Blessed 2

On December 3, I wrote that I sometimes take things for granted until I am reminded of the blessings that I have. I thought about this after a couple of hospital visits I made. Thankfully, both of those people are home now and continuing to get better.

Last week I was again at the hospital. This time I was in a room of my own for 4 days. I don't know if you have ever done that before but those are some long days. I am out now and doing well, thank you.

I guess for me I have never had that experience and it was wierd. Roomservice was great but it wasn't the best food I have had. Anyway, I now understand how important it is to visit and contact those in the hospital. Of course, each situation is different but I would say for most people you trying to do something in the way of contact (whether phone or personal) is the best action. I was bored to tears the vast majority of the days I was there and loved talking to those who called and came by.

I thank God for continuing the healing process on me and for giving me a glimpse of how to handle this tough time in people's lives.

It can be difficult to make the time to visit people but that is why we are here isn't it??

Train up a child....

We would be hard pressed (whatever that means) to find someone who has not heard the old adage "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it". Did you know that is actually a verse from the Bible? (Proverbs 22:6) I find it interesting that the verse immediately following Proverbs 22:6 (Proverbs 22:7 if you are a little slow) says, "Just as the rich rule the poor the borrower is servant to the lender." I wonder if God is trying to tell us something here?

Anyway, I found an article, that is referenced below for your reading pleasure, that bares out what I believe to be true based on these two verses. The article talks about teaching your kids to give as an antidote to materialism. I couldn't agree more!!!

I believe that giving, in whatever form, reminds us that what we have been blessed with really is not ours. It also allows us to see how blessed we truly are when we reach out to those less fortunate. The difficult part, in today's economical environment, is to recognize that some people who have "nice" things are needy right now. I mean they may have a $300k home and two nice cars that were purchased when the housing market was going well, but today those are a burden that has to be dealt with.

I hope you will join me and my family in reaching out to someone in your community that is in need. ALLOW YOUR KIDS TO SEE GENEROSITY IN ACTION!!


http://finance.yahoo.com/personal-finance/article/103960/Teach-Your-Little-Ones-to-Love-Giving-Really

Blessed...

I don't know about you but there are times that I forget how blessed I am. I take my wife and kids for granted. I forget that it is not a guarantee that I have health and a home and food and clothing and a car and so on and so on...

I made two visits to the hospital today. One of my teammates had surgery today. She is one of the nicest people you will ever know. I pray God wraps His arms around her. A Friend of mine had his leg amputed below the knee on Friday. I can ot imagine what he is going through. I pray that God will show Himself real to my friend and his family.

Our church has many hurting families, health issues, financial issues and marital issues. I pray that God will use us to touch these families.

Sometimes I need a reminder about how much God is blessing me. I pray that I will never forget His love for me and my family, teammates, and friends.

Now That's Funny...

In my never ending search to keep you interested (now that I think about it I may be the only person seeing this and therefor I suppose I am just trying to keep myself interested, anyway) I have stumbled across some interesting, sad, nuts and funny stuff. Today I want to share a couple of things I have seen recently that just make me wonder. Here are some headlines.

1) Pink Faberge Egg fetches record $18.5 million. (Good Lord who did that??)

2) Supermodel inspires NBA players hot streak. (I researched this a little... He makes $6+ million/year and has averaged over 12 minutes more per game in the past 4 games what that has to do with a girl....)

3) Sears Holdings 3Q profit plunges 99% (Is this surprising? When was the last time you went to Sears or Kmart)

4) Airlines add traveler services (They are going to contact you when your flight is delayed or cancelled.... My experience has been that they ACT like they don't know until you are on the plane and sitting on the Tarmac... by the way at this point I have already been told to turn off my cell phone... I guess my question is how are they going to contact me, over the PA system on the plane?)

5) Tricks to lessen the house value slide (They never mentioned don't sell... you don't lose money if you don't sell. A few years ago a the statistic for people moving in GA was that over 80% of all moves were from one county to another. If you can stay where you are for a few more years you won't lose money.)

6) Touring 50 Cent's crib ( How does a man with an $80,000 dollar chandelier in his dining room get the name 50 cent???)

And the ultimate...

7) Unlucky lottery winner (It seems this lottery winner is a convicted bank robber who isn't supposed to be gambling... "Sorry, dude you can't have the money!" Talk about a high turning into a low)

Remember...

In Philippians 1:3 Paul says, "I thank my God every time I remember you."

It got me to thinking two things. First of all, how often do I REALLY thank God for those I remember. Secondly, how often do I take the time to remember in the first place.

I am not sure if remembering others is a "spiritual gift" or not but either way I don't have it. My tendency is to focus on me. I am really not a bad person, at times I consider others, but it takes a lot of discipline for me to focus on others for long periods of time. Truly I am tired after that 10 minutes of focus.

Anyway, I want to remember those who helped me find my way in the darkness. I didn't have a dad growing up to lead me. Thanks to my mom for hanging in there with two idiots for sons. Thanks to Danny (a neighbor) for spending time with me and inviting me to church. Thanks to Paul (Sunday school teacher) for sharing Christ. Thanks to Kelley (my wife) for putting up with my selfishness and keeping me somewhat focused. Thanks to Kenneth & Sarah (inlaws) for "adopting" a kid with no clue who their daughter felt sorry for.

There are many, many people that we cross paths with that have an eternal affect on our lives. If Paul ( a hero of the faith ) can take time to remember and write them notes letting them know you remember, I think I can find some time to follow his lead.

I am striving to take 20 minutes each day and remember 3 people, pray for them and send them a note. I hope you will join me.

God's Power

Sometimes I forget that God is truly all powerful. I am not talking about the blue Genie from Alladin, I am talking about real power. This past weekend at NorthStar Daniel Hoover (Worship Pastor) spoke to our congregation about TRUE WORSHIP.

He talked about how true worship carries on outside the walls of the church and outside the calendar day of Sunday. It is really reaching out to the world around us. He did a great job of sharing his heart on worship. We are very lucky to have someone like him on staff.

I don't know what that has to do with God's power except to say that He has put this group of staff together. He has put this congregation together at this time in this location. Mordecai told Esther "who knows that you have been put in this place for such a time as this." I don't know why God has assembled the incredible cast of characters He has put here on staff and in the church, but I believe He wants to show His power in this community through a group of people that will allow Him to. I pray we are always willing to be used by His power.

Who knows that we have been put here for such a time as this!!

Black Friday?

I think it is interesting that somehow the Friday after Thanksgiving has been dubbed "Black Friday". What is so black about it? Ok, for me it is sort of black, I mean I can hardly move from yesterday so all I can see is the back of my eyelids and even then it is not totally dark. I don't think it is black for the retailers. They are bringing in more cash (or receipts) today than any other day of the year. It's not black for news people, they have plenty to talk about. How many parking spaces are left, who lost the fight for the "tickle me Joe Bob" or whatever.

I just don't know how that happened. The day after the day we reserve for giving thanks should not be dubbed Black Friday. Most of us are off work so we don't even have to deal with that. Granted it is a madhouse at most stores and malls today but even that can be fun if you have the right approach to the "event".

I hope you don't see this day or any other as a Black day. God has created you and me to shine a light on every day. I hope you will.

By the way, I have done a little calculating and the best I can figure is that about 30 days after today is about as close to a black day as you get, after all that is when the credit card bill will come due.

Happy Bright Friday!

Helping others!

I just saw an article on Yahoo about food pantries seeing a rise in working people needing help with food. One of the people they interviewed said that she makes $9 per hour working full time, has no insurance and sometimes there just isn't enough to make ends meet. So she goes to the local food pantry for a little help. I have been guilty of making all kinds of judgments about people like this lady and many others. After all, the Bible says that if a man does not work neither should he eat. I have applied this to a lot of people.

I have finally learned that the Bible was written for me to apply to me not for me to apply to others. You know what this means. When God says if you don't work you won't eat He is talking to me. He also says over and over that I should help the poor. My thought has been if they aren't working they shouldn't be eating. But God has shown me that He makes those decisions not me.

In Crown, we talk about there being two parts to living (God's part and our part). My problem is that I want to do God's part and ignore my part. I find it easier to decide when someone should receive help and when they shouldn't rather than just giving when God asks me to give.

I guess what I really want to say is that we are called to help others. We are not called to help everyone but we are called to help someone. God will show you who that someone is if you will ask Him.

Our part is to help, His part is to deal with the results of that help. I hope you will join me and my family as we JUST help others and not worry about the rest.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Christian Business?

Yesterday, a friend of mine invited me to lunch. He wanted to talk about his business and how you really turn it over to God. Great question. It is very easy to say "God, this is your business" it is not easy to really turn it over. I am sure my comments to him were virtually useless but I have found something I think is very helpful for this and any other thing you want to turn over to God.

I have mentioned before about John Ortberg's book, "When the game is over it all goes back in the box." Last night I found a great quote I want to share with you guys.

"Jesus' idea was that when someone began to follow him, that person would become good news to everybody in the neighborhood, at the office, or in the school. His followers would become more generous and more truthful and would be a blessing to all peoples as God had promised Abraham."

So that is how you know that your organization (or yourself for that matter) is following Jesus. I told my friend that the hard thing about turning your business over to God is that once you have done it you still have to run the business. You have to decide what happens and doesn't happen. It doesn't get easier because you turn it over. In some ways it gets harder because you can't do things the way everyone else does.

Anyway, if you have an organization (business, sports team, weight watchers, whatever) that you want to turn over, commit it to God and then make the decisions that will allow it to be good news and a blessing to everyone who comes in contact with it.

I believe that God will then allow it to be a blessing to you and your family.

To Worry or Not To Worry....

This past weekend at NorthStar Mike spoke about worry and asked us to list the things we worry about. Those lists were brought to the front of the room and left there for us as staff to pray over. I have looked at many of those and most of them are not really surprising (they are the same things I worry about).

I don't want to diminish or disregard the reality of the feelings associated with the issues that people wrote on those cards. I realize they are real feelings that carry a lot of weight and burden for these people. However, I would like to turn it around a little.

Many cards listed someone as worrying about having to work at a job they didn't like (I have been there). Many listed worrying about future health issues, finances, etc... These are all very real issues that we all deal with at some point on some level. But, doesn't God say who among you can add even a day to his life by worrying? I know it has never helped me.

Let me propose that we focus on the opposite. We thank God for the health we have rather than worrying about getting cancer. We thank God for the job we have rather than worrying about it being bad. We thank God for the money He has blessed us with rather than worrying about not having enough. We thank God for our families rather than worrying about their future. We thank God for our country rather than complaining about its direction. We thank God for His salvation rather than worrying about dying.

Rather than being too worried to be thankful, it is time we are too thankful to be worried!!

You can hear Mike Linch's message on worry @ northstarchurch.org

This week Mike will share with us about PAUSING to be thankful. I hope to see you there.

Nap Time?

Have you ever felt like you needed a nap after lunch? Me too! It turns out that it could be good for you.

Apparently, napping during the day is a great way to relieve stress on your heart. A 30 minute nap in the middle of the day gives your body the opportunity to rejuvinate (big word huh?). The study goes on to say:

Some of the reviving benefits of naps include enhanced cognitive function, better reaction time, more patience, stress relief, and better overall health.

I suppose the idea of a mid-day Siesta is not a bad idea. I know one thing when I am done eating at a Mexican restaurant I feel like I need a siesta.

Caution: Mid-day napping could be hazadous to your employment.

Maybe we could start with 15 minutes.

I hate tests!

Tomorrow morning I get the pleasure of going for a stress test. Now you should know that I probably have one of the most stress free jobs available. The only thing I could imagine that would be less stressful is Director of Communication for a large church but that is another story.

Anyway, I wrote last week that I was sick and for my trouble I am being sent to do this test. I have always hated a test and am not at all excited about this test. Think about it, it is a pass or fail deal. If you pass, good for you (for a while anyway), if you fail, go to hospital do not pass home do not collect clothing on the way.

I am pretty sure I have no problems with my heart but I suppose this is the right thing to do. After all, I am no doctor. I feel just like I did in High School, I am not looking forward to the test, but I know I have to do it and I want to get it over with.

I hope that the guy on the treadmill next to me is smart and doesn't mind me looking at his work and I hope it doesn't take 2 weeks to find out how I did.

I am BLESSED!

The last few days have not been good for me. I have a problem that has happened 3 different times. We can't figure out what causes it but are still working on that. Last night I didn't think I was going to make it without a trip to the ER. However, I woke up at 1AM to find myself dripping wet and feeling 1000 times better. PHEEEEW I am glad that life altering, near death, noone is experiencing what I have, time has passed.

Then today I visit two people in the hospital. One is a teammate who is probably one of the sweetest people I know that has a recurring problem with her intestines and has been in since the weekend. The other is a great guy who has become a good friend of ours from the softball field. He has blood clots in his left leg, bypass has been attempted and failed twice and now he is faced with the choice of keep the leg and deal with the pain or lose the pain and the leg. WOW!

I don't know what that means to you but for me I need to get a grip on myself sometimes. No matter how "bad" things are going for me, God has blessed me with a family, a job, a church, health, love, friends, community, etc...

I pray that God will show me those times when I am focusing too much on what I am dealing with when I should be focusing on what I have to be thankful for.

The next time you start feeling sorry for yourself go visit some folks in the hospital maybe I will see you there.

Budget! Is it really necessary?

As you may know, I have two very distinct parts to my job here at NorthStar. I am the Pastor of Stewardship which allows me the opportunity to work with families, either one-on-one or through Crown, to move closer to God's financial direction for their lives. I am also the Business Administrator which allows me the opportunity to work with the staff members, management team and Pastor on the financial direction of the organization. These two parts of my job have a lot in common, but the main commonality is budgeting.

It really doesn't matter how big the numbers are the process is pretty much the same. It takes time, discipline, patience and will power. The basic parts of the process are:

1 Know what you spend now.
2 Know what you make now.
3 Allocate money to all categories.
(Don't ignore saving, investing and giving. They are vital to the overall picture)
4 Compare your expenses to revenue.
5 Make adjustments to balance the budget.
(These adjustments have to be made in how you live not just on paper)
6 Live within the budget
7 Adjust the budget as needed


The budget is not a document you create and put away. It is a guideline for living daily. Sometimes we need to adjust it to a change (job, family, etc...) that occurs. Other times we need to change it because our short term goals have changed.

I know you are thinking as I have many times, "this budget thing is a pain, I don't want to WASTE the time. I can get everything paid for without it." You are right, most of the time you can pay your bills and live without harassing phone calls without a budget. But the real purpose of the budget is to set up guardrails that help keep you on the path to your goals. That's right a budget should be based on your goals. If you have a goal of "retirement" (we'll talk later) or sending the kids to college or property on the lake or giving 15% to the church, you must have a plan to get there or it will always be just a wish.

Budgeting is how these wishes become reality.

For more info: www.crown.org

You Are Getting Very Sleeeeeepy!

Have you ever noticed yourself acting in an irrational or over emotional manner? Oh, Okay. Have you ever noticed your spouse or a co-worker acting in an irrational or over emotional manner? Ahhhhh, me too! So what is up with these people. I mean you ask a simple question about getting 2 months off or a 14.257% raise or a personal assistant to do your work for you and they just go off all crazy and stuff.

Well, as it turns out, there is a reason for this madness. Apparently scientists have found that sleep deprivation causes us to overreact emotionally. This is probably not a surprise to you as it was not to me. But having scientific studies behind it helps us to focus on it more I suppose. The following was stated in the article referenced below: "While we predicted that the emotional centers of the brain would overreact after sleep deprivation, we didn't predict they'd overreact as much as they did," Walker said. "They became more than 60 percent more reactive to negative emotional stimuli. That's a whopping increase—the emotional parts of the brain just seem to run amok." It is traced to a "hyperactive response to a shutdown of the prefrontal lobe, a brain region that normally keeps emotions under control" Okay, shake your head and refocus your eyes and I will explain it to you. When you don't sleep part of your brain shuts down and apparently it is the part that keeps your foot out of your mouth.

For me this was not earth shattering information. However, I do need to be reminded that God created sleep for a reason. Not just to have something to do in a chair or pew on Sunday mornings but to re energize and re build me as the whole person He created. I suppose I should turn the TV off the cage fighting, football, baseball and 2 man beach volleyball and allow God to refresh my body and brain. I hope you do as well, it may make the drive to work less painful.

Good night.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20071022/sc_livescience/
emotionsrunamokinsleepdeprivedbrains

Encouragement

I don't know about you but I love to receive encouragement. It empowers me to take steps I would not have otherwise taken. It gives me courage to stand strong in difficult times. It gives me the will to forge ahead when I am tired and feel like quitting. I love and need encouragement.

However, I am terrible when it comes to handing out encouragement. I have spurts of time when I send cards, slap backs, give credit, etc... But generally they are small and short lived spurts. I know that God has put me in my current position, (whether it be home, work or play) to help those around me be their best. Occasionally, I need to be reminded that I need to be an encourager. I allow myself to get caught up in what "I" am dealing with and lose focus on one of my duties as a leader in these three areas. I can't encourage OTHERS when I focus on me.

I pray that God will help me be an encourager. I want to encourage my wife when she is stuck doing laundry or struggling with family issues. I want to encourage my girls through their homework and tough times on the softball field. I want to encourage my co-workers when they are tired and weary. I want to encourage you through this blog.

Pray for me as I strive to be an encouragement to others.

The Game

Today, we are hosting a 1 hour talk by John Ortberg based on his book called "When the Game is over it all goes back in the box." The basic premise of the book is that no matter how well we do financially here on earth we can not take it with us. We leave all of it here.

I believe that by now everyone has heard a million times the phrase, " I have never seen a hearse pulling a U-haul." The fact that it is a true statement does not make it any less tired by the way. Obviously, it is true that we will take nothing with us, however, we still have to play the GAME. I mean I still have to eat, pay the light bill, drive, have a place to sleep, etc...

So knowing that when the game is over it all goes back in the box and knowing that I still have to play the game what should be my goal. I mean what is the point in playing if I know the result already (I can't keep it)?

Here is God's "secret". THE GAME ITSELF (not the result) IS THE POINT!!

How we play the game is of concern to God. In week 2 of Crown we talk about what is God's part. Week 3-10 are all about what our part is. In short, it is to be faithful with what He gives (His part) us, but of course there is much more to it than that. In Luke 16:11 Jesus says, "If you have not been faithful in the use of worldly wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you." How you play the Game determines what kind of riches you are ultimately entrusted with. I am really striving to play this game well. I want him to trust me with TRUE RICHES.

In Monopoly, you win by ending the game. In God's game you win by playing the game His way.

Bad Shot, Wrong Focus!

Some of the guys in the office and some guys we met at the YMCA hook up to play basketball about 3 mornings each week. Sometimes, its 1-0n-1, sometimes 2-0n-2, 3-on-3, 2-on-3 or whatever. It is a lot of fun, a huge challenge and gives some much needed exercise. I am not a good player but I love to play and accept the challenge of whoever I am facing. Sometimes it works out good other times not so good.

Today was a not so good day. Steve Roach and I played today and he won 3 games to 2. I know what you are thinking, how in the world did he beat you 3 times in one morning. I want to say the referee was terrible but there wasn't one, besides that he usually doesn't get close enough to foul me. I will leave you to figure out what that means.

Anyway, my shot was not good at all today. Normally, I am not very good but today was exceptionally bad. In the last game, I actually caught myself keeping up with my shots. I was 0 for 9 before I thought why on earth am I focusing so much on what I have missed. Yes, I actually thought about this while we were playing. When I stopped focusing on my 0% shooting percentage to that point, I actually came back and won that game.

This reminded me that if I focus on the bad things, mistakes and air-balls in my life, I will never hear the "string music" that a great shot makes.

I pray that you will refocus your thoughts on the provision, gifts and love God has put in your life. May you attack whatever your opponent is with a positive attitude, all your effort and God's strength. I know Steve will find it tought to beat me like that again!

Do I have a problem?

I don't know about you but for me, I have no problem seeing where you, or anyone else, are making mistakes. This goes for any aspect of your life. I can see your flaws from 10 miles away. I can see every pit and pothole you have fallen into and are about to go into. As a matter of fact, when I read my Bible your name comes to my mind. when I read verses and stories I have no problem putting you right there. Not the good ones, the bad ones. For example, when the Bible says "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." I know exactly which one of you that is talking about. Weird huh!!

Answer this question and I will tell you what I discovered.
"Who was the Bible written for?" (Insert the theme from Jeopardy here.)

Here is what I discovered. The Bible was written for me! Yes, it was written for you also. But, from my perspective God intends for me to use the Bible as MY guide not as my guide for YOU! Granted if you come to me for counsel hopefully I will give you Biblically based counsel. But the Word is for ME.

Now, I believe that our challenge is to stop trying to apply the Bible to each other and really, truly, focus on applying it to ourselves. It is easier said than done. It takes a true commitment to want God's best for yourself. It takes humility to admit our flaws. It takes time to find God's direction. It takes strength and determination to make the change. The fact is if we continue to allow satan to put "anyone's" name in Bible verses and stories other than ours we lose, he wins.

I want to stop that cycle. I know you do as well. Let's make a conscious effort to focus on us as we study God's Word. Just say NO - to reading God's Word and applying it to your friends and family.

By the way, if you want to know what you need to focus on CALL ME.

Fear vs Freedom

Isn't the internet great. With just the touch of the keyboard you can find all kinds of stuff. Well I have found some very interesting info for you today. Have you ever wondered what your chances of winning the lottery are? Come on, you can be honest. Me too. I don't know about you but my chances are zero. It turns out you have to buy a ticket to win and I ain't spending my money that way. But, that is a topic for another day.

I wonder why we really care about odds. We have statistics for everything. Using these numbers we can create odds. Such as:

Odds of dating a supermodel - 88,000 to 1
Odds of having hemorrhoids - 25 to 1
Odds of dating a millionaire - 215 to 1 ( if she can't be pretty maybe she'll have money)
Odds of being murdered - 18,000 to 1
Odds of being considered possessed by Satan - 7,000 to 1

The good news is you have pretty good odds of dating a millionaire. The bad news is he or she is likely to have hemorrhoids and has a good chance of being possessed by Satan. Good luck to you.

Anyway, odds and statistics have always been very interesting to me. I just find them fascinating. But, we can become so fixated on those things that we accomplish nothing. We can spend WAY to much money trying to win the lottery (13,000,000 to 1) and not be able to provide for our family properly.

I want my life to be about more than odds. I know that if I trust God and try to live according to His plan and turn it all over to Him, the odds don't mean anything. Yes, I can still become a statistic, but in God's eyes I am living by His plan. It gives me freedom to live without fear of what may happen. I believe that is what God intended.

What is stopping you from turning it all over to Him?

PS Now that I know I have better odds of winning an Olympic Medal (662,000 to 1) than drowning in a bathtub (685,000 to 1) I will smell better tomorrow.

What's wrong with my skin??

In yet another article I found, problems with our skin have been linked to stress. Yes, you read right STRESS. Dry skin, inflammation, rashes and even allergies. These can all be traced back to your level of stress. This is on top of the other problems, such as, high blood pressure, ulcers and a sore throat from all the screaming at people. Chill out will ya, I didn't see the light turn green.

As you are no doubt aware, we get stressed more about money and money related issues (job) than anything else. So, how do we begin to lower our stress level? Well, it won't happen by trying to win the lottery! First off, you have to know where you are spending the money God has given you. I recommend you write down everything you spend for a month. This means everything. You buy a piece of gum from the concession stand you write down Gum 5 cents Oct. 3. You do this for a month and you have a start on putting your budget together. You will also be able to see very easily some things that you can stop that will help save money.

The truth is that every one of us know what we have to do to solve this financial issue and relieve the stress that comes from that. No one has a silver bullet to help you. Not me, not Larry Burkett, not even Dave Ramsey!! You have the power to change how you are living in this area and therefor remove that portion of stress in your life.

My question is,

"What is stopping you from taking the steps to make your life more stress free?"

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/skintype/9742/stressed-out-its-showing

Who are you "Hangin' With"?

I have linked an article below that talks about a study. Studies are always interesting but this one hit me on two fronts. The study says that if you gain or lose weight your close associates will do the same. Very Interesting. Now I know what you are thinking, you are wondering who I have been hanging out with. Stop, that is enough of that. You have problems too!

Anyway as the article went on it talked about how this theory could be applied to other areas of our life. I am not very smart but I can tell you that it absolutely does affect the financial area. The peer pressure to fit in is bigger for adults than for kids. We buy and buy just to make sure we can fit in with the people who "have" money. It is too bad we have to be this way.

There is good news though. Since we know that we will begin to look and act like those we "hang" with the most, maybe we should be a little more careful about who we choose to be around. I mean maybe we should hang out with people who paid cash for their new Jeep rather than those that traded their upside down Expedition for a new Escalade. I would rather be like those with no car payment. Can you imagine what it would be like to have no car payment?

I think you know what I am saying.

I'm off to get in line with my people at Golden Corral.


http://biz.yahoo.com/hmoney/071002/
100207_100400140_moneymag.html?.v=1&.pf=banking-budgeting

Spotlight Focus!

Yesterday at NorthStar, I was given the privilege of offering closing comments and announcements at the end of our 3 services. Now, public speaking is not a gift of mine (which is painfully obvious to those in attendance yesterday) but it is fun to share from time to time.
I pretty much made a mess of my time yesterday but I had fun, I may never be allowed back on stage but I had fun.

When I do get that opportunity I have to rely on something to help me remember what I am supposed to say. I don't want to mess anything up. I need this aid because the spotlight is focused on me and it makes me very nervous. I become self-conscious and forget everything.

I was wondering though why I don't make sure I have my aid with me in every day living. I mean God is certainly watching what I do and I know my family, friends, neighbors and even total strangers are watching what I do. The spotlight is always focused on me by someone. I may not feel it but it is there. Don't I need some sort of aid.

The good news is, God has provided that aid. The Bible, His Word, our owner's manual, and the ultimate Self-Help book. Everything we will ever need insight on, anything we need to remember as we live in the spot light of life, is in this book. I guess the question is when am I going to start using it.

Perspective

It's funny how we see things. The old adage that "one person's junk is another's treasure" is very true.

Have you ever been driving through a neighborhood and seen something they put out with the trash can and said "Hmmmmmm I've been wanting a new ceiling fan"? Yeah, me too!

Interesting how that happens isn't it. Here's the thing about perspective. It is much easier to see the good in things you don't have than in the things you do have. We have this strange desire for almost anything we don't already have.

In Philipians 4 Paul said "For I have learned to be content..." We have to learn to be content with what God has given us and where He has put us. It is not easy but definitely a better place to live. I have gotten there with many things. Now that doesn't mean that I wouldn't love to have a 4 door F150 in the garage, but it means that I don't go get it until I have a "NEED" for it. It is not easy but it is the best way. Long term me and my family will be much better off financially, emotionally and spiritually because we are content where we are with what we have. This contentment is only gained by practice and God's grace.

I pray this contentment for you and your family. We talk about contentment in week 9 of Crown.

By the way, if you are out and about feel free to take the exercise bike by my trash can. If I left a shirt hanging on it leave it by the garage.

Later.

Generation Debt

Statistics say that the average newly wed couple tries to accumulate in the first three years of marriage what it took their parents a lifetime to accumulate. I don't know about you but when I think about what that means for my kids it is very scary. Our desire to have bigger, better, more, quicker can be devastating for a marriage.

Proverbs 22:7 says, "Just as the rich rule the poor so the borrower is servant to the lender" We will discuss this more in week 3 of Crown. But the truth is the more we are in debt the harder it is for us to be servant to God (" You cannot serve both God and money " Matthew 6:24 & Luke 16:13). Practically speaking if you are having to work two jobs to make ends meet you don't have time to serve God.

It is very difficult to go against culture and not be a part of Generation Debt. I saw an article today that talked about "Staying Frugal in the Age of the iPhone". There are so many "cool" new gadgets in our world it is hard to stay focused on our goals for wanting to be a part of this "age".

I pray that you will stand out from the crowd and show your children that you can have a great life while staying out of debt. A good marriage between a mom and dad are much more important for your kids to see than your new iPhone.

I have linked the article below. Have a great day.

http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/generationdebt/46569;_ylt=Ajy5O.d1jBrs37shNbVbpF67YWsA

How Rich Are You!!

I saw an article today that is pretty amazing!! Apparently there is a resort in Sri Lanka that has a dessert on its menu that costs $14,500. When I saw this I really expected there to be some sort of exotic animal part in the dessert. However, it turns out they put an 80 carat Aquamarine Gem stone in the thing. I wonder how much it would cost to fix your teeth after biting down on it? Anyway, that is amazing. $14,500 for a dessert (and a rock). That is more money than some 90% of the world's population makes in a year. Incredible.

I don't know about you but even if I could afford that dessert I wouldn't buy it. I guess what puts it in perspective though is we would have no problem spending that on a "good" used car.

WE TRULY ARE RICH!

Remembering that we are rich is a big challenge. I have to deal with that in myself everyday. As we move toward week two in Crown it is vital that we remember: "Everything in the Heavens and earth are Yours O Lord!"

Have a great day.

In The Beginning!!

Good morning!!

Everything has to start somewhere and sometime. So I am beginning this blog today. Hopefully I will remember to update it often. My goal is to put helpful info here for anyone (especially those in our Stewardship Ministry) to use in their daily lives. I know I have to be reminded daily how God wants me to live.

The first thing we do in our Crown classes (find out more @ Crown.org) is establish that our way of thinking is not in line with God's. (Isaiah 55:8-9) This is never more true than in the area of finances. Our challenge is to find out what God says about money that we are not in line with. There are two ways to do that. First, you can read the Bible and pick them out yourself, which is great but difficult. Second, you can join a Crown class and walk through His word with a group. I believe joining a group will yield more fruit for your journey. For more info contact jamie@northstarchurch.org

If you are currently in a group or have been through the class you know that our memory verse for the first week is Luke 16:11. Next week we will recite 1 Chronicles 29:11-12. Tough verse but we need to remember it for our daily living. I truly enjoyed our group last night and look forward to Friday night's first meeting and the second meeting of our Sunday night group.

Have a great day!! Write down everything you spend!