Stewardship Under the Sun

Emotion plays a role in our stewardship.  On either side of the road lies a ditch we can fall in on this subject.  The rationalist falls into the ditch of STOICISM, denying the reality of the role that emotion plays in financial decision making.  The opposite ditch is EMOTIONALISM, which allows unchecked emotions to dictate all financial decisions.  Effective stewardship is an expression of wisdom which is rooted in the most fundamental Christian emotion: the fear of the Lord.

The Christmas Season is upon us! Whether you hang ornaments on your tree as soon as leaves begin to fall off the trees or you’re holding the “no Christmas songs until after Thanksgiving line,” there’s no denying that “tis the season…” and in fact it IS the season if you are one who follows the church calendar. There may not be any balls dropping yet in Time Square, but it is already a New Year. Join me today as we reflect on the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, and how the Season of Advent Shapes Our Stewardship. I’m Michael Cranford, and this is Stewardship Under the Sun.

I’ve titled this series “Mind, Body, and Soul.”  You may rightly ask yourself, “what do any of those things have to do with my budget, or how much I save and spend?”  LOTS, would be my reply.   I’ve been counseling Christian families in the area of stewardship for almost 20 years now, and I find it to be a relatively consistent trend across all denominational backgrounds that many of us have strong feelings and beliefs about issues like God’s sovereignty, our dependence on him, man’s fallenness and it’s impact on us, etc.  But a lesser number of us have really wrestled with the implications of our theology on our financial behaviors.  Why?   The majority of resources available out there place the focus on tools, strategies, techniques, rather than on issues of the heart.   We’ll be spending the next few episodes together exploring this issue of financial stewardship in three spheres: soul (theology), mind (psychology), and body (behaviors).

I have a simple message today: It’s time to stop doom scrolling. Thanks for tuning into this special episode where we consider how to productively think about natural disasters like Hurricane Helene and how our philosophy of stewardship should inform our response.

You have most likely heard the adage, “Keep your expectations low, and you’ll never be disappointed.” No matter how logical this advice may seem, managing our expectations can be challenging. We are all driven by beliefs and emotions that influence our opinions of how things should be. Investing is no exception. All investors enter the market with certain expectations—usually to make money. Of course, how much money and at what cost can vary dramatically from investor to investor. If these expectations are unrealistic, investors are more likely to experience disappointment and make untimely investment decisions. All investment strategies have alternating periods of comfort and discomfort, which we call “behavioral seasons.” These seasons are generally external market environments that elicit emotion from investors. Some seasons are favorable to investors, while some are not. Typically, seasons of Discontentment bookend a season of Contentment. Today’s episode is all about helping you weather those behavioral seasons of investing. I’m Michael Cranford, certified financial planner, and this is Stewardship Under the Sun.

Is it ok for Christians to enjoy earthly pleasures? This is the ultimate question we'll be asking today in the second installment of "The Eye of the Needle" series, where we'll examine Solomon's observation in Ecclesiates 2:11: "Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had a expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun."

The seed sown among the thorns represented those who heard the Word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word and it proves unfruitful. Join me as we examine this passage and its implications on our stewardship.

There are 3 Common Financial Mistakes that well-meaning people tend to make in election years. What are they and how can you avoid making them? Plus, an easy tool to help simplify your expense tracking. We’re wrapping up our election cycle mini-series today. I’m Michael Cranford, Certified Financial Planner, and this is Stewardship Under the Sun.

Is the market going to boom or bust depending on who takes the White House in November?  Do you markets have political preferences?  It’s election season and in part 2 of our election mini-series we’ll take a look at the relationship between politics and markets.

Kamala Harris is officially the Democratic candidate for the presidency and Robert F. Kennedy has joined forces with Team Trump. With each party’s ticket now set, where do the candidates stand on key financial planning issues at stake in this election season? We’ll discuss this and more on today’s episode.

Markets respond to a wave of volatility, the ever changing yield curve moves once again, and Hezbollah contemplates a retaliatory attack on Israel, PLUS: What’s in a name? What does it mean to live “under the sun?” We’ll dive into it all today.

Want to turn your resolutions into actionable goals? Tune in to find out how!