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Intro:
Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. This week as we begin winding down our Fresh Air study, we will talk about breathing some fresh air into our life routines. Peace is possible and we can have room to rest without pressing the limits all the time. It is a pattern in the Bible that God established that we take time to rest and to worship. Mark 2:27actually says that the Sabbath was made for us, and honoring the Sabbath can be life changing and life giving. Here’s a breath of fresh air this week about taking time in your schedule for God and for you. Here is your dailyeword

Nov 2 Take a Breather
Pace yourself. If you are a runner, you know that if you start out in a sprint, you will never finish a marathon at that pace. Only inexperienced runners begin marathon like that. I have been on a sprint through my day before, from the time my feet hit the floor in the morning, until I lay my head on the pillow at nigh. I should know better and I should do better. I know I am not alone. Maybe we have too much planned, or we say yes to too many responsibilities. We have to remember who is in charge of our schedule. We are! So schedule in some down time. Take a breather. Take a break every once in a while. Don’t forget to take care of you. Even Jesus knew when he needed time away. He honored the Sabbath, and honored his body by resting when necessary. We should follow His example.

Fresh air in our finances is such a good thing. It is really amazing to think of all the times that Jesus himself spoke about money, and how important it was to him that we not only be good stewards of what we are given, but that we are good managers as well. Our goal is to handle what God gives masterfully! Here are some good reminders if we want financial peace, and not financial pressure. 1) Give the first to God. I love that we can give online, but I also like the fact that we can bring our tithe to the church, either way, give God the first fruits. 2) Maintain margin in your finances. Have some breathing room, don’t always be spending up to your limit. It takes the pressure off! 3) Be disciplined. Have a plan, and work your plan. It is fun to be spontaneous occasionally, but don’t spontaneously go buy some big purchase that you will regret later. A plan gives you a course to follow that reflects your priorities and your values. Take the pressure off and have some peace! That will bring you some fresh air!

Today is a day that at our church every year, we sow seeds for eternity. I enjoy the fun of dressing up, and who doesn’t love candy, but the whole Halloween experience is just not my favorite. As a church, we have decided to use it as a yearly outreach because the world loves Halloween. So as we celebrate kids with our trunk or treat outreach, we encourage you to find ways to sow seeds for eternity. We want to be the church that some you adult who is looking for a relationship with God can look back and say that as a kid their parent brought them to trunk or treat, and those people were really great at that church. Even years after our rodeo camps, young families walk through the church doors and decide to plant themselves in our church because they remembered the life giving values and beliefs we poured into their lives as teenagers. Think long term, think generationally, not only when it comes to money, but every aspect of your life. How can you live to give, so that your life can affect eternity? I hope there is a long line of people when we all reach heaven that say, if it wasn’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have made it here. Sow some fresh air into the lives of people around you, it could have eternal ramifications.

God is looking for people who are eternity minded. Who don’t just live for today, but are investing in the lives of people, and expanding the kingdom of God at the same time. People who don’t just keep for themselves what God gives them, but are willing to sow generously into the lives of others. We think of that financially, but think of those who have great talents that they never pass on or use to train others. Think of those who make lots of finances and just use it for their own pleasure. Think of those who have so much time to give, and then they use it foolishly, instead of using their time to invest in eternity. I love the verse in II Cor 9:10 (and in Is 55:10) where it says that God gives seed to the sower and bread for the eater. Lots of people eat not only the bread that God supplies, but the seed he supplies to sow as well. No wonder there is no harvest. Don’t eat (consume) the seed that God supplies for you to sow! Live with tomorrow in mind, and sow seeds for eternity.

Living to give is the only way to live, get your eyes off of yourself and on to somebody else, show them Jesus, by living to give. Those are words from a song by my husband, Lynn. He wrote that soon after we were married, and I am so thankful that I have a husband who is in agreement with me regarding our finances. Actually, when we got married, he helped me build my faith in the healing power of God, and I think my simple faith that God always faithfully supplies was fresh air to him. I think men have this idea, my man did at least, that if the money you need isn’t available get another job. I so appreciated his work ethic, but there are only so many hours in a day. Let God use your job to help provide for your needs, but God is our ultimate source. Giving is the way we can get our seed in the soil so that we can see a harvest produced. Be diligent, have integrity, be a good steward and a good manager, and live to give

What are some practices that can help you maintain a healthy financial life? Here are some simple financial practices I learned as a little girl from my parents that have always been a part of my life. 1) What ever you earn, God gets the first 10%. 2) To live generously, give an offering about that first 10%. 3) Save at least 10%, and 4) then invest 10%. 5) Live frugally within your means so you can bless others. 6) Live life beautifully! My dad owned a flower shop so I was always surrounded by the beauty of flowers! As a kid, I knew who our Source was, not my dad’s business, or the side jobs he or my mom would often take, we knew God was our source. I was always confident that we would have enough. We definitely lived frugally, and sometimes my dad would joke on Christmas day if there were many poinsettias left over that we would have poinsettia salad for Christmas dinner, which was a funny joke, because poinsettia leaves are poisonous. God comes first in finances, giving is number 1, saving and investing comes next, then spending. Good financial practices for life- some fresh air for your pocketbook.

Godliness with contentment is great gain is what I Tim 6:8 says. We probably all have heard the scripture that talks about the love of money being the root of all evil. I heard a message once that said selfishness is where all sin begins, and I think I agree. A contented heart is just the opposite. When we don’t want what someone else has, or think we need more of something to be content, we can live a peace-filled financial life. We don’t make money our goal, our goal is to handle God’s resources as faithful stewards and managers. God wants to bless us so that we can be a blessing to others. My life verse says exactly that! In Genesis 12:2 God told Abraham that I will bless you to be a blessing. As many starts as there are in the sty, or as much sand can be found on the beach, that is how far God’s riches extend. He wants to get them to you, so he can get them through you, so you can be a blessing where ever you go.

Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. This week in our Fresh Air study, we will talk about breathing some fresh air into our finances. Financial peace is possible, and we can experience prosperity as we learn to live generously. People are drawn to life-giving people who breathe energy, peace and joy. My hope is that you can get off financial life support, and live to give. Here’s a breath of fresh air for you this week about finances. Here is your dailyeword.

Haggai 1:5-6 has some interesting observations for us to consider. Listen to this:
“Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” I hope you aren’t discouraged because that just told the story of your life! The first phrase is the biggest clue….give careful thought. Many people live thoughtlessly. They just randomly do what they do, spend what they spend, and eat what they eat, without a carefully thought out plan. Many problems would be solved if we just gave some thought to what we are doing. Something has to change before your circumstances will change. What is one thing you can do right now that can help change your financial future? Think about it, and then do it!

The last few days we have talked about how important it is to read the Bible, pray everyday, worship with passion and today we will talk about the beauty of worshipping with others in church. I love church. I love being in church, and am at every church event there is if possible. I love church because I love people, especially the people God has brought and will continue to bring to our church body. We long for connection, and the wonderful thing about church life is that we can be connected in relationship with other believers in a church body. We can draw life and support from our fellow believers. We can have meaningful relationships where we give and receive. It is in those life giving relationships that God can breathe the fresh wind of fellowship into your life. Get some wind in your sail at church. I hope to see you there!

I was born to be a worshipper. I love worshiping God and could do it all day long, everyday. We are created for God’s pleasure, and he takes pleasure in our worship. (Rev 4:11) Real worship isn’t about us, or how good we can sing or play an instrument, it is all about God. I love this saying, that God’s love language is worship. We often love others with our own love language. How about loving God in His love language. Make it a habit to be a passionate worshipper. God surrounds us and in fact lives in the praises of His people and there is nothing more precious than worshipping God and having Him pour fresh revelation or inspiration or encouragement into your life. Live as a worshipper. Take time to sing your praise to the Lord everyday. He loves the sound of your voice! It will give you some fresh wind as you worship!