a new habit, so keep it up.  Ask someone near and dear to you to help you.  (Prayer partner, perhaps?)

Now, the next time you say the Lord’s Prayer, think (I mean REALLY think) about what you are saying, and what it means to you. 

I need to wrap this message up, so spend some time, come up with a “prayer plan” that suits you, and see what can happen over the next month.  Once again, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the results.  See you all next month.

Previous Month's "Stewardship Corner"

             Count Your Blessings August 2007