Episode #66 How Your Generosity Multiplies – Seed Sowing Summer

Hi, friend. We are continuing in our seed sowing summer, talking about sowing, and reaping generously. We're bringing that into conversation with God today because I wonder if there's areas that he wants to sow generously back into you in this season.

The Bible uses a lot of different analogies, and parables to demonstrate what it's like to sow and reap and how God brings a harvest. Even as it talks about how disciples can be sent out because the harvest is many, but the workers are few. And the verse that we're focusing on today comes from 2 Corinthians 9:6, and it says,

"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously."

There are many opportunities for us to sow into the lives of those who are around us. I'm sure you see this in your families, in work situations, in your friendships, in relationships, in ministry, the list goes on and on.

But oftentimes it can feel difficult to sow with generosity because we feel like we're approaching those aspects of need with such scarcity or lack.

Even for myself, Jared and I have two boys. They're five and eight years old. And so, coming into these summer months, I am so grateful to have the privilege of staying home with them and adjusting my work and ministry schedules to allow them to be home with me for most of the summer days. However, I'm not one of those women that just naturally knows what to do around kids. When Jared and I got married, I was terrified at the idea of ever having kids of our own because I was so concerned that I was going to mess them up.

I had friends as teenagers that loved kids, wanted to be around them all the time. I just never felt like I had this abundance of awareness or fun or energy to share with kids. And so, I approach our summer months together sometimes concerned at even just the lack of emotional or mental or physical energy that I have to keep up with my two high energy, fantastic, adventurous boys. But as I look at the opportunities to sow into their lives in this season, I want to be intentional with it.

As we take this topic into conversation with God, reflect on some of the needs that you know you have going into these summer months.

Maybe it's like me, where you have kids at home more often than you're used to and you know that your patience can run out with them.

Maybe it's that you're working and you're coordinating schedules or you're looking ahead to an upcoming vacation and trying to figure out how to make all of the details line up and that can feel stress inducing for you.

In Proverbs 11:25, it says:

"A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed."

Now, for some of us, we might hear that verse and say, "oh, well that would be nice. I feel like I'm constantly pouring out, and it doesn't seem as often that I'm receiving that back to me."

We're bringing that into conversation with God today because his word proves true. And I wonder if there's areas that he wants to sow generously back into you in this season.

Maybe you've been in a season of continuously pouring out generously, generously, generously, and it's time for you to receive.

Maybe you're comfortable giving, but you're uncomfortable receiving, and so there are times where you could be receiving generously back from God or from others, and you resist or reject that being sown back into your life.

Whatever that looks like for you, God's word does not return void. And he tells us that if we sow generously, we will reap generously.

So, let's take a few minutes to talk with God about how he wants to multiply your generosity, not just in what you give, but also in what you receive.

And so, here's our question for God today:

God, what's something that I can sow and reap generously? And will you show me how?

I think God wants to talk with each of us about different things.

Maybe what he's going to highlight for you is an area of sowing, of pouring out.

Maybe he wants to talk with you about an area of receiving.

Or maybe he really wants to talk with you specifically about the "how". There's a different approach, there's a new level of empowerment or equipping that he wants to show you in how to walk something out.

There are things that God has already highlighted specifically for my time with my two boys this summer. Ways that he wants to pour into me and refresh me where I feel like I might have some scarcity. And also, ways that I can be intentional in investing quality time with them. But where I can get stuck is the how, the practical side of, okay, if I am investing in time with them this way, other things in my normal day-to-day need to change. The way that I plan our podcast recordings needs to be adjusted. The way that I schedule my client coaching calls needs to change even the way that I go in prepared and refreshed into different activities or ways I can recover afterward. All of those things come into sowing and reaping generously. And so, my conversations with God in this topic have really centered around this practical side of how: what does that look like? How can I walk this out practically?

And so, here's that question one more time.

God, what is something that I can so generously and reap generously? And will you show me how?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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