If you could give more back to God than you think you can, would you?

We are all planners. Granted, some of us have a predisposition to planning things down to the smallest detail, while others are more inclined to let most things happen. Everyday we spend time planning. It could be for something quite inconsequential like changing your route to work so you can do the drive through at Tim Horton's - okay, not so inconsequential for some people. Or it could be planning the details for a family vacation or for retirement.

When it comes to giving, many of us do some planning. For Christmas, we make a list of all the people to whom we are going to be giving gifts, we set an amount to spend and we go shopping. But that's not the kind of gift planning that I want to talk to you about. I'm talking about your charitable giving.

When it comes to giving back to God, it is important to spend some time looking at our financial situation and consider how much we will give. As Christians I believe we need to put a stake in the ground in terms of our lifestyles, so that even when our income increases, our standard of living will remain the same, allowing us to give more back to God. That takes some planning. It means reviewing your budget and seeing where you can cut back.

But gift planning is more than that. It is about looking at your total financial situation - current and future - taking into consideration gifts other than cash, and setting goals about how much you would like to give. It is about planning your charitable donations in light of your current financial situation, your retirement plan or your estate plan.

Does this mean we make a plan and stick to it no matter what? What about spontaneous acts of giving as the Holy Spirit moves us? Isn't it important to obey God as He prompts us? Absolutely. Developing a gift plan will allow you to have the freedom to do so as ministry needs are brought to your attention.

Take a look at the Your Gift Plan page to see what a gift plan could look like.