My Stewardship Article

I'm on the stewardship committee at church, and I was asked to write an article for our newsletter. I picked December. It sounded easier than it was. I think the end result was kind of fun, so I thought I would post it here.

I have to be honest, when I volunteered to write a stewardship article for the newsletter, I chose December because I thought it would be easy. All that Christmas love and giving, there had to be a message in all of that. I had a few months ot think about it before I actually had to put pen to paper (okay-- fingers to keyboard.) I love Christmas. This was going to be a snap.

I did put a lot of thought into what I wanted to say. I knew if I wanted it to be brilliant, I'd have to get a ghostwriter, so I would have to settle for "fun and festive" Sami style. It needed pizzaz and a sprinkling of humor. I knew how to write it, I just had no idea what to write about.

Stewardship in December should be a no-brainer (which is probably why I was having trouble with it!!) Everyone gives more of their time, talent, and treasure at this most blessed time of year. It seemed silly to me to talk about giving, when it seems like that's all we're doing right now. I prayed that God could show me how to give even more of myself and inspire other to do the same. I've got five kids, stacks of laundry, loads of dishes, floors to sweep, bills to pay, gifts to buy, cards to send (whoops, I need to write them first!) decorations to put up, choir practice, Christmas parties, Christmas concerts, goodies to bake, carols to sing, egg nog to drink, and those are just the highlights. To say my plate is full is an understatement. My plate is the size of Alaska and I need sideboards (yes, I've already used that in another blog entry, but the people at church don't know that, shhhh!) And you want me to add stewardship on top of all of that? This was going to be harder than I thought. I figured I needed another piece of chocolate and some caffine to figure out what I really wanted to say.

So I grabbed a piece of sponge toffee, a Dr. Pepper, and my Christmas CDs. The 3 c's, calories, caffine, and carols, a triple threat when I'm trying to be inspired. I put New Song into my CD player. Their song "The Christmas Shoes" always makes me cry. My daughter and I were doing dishes and takling about the music. I had mentioned that I liked the next song, so she turned it up. It's a beautiful song about an old woman who lost her husband. No one visits or calls any more. The little boy from down the street knocks on her door. He had picked some flowers for her, and asks if he can sit and talk for a while. I had played this song a hundred times, but this time I really listened to the bridge and chours:

"It only takes a little time
To show someone you really care.
It only takes a little time
To answer somones's biggest prayer."

"Light your world.
Let the love of God shine through
In the little things you do.
Light your world.
And though your light may be
Reaching only two or three
Light your world."

Thank you God. You lead me where I needed to go. The three c's worked. Okay, the carols worked. The calories and caffine were just a bonus. I don't need to give big things. I just need to give in a big way. I can light my world. Even one candle can light up the darkest corner. We all posess that special gift. Light your world and pass it on.

I said a prayer of thanks to the One who lights our world, did a happy dance, which of course made my daughter cringe and thank God that her friends were not here to see this, and I listened to the song again. Stewardship is giving that "spark" of hope and love to someone else. It's not always what we give, but how we give it. Give with an open heart and it will always be an answer to a prayer. I smiled and finished up the dishes. One less thing I had to do. Now I had time to light a candle or two.