Stewardship and Pot Holders

Update: As of this week Rose has given $17.00 towards our Great Commission Women's missionary fund!

My sweet Rose, who will turn 8 next month, has always had an excitement for missions. We give money as a church to what we call the Great Commission Fund. This provides financially for missionaries so they are not burdened with raising their own support. We also give to a more targeted project through our women's ministry. This year the targeted project was to help raise money to start an Awana program in Chile. This captured Rose's heart and after she had already earned money around the house doing extra chores she asked if she could do more.

On her own my little entrepreneur asked to sell pot holders woven on a loom by her hand. After she first asked to sell them by the roadside, we quickly decided we should help guide her in this endeavor! Together we had to discussed how much to charge, how to advertise, and how she would get the pot holders to her customers. With only a little minimal guidance from us, Rose launched her first business with gusto!

Rose's tithe and missionary jars

The first question I asked her was how much she wanted to give to missions from each pot holder. She sort of gave me a guilty look and said, "Is it okay if I don't give everything to the missionaries?" I assured her that was okay and she chose to give 20% of her total earnings. We talked about tithing and how our family gives a tithe first then gives to missions in addition. Our family practices tithing. We use 10% as a guideline to represent our first fruits. We also give to missions as a family through faith-promise giving meaning that we choose an amount to give to missions based on the faith that God will provide, not as a calculation of how much we will have left over at the end of the year. This was an excellent opportunity to explain some of these things in more depth to our daughter.

Rose started this business at the beginning of May. So far she has made 27 pot holders in just 2 months! This little business of course taught her about financial responsibility and stewardship, but other lessons followed as well. The ones about responsibility and work ethic top the list. She took orders and kept track of who ordered what colors and how many. She was quick to make each one and would make sure to get the order complete within a week. She used some of her income to purchase a more sturdy loom when her original plastic one broke. She worked as we traveled, worked as she watched television, and worked during the girls' afternoon quiet time. She worked diligently and happily, joyfully giving what she had earned each Sunday.

Rose sold each pot holder for $2.50

This small enterprise has earned  just over $13.00 to help start the Awana program in Chile. This is a modest sum, but I am reminded of the young boy who went out one day, many years ago, with just a small lunch. My never-changing Jesus can multiply money the same way He did the loves and fish those many years ago. Whether she knows the full impact of her efforts here on earth doesn't matter. Her heart has learned a lesson beyond mere business sense and responsibility. She has been touched compassion and moved to make a difference. Please pray with me that her dollars will be multiplied just like unnamed boy in Scripture.