Hey there all you AWOP’ers!! It is December 31, 2013 and, as I write this, boy, do editor deadlines sure work to help motivate you J.  We close this chapter on another year and turn the page into 2014. I want all of you to think once again about stewardship in a broader sense.  Stewardship is not just about your finances and stuff. There are four other areas of stewardship you need to pay attention to in the following order. These concepts were brought to life by attending the Five Capitals meeting earlier with the AWOP team.

1. Spiritual Capital (How much faith do you have to invest?) Are you daily chatting with the Lord? Do you joke with Jesus every once in a while?
2. Relational (How much relational equity do you have to invest?) Are you building into the relationship that mean the most to you? Do you know even how that other person takes emotional deposits?
3. Physical (How much time and energy do you have to invest?) If you run out of steam after a long day at work it’s hard to do much more. Your body is a temple for the Lord to live in, not a double wide.
4. Intellectual (What intellect, skill sets and competencies do you have to invest?)  Are you honing your gifts and talents for the Kingdom?
5. Financial (How much financial capital do you have to invest?) Cash for the Kingdom anyone?

For a more detailed look see Five Capitals.

I might suggest you order your day with the below in mind:

Morning: Spirit in the Shower, beatitudes in the bathroom and praying on the porcelain (who is really going to bother you in there? Yes, except moms of toddlers, even there you get no peace.)

Relational Road Rally: Wave all five fingers while you are taking the kids to school and you to work. Let that other person in and show love to the rest of the world. At stoplights, hold the other person’s hand to show you care. (ONLY AT STOP LIGHTS, hands at 10 and 2 when car is moving).

Physical: Take a 10 minute walk after lunch. Move, move and move. Walk the dog with the kids, take the stairs and lighten up on the fast food. Hey, I dropped 30 pounds in the last year just by not putting as much pie in my pie hole and by moving.

Intellectual:  Read 10 minutes at lunch, listen to the books of the bible on tape in the car when you’re alone. Don’t forget to laugh.

Financial: Daily, write down what you spend and have a plan for all your little employees called dollars.

I hope this helps, and enjoy 2014: The Year of the Steward!

Sincerely,

Jason T. Goodall