I am about to head back to Quepos after a couple week stay here in Indianapolis. I had a pretty good time being back. I tried to see as many people as possible:( It was a busy time. I had to do a lot of shopping for others as well as myself. I wanted to not be too busy, but it just seems to not work out that way. I was blessed on my visit here, so really I have no complaints. Time just seems to fly by. I am excited to return and see all the guys from the program and our church. I also am pumped to see my dog. He needs to be trained from what I hear. No kidding, he is like 9 weeks old! It is going to be a heck of a task for me. I am up to it though. Before I left I was thinking that it may have not been such a good idea to get a dog at this point in my life, but I am going to ride it out. It will be worth it in the long run.

I have been reading Luke 16, the parable of the unrighteous steward the past couple of days. Stewardship has been on my heart lately. I need a lot of work with managing/budgeting my finances. At times I think I am doing really good, then at the end of the month I see how much I have spent.....No doubt God has His finger on this. Jesus says,"He who is faithful with a very little thing is faithful also with much and he who is unrighteous with a very little thing will be unfaithful with much. If you have been unfaithful with worldy wealth, who will entrust true riches to you?" This may be my version, but it is pretty close to what Jesus was saying. He goes on to say that you cannot serve two masters either...you will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other, you cannot serve God and mammon. I found it interesting that Jesus says that if you are faithful with that which is very small, you will be faithful with that which is much. Is Jesus as concerned with the little things as the big? I'd say so. I think I tend to not have a little thing filter. I look around at the big things...most likely stemming from how our culture shoves bigger and better at us all the time. Mother Theresa said,"We can do no great thing, only small things with great love." What a brilliant statement, especially applicable to this day in age. Small things done with love can have great impacts. Even when applied to stewardship....prayerfully spending and giving. I listened to Tony Campolo talk about spending. He said that in the old testament you were supposed to tithe 10% and prayerfully spend the 90. Now he says that all of our money is the Lord's....we tend to tithe our 10%(most of us anyways) and do what we want with the rest. If we are a disciple of Christ all of our money is His. Something like that! He said it much better. I know I can have the mindset that when it is in my hand it is mine or when it is in my possession it is my possession. I am glad God is showing me truth in this area. God wants all of us and all that we have is His.