Tag Archives: god

What is Stewardship?

Posted on October 15, 2024 | Leave a comment

Walking in God’s Favor: Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything.  Tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank Him for his answers. Philippians 4:6 TLB

Living a Stewardship Lifestyle

We were introduced to stewardship principles by Elder Harold Lee, as a young couple with 4 kids, while I was serving in the U.S. Navy at Rough & Ready Island in Stockton California. My life’s spiritual journey has never been the same.

We discovered that God has placed in each one of us more potential then you will ever develop. You must choose to or not to develop your God Given gifts and talents. After practicing and living stewardship principles for over four decades we teach 4 levels of  stewardship in which you are living  consciously or unconsciously each day of your life.

Level 1 Stewardship is a life of struggle. The Level 1 Steward is trying to survive; to keep the lights on, food on the table and gas in the car. I remember as young father being so concerned about paying bills and meeting my family financial obligations I could not think about my higher purpose. Something was missing. Why did I want to become wealthy?

The Level 1 Steward can become so overwhelmed trying to survive, you can not hear God’s voice calling you. The Holy Spirit speaking to your heart is drowned out by the immediate needs in front of you.

You Cannot Be Spiritual Liberated Living In Financial Bondage

The first life lesson you must learn in Level 1 Stewardship is that God is the Creator Owner and you are only a manager, apprentice or steward.  This spiritual truth must be the foundation of your life.  You can become a billionaire and be a billion miles away from God if you do not internalize this truth.

The second life lesson you must learn in Level 1 Stewardship is to put your faith and trust in God.  God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory. The better steward you become, the more God will trust you, because he knows you can handle it.  Level 1 Stewards walks by faith and not by sight.

When riches dominate your heart, God loses preeminence over your life

Why is it when God blesses you with a good education and you worship the education. Why is it when God blesses you with a successful business and you worship the business? Why is it when God blesses you with money and you worship the money. Instead of worshiping the Gift Giver you worship the gift.

The Level 1 Stewards worship God as Creator Owner and have faith in God’s sustaining power. Stewardship is not just about giving money, it’s about giving everything. Stewardship is a way of life.

Prayer of Blessings: Lord we worship You.

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 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 Vance’s have been married well over 4 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”.

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Can You Say No, To The Person In Mirror?

Posted on April 15, 2024 | Leave a comment

Walking In God’s Favor: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 1Corinthians 13:11 NLT

Discipline & self-control helps to develop your character.

Moving from a Level 1 Stewardship life of struggle to Level 2 Stewardship the life of stability is an individual choice. Many of you cannot see yourselves  maturing from Level 1 Stewardship a life of struggle into Level 2 Stewardship a life of  stability; therefore you remain in a life struggle.

Level 2 faithful stewards learn to live on a budget and give their money a mission.  But more importantly, Level 2 faithful stewards are accountable to God. The Level 2 faithful steward has learned to say “no” to the person in the mirror.

Can you say no, to the person in the mirror?

One of the keys that differentiate Level 1 Stewardship the life of struggle from Level 2 Stewardship the life of stability is the will to delay immediate gratification for long-term goals. One sign of spiritual maturity is the will to choose long-term goals over short-term  gain.

I clearly remember our parents teaching us the connection between work and money.  As a kid, they would give my two younger brothers and me money for doing chores like cutting the grass, raking leaves or washing the car.  As soon as I received my money, I would run down to the corner grocery store to spend every penny I had earned on Chinese Sweet & Sours Balls, Red Hots, banana flavored Now & Laters, and my favorite, Hostess Chocolate Twinkies.

My parents would comment how I had holes in my pocket when they observed how quickly I spent my money. They found teachable moments to encourage me to save.  They planted seeds of wisdom like ”Money don’t grow on trees” in my life.  My parents were the first teachers who sowed into my life the importance of work ethics and saving money.

With self-discipline, you increase your possibilities.

My truth is,  even today as an adult I struggle with the desire to spend money I don’t have, to  buy things I don’t  need, to impress people I don’t know.  That desire to spend money grew into an uncontrollable desire to have wealth without going through the process of  developing the discipline necessary to manage wealth.

In order for you to move to Level 2 Stewardship a life of stability you are going to have to go through the process. It’s your choice. You have the ability to become a better steward of your wealth. We are living examples that God will empower your life  to do that which you cannot on your own, do for yourself. Remember keep praying, keep believing, with God all things are possible.

You are invited to listen to our Facebook LIVE Stream Sunday 3pm May 12th. Our discussion will center a round life lessons we learned from our mothers. Our guest panelist is Kia Thornton- Gamble a corporate CPA with 20+ year experience.

Michael J. Vance is the founder of Stewardship Of Wealth.com and a financial & benefit-risk manager with Hundley Batts & Associates Insurance Agency   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 Pathfinders Club, a global organization empowered to teach life and leadership skills to young people. The Vance’s have been married over 4 decades and share their lives with four adult children and ten grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville Alabama, and blog from their Stewardship Of Wealth financial guide “Changing Your Family Tree”.

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Are You Constantly Connected to the Source?

Posted on February 15, 2024 | Leave a comment

Walking in God’s Favor: If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.  John 15:7  KJ

A Life, If Well Lived, Is Long Enough 

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 you make today will impact future generations.  So staying connecting to the Source is critical to the success of your life legacy.

We 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”.

We have discovered in our spiritual journey, when we allow God lordship over our will, dreams, and ambitions we experience more peace, love and happiness in our world. God’s blessings in the life of  the Level 4 Steward will also be a blessing in the life of others. We 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.

Christ Empowers Your Life More Abundantly Then You Can Think or Imagine

We have developed the daily practice of investing time in prayer.  This allows us to say no to the good in order  to say yes to the great.  For example, in order for us to live a healthy life style we say no to certain foods that may taste good and yes to foods that gives us proper nutrition to support our goal of healthy living.

Here’s another example, in order for us to live a life style of financial freedom we avoid debt and say yes to investing to support our goal of building generational wealth. The tension for Level 4 Stewardship is the ability to stay connected to the Source when you can have, do, and be anything you desire.

Intimacy With God Is Level IV Stewards Highest Priority

We believe connectivity to God is the source of all blessings.  Connectivity to people is the how the blessings flow from the Source into your life. We 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 faith takes you. What you believe through Christ,  you can achieve.  Level 4 Stewards are determined to stay connected to the Source and intentionally practices the process of connecting to others.

Prayer of Blessing: Lord keep us connected to You our source.

Michael J. Vance is the co-host of a weekly 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 founder of Stewardshipofwealth.com  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 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”.

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Do You Put People Over Possessions?

Posted on January 15, 2024 | Leave a comment

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

The most cherish possessions you can leave someone is your faith in Jesus Christ.

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 your 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 have learned to schedule time to be alone with each other to increase our marital intimacy. No children, no grandchildren, we forget about our work, our ministries, we turn off our smart phones and we take time to focus our attention on each other.

This includes sharing one’s feelings, putting one another 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.

Fullfilment and 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 7th at 12 noon at the First Seventh-day Adventist Church Wednesday noon POP (People Praying Over People) I will have the wonderful opportunity to share our journey. Over the years we have been blessed to mentor hundreds of young families in their finances. I will discuss eight life lessons we discovered that can change your family tree.

Prayer of blessing: Lord help me to value relationships.

Michael J. Vance is a financial & benefit risk manager with Hundley Batts & Associates Insurance Agency  and president of the Northeast Alabama Chapter of Credit Unions. 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 over four decades and share their lives with four adult children and ten exceptional grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville, Alabama and blog from their spritual guide “Stewardship of Wealth”.

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