Avoiding Two Extremes

I took a seminary class last year called Apologetics. One of the assigned books to read was a book called Constructing a Life Philosophy: Opposing Viewpoints. It is an interesting read because it contains short essays from a variety of life philosophies- Atheism, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Secular Humanism, Liberal Christianity, Conservative Christianity, etc...

One of the essays that I found most interesting was called Challenging the Idea of a Life Plan by Charles Larmore. Larmore argues that the good life cannot be achieved by following a life plan. He points out that the human experience reveals that happiness is often the result of unanticipated events.

This went against the grain of everything I thought to be true. I am a financial planner by trade and I like to fool myself into believing that I can take the uncertainty out of life by managing risk or behavior appropriately. I am a huge goal-setter and often get annoyed by events that sidetrack me from achieving goals.

But the reality is that as I reflect upon my life, I have to admit that Larmore is correct. Planning is good. There is great satisfaction in dreaming big dreams and watching those dreams come true in some form. I believe that what you measure tends to improve over time.

But planning can become an idol. We can easily put our hopes in Monte Carlo simulations (a tool financial planners use to predict investment outcomes based on historical scenarios) or some crazy notion that we have control over what happens to us.

Proverbs 16:9 instructs, "The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." There are two extremes to be avoided in this area:

1. We should not be passive about life. A fatalistic view that life just happens is irresponsible. God has entrusted us with talent, financial resources, time and health. Hiding these resources in a hole of fatalistic apathy will likely meet with the same result as the slothful servant who hid his talent in the ground- Matthew 25:25-30.

2. We should not be planning zealots. We can easily get puffed up with false pride when things go our way. We can have fake pity on the poor saps who just keep having waves of adversity- probably because they don't set goals. God's path for each of us is mysterious. There will be unexpected trials and blessings along the way that seem to come out of nowhere.

The whole book of Ecclesiastes covers this topic. One of my favorite verses in that book is Ecclesiastes 7:14, "In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find anything that will be after him."

My word to myself: Set lots of goals; strive for holiness; seek discipline. But be joyful always; give thanks in all circumstances. Embrace structure in some form. But have a good glass of wine along the way. Life will always be a balance between what we plan and the unexpected good and bad that comes our way. The unexpected is often our greatest source of happiness, change and growth.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

2008 Stewardship Goals

I am looking forward to this year. What a great time to be alive. We enjoy so many of God's blessings that past generations could only dream about. We have an awesome responsibility before us as we prayerfully consider how to allocate God's resources.

I have set some goals for stewardship in 2008 that I want to share with the hopes that it will help one person make some decisions in regards to stewardship that will have long lasting effects on their life.

As I get older- 38- I am more cognizant of my sinfulness each day. Even though I have some small victories to be thankful for in stewardship, I have many struggles where I have lost ground. The Christ-honoring life is an ideal that I fall short of in many ways.

But I know from the truth of God's word that perseverance in striving for the goal- Philippians 3:12-16- is the noblest of pursuits. Every year a new theme strikes me as I read God's Word. In 2007, the theme was perseverance. Verses about perseverance seem to jump out of every book in the Bible. The first 3 chapters of Revelation are filled with references about overcoming; conquering; the one who endures.

The persecutions and temptations are different than what the early church experienced. But the command still lives: "Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which clings to us so closely and let us run with endurance the race that has been set before us."- Hebrews 12:1

Faith is a learning process. We must learn to trust His promises. And we must learn not to rely on our own understanding of the events that bring into question the meaning of it all.

Here is a review of my 2007 stewardship goals- with comments on how I did in relation to them in red. And then 2008 goals.

Goals for 2007

Money

1. Live on less than $8000/monthly for housing, auto and living expenses- fell short of this goal. Lifestyle on those items was closer to $9k/month.
2. Give over $25,000 for Christian work; Save over $25,000- was able to achieve both of these goals.

Abilities

1. Pray for clients daily. Pray for every client at least once per month- fairly consistently prayed for 5 clients per day which allowed me to pray for my client base each month.
2. Upgrade stewardship resources; offer free version of book through pdf file and create audio version that will be available at no cost. Read 12 investment/financial books- recently revised http://stewardshipmandate.com/ which will allow me to update information more easily. Did not revise book or create audio version as planned. I read only 4 investment/financial books in 2007.

Time

1. No technology from 6pm- 5am. Use this time for family; devotions; relationship building; reading; projects and sleep- did a miserable job at this goal; watched too much television in the evening.
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- averaged 2 hours per day of spiritual growth activities- prayer, Bible study, reading, meditation; 35 hours per week of focused work; didn't keep track of time spent with my kids playing, reading, instructing. I doubt it was a focused 2 hours per day though.

Health

1. Average less than 300 calories per day of cola and processed foods. Discipline in eating foods that are healthy- did a terrible job at this goal. I gained 8 lbs in 2007 and I doubt it was muscle. Cola intake increased which is disappointing.
2. Exercise at least 4 hours per week; sleep at least 6 hours per day- I was able to accomplish both of these goals.

2008 Goals

Money

1. Spend less than $10,000/month on housing, auto and living expenses.
2. Give over $40,000 to Christian work. Save $40,000 towards financial freedom goal.

Abilities

1. Pray for 5 to 6 clients per day; use this as an opportunity to review these 5 to 6 clients needs, portfolio and goals so that every client is being reviewed prayed for monthly.
2. Revise Stewardship Mandate book online; write 2 blog entries per month- one general entry and one entry that is a work-in-process update of Stewardship Mandate. My goal here is to have this be a more collaborative effort of anyone that has valuable input into how to become a more effective steward so it is not just my ideas.

Time

1. No technology from 6pm-4am three nights per week. Use this time for relationships- family, neighbors, connecting with friends, etc...
2. Average 2 hours per day of spiritual growth activities- Bible study, prayer, fellowship with other believers; 40 hours per week of focused financial planning work; 2 hours per day of focused time with kids- playing, instructing.

Health

1. Fast on Mondays by having no soda, saturated fat or processed foods on this day. Cut soda intake to less than 18oz per day.
2. Play basketball 3 times per week; lift weights 2 times per week; sleep on average over 6 hours per night.

I pray that you will think through and commit to some stewardship goals in 2008. I pray that 2008 is a year of prosperity, joy and spiritual growth for everyone.

For God's Glory,

Ashley Hodge