How great is the title of this chapter?! I am excited to read it because I know that I sometimes ask God for more instead of seeing everything that he has put in front of me. I also think I can apply this to relationships with other people. Sometimes, we demand alot out of the people that are the closest to us. I pray that God speaks to each of us through this chapter in our book, that He helps us be thankful for our portion, and that we are able to grow and better live our lives as women of God.
I hope everyone is having a great week!
XOXO
Libby
I'm excited for this chapter already. Still finishing # five though :)
ReplyDelete1 Chronicles 29:11-14 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name."But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?"
ReplyDeleteI got that scripture reference from the back of the book in the discussion questions... if you haven't been filling them out you might want to consider looking at them for this Chapter. I was really glad I did them:)
I think everyone will get some from this Chapter because our world is all about materialism. Having the newest clothes, the trendiest purse, jeans that cost $100, the cutest pair of shoes... and so on. Sometimes, girls especially, get caught up in having the best things... but is that what really matters? I loved Linda's points on what our standards should be: everything we have belongs to God, heart attitude is the issue, God comes first, possessions come second, possessions are to be used, not loved.
I will pray this week that God will motivate all of us to be content with what we have and what God continues to give us!
I liked Linda's comment that possessions are to be used not loved too. I think if we really think about this statement and try to live it out, it could change our lives! It feels weird to do, but I try to think of things like how can I "use" my car for God, or how can I "use" my clothes for God? Well, I offered a ride to two girls because they don't have cars. So I guess I used my car for God. And I got some nice used clothes from some of the professors at Edinboro. I can use these clothes to teach other young girls in the schools where I am at that it doesn't take alot of money to take pride in your appearance and to be resourceful.
DeleteMaybe I am reaching too far with this, but it is kind of fun ask God how you can use "things" to better his kingdom. :)
When I was living in Southern California I took a class at church on modern day slavery and poverty. It was eye opening. I remember one night a speaker posed a question, "why is it that God has blessed the Western world with great wealth compared to the rest of the world"? This is a question that I have pondered often and that economists study everyday. The speakers point came down to, God has so greatly blessed us so that we are able to share our abundance with those who are in need.
ReplyDeleteI feel that this idea is summed up in a great way in 1 Timothy 6:17-19(NLT), "Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and GENEROUS TO THOSE IN NEED, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.
I pray that God would daily give me a servant heart and show me ways that I can bless others with what he has given to me.
Jenna,
DeleteI think trusting in money instead of trusting in God is so easy to do, and I think the majority of people in the US trust in money instead of God. It is funny, because God warns us about this over and over. We can't serve two masters. We will either be a servant to God or a servant to money.
Sometimes I try to imagine what treasure in heaven will look like. My little human brain can't even imagine it, but it must be beautiful! I also pray that I can be a better servant to God :)
I haven't actually finished the chapter yet, but I have a little bit to add for now.
ReplyDeleteDave and I were talking about generosity and giving to those in need last week. We have noticed that we always tend to say that, when we have enough money and time to give, then we will. Right now it's the excuse of being poor grad students who have no time or money on their hands. But then he brought up the story (I think in Luke?) about the widow who gives just a few cents to the poor and Jesus praises her over the pharisees who put in lots of money, because to her she was making a sacrifice for the benefit of others, while the pharisees were giving out of their excess.
Basically, we will always have an excuse. When I graduate then I will make the excuse of adjusting to a new job and place to live. In the future I might make an excuse for having no time because I am taking care of my kids or no money because I am saving for their college education. I might have to finance a house or lose my job. But I always have the option to be generous to those in need like that poor woman who gave just a few pennies. It's not about giving when it's convenient, but giving as a sacrifice to help those who need it most. It was a very convicting conversation that we had, and it goes along with this chapter pretty well :-)
First of all, I'm still trying to get over the fact that you are dating David, the boy I used to play with when we were little kids. I'm happy for you two!!
DeleteI love your thought process. We can make excuses all through our life about many things but the perfect time to start is now. Great input!
Hehe, it is a crazy coincidence. And if you have any more embarrassing stories of him, let me know :-)
DeleteI definitely agree with Molly. I have been having that as an issue for pretty much my entire life. I mean, I still don't have a full-time job and a "disposable income" of any sort. And I am constantly concerned about funds and how I'm going to afford this and that, but I don't put God at the center of that and think about how blessed I am to have somewhere to live without cost and so on and so forth. And I need to remember that even though I may not feel like I have much I still have a lot that I can give: Monetarily and through actions.
ReplyDeleteI also really connected to the part where she talked about the idea of getting rid of things and having so much stuff. I was usually the type to keep everything. I moved home and just had all of this stuff everywhere that I really didn't use. It was my lifestyle because I was just used to having 'things'. But I have recently gotten on this kick of getting rid of the clutter around me and it is honestly incredibly freeing. I feel good that I can give it to places like Goodwill where others can benefit from it and it shows me that I don't need to buy all of these extra useless things that always seemed so precious. I'm afraid my parents don't appreciate my habits as much seeing as how I constantly pester them about all of the useless junk we have around our house that their pack-rat selves refuse to get rid of. But I think it has definitely helped me realize that material goods are not nearly as important as I once valued them and hopefully it'll help me turn my concentration onto not buying those things and giving back for God instead.
I found this chapter so insightful! Many of these things I already knew before reading it, but Linda has such a great way of putting materialism and greed into perspective. How stunned was everyone that "Christians give $7 billion a year to churches and Christian organizations. That sounds like a gigantic amount until you realize that Americans spend the same amount yearly on chewing gum" (101). WOW! This is a startling statistic. I'm not sure if this means that Americans value the church as much as gum...but it sure seems that way.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I realy liked from this chapter is that Linda kept refering back to the fact that everything is God's and He graciously gives it to us. Our money is really God's, our car, our clothes, our house, everything belongs to God. I love the picture of Linda lifting up her house to God and saying thank you daily to Him for His wonderful gift. I want to be more like this :)
I think I do a pretty good job of not taking material objects for granted. On page 97, Linda talks about how she gives away her clothes if she doesn't wear them for one year. I too practice this! It is relieving to get rid of clutter.
I talked with Keith about this chapter and shared some of the passages with him. We both wonder what God says about being in debt. I don't mean debt from overspending on credit cards, but debt from going to school or buying a house. Is it okay to "live beyond your means" in a sense in order to go to school or buy a house? What do you girls think? I feel as though that if your motives are pure and you have good intentions in your heart, then it is not wrong to go into debt because of these things.
I pray that God helps each of us to realize the many blessings we have and to help us give back, even when it hurts.