Join in on "The Blessed Life"

Jesus said "It's better to give than to receive." Many of us wish we could be more financially generous than we are, there are a couple reasons I believe we are not.

1. We are trapped by debt. We owe we owe so off to work we go. We are a society of impulse and selfish spending. There used to be a huge difference between what we need and what we want, today that gap is too close. Most Americans have more than they need. How many TV's, pairs of shoes, items of clothing, computers do you own?

2. There is too little room between what we make and what we owe. When emergencies/un-expected expenses happen most people living paycheck to paycheck have to use credit cards to pay for it. I have heard that around 70% of Americans live week to week.

3. We are selfish creatures when it all comes right down to it. A simple test is what you do when you get an un-expected bonus or refund. Most people think about what they can buy instead of how they can be generous toward others in need.

Generosity is NOT limited to money, we have talents and abilities, we have time and we have spiritual gifts that have been given supernaturally from God to be used to expand His Kingdom and bring glory to Him. I want to challenge you to come out on Wednesday nights during the month of February from 6:30-8:00 at Southbrook Church for our 4 week Blessed Life Study. If you are in a Life Group you will be going through this study with your group and we are providing a study/discussion guide for you to use. "The Blessed Life" written by Pastor Robert Morris is all about the blessing of being generous. It's NOT a prosperity gospel book or philosophy, it's about being radically and obediently generous, the life impacting kind.

Do you have a SIMPLE List?

Okay so I am no spring chicken, (whatever that saying means). I grew up with 4 channels on TV, no dishwasher and something like 4 choices at McDonalds. Smart phones and personal computers didn't exist yet and we said the Pledge of Allegiance (a pledge that says what matters) in elementary school everyday. We had a home phone only, and our dictionary and encyclopedia were in real book form and expensive.

Today we are barraged with non-stop information and choices. We receive continual texts and e-mails that we glance through to decide if we will keep reading on or save for later. All of this makes life complicated with warp speed choices facing us all of the time.

I was talking to my 80 year Mother yesterday (she just got out of the hospital), and so we talked about the fact that as we get older life should get more simple, and I think it does. The things that don't matter get ignored or become bothersome compared to the things that really matter. You have to decide what really matters. Do you know what really matters? I decided to take advantage of her recent hospital stay and talk about her own mortality. "Mom, what do you hope is said about you at your funeral?" We discussed what doesn't matter and what does. Under the "What Does" category it was her relationship with God and hearing Him say, "well done good and faithful servant"; her family/friends and how our family truly does love each other, and is there for each other no matter what. This helped her get over her life long regret about whether she was/is a good Mom or not because we all do love each other so well. It's about creating lasting memories. That was about it. What was in her "Does Not Matter" category? Bank accounts, possessions she will pass on, and what jobs or awards she may have achieved.

Here's my challenge to you. Decide what really matters and stick to it, leave as much of the other stuff aside as you can. Make your "What Really Matters List" and "What Doesn't" and do your best to live by it.