Your weekly roundup of insights and resources to help you get more done for the glory of God.
In Today’s Issue:
- 67 Screen-Free Activities for Kids
- We Won’t Do Nothing for Eternity
- The Spiritual Gift Inventory I Believe In
- reMarkable Paper Pro Review: Actually Worth it?
- Biblical Decision-Making
Dear steward,
I woke this morning to be greeted by our first snowfall here in Southeast Michigan. It was barely a dusting, but as I type this, the kids are outside “playing in the snow.”
The first snow of the year is always fun, but it’s also a reminder that the New Year is just around the corner. I like to try to squeeze in a few year-end projects to prepare for a fresh start.
Here are a few projects that have been on my to-do list as we prepare for 2025:
Simplify Finances
A few years back, I went down the rabbit hole of maximizing credit card points. And, sure, it got us a few “free” vacations. But that came at the price of me dumping dozens of hours into working on spreadsheets and carefully tracking which card to use for what. Honestly, when you factor in all the time and headaches, I’m not sure it was even worth it.
The older I get, the simpler I want things to be. So, this quarter, I’ve made a project to simplify our finances. We’ve switched banks, eliminated credit cards, audited all recurring expenses, and eliminated a lot of complexity and waste.
Kim and I have also identified some financial goals for next year, and I’m in the process of rebuilding our family budget around those.
Declutter and Sell Unused Items
Our home has no garage or basement and very little room for storage. It’s a little annoying sometimes, but it’s kind of nice that it forces us to be minimalists (something we’re used to from our days living in an RV).
Our front porch has been hopping with Facebook Marketplace foot traffic this month. Seeing the closets a little less cluttered feels nice, and it’s been a fun way to fund our Christmas shopping.
Update the Curriculum for Redeeming Productivity Academy
This has been an enormous project involving rewriting and reshooting the entire course curriculum, creating a new workbook, planner, and a boat load of other things.
I am so unbelievably excited about the changes we will have for members in 2025. Lord willing, it will be ready to launch next month, ahead of the New Year.
I’d encourage you to take some time to think of a project or two you could do to prepare for a clean start in the New Year. It doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking, but something to help you start on the right foot when January comes.
Speaking of which, I’ll be hosting our annual Plan Your Year for the Glory of God webinar on December 13th. So consider this your save-the-date. Next week, I’ll send you a registration link and more information.
Now, let’s dive into this week’s Roundup.
THE ROUNDUP
The best links I found this week
We Won’t Do Nothing for Eternity (6 mins)
Benjamin L. Gladd / The Gospel Coalition
There’s nothing quite so inspiring for our work on earth than to meditate on what our work in heaven will be like.
When we grasp our identity as priest-kings in God’s sanctuary, our future becomes exciting, concrete, and filled with awe and wonder. We can be confident our priestly and royal activities will finally and fully be done “to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).
For more, see my article, “Will We Work in Heaven?“
67 Screen-Free Activities for Kids (5 mins)
Jacqueline Nesi / Technosapiens
Jacqueline has pulled together a massive list of activities you can do with your kids in the winter months.
She used three criteria for the activities she selected: they all must be appropriate for younger children, be able to be orchestrated by an average (tired) person, and not involve the use of screens.
The Spiritual Gift Inventory I Believe In (2 mins)
Tim Challies
In many churches, it is standard practice to have Christians take some kind of a spiritual gift inventory. Through a series of questions that probe an individual’s interests, passions, and successes, these tests claim to help people discover the ways the Holy Spirit has gifted them to better love and serve his people.
reMarkable Paper Pro Review: Actually Worth it? (11 mins)
Brandon Boswell / YouTube
This great video shows off what the newest reMarkable e-ink tablet can do.
WHAT’S NEW ON
Redeeming Productivity
5 Biblical Questions to Ask Before Making a Big Decision (26 mins)
They say the average adult make around 34,000 individual decisions per day. So how should we approach decision making as Christians?
A DOSE OF WISDOM
Quote of the Week
“If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.”
Randy Alcorn
FINAL WORD
Thanks for reading!
Reagan Rose
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