Have you ever gotten to the end of a “day off” and felt just as exhausted as you did at the beginning? Have you ever looked back over the day and wished for a do over?

This year, my church’s theme is taken from two passages of Scripture, one in the Old Testament and one in the New. The first is Psalm 46:10 which says: “Be still and know that I am God.” This verse is especially applicable to those of us in ministry. If we do not know God well, we will struggle with trusting God fully and submitting ourselves to Him.

Most people are somehow under the impression that special days in a church just happen and that the preparation comes together on its own. Having a special day of any kind takes hard work and much preparation if it is to be effective.

We know that a biblical perspective on our finances is based in the awareness that God is the ultimate owner of everything and has entrusted resources to us to steward, or manage, for Him. Our job, then, is to be faithful stewards.

It’s easy to talk about faithfulness and to assume we are faithful just because we have the desire to be. But what does faithful stewardship look like in terms of our day-to-day lives?

Over the years, I have observed five habits consistently present in those who wisely handle finances. 

In 1989, First Baptist Church of Plattsmouth, Nebraska was on the brink of closing its doors. The church had been without a pastor for eighteen months. An elderly couple and one widow were the only church members remaining. But they decided to launch out by faith to call a new pastor. They believed God wanted their church to go forward, though many obstacles stood in the way.

A number of years ago, we had a skunk problem at our house. Our home backs up to a field that (at that time) had a large population of the odoriferous creatures.

The greatest ministry responsibility of a pastor’s life is noted in Acts 6: “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4).

I once received a note in the mail from one of our teenagers. I had written her, complimenting her on an important part she had played in a school play. The note was special for several reasons.

My generation tends to think of a strong spiritual leader as someone who is authoritative and able to administrate from a position of command. Indeed, we see leaders like this throughout the Bible—Joshua, Nehemiah, perhaps Paul.

What is a birthday without a birthday cake? As we get older, we may act like birthday cakes do not mean as much on our birthdays, but I am sure one still brings a smile to your face.