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The Budgeting/Happiness Connection
Budgeting may not only improve one’s financial condition but also one’s happiness. Good budgeting is also connected to smarter spending. Check out this article and see how you can adjust your spending habits to yield more satisfaction with life. (Photo: taxcredits.net, Creative Commons)
Disposing of Waste Responsibly
4.4 pounds of trash per day? Yes, that’s the amount an average person throws away. In addition to reducing that amount, disposing responsibly matters. Here are some suggestions. (Photo: Grant Hutchins, Creative Commons)
Reconnecting to the Natural World
Richard Louv coined the term “nature deficit disorder” to explain the effects of being disconnected from the natural world. In his new book, Vitamin N, he offer 500 actions people can take to improve their quality of life and their communities. How can our congregations encourage more connection with creation? It’s good stewardship of creation […]
The Freedom in Saying “No”
Next time you’re tempted to make a purchase, consider the freedom you night gain by saying “no” instead of “yes” to consumption. Joshua Becker explains how part of good stewardship lies in learning to assess the difference in these two simple words. Â (Photo: sboneham, Creative Commons)
Strangers and Foreigners
Lectionary Reflection for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, Year C, August 7, 2016
Everything in this world is transitory, a part of a larger whole, a dot on the map of eternity, but happy are those who put their faith in God, who are ready to pack their tents and journey on to the final destination God prepares. (Photo: Ben Christenson, Creative Commons)
Vanity, Thy Name is Mortal
Lectionary Reflection for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year C, July 31, 2016
Let’s challenge one another to take up a countercultural course of action and drop the vanity that costs us so much and yields so very little. Let us seek our wealth in faith, in relationship, and in service to God and one another. In doing so, we will indeed have enough—and then some. (Photo: daily sunny, Creative Commons)
Steward Your “Self” this Summer
Too often vacations are a source of stress when they should be good stewardship of our bodies and spirits. Dr. Christine Carter offers three simple steps to taking a real vacation that will renew and refresh. (Photo: 19melissa68, Creative Commons)
Stewardship as a Lifestyle
This brilliant and insightful workshop by former ELCA Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson helps bring church members into a fuller understanding of holistic stewardship. “Stewardship is like a magnet passing over the jumbled pins and needles of our life, organizing them into a meaningful pattern. Stewardship is the Christian lifestyle.” (Photo: Mimi_K, Creative Commons)
Creation Care Curriculum: Every Creature Singing
This spring while scheduling your Earth Day observance, plan to educate your church on how our decisions impact the one and only planet that God gave us to live on — and how we can care for creation! “Every Creature Singing” gives you a detailed 13-session lesson plan, as well as a teacher’s guide. Each lesson has Scripture, readings, discussion questions that focus on your neighborhood, and other resources. (Photo: George Fox Evangelical Seminary, Creative Commons)
The Liturgy of Abundance, the Myth of Scarcity
One of Christian theology’s most prophetic voices offers a challenging biblical analysis of the role of money in our culture. Wealth in America, Brueggemann says, acts as a narcotic, numbing us. “The great contradiction is that we have more and more money and less and less generosity — less and less public money for the needy, less charity for the neighbor.” (Photo: Prisoner 5413, Creative Commons)