The Pruning: Stewardosity...

We have been packing and packing and then more packing.  With every box, we say, Surely, we're almost done!  And then we're not.

Me:  Why do we have so much STUFF?

Chris:  That's the American dream, babe.  Stuff.  

Me:  Then we WIN at stuff.

In God's magnificent wisdom, He perfectly planned a sermon series called, "Stewardosity."  

Not a real word.

Yes, we're aware.

Living within your means because IT'S NOT YOURS ANYWAY.  

This is sorta new territory for our church.  We've been hitting grace, identity and gratitude for three years.  Now, we're sensing a shift.  Like the foundation of living as a true Son and Daughter with a big revelation of our BIG God has been laid.  From there, we're diving deeper.

And take it from someone who grew up in church...like there "every time the doors opened" grew up...those topics NEVER GOT OLD.  Clearly, I needed it.  Because The Pruning.

So of course, OF COURSE, God sees to it that we are hearing His words on stewardship and generosity as we are in the process of downsizing our house, getting out of debt and seeking to live lives filled with radical generosity.

Of course.

Our pastor has said in the past that our little part of the world is living under the oppressive spirit of wealth.  I've always said that was his kind way of saying "we be greedy."  And by "we," I mean all of us.

But he hit hard this series.  No more nice.  Calling out the demon of greed by the name he's given in the bible.  Mammon.  His name is in the KJV but not in my NIV version.  Now we read the verse, You cannot serve God and money.  But the KJV says, Ye cannot serve God and mammon.  

And there he is.  A demon all about greed.

(Anyone read, This Present Darkness?  I've thought of demons totally differently after I read that book.  And I read it in high school.)

I tell you that to say he did not hold back in teaching us.  He hit hard.  Several times each week, he would ask about how your heart was reacting to the teaching.  And if you were sitting there feeling offended, it's possible you have issues with stewardship.  And likely greed.

Chris asked me around the third sermon how I was feeling.

And truthfully, I was feeling more love and affirmation than I had felt all year long.  

This sermon series CONFIRMED all the things we have been dealing with.  Sitting there, listening to God's word spoken to us.  His instructions on stewardship.  His love of taking care of the least of these.  His desire to give.

(And please do not put prosperity gospel stuff in there.  Cause it's not.  And we're not.  God gives in oh so many ways and financially is only one way.  We are called to sow and we will reap that harvest.  We can sow love, mercy, kindness, gratitude, time, energy, resources, blessings and on and on and on.  And the harvest from those might never been financial.  It might but it might not.  I'm trusting God to, you know, BE GOD and not worry about the harvest.)

I knew that I knew that I KNEW we were exactly where God wanted us to be.  

Almost homeless.

(Kidding!)

(I couldn't resist the joke.)

If you have time, watch or listen to the sermons.  John is amazing.  He is the best preacher you've never heard of.  Seriously.

And so as we pack, we are cleaning out.  Giving away some.  Selling some.  Storing some (in an attic, not a storage facility).  We have too much.  Even after we clean out everything we think we don't need, we'll still have TOO MUCH!

Now, thanks to The Pruning, we will be more open, more trusting, more able to live lives of Stewardosity.  I am so on board with that.  

God is good.  All the time.