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I was presenting at a Finance Seminar at our church today. Pretty scary for me - I’m not a financial advisor - my expertise is in Virtual Assistance and running a Virtual Assistant business. However, the guy who ‘dobbed’ me in felt I would be perfect for the particular session I was taking and our Pastor thought so too. I didn’t have any doubts about my ability to speak to the topic, just had never thought of myself as the ‘ideal choice’.

My hubby knew I was nervous about it - even moreso as I’d been helping my Pastor with organising it but she and I were struggling to find one or two people to handle the audio visuals for us, setting up the sound, etc and in the end we just had to hand it all over to God. So, this morning, before hubby and I got out of bed, Graham offered to pray - and he always prays so well. I set off from home with peace in my heart.

Just to make sure I was giving it the best I could I sought out books on the topic of budgets for Christians and came across a couple of excellent books by Larry Burkett. Much of my presentation came from the Personal Finances book and I wove in stories of my own personal experiences. I also prepared an Excel sheet budget, complete with formulas, for the attendees to access and use to help them with their budgets.

So, what’s the title got to do with all of this? Funny, I had my presentation prepared but then thoughts kept popping into my head as I was speaking and I was able to weave in extra things along the way. One of those things was about how ‘work’ is a four-lettered word and that the very beginning of the Bible is about that very word. I noticed many heads nodding in agreement as I spoke. Another one of those things that just popped into my head was about how ‘man’ is not an island and is meant to be with others and working with others, being interactive - it all tied in together and I can’t even remember now what part of my presentation it came into - but the timing for it was perfect, I know.

Another Pastor, who is in Prayer Ministry, later told me the presentation was really annointed and she wondered whether I knew that? I didn’t. She commented on one particular aspect and something I’d said and I told her that wasn’t even in my notes - it just popped into my head. She smiled and nodded her head knowingly. I also got the feeling that what I’d said had been a message for someone in particular - and she was privvy to whomever that person was. I’m grateful for that. Whenever I speak publicly if just one person is touched by what I’ve said and shared, then I’ve done my job - but I know that through God’s grace and guidance there are always others touched too - that becomes evident when people come up to me afterward to ask questions and share their thoughts and feelings. It makes me feel humble - who am I to touch people’s lives like that? KMT

budgets for Christians, budget , Bible, work, annointing, Prayer Ministry, 4 lettered word