Picture this with me:

It’s the middle of winter, the coldest morning of the year. You’re already running late. Your brain is going a mile a minute stressing about all of the work waiting for you when you get into the office. You hurry out of the house. You quickly scrape some of the ice that has accumulated on your windshield overnight. Your car cabin is freezing. Your fingers are numb. 

And right as you go to turn the key…

Click… click… click…

Nothing.

As Christians, Advent is such a great opportunity to share with loved ones what the birth of Christ truly means. However, it’s also a time that can be overwhelming in many ways, including financially.

This month, our advisors wanted to share some personal insights on how they’ve been able to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas in a way that’s affordable.

In our culture, success is often measured by how much we can achieve, acquire, or control. For business professionals, these measurements can feel magnified: How big is our company? How high are our profits? Are we the biggest and most “successful” in our industry?

Yet as Christians, we’re called to something far greater than this view of ownership. Scripture challenges us to push against this societal norm and instead turn towards a posture of stewardship.

One of the things I love about the New Year is the opportunity to envision what the year ahead could look like—dreaming big, setting goals, and imagining the possibilities. And while many of us may ask, “What do I want to achieve this year?” or “What goals do I want to set for the year,” I want to invite us all to ask a slightly different question:

“How can I live more generously this year?”

As we continue to make our way through the Advent season it’s a great time to reflect on the coming of Christ and its significance. Oftentimes this season can become overshadowed by events, shopping, work, travel, and other year end activities but as Christians it’s an opportunity for meaningful preparation, reflection, and praise.

In this post our advisors get to talk about some of their favorite causes they support as they praise God and connect this season of giving to the birth of Christ and its eternal impact.

As a Christian financial advisor working in a Christian faith-based financial advising firm, I’m fortunate to have a front-row seat to the world of Christian for-profit business.

And while navigating two potentially competing paradigms (maintaining your Christian values and running a for-profit business) provides unique challenges, the opportunities it affords to make a Kingdom impact are well worth the effort!

Each year our advisors love to collaborate on a group blog post around Advent/Christmas time and address what a specific topic means to us.

This year we chose, “What is Advent and how does it relate to your finances?”

As Christians, we know the Bible has much to say about wealth. Over and over again, we read warnings about the perils of greed and the power money can all-to-easily have on our hearts.

Through our work with many Christians over the years, we know all too well the profound internal struggle wealth can present.