New Year

The end of the year is a time of reflection for me. I enjoy reviewing the goals that I set in 2006 and crafting new goals for 2007. This process is a reminder of how short I fall from God's standard of holiness. But it is also a testimony of God's grace that I was able to make progress in some areas.

I am going to share with you the goals I set for 2006 in the areas of whole-life stewardship and how I measured up to these standards. I am also including some 2007 goals. By being transparent in these areas, my desire is that two things would be accomplished:

1. It motivates me further to excel at areas of whole-life stewardship. Knowing that I have made some of these objectives public to the few people that read this blog adds an extra layer of accountability to keep me focused. Paul instructs us in 2 Corinthians 13:11 to aim for perfection.
2. I hope that this will encourage you to set goals for stewardship in 2007. I am a huge believer in the idea that: what you measure will improve. Proverbs 16:9, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."

I believe that we should pray for God to lay some areas on our heart that are consistent with His will for our lives and will bring Him glory. This is at the root of what Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:7-11. God desires to grow us in faithfulness and usefulness. He delights in all those who fear Him and put their trust in His unfailing love- Psalms 147:11.

My 2006 Stewardship Goals and the results in red:

Money

1. Strive to live on less than $7000/month for housing, auto and living expenses. Our family fell short of this goal by around $700/month. This included all expenses except for taxes, health insurance, savings and giving.
2. Give over $20,000 to the work of Christ in 2006. We accomplished this goal through God's provision.
3. Save at least $20,000 in 2006. We exceeded this goal.
4. Contribute an additional $1000/month towards paying off home. I started strong here, but quit making extra payments in the summer of 2006. Part of my rationale for not continuing was due to an upcoming move to another home. Cash needed to be more liquid.

Abilities

1. Read 12 financial/investment books in 2006. Attend continuing education classes to hone skills and bring practical wisdom to clients. I read 9 financial/investment books in 2006. I did attend two conferences- LPL and CFPN.
2. Pray regularly for clients-souls, health, finances, personal growth, families. I did consistently pray for clients. I pray for 5-6 clients each day so every month I am praying through my client list.
3. Execute vision of Stewardship Mandate- edit book, update website regularly, quarterly newsletters and client events. I did not finish editing the book. But I hope to have a new and improved edition out in 2007. I did update the website regularly and send out quarterly newsletters. The quarterly client events never happened.
4. Quarterly reviews of client assets and a proactive approach to adding value to their lives. I did review every client account quarterly and suggested appropriate changes. I hope to improve on the proactive approach to adding value in 2007.

Time

1. Three hours per day of focused spiritual growth- Bible study, prayer, ministry to others and reading spiritual growth books. Time spent in these areas was closer to 2 hours per day in 2006.
2. Less than one hour per day of television. We accomplished this goal.
3. Invest at least one hour per day playing with, reading to and teaching my son- Hudson. This goal was accomplished.
4. Average 40 hours per week of concentrated work- financial planning and client service. I averaged 37 hours per week of focused work in 2006. This does not include some areas that others might categorize as work- travel time; socializing with clients.

Health

1. Exercise for at least four hours per week. Goal of having a 33 inch waist with less than 10% body fat. I exercised on average 6 hours per week in 2006. My waist starting the year at 36 inches and ended the year at 34 inches. I never measured my body fat. Although my guess is that it is below 15% but not below 10%.
2. Drink an average of 100 ounces of water per day. Limit cola intake to less than 20 ounces per day. I averaged 105 ounces of water daily. My cola intake in 2006 was over 30 ounces per day. Although this has dropped to less than 20 ounces per day in the last six weeks due to my decision to eliminate all diet drinks.
3. Partial fast once per week- less than 1000 calories per day on Wednesdays with no cola intake. I completely bombed on this goal. I think this lasted about 2 weeks.
4. Average at least six hours of sleep per night. I averaged 7 hours per night of sleep.

Goals for 2007

Money

1. Live on less than $8000/monthly for housing, auto and living expenses.
2. Give over $25,000 for Christian work; Save over $25,000.

Abilities

1. Pray for clients daily. Pray for every client at least once per month.
2. Upgrade stewardship resources; offer free version of book through pdf file and create audio version that will be available at cost. Read 12 investment/financial books.

Time

1. No technology from 6pm- 5am. Use this time for family; devotions; relationship building; reading; projects and sleep.
2. Average 3 hours per day of spiritual growth; 40 hours per week of focused work; two hours per day playing with, instructing and loving on our kids.

Health

1. Average less than 300 calories per day of cola and processed foods. Discipline in eating foods that are healthy.
2. Exercise at least 4 hours per week; sleep at least 6 hours per day.

I also want to have some fasting discipline built in, but I need to pray about something I can actually accomplish on that end.

God is good. My New Year's wish is that we would all celebrate His goodness in 2007 by striving to become the most effective steward of the resources that He entrusts to us.

I would love to hear from you. If you have some stewardship goals to share for 2007, please let me know. I would welcome the opportunity to pray for you and ask that you pray for me.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

Christmas reflections

Christmas for me is a time of reflection. I think about the year and how God has been gracious to us in too many ways. I have the challenge of telling the Christmas story to a 2-year old son in a way that he understands.

Two significant Bible passages centered on Christmas that are particularly meaningful to me are:

Written around 700 years before the birth of Christ, Micah prophesies,

2 "But you, O Bethlehem, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me One who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.

3 Therefore, Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.

4 He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they will live securely, for then His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.

5 And He will be their peace"- Micah 5:2-5.

Micah tells us that the Savior will be born in Bethlehem- a small obscure town. He also lets us know that His origins were before creation which is explained more fully in the 1st chapter of the Gospel of John. We are told that the Jews would fall away from God for the next 700 years, but God has something in store to bring them back to Him- a Savior. And finally in verses 4-5, we are promised the hope of peace and security when Christ returns to rule a resurrected earth.

From the promise of Christ in the Old Testament, He is revealed in the pages of the New Testament. Luke tells us,

8 "There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby keeping watch over their flocks at night.

9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

10 But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.

11 Today in the town of Bethlehem a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.'"- Luke 2:8-14.

A humble Savior born in a humble town to humble parents. Good news is proclaimed to all people- rich, poor, man, woman, every skin color and nationality. We have been given a way to know God through Christ.

I conclude with the lyrics to my favorite Christmas song- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen- performed by the Bare Naked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan. If you haven't heard the song, you have to get a copy. I always wonder if the artists performing these great Christmas songs have any idea what the lyrics mean.

God rest ye merry, gentlemen,
Let nothing you dismay,
Remember Christ our Saviour
Was born upon this day;
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray.

[1st Chorus]O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy!

From God our heavenly Father
This blessed angel came;
And unto certain shepherds
Brought tidings of the same;
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by name.

[1st Chorus]

[2nd Chorus] O, star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to that perfect light.

Born a king on Bethlehem's plain;
Gold I bring to crown Him again;
King forever, ceasing never,
Over us all to reign.

[2nd Chorus]

Glorious now behold Him arise,
King and God and sacrifice,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Worship Him, God Most High.

[2nd Chorus]

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Let Nothing You Dismay
O Holy Child

Merry Christmas,

Ashley Hodge

Diet Coke Addiction

One of my stewardship struggles in 2006 and for many years prior has been weaning myself off large quantities of diet coke.

I have read quite a bit of research on diet coke and the effects of aspartame on health. I had in the past dismissed a lot of the alarmist material linking aspartame to brain tumors, neurological disease and other health ailments because there wasn't scientific research to support it.

I had sided with Dr. Walter Willett- chairman of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard. Willett writes in Eat, Drink And Be Healthy that
diet colas are not the health hazard that alarmists claim. They are just an expensive way to obtain water.

Many friends have attempted to persuade me to think differently in the past. The tipping point came late this year. I spent three days of vacation with a client who is a doctor in his 70s. He persuaded me that from his research on aspartame that at best it is not healthy. At worst, some people experience many negative health effects as a result of over-consumption of diet colas. He was alarmed to hear that I was averaging over 34 ounces of diet coke per day. His exact quote to me, "Ashley, you don't see deer panting for diet colas. It is not good. Get off it."

Next, I had conversations with William Reymond- a french investigative journalist- who wrote a book on Coca-Cola and has an upcoming book called Toxic that describes some of the ways that chemicals in food are causing health problems and obesity. William and I have become friends through a basketball game. He had been a loyal diet coke drinker for many years, but his research led him to conclude that aspartame is not safe.

I made the decision to quit cold turkey in November of this year. It was a rough couple of days. I was addicted to this stuff. My conclusions are unscientific. But I must admit, after the first few days of withdrawal I have noticed some good health benefits from quitting.

One, my thinking is clearer. Any diet coke drinker knows that if they consume too much in a day, there is a fog that hangs over the brain. This has been eliminated. My thinking is now foggy for completely different reasons; not a diet coke addiction.

Second, I used to grind my teeth at night excessively. One of the benefits from no longer drinking diet coke is that I am not grinding my teeth as much. My sleep at night has been more restful.

Is diet coke harmful? I don't know. It is probably not going to affect most people if they drink it in moderation- less than 12 ounces per day. But if you are anything like me, that moderation is difficult to achieve. There is something addictive about the artificial sweeteners that creates a craving for more.

It is better to get off the stuff and drink water. Tea, coffee or sodas/fruit juices that you would find at a health food store are much better alternatives if you are craving something other than water.

Excelling at the stewardship of health should be the goal of every thoughtful person. But especially the Christian who has been taught that the body is sacred to God. It is the house of His Spirit- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. We all have our contradictions to God's ideal standard. For many years, the over consumption of diet coke has been one of my contradictions. But by His grace, I have been able to quit and no longer desire to be enslaved by it again.

I pray that 2007 will be a great year for you in making progress in areas of whole-life stewardship. Christ didn't come just to save souls. He came to save whole persons.

For The Goal of Resurrected Health,

Ashley Hodge

Distractions

One of the impediments to a life of stewardship is continual distractions. We live in a distracted age. It is difficult to have conversations that go beyond the superficial because most people never think about the important questions in life. They are too busy being distracted to discover purpose or meaning in life. The spirit of the age is summed up in the lyrics of Edie Brickell's song What I Am:

I'm not aware of too many things
I know what I know if you know what I mean
Philosophy, is the talk on a cereal box
Religion, is a smile on a dog
I'm not aware of too many things
I know what I know if you know what I mean
Choke me in the shallow water before I get too deep
What I am is what I am are you what you are or what?

We are too busy during the holidays to think and meditate on Christ and how devotion to Him should be our focus. We have too many holiday parties to attend. Too many presents to buy. Too much television to watch. The urgent chokes the eternal.

This is not a new problem. Blaise Pascal- the brilliant mathematician and philosopher- wrote about this in Pensees. Fragment 133 he writes, "Being unable to cure death, wretchedness and ignorance, men have decided, in order to be happy, not to think about such things." Pascal describes some of the ways that people choose diversions rather than contemplating the big questions in life.

Pascal writes on how people are too busy hunting, gambling, going to war and amusing themselves. We shun anything of significance. Gambling is still distracting people daily. But Pascal would have had a stronger case to write about in 2006 than he did in 1660. He did not foresee the greatest of all distractions: entertainment on demand. We live in an age where we can avoid ever having a serious thought.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:3, "But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ." As we enter a time of reflection at the end of the year, my prayer is that we will reflect on the big questions and seek to limit distractions to those questions:

1. Why am I here?
2. What happens to me after I die?
3. Is there something true to live and die for?
4. How can I glorify God the most?
5. How can I be the maximum amount of good to the maximum amount of people?

Jonathan Edwards wrote in his 70 Resolutions: "Resolution 9- Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death." Thinking about death is the gateway to living. The big questions are calling? Will we answer?

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

The Case for Telecommuting

I was reviewing our family's monthly budget this morning and comparing it to budgets in past years. One thing that stuck out to me is that despite the increase in gas prices, I was spending less per month on gas than I did four years ago.

I came to another conclusion in reviewing the budget. I have been able to earn more income and charge clients less in the process. I am able to spend more time with my wife and 2-year old son. When the weather is bad or I have a sickness that would prevent me from going to the office, I can still have an effective work day. My dry cleaning bill is considerably less per month. How am I able to do this? I am one of the 2% of US workers that telecommute full-time.

The federal government understands what is at stake here. Surprisingly, they are ahead of the curve on encouraging employees to work from home. They have set up a website to promote the benefits of telework: http://telework.gov

Reuters released an estimate that 25% of the US workforce could telecommute- perform their jobs from home. If 25% of the workforce would work from home just two days per week, the savings in gasoline per year would be over $4 billion. Imagine how much better traffic would be in your city if you eliminated 1 out of every 4 cars from the road each day?

I believe there is a stewardship issue at heart here. We need to ask the question: how can I consume less? There may not be easy apparent answers. But if you keep asking the question, God will reveal some solutions over time. The steward's motto should always be: how can I become more frugal towards myself and more generous to others?

I routinely talk to friends who tell me that they spend over 2 hours per day in the car commuting. That is a lot of time per day that can be spent on more productive areas. There are many studies that indicate telecommuters are more effective in their work and are able to achieve greater life/work balance.

Are you able to telecommute? If you are self-employed, you should give it serious consideration. Do your clients really care if you have an office?

If you are working for an employer, there is a helpful article on how to propose the idea:
http://www.quintcareers.com/telecommuting_options.html

I am reminded of the truth of Ecclesiastes 7:29, "God has made man upright (simple), but they have sought out many schemes (complexities)." We often make life more complicated than it has to be.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge