I know there haven’t been many posts lately with the birth and the redesign but that doesn’t mean you guys haven’t been on my mind. I’ll be easing back into the posting soon enough. Meanwhile go check out the latest podcasts from John and the guys at Ransomed Heart Ministries. http://www.ransomedheart.com/goingdeeper/podcasts.aspx

Proverbs 22:7, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave of the lender” (NRSV)

I’m sure I’m not the only one that has wanted to quit a job but was unable to because he couldn’t pay next months bills. I’d even dare say that I’m not the only one that has had suicide cross their mind because of their lack of financial hope. I’m here to tell you that there is hope and it abundantly. The goal is to tell your money what to do, not for it to tell you what you have to do

My wife Vicki and I took Dave’s “Financial Peace University” back when we were dating and managed to go totally debt free in our first year of marriage. Our lives and marriage have been all the better because of it. We RARELY have an argument about money. Since there is no tension or blame regarding debt we can communicate openly about where we can best spend our money.

In the interest of full disclosure we have incurred some debt recently. I had eye surgery, the total of which was over $11,000 (no insurance at the time). We had half of that in savings and thanks to a very generous, interest free loan from Vicki’s grandparents we didn’t have to put the balance on a credit card (saving anywhere from 18 to 22%) And, when I found myself without a vehicle to drive last week we took out a small auto loan from our Credit Union to get a little more reliable car with the baby on the way next month.

Having said that… I KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would not be in a house, driving the nicest car I’ve ever owned (its only 6 yrs old instead of 12yrs) or be in a position of strength instead of weakness, in these troubled times, if it weren’t for the lessons of Dave Ramsey, the encouragement of Craig Groeschel’s sermons, and the great money management of my wife! The goal for us wasn’t so much to be completely debt free but to have financial freedom and peace. Here are Dave’s 7 Baby Steps, and here’s how we did it:

• One Bank Account (For the married) No compromise. If each of you have a separate checking account then you have trust issues and you’ll never get on the same page financially or emotionally.
• Get serious You got in this mess by doing what you’ve always done, to get out- you have to decide to do life differently. Own your debt, take responsibility for changing your life so that you can get out of the hole. Eating out, lattes, clubbing, iTunes, whatever it is that steals your “margin,” cut it out.
• Start Tithing 10% off the top. It shows God you’re serious and he’ll begin to honor your efforts. I promise. The Three Month Tithing Challenge
• Put $1000 in an Emergency Savings Account and pray that God keeps things from breaking so you don’t have to use it. The problem with life is that things come up and stuff breaks down. However, nothing is as big of an emergency if you have money set aside to deal with the unexpected.
• Build your budget. “Spend every dime on paper before the month begins.” Write down all the places you have to spend money during the month (including splurges) and fill up the slots until you have no more money left. This shows you where ever bit of your paycheck is going. If you didn’t budget enough in one area take it from another slot so you’ll always know where the money is coming from and where its going out.
• Pay the Smallest Bills First Dave calls this the “Debt Snowball” Here’s how it works: Pay only the minimum balance on all your bills except the smallest. The idea is that you pay off the smallest bill first then take the money that was going to that debtor and start giving it to the next biggest debt. Then to the next so that you’re bills never increase but you increase your power to pay with each debt you pay off. The point of doing it this way is to gain success over the situation, not getting, potentially, bogged down in paying the highest interest rates first on a loan that may be the most daunting to get payed off.
• Start Saving Get 6 months of expenses in the bank. Life feels a lot different when you aren’t stressing over the number of days until your next check to get the light bill paid. Once you’ve got some money in the bank its worth more to you. You start thinking about where its going rather than making interest in your account. Start budgeting in giving, mission trips, being generous in the creative ways God puts on your heart. It gets FUN fast!

My work life took on a whole new dynamic when I wasn’t afraid of loosing my job for saying something unpopular. Being able to speak my mind (not be rude), give my honest opinion when asked, and not being afraid of cutbacks or layoffs. Once you get to the point where you can wait tables or flip burgers to pay your bills you know you’ve earned your freedom. Speaking of.. delivering pizza or selling a bunch of your junk on Craigslist on top of the job you have now may get you to that place a whole lot quicker.

More Resources:

DaveRamsey.com
The Mind Your Own Business series
Couples Resource Center
How to be Rich

Be assured there is no situation that is too dire to climb out of. More reading…

Its like taking a trip. I get hyped up on going somewhere, I get out the map, I can see the direction to go but I can’t decide most efficient way to get there– plane, train, or automobile– so I just stay home. Same with decision making… I get a picture of the “destination” or “outcome” in my head and how great it would be to see that goal realized. But then I start to consider the different ways I’d go about making the journey. Should I start a group? Should I start a group for the leaders of the groups so that they’ll be better equipped to go start their own group? Should I have a weekend experience that gets ‘em interested in meeting as a group and hope that a group forms? Should I start an online presence (blog) with content that makes people think about it and then hope they find a group that helps them reach it? What is “it?” “It” is a great book by Craig Groeschel but that’s not important right now. What’s important is telling God, “I know this is the purpose you have set in my heart but have no idea how to do it, but I’m not taking another step until you tell me where to put my foot.” and then repeat.  I’m learning that ts the same with every business/relationship/dialogue/endeavor.

God, I know this is the purpose you have set in my heart but have no idea how to do it, but I’m not taking another step until you tell me where to put my foot.

I could use some comments on this one. Load me up with how you push down the fear and overcome.

This Guy Reads the Bible

This is Brian, he reads the bible- to you. Every day for a couple of years (3 I think), Brian Hardin reads. His project, ‘the daily audio bible‘ has about 4,000,000 people who download the daily audio Bible podcast every day. Read more about Brian here. Versions are about to be launched in Spanish, Hindi, and a Kids version, not to mention the Daily Proverb. Search any pod-catcher software to get to them.

I have to admit that the first time I heard the podcast Brian’s voice was a little over the top. The background music and nature sounds were a little too “new age.” But the more I listened I could tell his heart was in the right place and the choices he makes in his delivery are spot on. He has tuned his reading so that it doesn’t get tedious, he is present in the Word as he reads and therefore you are pulled in as well. I’ve never been able to follow the stories in the old testament in context until I heard reading them.

The Daily Audio Bible podcast isn’t just the reading, there is a very large world-wide community that is based around the project with regular on-line meetings.

So, this is one of my resolutions that I invite you to join me on. Use this podcast to figure out how to use an mp3 player and go through the bible with us me this year. I won’t pledge to make every single day but from what I’ve been following in this second half of 2008, I know that I won’t want to put gaps in the progress.

Now’s the time to start getting into it so that you’ll be on board when the year starts.

A Christmas Devotion

Merry Christmas from Men On Purpose.com!!

When I first ran across Love146.org, I was struck at how this could even happen in our world today (yes, I show how naive I can be).  How could it be possible for children to be sold into sexual slavery?  How can anyone let children be prostituted?  How can a man justify his base lust and have sex with children?

Love146.org exists to end child sex slavery and exploitation.

Become an Abolitionist!  www.love146.org

Yesterday as I was coming home from work I was working out how to approach a post that would get to the epicenter of addiction and distraction (the deeper I go down the rabbit hole the more I realize they are the same thing). I need, for myself, and to communicate to others why we feel the need to “Check Out” and how it affects us when we live from that place. Don’t think I’m talking about Alcoholism or Drug abuse specifically, I’m talking about “vegging” in front of a TV, computer, porn, getting lost in a project and turning off the world, paying more attention to athletic figures than family, or even thrill seeking. Our past-times do not make us who we are, God has made us who we are and it is our job to stay alert until we find that purpose.

Well, thankfully Craig McConnell (the class clown over at Ransomed Heart) included this quote in his post called “Cheetos.”

Ecstasy and delight are essential to the believers soul and they promote sanctification.  We were not meant to live without spiritual exhilaration, and the Christian who goes for a long time without the experience of heart-warming will soon find himself tempted to have his emotions satisfied from earthly things and not, as he ought, from the Spirit of God.  The soul is so constituted that it craves fulfillment from things outside itself and will embrace earthly joys for satisfaction when it cannot reach spiritual ones . . .  The believer is in spiritual danger if he allows himself to go for any length of time without tasting the love of Christ and savoring the felt comforts of a Savior’s presence.  When Christ ceases to fill the heart with satisfaction, our souls will go in silent search of other lovers . . .” – Maruice Roberts

Get quiet with God and meditate on this for a bit, we’ll get back to it.

Most men hope to marry some day, but there’s no guarantee they will.  Increasingly, young men are — as one writer put it — “stumbling on to the altar as if by accident.”  … When they do find advice about relationships, it’s often spectacularly bad.

This guide was developed to turn around the curse of failed manhood.  In their infinite wisdom, the authors have opted to GIVE this information away.  So get over to Guy’s Guide to Marrying Well and sign up to break the curse of apathy among men and marriage.

Here’s what’s stirring me.

I pissed off at ** “Christians.” (of which I reluctantly include myself) I’m tired of not giving store employees any grace because I think there Customer Service policy should be different. I’m tired of reacting defensivly. I’m tired of Christians not acting like Christ. Don’t you remember how your mothers and Sunday School teachers taught you to behave? How they said to Treat others as we’d treat ourselves? And how we should Love God more than anything and love others better more than we love ourselves. <u>SHARE</u> for freakin Pete’s sake (expletive politely edited). I’m angry that I think so highly of myself that I need to correct everyone else.

I’m sick of non-Christians feeling like they have to preach to me by putting bumperstickers on their cars that read “I’m for separation of Church and Hate” and “Close your Bible and open your mind.” I see these and want to grab them by the collar and beg for mercy an forgiveness for that ** idiot that somewhere back in their lives acted like a ** meany and gave them the impression that the Christian faith was full of ** puritanical, bigots, and rednecks.

I’m tired of the people that taught me how to live not following their own teachings, and acting like ** pre-teens (with apologies to pre-teens).

I’m tired of preachers having afairs and stealing money from the church, and I’m tired of people that go to church on Sunday and then going out to eat not even leaving 15%– Its the MINIMUM, if you don’t have it then go to McDonalds. (Double the tax and add a dollar) By the way, either order straight off the menu or don’t act like a brat if the food doesn’t come out exactly like you <u>thought</u> you ordered it. The resturant sets its prices based on what’s on the menu and how long it takes to make it. Look, there are more single moms and people just above the poverty line waiting tables than in any other profession, if you want to show Jesus to someone then look them IN THE EYE, SMILE, and LEAVE A ** TIP. I’m just sayin’

I’m sick of people saying they have faith and then loosing all hope because the economy is “bad” or act like a brat when the wrong guy got elected, or they can’t find a job.

Christianity has survived the persecution of the Roman Empire, the brutally misguided Crusades and even the 60s. Our God created the universe, he is creative enough to give you profitable ideas for making money in a down market if you don’t mind getting off your arse and quit making excuses. He’s faithful enough to look after you when the stock market crashes. He loves you enough to give some away to others that are hurting worse than you. And He’ll give you enough grace to give someone you don’t agree with the benefit of a doubt (like the guy that did get elected, its not like the Republicans got a lot done in the last 8 years).

So come off it and start thinking before you react. Bert, be slower to get frustrated at someone who is trying to get out of the same trap you yourself fall into. For the sake of the name Jesus, start acting like followers of Christ.

Father, thank you for forgiving me, send your Holy Spirit to smack me in the head before I discredit Your Holy Name.