Category Archives: moral values

A Bird in Hand

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There’s a saying that “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” Generally, this means that we prefer a “sure thing” over uncertainty. In investing, there’s a theory called “bird in hand” that says investors prefer stock dividends over potential capital gains because capital gains are not a sure thing. The “bird in the hand” theory came from the argument that investors don’t care where their returns come from, they simply care that they are either high or safe returns.

Everyone with money to invest wants the safest yet highest possible returns. This is simply smart investing. What makes the Stewardship Foundation different is that the “bird in the hand” —safe financial investments — has an added component. We add the importance of appreciating the blessings of life through financial stewardship and charitable giving. 

We believe that this guiding force gives us and our clients a vision and purpose beyond the money. We offer advice that helps you grow in faith and keeps you accountable to biblical principles. The payoff goes beyond certainty of financial gain and security. It adds contentment, confidence and commitment to the greater good, and increases our wealth for the good of all.

The Simple Polish Nun

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The story of a young Polish woman, Faustyna Kowalska, whose visions of Jesus Christ inspired devotion to the Divine Mercy is compelling, especially for those of us who have felt “led” to perform an act of mercy for someone else. Now, her story has been brought to the big screen in a very limited engagement in theaters in the U.S.

At just seven years old, Faustina felt a calling to the religious life. At 19, she had a vision of the suffering Jesus. Without even asking her parents’ permission, she responded by boarding a train for Warsaw with only the clothes on her back in order to join a convent. After multiple refusals, one mother superior finally gave her a chance if she was willing to work as a housemaid and pay her own way.

Movie portrayal of St. Faustina

Faustina eventually met the priest who was to become her confessor and encouraged her to write down in her diary her mystical experiences with the Christ Jesus. She wrote that Jesus appeared to her wearing a white garment with red and pale rays emanating from His heart, then ask her to paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature “Jesus, I trust in You.” He promised that those who venerate the image will not perish. It was done, even thought she did not know how to paint.

How the image came to be painted, and how its image has changed the lives of those who venerate it up to this day is revealed in the movie Love and Mercy, now at local theaters for a very limited time. Access The Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska book.

The Christmas season is an excellent time to learn and reflect on our own relationship with the Christ Jesus story. See the movie trailer and make up your own mind about whether you feel “led” to know more. Just click the Watch Trailer button in the Love and Mercy link above.

Blessings on this Christmas Season from all of us at the Stewardship Foundation.

Abortion is Morally Bad

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In February 2019, the Knights of Columbus, a worldwide fraternal benefit society founded in 1882, conducted what they named, The Marist Poll. The survey polled 1,008 adults in the U.S. randomly selected from a list of telephone exchanges from throughout the nation in proportion to its population. In other words, the poll was not conducted to include or exclude any race, religion, income, political leaning, age, gender, or geographical element. The results were statically significant within + or – 3.5%—as are all properly conducted surveys.

On the issues of abortion, do you consider yourself pro-life or pro-choice?

Pro-life 47%
Pro-choice 47%
Unsure 6%

The same question in October 2008 returned 44% pro-life and 50% pro-choice — a statistical uptick of 6% for pro-life. Unsure in 2008 was the same, 6%.

On the question “Do you think abortion should generally be legal or generally illegal during the last three months of pregnancy, the overwhelming majority (between 85% to 57%) said no, it should not be legal. And interestingly, the percentage was the same for men and for women (71% said illegal) — a sharp rise from January 2019 when only 38% said illegal.

Of course, this is only one poll and considering how well pollsters do determining election outcomes, we will need to wait for future polls to collaborate the results.

The Stewardship Foundation takes a stand to respect all life, unconditionally, and will never sway from our conviction. We believe that induced abortion is not healthcare but murder.

We believe that a fetus is not a possibility, it is a person, not fully formed, but with all it needs to become that way — and it has a soul. An unwanted pregnancy is unwanted by the birth mother, but it is wanted by another couple who has not been able to become pregnant.

At the Stewardship Foundation, we believe in the sanctity of human life, marriage and sexual morality, and religious freedom and the rights of conscience. If you agree, we’d love to hear from you. If you have a friend or colleague who you think might want to speak with us, please pass this along.