Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. There has been a lot going on this summer!
I got home before BBTI ended, so I was here for graduation. That was a blessing! I was able to go to camp with my church, and I also had the opportunity to attend SMITE Camp. I learned much about ministering to children in that full week!
I worked at a stable part of the summer. My formal title was "assistant to the executive director of equestrian sanitation control." I'll leave it to your imagination to figure out what I did. :D It was a good chance to learn and work and earn some extra money.
That extra money finished paying for my missions trip to Costa Rica! I'm leaving a week from today, and I'll be gone until August 25. Please pray for open doors of ministry, for God to prepare both our hearts and the hearts of those we will see, and that we can be a blessing to our host family, the Brileys. I am going with a family from Gospel Light and the wife of a Champion teacher. Lord willing, I'll be able to do a few chalk drawings while I'm there! Please pray that those will go well also.
Well, I will do my best to keep a good journal in Costa Rica, and I should have some interesting stories when I come back. :D
Thanks for praying!
Have a great day!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Another Proverbs Paper
“Lessons from the Chicken Yard”
When my family moved to Texas, my brother and I thought it would be good experiment to raise chickens and sell eggs. Living in the country gave us that opportunity, and we gladly took it! As I began to write about financial principles today, I thought back to our experiences with our flock and realized we practiced many of God’s principles.
First and foremost, we exalted wisdom above our financial endeavors. As much as we enjoyed working in our chicken yard, our first priorities were church, family, and school. God’s Word stayed at the top of our list of values. If we had ignored God we could have spent more time working, but our work would not have prospered without God’s blessing.
We were also careful to take care of what we had. We began our flock with three hens and two roosters, and were diligent to care for them. We worked hard building and maintaining the pens and yard, and we read books about raising chickens. God blessed, and by the time we moved and had to sell everything we had eleven pullets, ten game hens, three roosters, seven laying hens, three geese, numerous feeders, waterers, and pens, and a tri-level brooder with capacity to raise one hundred fifty chicks at a time. Although we had to sell everything before we saw major returns, we got to see this principle clearly. Caleb and I diligently took care of what we had, and God continually blessed us with more.
Another lesson we learned is that financial prosperity follows commitment to hard work. It took us many hours to dig post holes, hang fences, cut wood, and build pens and houses. Caleb and I were committed to the project we started, and we were dedicated to work hard to see it prosper.
We also learned to be disciplined in our sleep habits. We rose early every morning to clean the hen house, feeders, and waterers, and to provide fresh food and water for our flock. If we had chosen to sleep in, our chickens’ living conditions would have decreased and the eggs would not have been as good. It is crucial to be disciplined in your sleep habits if you wish to prosper.
Caleb and I were also very cautious about how we spent our money. We made many phone calls, checking prices to find the best deals. If you do not shop wisely, you will waste money because you will not find the lowest prices!
We also were careful to never take advantage of our parents. They were supportive of our work, but we did not ask them for money to purchase buildings or birds. If we had asked, I am sure they would have helped as they could. However, by not depending on them, we learned to work harder and be more careful with our purchases.
I believe that the most important financial principle I learned through our chicken ventures was this: “Seek enjoyment and fulfillment in relationships and not in possessions.” (Dr. Mitchell) The greatest blessing of our investments was the time we spent together. Those hours we spent working made our relationship much stronger. If we had been more concerned with our investments than our relationship, it would have been easy to argue over numberless little things. Instead, we loved each other, worked together, and saw God bless us.
Whatever level of prosperity you attain, remember to put God first, take care of what you have, work hard, and keep your relationships in their proper place. If you live by God’s financial principles, He will bless you beyond what you can imagine!
When my family moved to Texas, my brother and I thought it would be good experiment to raise chickens and sell eggs. Living in the country gave us that opportunity, and we gladly took it! As I began to write about financial principles today, I thought back to our experiences with our flock and realized we practiced many of God’s principles.
First and foremost, we exalted wisdom above our financial endeavors. As much as we enjoyed working in our chicken yard, our first priorities were church, family, and school. God’s Word stayed at the top of our list of values. If we had ignored God we could have spent more time working, but our work would not have prospered without God’s blessing.
We were also careful to take care of what we had. We began our flock with three hens and two roosters, and were diligent to care for them. We worked hard building and maintaining the pens and yard, and we read books about raising chickens. God blessed, and by the time we moved and had to sell everything we had eleven pullets, ten game hens, three roosters, seven laying hens, three geese, numerous feeders, waterers, and pens, and a tri-level brooder with capacity to raise one hundred fifty chicks at a time. Although we had to sell everything before we saw major returns, we got to see this principle clearly. Caleb and I diligently took care of what we had, and God continually blessed us with more.
Another lesson we learned is that financial prosperity follows commitment to hard work. It took us many hours to dig post holes, hang fences, cut wood, and build pens and houses. Caleb and I were committed to the project we started, and we were dedicated to work hard to see it prosper.
We also learned to be disciplined in our sleep habits. We rose early every morning to clean the hen house, feeders, and waterers, and to provide fresh food and water for our flock. If we had chosen to sleep in, our chickens’ living conditions would have decreased and the eggs would not have been as good. It is crucial to be disciplined in your sleep habits if you wish to prosper.
Caleb and I were also very cautious about how we spent our money. We made many phone calls, checking prices to find the best deals. If you do not shop wisely, you will waste money because you will not find the lowest prices!
We also were careful to never take advantage of our parents. They were supportive of our work, but we did not ask them for money to purchase buildings or birds. If we had asked, I am sure they would have helped as they could. However, by not depending on them, we learned to work harder and be more careful with our purchases.
I believe that the most important financial principle I learned through our chicken ventures was this: “Seek enjoyment and fulfillment in relationships and not in possessions.” (Dr. Mitchell) The greatest blessing of our investments was the time we spent together. Those hours we spent working made our relationship much stronger. If we had been more concerned with our investments than our relationship, it would have been easy to argue over numberless little things. Instead, we loved each other, worked together, and saw God bless us.
Whatever level of prosperity you attain, remember to put God first, take care of what you have, work hard, and keep your relationships in their proper place. If you live by God’s financial principles, He will bless you beyond what you can imagine!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
