So much of this blog encompasses love, liberty, and shelter (of course!) Our pursuit of all three, and our striving to pursue them in a unique, beautiful way. So how can we live a love-filled, meaningful life, considering what we have been given? Let’s begin with stewardship.
Merriam-Webster says stewardship is:
the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.”
Stewardship – The Earth is the Lord’s
Dreams
So maybe I’ll starts with some dreams Big Country and I have for the future . . .
- Creatively earning. Hopefully, Big will continue to advance in his career, earning his Journeyman’s license in four years. If we decide to buy a home, it will be when the market is advantageous (certainly not now, not in Colorado). Renting out the basement and/or the tiny house. Additionally, a fun pet project of mine includes producing high quality homemade whole foods for sale like kombucha, cultured sodas, sourdough bread, ice cream made from raw milk and honey, etc. And getting to eat and drink what doesn’t sell is a big plus!
- Being open and flexible to opportunities. Owning little, homeschooling, and me staying home with the kids all allows for easy traveling for a job. Perhaps the perfect antidote for wanderlust? Restless hearts run free . . .
- Stewarding the land. If finding ourselves homeowners with property, planting a large garden and fruit trees and raising goats for raw milk, bees for honey, and chickens for eggs.
- Raising our kids to be stewardship minded. Involving them in every step of our research, endeavors, motivatons and dreams. Teaching them to steward their bodies, money, free time, and energies well.
- Being financially free. Free from a materialist / entertainment mindset, all debts, and even the need to work for pay. This means intentionality, frugality, flexibility, and humility. This means we have a greater goal for the money that comes through our life than merely making ourselves comfortable.
- Giving more. Spending time, energy, and money helping others, serving at church, being available, mentoring, listening, meeting needs. Connecting with friends, watching their kids, helping out with new babies, illnesses, and trying times. Perhaps serving with Samaritan’s Purse or another wonderful Jesus glorifying group. Helping others rebuild their lives and sharing the peace and love that passes all understanding through Christ.
- Building a home, perhaps a wooden-sided yurt with our kids. Working together as a family to build a beautiful, simple place to live. Perhaps helping the kids in building their own homes.
- Traveling to the UK with the kids, particularly Scotland, England’s Lakes District, London, and some of the isles. Backpacking, camping, and staying in bed and breakfasts. Participating in the Keswick Ministries Convention, three weeks of Christian fellowship, teaching, and worship.
- Traveling to Yellowstone, Appalachia, New England, the Pacific Northwest and who knows where else with the kids. Hiking, camping, attending festivals and music events, learning history, and perhaps witnessing the next solar eclipse.
- Staying light. Keeping our life “right-sized” and never being burdened by the excesses of upgraded wardrobes, furniture, vehicles, houses, entertainment, hobbies, etc. as we advance through life. Actually, Big and I joke that after the kids are gone, we’ll have even less stuff between us than a tiny house can hold. Might as well downsize to a Sprinter van and travel between various service projects, national parks, and all the kids!
Hammock under cherry blossoms
Some of these dreams will shift, clarify, or even change altogeher over time. If Big Country and I have learned anything over the last decade of our marriage, it’s that “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).
Regardless of what life brings, I hope we can steward our lives well while we’re here, seeking, finding and living out “the hope that lies within us” (1 Peter 3:15).
So to help us sift out how to pursue the best, here are a handful of readings on stewardship of one’s time and money, the springboard for dreams . . .
Hammock Reads June 2018: Stewardship
The Fred Rogers Documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor feels radically subversive, Alissa Wilkinson, Vox . . . During the last half century of war within and without the nation, Mr. Rogers’ kind, gentle, guiding words have given children an alternative worldview of empathy and compassion.
Four Principles in Biblical Stewardship, Hugh Whelchel, Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics . . . Reconsidering what passes through our hands and lives in light of the joyful work God has set before us.
How Saving Grows the Economy – Explained in Comics, Dan Sanchez, FEE . . . A fun, easy to understand parable of three islanders catching fish and how one decides to create a better life for himself – and the others, too.
“Financial Independent, Retire Early”: The Subtle Dangers of a Popular Principle, Andrew J. Spencer, Intersect . . . Is it inherently selfish or wrong to live on less, invest the difference, and make an early exit from paid work? A thoughtful perspective on making an idol out of FIRE, greatly benefited from the knowledgeable comment at the end from Grace.
How Should Christians View Retirement? Saving the Crumbs . . . What does the Bible say about saving, frugality, investing, worries about our life, and even one’s latter years?
What Your Retirement Planner Doesn’t Tell You, Lynn Miller, Christianity Today . . . Seeking the contentment of “enough” and offering our lives as a firstfruits gift back to God. “Save in order to give your life away, not to retire comfortably.”
Additionally, I’m looking forward to borrowing our farmer’s copy of Don’t Waste Your Life, by John Piper. Have you read it? I’ll get back to you soon once I do.