#stewarship

From the harvest we reap

Let us not gather all its wealth

But let us leave the blessing

That raises the poor to royal power.

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Someone asked me why I am blogging? Specially since my topic is stewardship. It's tethering between the interesting and controversial. As usual, my answer was why not? I actually asked myself if I have enough knowledge on the topic even before I started doing it. Will I make a difference if I laundered my dirty linen online? Will anyone actually read me? I am not sure. I don't know. For whatever it's worth I am following the call of my heart. I am using my brain to push my passion forward. I am casting straws in the wind.

Go to the “Connect” menu at www.ebcupstate.com and click “Give Online”.

If you would like your contributions tracked for tax reporting purposes, you must create an online profile and make your contributions through that profile (not as a “guest”).

By using a profile, you will only be required to enter your account information (i.e., checking account, savings account, debit card number) during your initial online contribution. After your first online contribution, this information will be saved to your profile.

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Mobile giving is available!

Sunday's talk addressed stewardship and giving from 2 Corinthians 8-9. 

As we consider what and how to give, C. S. Lewis offers some advice from Mere Christianity. 

I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.

Dear Reader,

I must tell you a story about a miracle, well actually, many miracles that I have been blessed enough to witness.

So technically, I have been praying, hoping, and wishing to go on the Around the World Semester since I heard about it in 2010. I was 14 and I saw the pictures on my mom’s facebook page (I was still too young to have one). We followed the crew around the world and back again. My family also followed the next group of students for the second trip in 2012. I didn’t know at the time that I would become friends or coworkers with people from both trips. Even in 2012 as a junior in high school, I didn’t even know what I wanted to major in, but I did know that I wanted to travel the world.

Then this year happened; I got accepted to CUI, I applied for ATW III and I got in too. It wasn’t easy, I had to switch majors and get two jobs and run around from office to office meeting people, sharing my story, and getting signatures. Just as Dr. Norton said, I had to fight for this trip. I knew getting into this whole thing that it was going to be crazy and I would have to walk by faith every step of the way.

Reader, I had one prayer at the beginning of the semester. It went something like this, “God, give me faith to trust you even when the waves are so high I fear they might overtake me. Prepare my heart, do whatever you have to do to make me ready to go on this trip. God, I know I don’t have the money sitting in the bank, and I cannot go up to the staff and tell them I got it all under control, but I will be a good steward with what what you have given me. Help me manage my time, energy, and grades. God, If this trip is your will, then let me say YES with every part of my life, and I know you’ve got the finances taken care of.”

With that I went through the interview and told the ATW people that God had the finances taken care of...then this week happened. I got an email on Wednesday reminding me that I needed to make the deposit for the trip and I started to freak out. Humanly speaking, I shouldn’t be able to be telling you this story, because I am still a broke college student with just enough money in the bank for a cup of coffee or a pack of gum. But God knows what He is doing, and He was working in my heart. He was answering my prayer. He was preparing me. He was asking me to trust him. I asked for faith and he was giving me a situation that demanded complete dependence on HIM. Everything I had fought for was on the line. Reader, GOD CAME THROUGH!

I will continue this story in another post, because I’ve run out of time and need to finish studying for Finals, but I will leave you with a song that takes the words right out of my mouth. It’s one of my very favorite songs by the band Hillsong, it’s called Desert Song. Know that no matter what, God is with you, refining you, molding you to be more and more like Christ. Trust God, he knows what He’s doing, I promise you.

Until next time,