Also, the food was great! Big thanks to all who prepared, cleaned up, and/or shared in fellowship. We appreciate you!

One of my personal goals for our church is to instill depth of Bible knowledge. As I have stated many times, I love to study! However, I know that some people do not feel the same. It can be discouraging and overwhelming to read God's Word and come away with more questions than answers. Because of this, one of the plans for the coming year is - through sermons and special plans - to gain a deeper understanding of the Word and grow in discipleship. Some of the activities we will discuss next month will reflect this goal.

The more that I learn about generosity, the more I am able to see it as such an important part of being a Christian. The key concept that got me over the hump was accepting the fact that everything is God’s and we are His managers. Let that soak in. It took me a while to get there, but the truth is that there is no real argument against that fact because God created everything. From the beginning of time, all this stuff around us was His. Then out of His incredible goodness, He opened His hands and shared with us. The part we often miss is that the gifts come with a responsibility.

Yes, He has given us a lot of freedom, but there are some guidelines. God wants us to return a percentage of what He has given us to Him. So when we give Him 10 percent of our income, for example, we get to keep 90 percent. That’s an awesome deal. We may choose to give money above the 10 percent to a cause we believe in or to help someone in need or to a myriad of other things that truly benefit some of the other people we share this planet with today. Generosity could also involve donating our time or our abilities.

When we are generous, two things happen: First, we help others. Second, we get blessed in amazing ways because when we are generous, we step out of ourselves and live as Jesus did. Your One Thing today is to step out today and together find a way to be generous. It can be big or small. It can involve money or time or talent—or all of them. It can be public or just between the two of you. My guess is that today might be one of those days you circle on your calendar because something special happened between you, your spouse, and God.