Today we took the notion of stewardship to heart! Not the ba-bump, ba-bump kind of heart–which, by the way, your kids seem to know a good lot about–but rather the “heart” the Bible most often refers to, as in “Love the Lord your God with all your heart…” (Deut. 6:5)
Apparently God is all about the condition of our hearts. (1 Samuel 16:7) He’s looking to see whether our hearts, are open, or 
closed. Open hearts, like open hands, are trusting, giving and willing to take risks, while closed hearts, like tight fists, work from a place of fear–however subtle–which comes from distrust…We close our hearts for our own self-protection.
Good stewards have confidence in their Master–that He can be trusted. Their hands and hearts remain open and ready to love, serve and give.
Review with your children the Bible stories about a rich farmer (Luke 12) and a rich ruler (Luke 18) whose hearts and hands were curled up in tight fists…One cared only about providing a good life for himself, while the other obeyed all of God’s commandments, but surprisingly still did not have an open heart.
Then congratulate your children about their beautiful efforts to keep their hearts open and their hands ready to help! You would be touched to see our Westheights Kids worshipping together. It sure looks different than you might expect: some are jumping, while others are singing, signing, watching, sitting up, standing up or lying down. They are nurturing a trust in their Maker that enables them to go all out to live a life of stewardship.
Some have learned about the open-hand exercise of tithing…Many have already begun to find ways to earn their own money to put towards teddy puppet kits for Nicaragua. Be sure to support their efforts so that they will feel the joy of success! And thank you for taking the time to make the puppets together, and to pray over them for the child who will receive them.
To learn more about our triple-give project, click here.