Every once in a while you get one of those unexpected gifts that fills you up and warms you all over.
I got one of those gifts the other day, glancing at my daughter’s Facebook wall.
I’m not sure what prompted the post. Maybe she saw her bank account balance, or maybe she spent part of the day counting. Whatever the case, my girl must have liked what she saw. Her post announced to the world that she has had a profitable year:
“hi i am sooooooo happy why you ask because i have made my first 600 dollars”
OK, I have to admit that my first instinct is to go back and correct the grammar and punctuation. It should have read: “Hi! I am so happy! Why you ask? Because I have made my first $600!”
Now, the truth is, my girl has earned way more than $600 this year. Her dog-sitting business has thrived. People have heard that she loves animals and sees how well she takes care of them, and they’ve responded.
Her post immediately got three “likes” and a couple of questions.
One of our 100 cousins posted, “Please do share your secret to how!!!!”
My daughter’s response was the gift. It’s succinct, simple and full of wisdom and truth: “well you get a part time job like me and then you look at things and say i dont need it i dont need it and you pay tiea and god proveds”
Let me interpret: “Well, you get a part-time job like me, and then you look at things and say, “I don’t need it. I don’t need it; and you pay tithes, and God provides.”
Yes, baby girl, that’s exactly how it’s done.
This 11-year-old gets it!
For the past two weeks my Sunday School class has been studying downsizing and learning to live with less. The key point is that we need to quit putting our faith in things, in our jobs or in our finances. Instead, we need to look to God as our sole provider.
And, part of that message is to quit trying to fill the God-shaped hole we have with things.
My baby girl understands that concept.
Want to feel successful?
Step 1: Get a job. In her case, it’s a job that she loves. It lines up with her natural talents, abilities and interests. It’s pretty much perfect for her. It doesn’t interfere with school or friends or family. In fact, for her, it doesn’t feel much like work at all.
Step 2: Don’t buy things you don’t need. Duh. How many adults do you know who haven’t figured that out yet?
Step 3: Give your first fruits to God. It’s called tithing. God tells us in Malachi that we should test him in this matter to see how he responds. My baby girl did. And…
Step 4: God provides.
Matthew 18:3 says “Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Yep. That about sums it up.
I got one of those gifts the other day, glancing at my daughter’s Facebook wall.
I’m not sure what prompted the post. Maybe she saw her bank account balance, or maybe she spent part of the day counting. Whatever the case, my girl must have liked what she saw. Her post announced to the world that she has had a profitable year:
“hi i am sooooooo happy why you ask because i have made my first 600 dollars”
OK, I have to admit that my first instinct is to go back and correct the grammar and punctuation. It should have read: “Hi! I am so happy! Why you ask? Because I have made my first $600!”
Now, the truth is, my girl has earned way more than $600 this year. Her dog-sitting business has thrived. People have heard that she loves animals and sees how well she takes care of them, and they’ve responded.
Her post immediately got three “likes” and a couple of questions.
One of our 100 cousins posted, “Please do share your secret to how!!!!”
My daughter’s response was the gift. It’s succinct, simple and full of wisdom and truth: “well you get a part time job like me and then you look at things and say i dont need it i dont need it and you pay tiea and god proveds”
Let me interpret: “Well, you get a part-time job like me, and then you look at things and say, “I don’t need it. I don’t need it; and you pay tithes, and God provides.”
Yes, baby girl, that’s exactly how it’s done.
This 11-year-old gets it!
For the past two weeks my Sunday School class has been studying downsizing and learning to live with less. The key point is that we need to quit putting our faith in things, in our jobs or in our finances. Instead, we need to look to God as our sole provider.
And, part of that message is to quit trying to fill the God-shaped hole we have with things.
My baby girl understands that concept.
Want to feel successful?
Step 1: Get a job. In her case, it’s a job that she loves. It lines up with her natural talents, abilities and interests. It’s pretty much perfect for her. It doesn’t interfere with school or friends or family. In fact, for her, it doesn’t feel much like work at all.
Step 2: Don’t buy things you don’t need. Duh. How many adults do you know who haven’t figured that out yet?
Step 3: Give your first fruits to God. It’s called tithing. God tells us in Malachi that we should test him in this matter to see how he responds. My baby girl did. And…
Step 4: God provides.
Matthew 18:3 says “Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Yep. That about sums it up.
Awesome!!
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