Category: Stewardship is a Lifestyle

Keep Christ Out of Christmas Too!

We are all used to hearing the rallying cry of  “Keep Christ in Christmas” at this time of year.  But what happens on December 26th? What do we do to keep Christ as our center the rest of the year? Do we say “Keep Christ in February 23rd or May 15th or October 9th? The […]

Faith and Finances

When you think of the link between faith and finances there are several ways to view it.  The most common way is to simply ignore it. After all, we earned our money by our hard work, so what does our money have to do with our faith?  For most people, money is one part of […]

The Dishonest Steward

The Gospel reading yesterday always confused me, until I really concentrated on the details. Luke 16:1-13 tells the story of “The Dishonest Steward.” To summarize, a steward was fired because he had squandered the rich man’s property. He was left without a job and did not want to do manual labor, nor did he want […]

Homeless – Handout or Not??

I am sure all of you reading this have run into the situation where you are sitting comfortably in your car at a stoplight. You are singing along with the radio, thinking about what you are going to have for dinner or what you have to do at work and you are just happy being […]

Simplicity Matters

Being part of a financial ministry is challenging sometimes due to the mission of “walking the talk.” If I’m going to lead a Bible study designed to help parishioners get a handle on their finances, I had better have a handle on my own, right? Likewise, in writing these posts every week, I should be […]

4 Ways to Manage Christmas Spending

It’s hard to believe, but Christmas is only weeks away.  Seeing the first Advent candle lit in Church this past Sunday reminds us all to focus on the real reason for the season—the gift of the Christ child. These next few weeks are designed to draw us closer to God and allow us to prepare […]

An Attitude of Gratitude

First, I have to give my daughter credit for this post.  She was required to write an essay on this topic and it got me thinking about it, too.  Stewardship is definitely about gratitude and, as the holidays approach, it can be very easy to get swept up in the commercialization and hype that the […]

The First 4 Building Blocks of Parish Stewardship

In last week’s blog post, we discussed the importance of reaching out to trusted advisors, friends, and loved ones to receive wise counsel. This sense of community is one key element of our foundation in stewardship. Living a stewardship lifestyle is much more than budgeting and spending wisely; it is using the resources God has […]

Back To Basics: Entertainment

When considering discretionary categories in our Spending Plan, entertainment, like clothing, tends to get a little out of control.  I am as guilty as anyone when I say I don’t always track our entertainment spending.  Quite honestly, the only entertainment spending that is incorporated into our budget is our family gym membership.  However, when considering […]

Don’t Retire—Rewire!

From the moment we first enter the workforce, we are told to begin preparing for our retirement. Indeed, given today’s economic state and the spending and saving habits of Americans, the earlier we start saving for retirement, the more likely we are to continue along a path of stewardship and responsibility in order to enjoy […]