April 21 - 27, 2008

 SOLI/Update

    www.stewardshipoflife.org

Today I felt really great – powerful, centered, spiritual, joyful -- and I know why. I fasted. I always feel great after I’ve fasted. But it had been so long, I forgot how invigorating it can be to go 30 hours or so without nutrition.

From Sunday at bedtime to waking up on Tuesday, it was only water and black coffee (no sugar). I’d decided to fast because lately it seemed as if my appetites, especially satisfying them, were controlling my life. A few too many binges on Oreos, ice cream and French fries has expanded my waistline in recent years.

I was beginning to think I had lost willpower entirely.

It’s easy in our culture to lose our willpower. Everywhere we turn, with every advertisement on TV, with every billboard and every newspaper and magazine, we hear the same message: Indulge! Or overindulge! Cars, food, houses, personal services, credit cards. Indulge!

It’s perverse that our economic engine runs on the hamster-wheel cycle of creating and then satisfying desire among a population that, by and large, already has more than enough. It encourages wasteful thinking, wasteful use of our time, talent and treasures.

Getting lost in my appetite for food, I decided to fast. Remarkably, it was not that hard. Once I made the decision, it was like the appetite switch was clicked off. Except for a few momentary pangs of hunger, fasting was not a big deal.

A sensation of mastery greeted me Tuesday morning. I had regained control. My appetites would not rule me. At least not today. I ate a sensible diet and resisted the temptation to splurge on an ice cream treat because I “deserved” it.

Stewardship has everything to do with consumption. That is, using wisely the gifts God has given us. Overconsumption has everything to do with bad stewardship. Wasting the gifts God gives us.

Fasting teaches me that, in the end, I am the only one who restrain myself from indulging my appetites.

-Rob Blezard

(Reprint rights gladly given to congregations for nonprofit, local use. Just include this note: Copyright © 2008, the Rev. Robert Blezard, www.stewardshipoflife.org. Used by permission.”

New This Week:

 
Saving Our World and Serving the Lord
For your Earth Sunday Celebration (or Rogation Sunday, or Seedtime Blessing Sunday), challenge your young people with this handy discussion/study guide on how people of faith can and should embrace care for the earth. Good material for disciples of all ages. Click here for “Saving the World and Serving the Lord,” from FaithLens, the weekly youth resource from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 



You Can’t Afford Not To
How much of your congregation’s budget goes to paying salaries for staff? When things are tight, does your church consider reducing staff or not hiring? Here is some wisdom to help you think things through. Click here for “You Can’t Afford Not To,” from Tuck Aaker, columnist for ELCA Stewardship Resources.

Do You Know Where Your Church’s Money Is?
Most every church has some money put aside for investment purposes – or even just a rainy day. But how many churches have a well thought out investment policy to guide the use of those funds, so that the church is going to get the most out of those funds? This resource will help you get started. Click here for “Do You Know Where Your Church’s Money Is?” From YourChurch magazine