The beginning of the blog...

I'm sitting at my desk finalizing the new Stewardship Foundational Course for The Free Methodist Church in Canada (scheduled to run for the first time this weekend) when I finally decide to start blogging. I've never been one to be consistent at journaling so I have hesitated at starting a blog. But I passionately want to spread the word about biblical stewardship so I've taken the plunge, praying that God will help me turn over a new leaf.

My goal here is to download some of my thoughts regarding stewardship and generosity, provide resources that I have found helpful in my journey in the hopes that they will inspire you to seek out what God is saying to you in this area.

Today I'm thinking a lot about celebrating generosity. We are so reluctant to tell our stories about how our lives have been affected either as the giver or the recipient of generosity. But when we hear stories of other people's generosity, we are often encouraged. The goal of celebrating generosity should be to encourage others to be generous. Let's examine our hearts to make sure that is our goal.

Scripture tells many stories of generosity - Abel's offering; the Israelite's gifts for the tabernacle (Exodus 35); the giving to build the temple (1 Chronicles 29); the widow's mite(Mark 12:41-44); the boy who gave his loaves and fish to feed the 5,000. All of these stories were recorded for a purpose - to teach us and to encourage us.

We need to revive the art of storytelling. With care and sensitivity, we can tell stories that celebrate God's provision and our obedience through generosity.