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Why does it feel so good deep down inside when we give? The Word of God says it is better to give than to receive. Giving is optional. You choose to give or not to give. When we choose to give, it touches the very essence of our soul and pleases God.

Level 4 stewards give wisely of their time, talents or spiritual gifts and their financial resources so that their choices will honor God.  They are so connected to the Source, that they have learned to set boundaries that helps them grow spiritually.

Is it possible to give too much time and energy pursuing material riches? Jesus the CEO of the universe tells the story of a business man who was prospering financially.

All his time and energies were preoccupied with how to manage his overflow. Can you imagine having so much wealth that you, your children,  your grandchildren, your great grandchildren and your great great grandchildren could not spend it all in a lifetime?

Jesus calls this business man a fool because he did not recognize his soul was bankrupt and his spiritual life was in debt. This obviously successful entrepreneur was blinded by his addiction for more and more wealth.

I believe Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and Warren Buffet all recognize that stewardship is a matter of the soul. Where you spend you time, share your talents or spiritual gifts  and give your financial support tells the world what is important to you.

I personally believe that God blesses you so that you can be a blessing to others. I want to encourage you to make giving a part of your spiritual DNA today. You will be amazed at what God will grow in your life when you sow into the lives of meaningful  others. It’s a matter of the soul.

Thank you for stopping by.  We welcome you to post how giving as a part of your spiritual DNA has helped you to become a better steward of your wealth.

How serious are you about becoming the person God designed you to be? Many times we say words with our lips that are inconsistent with our actions. Why is there so often a disconnect between what we say and what we do?

The answer to this questions is not the same for everyone. For some,  its just lip service, but for so many others it has sincerely been a struggle to do the things we know to do. We can relate to Paul when he says in the bible “For the good that I would, I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do.” Romans 7:19  (KJV)

Ardella and I journey out of financial bondage has been a long, tedious one and it stills continues. There have been times when we felt like we were treading water, making no progress at all. Then there times in which we would take one step forward and one or two steps backwards. What is it, that motivates us to keep going, even when we could not see the light at the end of the tunnel? We have two answers for that question; prayer and bible promises.

Prayer has given us strength, power and wisdom to make tough decisions and change our lifestyle. God’s spirit has given us hope when we felt weak or discouraged. We stayed faithful even when it looked like it was impossible to remain faithful.

Wherever you are in your spiritual journey, find a promise that you can use for whatever situation you find yourself in. The bible contains over 3,000 promises concerning your financial victory and one has been tailor  made for you at this moment in your life.

We serve a God who is bigger than our problems. He knows the beginning and the end. He is personally concerned about our needs. How can we not succeed? There is no limit to what God can do the lives of faithful stewards.

When you begin to experience success and victory,  remember to give  God the glory.  Resist the tendency to feel like you did it by yourself. Remember the words of  Wernher von Braun ” I have learned to used the word impossible with the greatest caution.”

Thank you for stopping by. We welcome you to post how claiming God’s promises has helped you to become a better steward of your wealth.

If God blessed many of us with some money with our current mindset, our desire for instant gratification, our impulsive  tendencies that are out of control, and our media-driven consumer mentality, these character traits would cause many us to blow most of or all of  God’s financial blessings.

Queen Latifa stars in a movie title  Last Holiday. She is mistaken told by her doctors she has a terminal illness and has a very short time to live. Believing that she is dying and her days are numbered, she decides to do the one thing on her bucket list that she has dreamed about all her entire life: travel to Europe.

She goes to her bank and withdraws all her life savings. She intends for this dream vacation to be an experience of a lifetime. Queen Latifa character in the movie books  her plane travel first class to once in her lifetime experience what the rich people experience when they travel.

She books her hotel reservation in a five-star hotel where the rich people stays and picks the high rollers penthouse suite, which includes the luxury pamper  package only for the rich people. She dines out every night at the finest five-star restaurants where the rich people eat. She lives on the financial edge as if there is no tomorrow.

Many of us live our financial lives the pretty much the same way.  We spend as if there is no tomorrow. One of the definitions of  maturity  is learning to delay pleasure. If you struggle like me and many others in your spending here’s 5 tips from Financial Peace University  www.fpu.com to help you make wise choices when buying items over $250:

1) Wait over night before buying. Sleeping on it takes the edge off you. 2) Consider your buying motives; why and why now? 3) Don’t buy things you don’t understand or can’t explain. 4) Consider the opportunity cost. Would the money be better invested or saved? 5) Seek the counsel of your spouse. If single the counsel of a mature Christian you know and respect. (That have some money and is a faithful steward)

When God opens the doors of heaven to pour out financial  blessings to you, spend your money wisely.  Learn to say no to the person in the mirror.  In the bible Paul says it like this, “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.”  Philippians 4:11 (NLT)

Thank you for stopping by. We welcome you to post how saying no to the person in the mirror has helped you to become a better steward of your wealth.

Let’s face it, as we  gracefully age we generally have less energy and our health slowly begins to decline. As a result, we need to decrease the amount of physical work we perform, so we don’t injure or prematurely kill ourselves.  In other words, we have to work smarter not harder.

Each of us must begin with the end in mind. If we plan to become faithful stewards of our wealth in this life we must be willing to pay the price. You are going to have to develop the habit of saving and investing your money.  While you are young and healthy you must develop the practice of saving for your golden years. Otherwise, your golden years will not be so golden.   Many employers are no longer contributing or providing retirement plans for their employees. Therefore you must become  personally proactive  in saving and investing money for your golden years.

With that in mind, what is your plan? Do you have an emergency fund for the storms of life that are sure to come if you live long enough? Have you begun setting aside money for your golden years? Years ago, Ardella and I begun the practice of saving a certain amount of money from our income so that we could have the flexibility to follow our dreams,  passions and opportunities in life during our golden years.

The Joseph principle is the ability to look around the corner and anticipate life’s challenges you may or may not face one day.  In the bible Joseph wisely counseled Pharaoh in the book of Genesis. ” And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of  Pharaoh  and let them keep food in the cities. Then the food shall be as a reserve for the land for seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt that the land may not perish during the famine.” Genesis 41:35,36  (NKJV)

Joseph was divinely given the principle of saving for the storms of life and saved the entire Egyptian nation and his family.   There are many lessons we can learn and practice in our lives from the Joseph principle. We will end our blog with these words of wisdom.

Our greatest lack is not money for any undertaking, but rather ideas. If the ideas are good, cash will somehow flow to where it is needed – Robert H. Schuller

That which lies at the foundation of business integrity and to true success in the recognition of God’s ownership. God is Creator of all things; the original proprietor. We are His Stewards. All that we have is a trust from Him to be used according to his direction.  – Ellen G. White

One of the greatest needs of the modern Christian Church is for its disciples to swim away from the shallow banks of peripheral Christian living and plunge into the deep waters of faith and loyalty to God – Julius R. Scruggs

Our lives are the only meaningful expression of what we believe and in Whom we believe. And the only real wealth for any of us lies in our faith – Gordon B. Hinckley

Thank you for stopping by. You are welcome to post how planning your future with Godly wisdom has help you to become a better steward of your wealth.

There are no short cuts to Level 4 Stewardship. You must be willing to  go through the process. Gospel music icon James Cleveland wrote a song that says ” Please be patient with me. God is not through with me yet.” Level 4 Stewardship is a lifelong journey not a destination.

I believe there is a higher power working in our lives even when we can’t see it or don’t believe it.  One of my favorite biblical leaders is Joseph. Reading his life story is absolutely  incredible. Joseph’s own brothers put him in a pit to die, then decided it was smarter to sell him into slavery for money. He served 14 years in prison. He was falsely accused of sexual harassment by his boss’s wife. His partners in prison forgot their promises they made to help him when they were released from prison.

With all this history at the young age of 32  Joseph became one of the most powerful and wealthiest men in Egypt”;  second only to Pharaoh. Joseph shows us the power of patience when you have purpose in your life. Inside of  Joseph ‘s heart the seeds of greatness was planted when he was only 17 years old.  He didn’t  know when or how long it would take to mature. So when the storms of life came upon Joseph he kept his confidence in the Higher Power working on his behalf.

Growth is often a painful and scary process. When the Creator calls us to level 4 Stewardship, we sometimes feel uneasy and uncomfortable with ourselves. Like Joseph we  can trust in the Higher Power in our lives.  Our Creator will do whatever is best for our good and will ultimately give Him glory. Like Joseph we can ultimately say “what others meant for evil, God meant for Good.

After raising four successful children of our own. Ardella and I understands the power of  patience and prayer when you have teenagers in your home. When your authority  is challenged, your sanity  is questioned  and your energy level is depleted it takes patience to love the blessings of parenthood.

Remember if the Creator calls you to Level 4 Stewardship, he has already equipped you to handle going thorough the process.  The process is not graded on the speed of your growth as much as is it on how strong you become. God will use your entire lifetime to prepare you for eternity. As you travel this spiritual discovery of Level 4 stewardship keep in mind masterpieces takes time.

Thank you for stopping by. We welcome you to post the way patience has helped you to become a better steward of your wealth.

The Level 4 Stewards humbly recognized the awesome power of God’s favor in their life. They  can feel God’s protection covering their lives and have personally experience over and over again God opening doors for them.  They know, that they know, that they know they know,  God has given them the power to have surplus in their lives.

They cheerfully give their first fruit off the top and then some. They have moved beyond the 10% tithe and generously give a love offering out of their surplus. Level 4 Stewards have a personal covenant with God and are living examples of what faithfulness is all about.

I agree with Antonio McGinnis when he  says in his book The Game Is Deep  “There is no greater feeling than being prepared for every opportunity when it comes your way”.  The Level 4 Steward lives each day as if  it is their last day, but plan as if they are going to live forever.

Most of us know instinctively, that we should have a will and last testament, living health directive and power of  attorney in the invent of major accident or accidental death.  But how many of us invest in the time to secure these valuable life documents. We spending more time planning for a vacation then we do planing for our lives.

When Ardella and I invested in the time to plan our future lives together it was very enlightening. We begin to think about our financial assets  and the kind of legacy we desired to leave  to our children and grand children. We considered the physical and medical challenges of aging together gracefully.  More importantly,  we shared our deepest thoughts of how we each wanted to  live our last days and hours of life on this planet.

Many faithful stewards will never experience Level 4 Stewardship in their life time. The will never feel the peace of  God  in this area of financial maturity and responsibility.  They have no desire to move past the known life of stability into the unknown life of surplus.

The Level 4 Steward’s life has become a reservoir of God’s bountiful blessings.  Blessing seems to overflow in the Level 4 Steward’s  life.  I heard someone say it like this, ” I am drinking from my saucer because my cup is overflowing”.  When  God showers His blessing down on the faithful in Level 4 Stewardship, they wisely store some of their surplus for their future, their legacy and for the storms of life.

Thank you for stopping by.  We welcome you to post how living in the overflow has helped you to become a better steward of your wealth.

Walking in God’s favor: Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. Proverbs 11:4 (NIV)

Do not let anyone change who you are to become what they need

We Christians in America have become so materialistic in our thinking. You have probably heard someone say, ” The one who dies with the most toys wins” or “The one with the gold makes the rules.”

The things in this world are temporal, but the things of God are eternal.  I believe Jesus Christ is returning for a people – not possessions. So, what are you doing to build intimate relationships with those you love? How are you investing your financial resources to better your relationship with God and meaningful others?

Communication is what makes relationships strong

When you develop intimate relationships, you do it one-to-one. Your attention is focused on one person. Their needs become your priority. Dr David and Teresa Ferguson, co-authors of Intimate Encounters says, “Intimate relationships takes time and communications.”

Ardella and I will going on a much needed Caribbean in the next few days. For me the best part of the 5 day cruise is the six-hour drive to Mobile, Alabama to embark on the Carnival Fantasy Cruise Ship. No children, no grandchildren, we forget about  our work, our ministries, our bills, we turn off our smart phones and we take time  to focus our attention on each other.

This includes sharing one’s feelings, putting others first, sympathetic listening, and caring for one another. Sharing your heart with family and having meaningful relationships with others is what life is truly about. Life is meant to be shared. Sharing the love of  God with those we care about is priority for the Level 4 Steward.

Great satisfaction comes from sharing with others.

There is nothing like the power of your own life story. Everyone has a story to tell.  How are you being blessed today? Sharing your life experiences with others encourages them and gives them hope.  Tell others how you have overcome life’s struggles; how your faith brings stability in your life; how living by biblical principles gives you the wisdom to look around the corner to prepare for the storms of life. And finally tell others of your spiritual discovery for your life’s work.

You are invited to join us next month February 8th at 5PM on Oakwood University WJOU Radio Station Ardella and I will have the wonderful opportunity to share our hearts. Over the years we have been blessed to mentor hundreds of young families in their finances. We will openly shared the wisdom we have learned in Financial Peace University.

Prayer of blessing: Lord help me to value relationships and intentionally share my story.

Michael J. Vance is the co-host of the podcast Better Husband Father Man hub for all things; parenting, marriage, and self-improvement. He is a financial & benefit risk manager with Hundley Batts & Associates Insurance Agency  and president of the  Alabama Independent Insurance Agents Association  Ardella Vance volunteers her time, talents, and financial resources to causes she is passionate about. She is a gifted educator and a Master Guide in the International Pathfinder Club a global organization empowered to teach life and leadership skills to young people. The Vances have been married well over 3 decades and share their lives with four adult children and ten exceptional grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville, Alabama and blog from their workbook “Stewardship of Wealth”.

To think like a servant requires a change of heart. A servant thinks more of how I can serve others rather than myself. Once we have acquired a servant’s heart, we no longer focus on our own needs so much, but turn our hearts to the needs of others.

I clearly remember walking into my office twenty-one years ago as a young insurance agent disappointed with my sales production I had closed for the  month. I knocked on Mr. Hundley Batts  door and asked if I could speak to him for a moment.  Mr.  Batts I have been out selling all day long and  cannot find anyone to sell insurance too.

Hundley Batts replied that’s your problem son, find people you can serve. Those five words ” Find people you can serve” changed my whole entire paradigm on how I operate my business.  www.battsandassoc.com  These days eighty percent of my business comes from referral business of people who are satisfied with my service.

Level 4 Stewardship is one of the best ways to describe the heart of a servant. Many faithful stewards begin their spiritual discovery as servants however they end up as  celebrities. The become addicted to the spotlight, unaware that constantly being in the lime light can blind you.

There are four areas of life the Level 4 Steward focuses:

#1 How we care for our body(temple)

#2 How we invest our time

#3 How we develop our talents or gifts

#4 How we manage our treasure (financial assets)

This is a holistic approach to service. God wants all of you – not just little pieces of you.  Level 4 Stewards accepts the truth that God owns it all, and we are only caretakers, managers and apprentices . The Level 4 Stewards thinks like servants not like owners.

Can you be trusted with wealth, power and social capital? The heart of the Level 4 Steward is in giving service to God. Level 4 Stewards makes sure their lives honors  God and makes the planet a much better place to live.

Thank you for stopping by. We welcome you to post your thoughts of how serving others has help you to become a better steward of your wealth.

Level 4 Stewards realize the importance of time and manage their time wisely.  Staying connected to the Source is always their first priority. Level 4 stewards are aware that the choices they make today will impact future generations.  So staying connecting to the Source is critical to the success of their life mission.

I agree with what President Barack Obama says  “Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential”.

I have discovered in my spiritual life when I allow God lordship over my will, dreams and ambitions I experience more peace, love and happiness in my world. God’s blessings in the life of  the Level 4 Steward will also be a blessing in the life of others. I believe God blesses the lives of Level 4 Stewards so they can be an example of  what He can do in a life that is connected to the Source.

I have developed the daily practice of investing time in prayer.  This allows me to say no to the good in order  to say yes to the great.  For example, in order for me to live a healthy life style I say no to certain foods that may taste good and yes to foods that gives me proper nutrition to support my goal of healthy living.  Here’s another example, in order for me to live a debt free life style I say no to financing my desires with debt and yes to saving and investing to support my goal of wealth creation. The challenge for Level 4 Stewardship is the ability of staying connected to the Source when you can have, do, and be anything you desire.

Connectivity to God is the source of all blessings.  Connectivity to people is the how the blessings flow from the Source into our lives. I love what Mary Kay Ash  said “Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far a your mind lets you. What  you believe,  remember you can achieve”.  Level 4 Stewards are determined to stay connect to the  Source and practices the process of connectivity.

Thanks for stopping by. We welcome you to post how staying connected to the source has helped you become a better steward of your wealth.

Level 4 stewards have discovered in their  spiritual journey that God’s nature is love.  That He gives each of us the freedom to discover his loving nature for our own selves.  The Creator freely gives us opportunities to experience His divine love.  Level 4 steward understand that He only wants what is best for our good and His glory.

Our Creator has a purpose for your life and He is calling you to a higher level of stewardship. I love what the book of Jeremiah says in chapter 29 verse 11. “I know the plan I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans for your hope and a future”. Wow! Now that is the kind of God I choose to worship.  I know He has everything under control. When we learned to let go and let God….that’s when things started happening.

I clearly remember when I begin the process of looking for a life partner. I prayed that the woman who I planned to marry would be someone who truly loved God.  That she would be someone I could spiritually connect with. It was very important to me that we shared our love for God with one another. I was raised in a home where I observed my parents praying  to God with one another, worshiping God with one another, and trusting in God with one another. That seemed to be high priority in their relationship.

I am so thankful for God bringing Ardella into my life. Every area I have allowed Ardella to touch in my life has turned to gold. I have prospered in my spiritual life, family life, professional life and financially  life.  Over the years God has blessed our marriage, our family and our lives as we continue to grow more in love with Him as well as each other.

Level 4 Stewards have learned to make intimacy with God their highest priority. God is faithful. He love us with an unending love. There are no boundaries to God’s love for each of us.

Thanks for stopping by. We  welcome you to post a comment on how love has helped you to become a better stewards of your wealth.