Are You A Warehouse or Distribution Center?

A warehouse is a place where items are stored, set aside and accumulated. A distribution center is a place where items flow freely in and out. When it comes to your money, are you a warehouse or a distribution center?

A warehouse makes me think of a stagnant pond. Without circulation things begin to die. But a distribution center has a constant flow that brings life. God is always searching for people who will be distribution centers because He wants to use them to bring life to other people.

One thing that’s important to note is that before God will start giving you money, He needs to know that you will be a faithful steward and use it how He desires. To start, He may ask you to buy a simple cup of coffee for someone. Sounds easy, right? However, He then tells you to give it to the lady you don’t like at work. Will you do it out of obedience to God or will you walk away? As we prove ourselves in these little tests He will begin to entrust bigger things to us.

My husband and I have fun giving big tips at restaurants. I love to think about how excited the waitress will be when she picks up the tip after we’ve left and finds it is more than expected. It seems simple but if we learn to hear God in these situations, we will be better able to hear him in bigger situations. I know some people who have given away cars, houses and airplanes because God asked them to. We aren’t there yet but I would love to get there some day.

If you want to learn to become a distribution center for God it is very easy. Simply make your heart’s desire known to God and ask Him to use you to reach others. It’s an exciting journey that you will never regret!

Thanks Everyone!

Hey, I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who has been dropping by and leaving comments. It’s great to get your feedback!

Thanks again!
Christy

Can Money Fix Things?

There is a common misconception that preachers (or even just Christians) should give all they have to the poor and live in poverty. Here are the reasons I strongly disagree.

1. Jesus wasn’t poor. In fact, He had so much money He had His own treasurer who kept track of things. He also tells us that He came to give us life, in abundance, to the full, until it overflows. (John 10:10) That certainly doesn’t sound like He wants us to live a life of never enough and barely getting by.

2. How can you help someone else out of poverty if you are struggling? When you are focused on your own struggles, it is hard to devote any time to helping others. That is why the devil works so hard to get people to believe the lie that we are to be poor. You end up spending all of your time trying to make ends meet and trying to find out how you are going to pay the next bill. God tells us in the Bible that we are blessed to be a blessing but you can’t be a blessing if you yourself are spending all of your time working on your own problems.

3. God gives us the overflow (John 10:10) so that we can use it to bless others. Philippians tells us that God will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. God wants to meet our needs and give us a surplus so that we can use it to be a blessing to others.

Deuteronomy 28:11 “And the Lord shall make you have a surplus of prosperity, through the fruit of your body, of your livestock, and of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.”

II Corinthians 9:6-11
“6[Remember] this: he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly, and he who sows generously [[a]that blessings may come to someone] will also reap generously and with blessings.

7Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (He [b]takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, “prompt to do it”) giver [whose heart is in his giving].(A)

8And God is able to make all grace (every favor and [c]earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need [d]be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].

9As it is written, He [the benevolent person] scatters abroad; He gives to the poor; His deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and endure forever!(B)

10And [God] Who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your [resources for] sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness [[e]which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and charity].(C)

11Thus you will be enriched in all things and in every way, so that you can be generous, and [your generosity as it is] administered by us will bring forth thanksgiving to God.”

4. Handouts are temporary. Attitude and behavior changes make permanent lifestyle improvements. Preachers could give everything they have to the poor but once the money runs out the people will be poor again. Why? Because poverty is a lifestyle that can’t be fixed by throwing money at it.

This is why so many people have a problem with the bailout. It is giving money to people who have demonstrated irresponsible behavior. The problem is that it conditions people that you will be rewarded for bad behavior and you don’t have to be accountable because someone else will bail you out. Neither are principles that you will find in the Bible.

Before you can use money to fix something, you need to fix the underlying issue. In this case it is immorality, irresponsibility, greed, entitlement attitudes, and lack of accountability. Once those attitudes and behaviors are corrected, then money can be used to help the situation. Without a change in attitude or behaviors the same thing will keep happening because people didn’t learn the right lesson from the situation.

Perhaps the best example is the little adage everyone has heard.

Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.

If a preacher gave all his money away he might help one person stay out of bankruptcy for a month. Now both of them are going to be need help after that month because both have run out of money. However, if the preacher teaches the man how to live, based on practical steps and Christian principles, that man will change his life. In addition, that man can now go teach others the same lesson and so on. This is how you get a generation out of debt and dispair. You preach the Gospel which means “Good News” and you teach people how to live by God’s principles.

There is a reason that God said “owe no man anything but to love him.” God knew that living in debt brings despair, hopelessness, fear, worry, poverty, etc. It makes us focus on ourselves so we can’t get out and be a blessing to others. It also takes our eyes off of God as our source and we look to our own means to supply our needs.

There is a reason that God said “where your money is your heart is also.” He knew that what you spend your money on shows what you treasure in your heart. Our number one priority is supposed to be God and if our money doesn’t reflect this, then we are treasuring the wrong thing.

There is a reason that God said “the LOVE of money is the root of all evil.” Money is not evil. It is the LOVE of it. It is when you treasure money above your relationship with God that it becomes a problem because God said “You shall have no other gods besides Me.” If money is number 1 in your life then that is your god. You have broken the first commandment.

We need to keep the right perspective on money. God supplies our needs if we put Him first place in our lives. He gives us money so that we can be a blessing to other people. Money by itself cannot fix anything. It is supposed to be a tool that helps others. We can fix things only by God’s saving grace, Christian principles and a wise financial decisions.

Are You Robbing God?

Did you know that we help to determine if we see God’s blessing manifest in our lives?

Malachi 3:9-11 tells us that we are robbing God if we don’t give the first 10% of our income to Him.

You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the LORD of hosts,

“ If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
11 “ And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says the LORD of hosts;

The reason God demands the first of your income is because where your money is there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21, Luke 12:34) Tithing is as much an attitude as it is an action. Choosing to faithfully give the first of your income to God shows that you have the right attitude and the right heart condition. You see God as your source and you trust that He will stand by His Word and liberally supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

God doesn’t need our money. He simply wants our hearts. One of His greatest desires is to take care of us. He never wanted us to toil for a living. In His kingdom you supply your needs by sowing and reaping. You can’t sow apple seeds and expect to see corn in August. That goes against the laws of nature. The same is in the Kingdom of God. You can’t withhold your tithes and offerings from God and expect to see a harvest of money. It doesn’t work. You will only reap what you sow. If you give in abundance and with a happy heart, God will give back to you good measure, pressed down, shaken together and RUNNING OVER! (Luke 6:38) You can never outgive God. I challenge you to study the verses in the Bible that show how God supplies your needs and then step out in faith and begin to sow your financial seeds. Remember, it isn’t the amount of the seed. It is the significance of it.

Blessings to you and your family!
Christy

Root Problem With Stimulus Bills

I think one of the root problems with these stimulus bills is that it doesn’t fix the underlying problems that got us here. Greed. Mismanagement of personal finances. Irresponsibility. Lack of accountability. People’s belief that they are entitled to things.

If people’s attitudes and belief systems don’t change, we are going to be back in the same predicament when the money runs out. People who were irresponsible, overspent, and abused credit, are probably going to blow any tax credits or other kickbacks on more irresponsible spending.

I especially hate the idea that some people are going to get yearly rewards for paying their mortgage on time. The reward should be that you get to keep your house. As an adult you should be paying your bills on time without a reward. That’s called being responsible. This type of “stimulus” is only encouraging those who are working the system instead of getting out there and working to make a living. In addition, those who need this “reward” to pay on time, will probably just short pay other bills to get this extra bonus the government is handing out.

Don’t get me wrong. My heart goes out to the responsible people who lost a job or ran into medical issues that caused their bad financial situation. Those people should be helped by family, friends, local churches and ministries, etc. But, a massive stimulus program like these seem to reward the vast majority of people not in this category who carelessly throw their money around and think that because they breath air in our country it gives them a right to certain things. Even if they can’t afford it.

The stimulus should be rewarding personal responsibility. This would then encourage others to become responsible so that they too could get the reward. It just seems like these stimulus bills are backwards.

What Are Your Expectations?

Can I just tell you how great my God is? This week has been a true overflow of God’s blessing and presence in our lives.

Even in this tough economy, our company did well enough last year to be able to pay out bonuses this week and they contributed matching funds to our 401K as well. God promised that in times of despair in the world, His children would have overflow to share. I know this extra income is because we have been faithful to sow seeds into God’s Kingdom and this is our harvest. I also know it is because of God’s blessing on me and my company. (Galatians 3:14, 29)

But that’s not all.

My husband has been taking a physics class which is REALLY tough. The instructor takes pride in flunking people if that gives you any idea of how bad it is. We have been praying together about the class and believing God to help him. Out of 28 people in the class, my husband just got the highest grade in the class on this week’s test. With 15 people failing the test, that is huge. Perhaps even more amazing is that my husband said he still doesn’t understand the stuff. There was no way he could have passed on his own. It had to be God who helped him through it. Neat, eh?

It gets better!

We finished our taxes this week and found that we will be getting a lot of money back. More overflow right from God!

We also received a check from my husband’s company this week to reimburse him for a class that he took.

The favor even extends to the things that seem minor. I used to tease my mom because she would pray for a good parking spot but now I find myself doing it . . . and it is awesome! I pray that God will perfect my path and have just the perfect parking spot for me when I arrive. I prayed for that on two occasions this week and both were prime spots.

The Bible tells us that if we give it will be given to us, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over and that you won’t have room to receive it. That is exactly how I feel this week. I feel like God just keeps pouring His blessing on us and there is so much it is running over everywhere. I even sense that we have pleased God through our simple gratefulness and our acknowledgement that it was all from Him. He doesn’t want or need our money. He wants our hearts. The Bible says where your money is your heart will be also. We have shown that our money goes first to God and that shows where our heart is. Isn’t that what every parent wants?

I heard Keith Moore say that he had a similar experience of overflow and he told God something like “That’s more than than I need.” And God responded by saying “I know, isn’t it cool?” He is extravagent but not wasteful. God not only takes pleasure in supplying our needs, He also takes pleasure in giving us above and beyond.

One reason is because we are His kids and He likes to “spoil” us. I also believe it is because through this amazing overflow we see just how big our God really is. He can move mountains. He can do above all that we could ever think or ask and that is the key that we need to keep working on. Nothing is impossible with God. However, He is limited as to how much he can do in our lives based on our low expectations. If we don’t think He can supply a pair of socks, we certainly can’t imagine that He can provide two brand new cars . . . one for us and one for us to give away. We need to raise the level of our expectations so that we can let God demonstrate His wonder working power in our lives. And through this, others will see how great our God is too!

How Do You See Yourself?

Have you ever stopped to consider how you see yourself?

Do you see yourself as never being able to make ends meet?

Do you see yourself as destined for failure because of your past?

Do you see yourself as not good enough?

Do you see yourself always in debt?

It’s proven that your actions will follow what you think. So, if you identify with the above statements, then your actions are most likely going to follow. But as Christians, we have a new identity that makes us more than conquerors. We know that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. We know that if we put God first He will take care of us. We know that God supplies all of our needs so we don’t have to worry. When we identify with these statements, we are going to start acting as the victorious Christians we were meant to be. And, when we do this our lives will be an example to others who are struggling to find that same hope.

So, my question to you is . . . What are you identifying with?

If you aren’t sure how God sees you, I invite you to visit my online study that I call “Living in the Overflow.”

Blessings!
Christy

Get Organized and Simplify Life

One way to enjoy a debt free lifestyle is to have your home in order. For example, if you can’t find your bills, you may be late on your payments. It isn’t always necessary to have elaborate filing strategies or spend tons of money for a professional organizer to get things straightened up. I thought it might help if I shared some some tips on getting organized.

I used to love my big filing system. I had folders for everything. However, I noticed that I wasn’t filing the papers. I would let them stack up in a pile. I realized that I had made the process too cumbersome. I simplified the files to make it less painful. I used to have a separate folder for each credit card but realized I never really went back and looked at the statements. So, I now put all credit card statements in one folder. Same with bank statements. I also put phone, water, gas, electric, cable and trash bills in a Utilities folder.

Another step was to buy a desktop file organizer. I put the frequently used folders in sight so it makes it easier to drop in new papers as they come in.

This was just one example of how I’ve tried to simplify my life. Check out my website Overflow Living for more tips that I’ve written, various links to articles I’ve found on getting organized, a bunch of free printable forms and much more. Be sure to leave me a comment with your feedback.

Have a great day!
Christy

Luxuries vs Necessities

It’s unfortunate that we sometimes only think about our finances during these tough economic times. When we are getting by, we don’t think much about buying a Starbuck’s coffee each morning, eating out at lunch, buying brand new state of the art cell phones, big screen HDTV’s, high speed internet access . . . the list goes on and on.  However, now that things are tough, I think (or at least hope) many people are starting to evaluate what’s really a necessity and what is a luxury that they can’t afford.

 

In our culture, immediate gratification and entitlement to the American dream seem to take center stage.  Living too close to the edge, paying massive interest on credit cards and gambling with flexible rate mortgages are dangerous games to play. Unfortunately, these issues have gotten many into their current predicament. First, we need to change our mindset and set some rules for ourselves and family.

1. We only buy what we can pay cash for. 

2. All credit card expenses are paid off each month.

3. I am going to re-evaluate what’s truly a necessity (food, water, shelter, clothing) verses a luxury item (cell phones, brand new cars, big screen tvs, recreational vehicles, etc).

4. I am the only one that is responsible for my life and the only one who can change my life.

 

If you don’t truly believe and follow those ideals, I think it’s safe to say you are always going to be in debt and probably expect someone else to come to your rescue. I’m not saying that getting help from others is bad. Absolutely not. Everyone runs into hard times now and then. However, I’m troubled by those who think the government is supposed to take care of them while they sit at home and do nothing. Or, those who thought they were entitled to a home but couldn’t afford it and now want my hard earned tax dollars to bail them out of their bad decisions.

 

So back to my original point. Has this tough economic time caused you to re-evaluate what you consider to be a necessity and a luxury? What have you done to cut back?

How to Make Your Way Prosperous

During these tough economic times, everyone is asking how do I make wise decisions and become prosperous. The answer is found in Joshua 1:8.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.”

Can it really be that simple? Absolutely!

When you begin to immerse yourself in God’s ways, you begin to think and act like God. He will tell you where to invest (or not invest). He will give you favor, promotion and increase. When we live by God’s Kingdom principles, we will see God’s results in our life. Isn’t that exciting?