Lessons in Gratitude

Two events this year have grabbed me by the shoulders, shaken me and said, "Wake up stupid and be thankful for what you have!"

If you've read my post, Faith for Haven Cait, then you know that event (that I was just an outside spectator to) shook me so hard that those emotional muscles may never go back to the way they were.  Honestly, I hope they don't.

Back in September, a lightning storm came through and we lost some of our stuff.  Most notably our main level HVAC system.  We were without air and "regular" heat (we still had that expensive emergency heat) until November 11 due to the insurance claim and installation process.  I, of course, complained that I was too hot on the warm days, too cold on the chilly nights and that our deductible to get this replaced was way too high.

Then, last week, I found out that a couple of friends, from a church youth group I was a part of 15 years ago, house burned down.  Talk about a "sit down and stop complaining" moment.  Even though I haven't seen either of them (except maybe a passing "hello" at Walmart) in the past 15 years, the thought of a couple around the same age with two children (basically the same as my family) losing everything was enough to get me to shut up and be grateful for what I have.


Please pray for this young family and if you would like to help, there is a fund raiser page (http://www.gofundme.com/h9mjqw) or if you have anything you'd like to donate, let me know.

Working > Wishing

Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.    Proverbs 10:4-5

I've heard teachings from the Bible that say WORK is a product of the fall of man.  That it is a direct result of Adam and Eve disobeying God's command to keep away from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  However, if we do a little reading (very little, it's in the 2nd chapter of Genesis), we see that "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to WORK it and take care of it." Work was introduced as an essential human character trait even before God created Eve.

Work used to mean you get out and farm the land to feed your family.  Today, for most of us, work means you get out and farm the market to feed your family.  There are very few of us who are farming our own food anymore.  Sure some of you may have gardens for a few things, but the vast majority of our physical needs for food are purchased with money obtained from working.

Are there ways to survive without working...sure.  You could always sit around and collect any and all "Government money" you can.  (By the way, there is no such thing as "Government money".  That's my money and anyone else who gets out and works everyday.  The Government produces NOTHING).  However, I think by settling for a life of dependency on anyone else, you rob yourself of a trait that was built into us from the very beginning.

God is very clear in Proverbs 10:5 that we should be gathering crops in summer.  This translates to using our money (crops) for current needs as well as saving some of our money (crops) in preparation for winter.

Winter, to me, has three meanings:

• Emergencies - You NEED to have money for unexpected issues that will come up.  3-6 months of living expenses is a typical recommendation.

• Retirement - You MUST save money for retirement.  If you don't, who will.  Are you planning to live on social security and being a greeter at Walmart (do they even have those anymore) just to survive.  I want my retirement to be more enjoyable than that.

• Legacy - Do you REALLY want your family's memories of you, for the 6 months after your death, to be having to sell everything you had in order to pay for the mountain of debt you've obtained while you were here?  Wouldn't you rather leave your family with a plan and the money to carry out that plan?

Let's get back to the dignity and self respect that comes from working to provide for our families.  Let's stop wishing for riches to just fall into our laps via the lottery or just dumb luck.  Let's reignite a trait that was literally built into us from the beginning.  Let's work and harvest in the summer to prepare for our winter.

Wisdom + Diligence = Wealth

I [Wisdom] love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.  Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness.  Proverbs 8:17-18

Back a week or so ago, in my Seeking Wisdom blog post, we discussed the definition of Wisdom.  Wisdom is made of of 3 attributes:

1.  Experience

2.  Knowledge

3.  Judgment

Simply looking for Wisdom on an as-needed basis is not good enough.  In today's world, the term "continual learner" is thrown around a lot.  I do, however, think this is how we should be searching out Wisdom.  

In college, I fell HARD for what is considered Conventional Wisdom when it comes to how normal people handle their money.  I got a credit card just like everyone else.  I took out student loans just like everyone else.  I signed up for a car payment just like everyone else.  I spent money and then worried about the consequences just like everyone else.  

And I was BROKE and SCARED just like everyone else.

I finally woke up during my senior year of college, but only after Wisdom was literally handed to me.  The Financial Peace University CD's that my Mom gave me as she was going through the class at church were my first glimpse into what financial Wisdom meant.  That one gift created a spark that has spread into a diligent search for God's views of money and wealth.

The Bible tells us that if we diligently seek Wisdom we will find it.  And when we find it and apply that Wisdom to our decisions and actions, enduring wealth and righteousness automatically follow.  Are there people out there who gained wealth by totally screwing someone else...sure.  But we talked about their eventual fate in my previous blog post, Ill-Gotten Gain.

There are plenty of people out there who will say that the Christian life and being wealthy can't exist together.  But here's the thing, only the strong can help the weak.  Most of the things we are called to do (provide for our family's needs, help others, leave a legacy, etc.) would be all but impossible if we were all called to be broke.  

Our Dad in Heaven wants GREAT things for us, just like I want GREAT things for my kids.  I don't want to see my kids struggle through life just "making it".  I want them to seek Wisdom and find the best way to serve others well.  I want them to be paid well for the service they are providing.  I want them to manage their money well and gain wealth.  Then, I want them to bless others with that wealth.

Laziness Is Financial Cancer (Proverbs 6 (Part 2))

You lazy people can learn by watching an anthill.  Ants don't have leaders, but the store up food during harvest season.  How long will you lie there doing nothing at all?  When are you going to get up and stop sleeping?  Sleep a little.  Doze a little. Fold your hands and twiddle you thumbs.  Suddenly, everything is gone, as though it had been taken by an armed robber.  Proverbs 6:6-11

Being lazy in any aspect of your life will never cause you to win.  This is especially true when it comes to your finances.  If you don't set a financial goal(s) that you've got your sights set on, you will constantly be doing things that sabotage your ability to win.  Zig Ziglar said, "If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time."  If the only thing on your To-Do List is NOTHING, you will always be headed in the wrong direction.

Laziness is a direct result of: 

1. Lack of a Goal
2. Loss of Hope

Product marketers are counting on you to not have a Goal that is bigger than their item.  When you don't have a target that is more important to you than nearly anything else around, you will fall for the ad campaigns that tell you the item you have just isn't good enough anymore.  When you fall prey to this situation, you will always be playing catch up.  "Keeping up with the Joneses" may seem like the thing to do, but "the Joneses" are BROKE, FIGHTING, and SCARED.

I'm going to be very transparent here and tell you that I LIKE STUFF.  More particularly, electronic stuff.  One of my favorite things in life, don't judge me, is pulling the static cling stickers off of a brand new electronic toy.  There are LOTS of things I'd like to have RIGHT NOW, but our family has set a Goal to pay our house off in 2015 that sticks in the front of my mind every time I see a new toy I think I NEED.

Lack of Hope is like throwing water on a fire that once burned bright.  Maybe you tried to better your situation at some point in the past and something beyond your control caused failure.  It's time to dust yourself off and try again.  You can either tread water, drown and become shark bait OR you can take the first stroke toward the shore.  You may still take a couple of bites, but keep swimming.  There are rarely any directions that take you on a single, straight road from Point A to Point B.

When you find Hope again, the water that was poured on your fire is turned to gasoline.  When you throw some Hope on top of a Goal, STEP BACK because there's going to be some serious fire.  You'll be able to do things that you never thought you could do in a million years.  People will say, "How did you do that?"  

When you find something that means more to you than temporary comfort or stuff and set a GOAL to get there; and you have HOPE that you can make it despite what everyone around you might say.  Only then will you get off your butt and do something about it.  Until then, you'll continue to lay there and wallow in your mess.

Run Baby, Run!! (Proverbs 6 (part 1))

My son, if you have put up security (gotten into debt)...then do this...Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.  Proverbs 6:1-5

I'm going to spend several days on Proverbs 6 because there is so much to learn from just the first few verses of this chapter.  Today in Part 1, we are going to talk about God's way to get out of debt.

It's easy to wander into debt.  If you're like I was; you start out with a credit card for "emergencies".  Then you see a surround sound system you NEED for your dorm room so, "just this once", you put it on your emergency only credit card.  Before you know it, you've somehow wandered up to the (Thank God only $1,000 in my case) credit limit.

Or maybe you see a shiny new car with that intoxicating smell of new leather and plastic that makes you despise the car you're driving (which is perfectly capable of getting you to and from where you need to go).  Before you know it, you've been approved for "great financing terms" and have a brand new car payment of $471 per month (average in the U.S. as of March 2014) for the next 6 years.  About a month later, after you've shown all your friends and you make your very first of 72 payment, you realize it's just another car.

Or maybe you find your "dream house" and although it was higher than the amount you promised yourself you wouldn't go over, your Realtor took you to see it anyway.  You fall in love and get into a loan the bank said you could afford based on your income.  They did however forget that you had credit card debt up to your eyeballs, 2 car payments on vehicles that are worth less than you owe and $100,000 in student loans for a degree that pays an average of $25,000 per year...but, hey, your credit score was great so why not?

Maybe your weakness takes another form of "stuff".  But, the point is, there is and will always be someone out there pushing newer, bigger, faster, etc. and even more people out there willing to help you wander deeper into the abyss of debt.

So, we've decided we don't want to be in debt anymore and want to know how.  Can you just turn around, face the opposite direction and wander at the same pace out of the mess you've made?  Absolutely NOT!  You will NEVER get out this way.  

Proverbs 6 tells us that you've got to run like a Gazelle running from a Cheetah.  You've got to:

• STOP going deeper into debt!

• START living on a budget that balances each month!

• WORK an extra job or some overtime!

• SELL some of the junk you thought you needed!
• PRAY that God will bless your efforts and keep you focused!

The ONLY two options are:

1. Stay where you are and become the Cheetah's lunch
2. RUN. FOR. YOUR. LIFE.  You may trip and fall. Maybe even get a few bites.  But for the love of Freedom...KEEP RUNNING!

If you want this bad enough, you can do it.  If you like the status quo of your dumb decisions and aren't willing to sacrifice in the short term to make your long term GREAT, you'll never make it.  If, however, you are utterly disgusted and ready to make a change, you can do it!

Make A Plan!! (Proverbs 4)

Know where you are headed, and you will stay on solid ground. Proverbs 4:26

Too many of us have used (or still use) the READY, FIRE!, AIM approach when it comes to our money.  You get your paycheck, go spend it and then look at your bank account balance.  Even worse, all the money has already been allocated to the stuff you've already purchased and are now making payments on.  Then you get the dreaded "Financial Hangover."  

Now, I know you're thinking I'm going to suggest the READY, AIM, FIRE! approach, but you'd be wrong.  I want you to use the wild idea of AIM, READY, FIRE! when it comes to your money.  Yes, I want you to select your targets before you even have your ammunition.

Let me explain:

• AIM - Create a NEW, unique budget before the month begins.  Aim at numbers that are happening specifically in that month (February's expenses are NOT the same as December's).  Budget with ONLY the money you know will be coming in that month (Are you getting an "extra paycheck" this month or maybe a bonus?).  
• READY - When the money you've budgeted is deposited into your bank account, you now have a loaded weapon to attack with.
• FIRE! - Now that you've got a your targets selected and a loaded weapon, it's time to hit those targets!  It's always a good idea to step back and take a look several times a month to see how your accuracy is.  You may in fact, need to make adjustments to your AIM throughout the month (and that's ok).

The absolute BEST program I have found to assist you in finding your AIM and tracking your FIRE! is You Need A Budget (YNAB for short).  They offer a 34 day trial of the software and if you like it and would be interested in a 25% discount, please let me know and I can help you with that.

Proverbs 4 is clear that in order to keep yourself, your family and your life on solid ground, you need to know where you are headed.  Looking back into the past can be nostalgic, but keep your eyes forward and MAKE A PLAN! 

Honor In Wealth

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty.  Proverbs 3:9-10

Honoring the Lord with your wealth involves several things.  

• We are asked to return a tithe (10%) back to his work through the church
• We are asked to take care of the needs of our own household first    1 Timothy 5:8
• We are asked to get and stay out of debt (more on this in a future post)
• We are asked to help others (only the strong can help the weak)
• ...among other things

Despite all the negative teachings about money that are shown throughout our society, Christians ARE NOT called to be broke.  In fact, quite the opposite is true.  The natural by-product of managing your money based on a biblical foundation is becoming wealthy.  

Think about it.  If you stop spending more than you make, live your life based on a budget, sacrifice some short term comfort to become debt free, build an emergency fund and save for the future...what do you think is going to happen?  Do you really think intentionally doing all these things on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis will cause you to be broke?

Every time I tell our story of paying off our debt after college ($12,000 student loan paid off in 2 months), I get the same question.  "How did you do that?!"  I have to answer the same every time.  "I really don't know,  I think I remember eating those two months."  The truth is, we didn't make enough money to pay off $6,000 a month for 2 months.  The only thing I can say is that God blesses efforts that line up with his teachings.

I'm a Dad of two crazy kids now.  When they are doing something that makes me proud, I want to shower them with praise, gratitude and, sometimes, gifts.  On the other hand, when they are acting in ways that I don't approve of, it makes me want to withhold those same things.  

God is our Dad (Heavenly Father), right?  We were made in his image, right (Gen 1:27)?  This means that our Dad is proud of us when we do good things and disappointed in us when we don't quite measure up.  

When we honor our Dad with our wealth, he rewards us with peace, comfort and, sometimes, gifts.

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty.  Proverbs 3:9-10