Act 8 - Dirty cash

Financially the end of Feb is usually our lowest point. After Christmas we have 4 major birthdays in January, plus my nursing registration fees to pay. Even so every Lent we set up a jar in the hallway and all of us - even the kids - put in it whatever we can. The children decide what charity to give it to.
It's a very small thing in terms of stewardship but it's a start, and all things must start somewhere.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (I Timothy 6:10 NIV)

Act 7 - All Ears

I'm not a great listener. I have to concentrate really hard but because my concentration span can be really short I have to really work at it.
Nomad podcast, which I'm very fond of, recently did an interview with Terry Waite and what particularly struck me was a comment the guys made afterwards about how Terry was totally present with them in their conservation. That sort of present and generous listening is certainly something I can learn from.

‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.’ (Luke 8:8 NIV)

Act 6 - Cupboard Love

Anyone who's visited knows there's a lot of clutter in our house - a problem that's got progressively worse during my training as there never seems to be time to sort anything out. The aim is to do an extreme-de-clutter once I'm (God-willing) ordained, but not just to eBay stuff or chuck it out. There's lots of useful things here, we just don't have the space or the time. Surely the best thing is to pass useful things on to people I know will find them useful?
Something which is a bit easier to sort are the children's clothes. Many were passed on to us and we try to pass them on again wherever possible. Coincidentally, today we were visiting my beautiful friend and her family. I've not seen her in months but I always pass my daughter's clothes on to her, so today we went with a big bag of goodies. There's another bag sat waiting for my brother when he visits at Easter- my son's clothes for my nephew.
With spending most of their week in school uniform my kids barely wear their clothes before they've grown out of them. I'm sure I'd do ok putting them on eBay, but it's far lovelier to pass them on to other folk with growing kids.

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers – most of which are never even seen – don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving.People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. (Matthew 6:30–33 The Message)

Act 5 - Quiche

An act of generosity can be something incredibly simple. There's five of us in our house - myself, my husband, the two kids and my mum. My mum is wonderful. She does my washing, my washing up, looks after the dog whilst I'm at work and feeds the family on the days when I'm working.
Today was a very odd day as I was only working a half shift, meaning I was home by three. Whilst my mum often feeds us we very rarely return this, so as soon as I read today’s act I texted mum and told her I would cook this evening for us all. No grand gesture but something very much appreciated, and a reminder that I should do it far more often.
The title of my blog was in part inspired by how much I love baking for people as a gesture of generosity, hospitality and love. My ordination training has meant this has very much been neglected. I feel it's time to get my bake-on once more......

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’ (Matthew 26:26 NIV)

Act 4 - 999

There wasn't much time today for reaching out to folk outside of our little family, but the act did give us chance to think about who we can help and how we can help them. We don't have much time - working and studying sees to that - and we have very little spare money. How do we help people without time or money?
For me it's all about trying to be as open and gentle as I can be to those I meet throughout my day, receptive to their needs and what their struggles might be. A very busy work environment like mine can be unforgiving to someone having an off day, but we all have them. Each person we meet throughout our day has their own unseen or unknown struggles. Be gentle with people.

‘A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’ (John 13:34–35 NIV)

Act 3 - Roots

It's day 3 and I'm wondering if I'll ever make it past a green act! It's a work day today - I work 12 hour shifts - so even more challenging.
I do most of my shopping in Aldi, who seem to be pretty good at customer service training. The guys on the till always ask me how I am, so I fire it back at them- how are they? We can be so busy in our tasks each day (and I'm particularly time and task focused) that we forget to actually connect with the folk we're interacting with.
Whilst we shop at Aldi we also support local shops. It's the small, independent shops and cafes that give our town it's character; the corner shop, the tea room, the second hand vinyl store, the craft cafe, the book shop. As popping to any of these before or after my shift wasn't doable we supported our local Indian takeaway instead! Sid has had a shop around the corner from us for over 20 years, since I was a teenager, and over the years he's become a friend.
As a quick aside, at work I park behind the new magnificent research building on Wilmslow Road. This morning the Barbakan delivery van was outside the building delivering something magnificent. Barbakan is a splendid deli and bakery in Chorlton- fantastic to see my employers using local businesses too!

"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely."

(1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT)

Act 2 - No Scrubs

The word 'Steward' always brings to my mind the Stewards of Gondor in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings; Denethor is entrusted to care for the city until a time when the kings return. He buggers it up.
We bugger it up too- we have this amazing gift of a world but we're messing it up, because it's easier and because of what we can gain.
Today's task is designed to take a small step towards taking responsibility over the places we find ourselves. I went out armed with my black bag and a pair of gloves to pick up whatever litter I found whilst out and about today.
To return to Denethor, he may have messed up but his son, Faramir, turned out to be (in the book) the least corruptible human in Middle Earth. We don't have to keep making the mistakes of those who've gone before us.

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." (Genesis 2:15 NIV)