Update #148 - Stewardship

"'You have done well, good and trustworthy servant,' replied his master; 'you have been trustworthy in the management of a little, I will put you in charge of much: share your master's joy.'" Matthew 25:21

Monterey, CA

Stewardship is one of those “Christian-ese” terms getting a lot of use but not a lot of explanation. It is touted in the Bible as a good thing, something to have, something to do, something to develop… but not much is said on the “how.”

The word is only used 4 times in the MKJV of the Bible – mostly in Luke. The Greek root is “oikonomia” – meaning “administration (of a household or estate).” Most of us, over the age of 18 are stewarding something - it may not be a household or estate - but it could be an education, a car, a birthright, a calling.

Stewardship has rewards (as portrayed in the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25). Three guys, three differing amounts of money; two invest and double the initial deposit, the third, well, he isn’t so savvy and buries it in the ground. The king calls for an account and rewards the first two “stewards” and punishes the third. In fact, the one who showed the greatest increase while the king was away reaped the third guy’s buried talent on top of what he already garnered. All was credited to him even though he didn’t earn it!

This leads me to believe good stewardship leads to favor. Steward well what you have been given, make it multiply and grow (where you can), and more will be added to you -without your trying.

What if you aren’t experiencing favor in your life, what if it feels you have to fight, snarl, quarrel, pinch and poke for every little tidbit you acquire?

I did a bit of Bible research and found there are, I’ll call them: “Barriers to Favor.” Favor stops, comes to an end, discontinues, halts, is impeded, prevented, hindered, obstructed, barred and banned when:

• You unjustly oppress others in word or deed (Psalm 103:6, 146:7).

• You call guilty innocent and innocent guilty (Proverbs 18:5).

• You are prideful and don’t give credit where credit is due (Proverbs 3:34, I Peter 5:5).

• You willingly seek out evil and its counterparts (Proverbs 11:27, 18:5).

• You live unrighteously (i.e. not holy in heart, and non-observant of divine commands) (Proverbs 14:9).

• You cause shame to be put onto another (Proverbs 14:35).

• You shun a rebuke or constructive criticism (Proverbs 28:23).

Poor stewardship could also be added to the list.

What have you been asked to steward? What is in your life? Do you have a spouse? Children? A home? Pets? Relatives? A business? Clientele?

What have you been placed “in charge of?” Grocery shopping? Mail getting? Trash disposal? Dishwasher emptying? Meeting set-up? The company website? Marketing? Do you run a small group / cell group / home meeting?

Ask yourself “How am I stewarding what I have been given?” Are you stewarding the people, things, items, activities, areas in your life well? With excellence? Or with nonchalance? Are you attentive to needs and respect what you have or are you haphazard and neglectful – yet pining and yearning for more?

Where do you need to see God’s favor? Where do you need to see a “God bonus” in your life? God will give more to those who show they are trustworthy – are you that person?

Updates:

Work – We commissioned our trainees last Wednesday – it was awesome to hear all the stories of how God has changed, altered, and transformed their lives in the last 10 weeks. It looks like the May Nigeria trip isn’t happening, but a possible domestic trip is showing possible - this spring is turning out to be one of rest from international travel for me, a bitter-sweet situation, but the time at home is welcome!

Life – I am in Huntington Beach, CA spending Easter with my co-worker Kim. She lives a little over a block from the beach so I hope to spend a lot of time walking along the shores of Southern California while I am here!

Requests:

Work –A team of 18 is readying itself for Chennai, India. Please pray for our Indian host team who is busy prepping for the venture, recruiting clients, and finishing up their own training cycle as well.

Life – for more rest and continued rejuvenation, relaxation and FUN!

Update #147 - Liquid

“…O put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your Book?” Psalm 56:8

Gamble Gardens, Palo Alto, CA

The hallway was mostly glass with floor to ceiling windows on one side and a white wall on the other – a diffuse light subtly drifted down from behind golden hued crown molding. A rich red and gold carpet ran its length. The windows were lined with maple constructed shelves narrow in depth; delicate in appearance. The shelves were full of bottles – hundreds and hundreds of clear, thickly crafted containers filled at varying levels with a transparent liquid. The fluid wasn’t water – it was of light syrup consistency.

The wider bigger bottles were at the bottom (two per shelf) whereas the smaller more petite ones were near the ceiling (four to six per shelf). The shelves stacked about a quarter inch above the tallest bottle in each row – no wasted or empty space. Each shelf had small black brackets with a white handwritten name card under each bottle… K. Miller, D. Smith, C. Baker, R. Brown, E. Chan, W. San.

I watched a bottle labeled P. Johns mysteriously top off and then, both bottle and name card, disappeared from view. Another container the same size and shape took its place almost immediately… Q. Choi. I slowly strolled down the long hallway and realized the “swapping” was occurring all over the place - and that P. Johns hadn’t disappeared, but was given a bigger bottle further down the hall.

I stood transfixed by the comings and goings of the bottles. Each filling, disappearing and being replaced by another. Over and over this happened – E. Janus became P. Mills, R. Standton became something in Arabic I couldn’t read. Eventually I noticed the light on the other side of the bottles changing. Pre-dawn fingers of color danced along the horizon; rose and gold light saturated the room.

When the sun finally reached the horizon and sent its strength over the landscape a wondrous event transpired. The passageway transformed from elegant and refined to color and chaos.

Momentary light blindness quickly passed and I, awestruck, viewed the effect of the brilliant new dawn light blending with and refracting through the bottles. They glowed; the liquid shimmered, and reacted to the rays by producing shafts of color in every direction. Mini-rainbows exploded from the bottles and bounced – no - jumped off every surface. The previously white wall was painted and showcased in a moving symphony of color. I was filled with so much happiness, I clapped my hands, twirled and danced about…the joy in the room was palpable. I laughed out loud, tilted my head back and tried to “drink” in all the leaping rainbows hoping they would coat my insides with the joy I felt.

Coated in color with rainbows dancing off of my face I wondered in whispered tones of awe, “What is this place?” I felt slightly tipsy but fully sober, peace filled but joyous all at the same time.

I had wandered, twirled or danced almost the full length of the passage and noted a small plaque by the exit “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Psalm 126:5).

The liquid in the bottles are collected tears? M. Sandquist has shed a ton of them, as has R. Putney and L. Green. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Is this what God is does with my tears? Is he repurposing them into multicolored, multifaceted points of joy? I knew he kept track of tears (Ps. 56:8) but I didn’t ever stop to consider he would repurpose them into joy.

The picture, vision or dream – whatever you want to call it - has given me new perspective on crying. Let the tears flow, let them come, let them drench my shirtfront… God is collecting them all and turning them into joy I will experience at some point. That is what he promised!

Where are you overcome by sorrow? Where are you overcome by pain? Where can you use more joy in your life? Where aren’t the tears flowing that need to come – what is keeping you from crying? Will you let God count them, repurpose them and bring you joy?

Updates:

Work – TBW was a huge success- the testimonies and stories of God’s goodness are still surfacing and being told.

Life – I just returned from my co-workers Jodene wedding in Mesa, AZ – a wonderful God honoring event!

Requests:

Work – we are waiting to hear about a possible Nigeria trip in May – and I am still praying that another trip to Egypt will happen as well (please, please, please). A team is readying itself for Chennai, India in June.

Life – for rest, rejuvenation, and relaxation and FUN!