Stewardship

One of the wonderful things about the Word of God is the timeless relevance and application. [Re]read and reap! God bless you!

BlenCouragesU's avatarBCU

Hey Family,

A while back, the Lord blessed me with a thought about stewardship and what our responsibility is, so I thought I’d share a condensed version. Let’s start of with some background. So what is a steward?

In the Old Testament a steward is a man who is ‘over a house’ (Genesis 43:19; 44:4;).

Similarly, in the New Testament, a steward is a person who’s been entrusted to care or honor something. This could apply to Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard:

“So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first’ (Matthew 20:8).

Steward also means a manager. This would likely be more around the parables of the Talents and the Unjust Steward.

After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them…

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Think it not strange…

Hey Family,

Yes, yes, yes, I know it’s been a LONG time since I stopped by. Reasons: partially time management, brain exhaustion, wanting to veg and fiery trials. Lots of trials.

You know, as a child, young adult, saved older young adult :-), you have a certain “expectation” of how things will go in your life. While our awesome God does bless us to have our hearts desires according to His will, He also brings us trials that can throw you for a LOOP. Sickness, job changes, loss of loved ones, relational changes, financial challenges, taking care of loved ones—the list goes on. At some point,  we may experience one or more of these areas and cry out to God wondering why He has forsaken us.

I Peter 4:12-13 reminds us not to think it strange when the fiery trial comes to prove/test or try you, rather to rejoice in that we are partakers of Christ’s sufferings and when His glory is revealed, we will be glad and with EXCEEDING joy. Now, I will be FIRST to admit that when these “fires” come (and I have had many over the last few months), I do not exactly embrace them! In one instance, I distinctly recall crying, snotting, calling on the Lord, and telling anyone who would listen what I was going through—hopeful someone would have a way to “remove the bitter cup” from me. At one point, Jesus FINALLY got my attention and let me know I had to rely on HIM and that He anointed me for the task.  My job was to pour out my heart before Him and trust that He knew what He was doing. Additionally, The Lord let me know that trusting means not stressing internally either.

We sometimes hide our stress behind big smiles and praise the Lord, when inwardly our minds are going over the situation constantly and to a point where you can be consumed and in extreme cases, stress symptoms can manifest themselves physically.  Paul has an answer for that, though–whatever is true, just, honest, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy–those are the things we think or meditate on (Philippians 4:8).  Not one Scripture commands us to worry or stress, so obviously that comes from the enemy and needs immediate rebuking. It is not easy, but is a huge part of the trial process and the getting and maintaining your praise and the victory during your test.

My life lesson: God knows and sees all–yes, I know you know that, but think of it this way: because God knew us before we were born and has our lives in His control, He is aware of what is happening to us,  He does care and if the fire was not needful, He would not allow us to go through it. The proving or tests are a reminder to continue praising, praying, fasting and trusting God from day one of the trial till you pass. Just like any test or challenge we take in our natural lives, we know it may be difficult, but we endure to the end for the reward/satisfaction of accomplishment. Yes…it’s the same thing spiritually as well. You don’t have to take my word for it–take The Word of God! Ruth and Naomi are EXCELLENT examples of holding on in the difficult times and receiving a blessing in the end.

Trial are HARD!!!! NO one likes to suffer, myself included, but it is part of life and especially for those who walk with Christ. So while there is no way to avoid challenges, with the help and grace of our God, continue praying, standing on God’s word and wait it out till the end.

They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings as eagles

They shall run and not be weary

They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31).

Hold on, Family…whatever God is teaching or blessing you with… is worth the wait.

God bless you and thank you for reading!

BlenCouragesU

Think it not strange...
Think it not strange…

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Health alert– High Fructose Corn Syrup

Hey fam,

Awhile back there were a series of television commercials touting the benefits of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). You’ll find this ingredient in many pre-packaged foods, mainly (but not always) as a sugar substitute. The following infographic lays out key info so you can make an informed decision.

Let me know what you think and thanks for stopping by!

Blen

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It’s time to do better…

Hey family!

I was scrolling through my Instagram feed today and saw this quote from Christian comedian Broderick E. Rice: “Early birds get more than just the worm; they get everything the latecomers aren’t willing to sacrifice for.” He lowered the “BOOM”, y’all! 😳

As I pondered that, back in my 20’s, I might have chuckled and kept moving. Fast forward a couple of decades, and I totally agree with what he said. Occasional tardiness, or something that can’t be helped (church service starts at 7pm and you get off work at the same time, you got a flat tire, you were ministering at church, etc..) is one thing, it is the habitual lateness that is the quagmire for most of us. Not only is non-punctuality extremely discourteous, it is stressful (for the offender and the offended) and most of all, it shows lack of stewardship with the precious commodity that God entrusts us with. Many times, we just need to manage our time better.

In doing some quick research, I ran across a post about tardiness written by Brett and Kate McKay–a snippet of the high points are below. While the post was intended to help our male population be on time, I believe this information is just as important for the ladies–I know ALL the points resonated with me. After reading this, let’s ask The Lord to help us to manage the time He so graciously gives us!

God bless you and thanks for reading! I may do a follow-up to this post–I’m excited about implementing habitual timeliness! 😊

BCU

1) Being punctual shows your humility. That bumper sticker maxim: “Always late, but worth the wait” shows that tardiness and an overestimation of one’s worth sometimes go hand in hand. People will be glad to see you when you arrive, but they would have been gladder still had you come on time.

2) Being punctual shows your respect for others. Being late is a selfish act, for it puts your needs above another’s. You want an extra minute to do what you’d like, but in gaining that minute for yourself, you take a minute from another, which is why….

3) Being late is a form of stealing. That’s a tough truth, but it’s a truth nonetheless. When you make others wait for you, you rob minutes from them that they’ll never get back. Time they could have turned into money, or simply used for the things important to them. In coming to meet you at the agreed upon hour, they may have made sacrifices – woken up early, cut short their workout, told their kid they couldn’t read a story together – and your lateness negates those sacrifices. If you wouldn’t think of taking ten dollars from another man’s wallet, you shouldn’t think of stealing ten minutes from him either. Being punctual shows you value time yourself, and thus wouldn’t think of depriving others of this precious, but limited resource.

4) Being late strains your relationships. When you’re late in meeting other people, it makes them feel under-valued, that whatever you couldn’t pull yourself away from was more important or that they didn’t mean enough to you to warrant allotting sufficient time to arrive on schedule. The guest who flies in to see you feels like a dope standing at the airport alone, your date feels awkward sitting at the restaurant by herself, and your child feels abandoned as she waits with her teacher for you to arrive, all the other children having already been picked up from school.

5)Being punctual strengthens and reveals your integrity. If you tell someone that you will meet them at a certain time, you have essentially made them a promise. And if you say you’ll be there at 8:00, and yet arrive at 8:15, you have essentially broken that promise. Being on time shows others that you are a man [woman] of your word.

6) Being late takes a toll on your life. Always running behind simply hurts you in all areas of your life. It results in lost opportunities: missing a plane, missing a meeting, missing an important part of a lecture, missing a wedding. It creates stress and can lead to car accidents and traffic tickets. It results in embarrassment and forces you to come up with excuses for why you’re late, putting a strain on your honesty. Basically, it makes your life more complicated; for men [women] seeking to simplify their lives, cultivating punctuality is an essential part of that path.

Content from: http://www.artofmanliness.com

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Infographic: The Benefits of Drinking Water

Hey Family,

With the heat and humidity of summer in full swing, our thirst increases as we try to cool down. With the plethora of beverages to choose from, “high-quality H2O” should be your beverage of choice. Check out the cool visual on water and drink up!

Xoxo,

Blen


Benefits of Drinking Water - Free InfoGraphic
InfoGraphic authored by WaterCoolers Direct.com Ltd, selling Water Coolers,
Fountains and Filters in the UK. To view the original post, see the original
Benefits of Drinking Water InfoGraphic

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