2014 December

The Top 10 Television Theme Songs From My Childhood

December 31, 2014 by Brian 9 Comments

(Sometimes you just have to write posts for the fun of it…)

I can’t sing worth a lick. But I love music. And when the right lyrics come together with the right tune…well, I can recognize when it’s something special.

My TV viewing habits have certainly changed over the years. I’m more select now in what watch, mostly focusing on news, sports and a select few programs I consider must-see TV (any Dr. Who fans out there?) However, back in the day like most youth, I tuned into any and every TV show my parents would allow me to watch.

Some of my favorite shows had incredible theme songs. So just for fun today, I decided to put together a list of my top 10 television theme songs from my childhood. For reference sake, the bulk of my childhood was lived during the 1970s and 80s, which will become obvious based on the selections I’ve chosen.

I do have some criteria though for the TV show theme song to meet in order to make this top ten list. The theme song:

Must have words in some portion of the opening song (either spoken or sung). This excludes some of my all time favorite shows like Andy Griffith, M.A.S.H. and The Cosby Show.

Had to have been a show that I watched. Sorry diehard Fresh Prince fans.

Needed “sing-ability” - a catchy tune you might sing or hum in private when your friends weren’t looking (…or that gets stuck in your head ALL DAY LONG!)

Had to open for a show I absolutely LOVED. In other words, there is a greater than average chance that if I passed this show today while channel surfing I’d stop and watch.

I’ll rank them 10 to 1 to build suspense. And just to wet your appetite and get your mind humming something, here are a few TV shows I watched whose theme song didn’t crack the list but have to be listed as honorable mention candidates:

Honorable Mentions: The Addams Family, Transformers, Welcome Back Kotter, The Jeffersons, The Brady Bunch, The Beverly Hillbillies, Mr. Rogers, The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo.

My Top Ten TV Show Theme Songs

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Filed Under: Random Fun Tagged With: Childhood, Television

Reshaping My Focus in 2015, Plus a Short Survey For You

December 29, 2014 by Brian 16 Comments

May I say an early Happy New Year to you! We’ve finally arrived at the final week of the calendar year. I hope 2014 turned out to be all you hoped it would. I’m excited about the future that lies ahead and am looking forward to making some big blog steps in 2015.

I’d like to take a few moments today to share several goals I have for Luke1428 and beyond in 2015. I mentioned the other day how not developing clear and specific goals for 2014 was a big disappointment. It caused me to drift around many a day in that I didn’t have targets on which to focus. I’m not sure why my apathy toward goal development happened in 2014 but I’m committed with renewed effort to a different course this year.

My Goals for Luke1428 in 2015

Here are the three main things I’ll be focusing on in 2015. They represent a change in focus as to how I’ve approached managing Luke1428 to this point.

Understanding the Needs of My Readers

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Filed Under: Goals, Planning Tagged With: Goals, Improvement, Planning, Survey

Gifts Fit For a King

December 26, 2014 by Brian 6 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #69 - “And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” - Matthew 2:11

One of the more intriguing stories that surrounds the birth of Jesus is the visit from the Magi, the wise men from the East. We don’t know exactly where they came from (many speculate ancient Persia) and we don’t know how many there were. We do know they arrived sometime after the birth of Jesus because they came to visit Mary, Joseph and the boy at a house (Matthew 2:11) not in the stable, which many traditional scenes have depicted.

As they entered the house that day, the wise men came bearing gifts. The Bible says as they bowed before Jesus they presented their treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh. While to us the reader those gifts may seem spectacular, they were ordinary gifts often given to kings as tribute. The wise men recognized Jesus as such a king, a gesture whose meaning must have meant something special to the humble parents Mary and Joseph.

Many have speculated as to the symbolism of the three gifts: gold being a symbol of kingship; frankincense as a symbol of deity; myrrh as a symbol of death. To me, the message the wise men intended to send with these gifts misses the point. What we should draw from this is that they were giving something of value to be used for - as they saw it in their eyes - the King.

What gifts are you and I giving today?

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Filed Under: Giving, Hidden Nuggets Series Tagged With: Gifts, Giving

If You Have Never Read the Christmas Story…

December 24, 2014 by Brian 7 Comments

My friend Shannon from The Heavy Purse has talked recently about the importance of traditions at Christmas. Like her I’ve seen how traditions help bind families together. They create strong emotional connections. They build lasting memories that are always looked back upon with fondness (or maybe not if you hated your family’s traditions…here’s to hoping that’s not the case).

One tradition we started when our kids were old enough was to read the Christmas story from the Bible on Christmas Eve. After that we get a jump on unwrapping presents by opening the kids’ stockings. In recent years as the kids have become older, we’ve also added the viewing of “It’s a Wonderful Life” on Christmas Eve.

Even though we won’t be buying our kids presents this year, we will continue the reading and the movie watching. For us it’s a reminder of what the season means and how much we have for which to be grateful.

Perhaps you’ve never read the Bible story from Luke 2 about the birth of Jesus. It’s not what you might expect, considering Jesus was heralded in the Hebrew literature as the King of the Jews. He came into the world in the humblest of circumstances, surrounded by only his parents, some barnyard animals and a few unimportant shepherds.

Yet this simple story details the beginnings of a life that would change the world. I share it now with the hope that it might lead you to consider what Jesus could mean for you.

Merry Christmas!

The Biblical Christmas Story From Luke 2

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Filed Under: Faith, God's Provision, Inspiration Tagged With: Christmas, Faith, Jesus

3 Big Victories and 3 Big Disappointments From 2014

December 22, 2014 by Brian 27 Comments

2015 is just a stone’s throw away. I’m eagerly awaiting the start of the New Year and all the hope it promises. As always though, before I look ahead I’m usually looking in the rear view mirror at what’s behind.

Looking behind can be productive. It reminds me of where I’ve been, what I’ve accomplished, and what I’ve struggled with. It allows me to celebrate victories and analyze defeats. With both endeavors I’m looking to derive the best practices that can move me forward with greater productivity and passion in the future.

As I’m sure it did with you, 2014 provided me with some ups and downs. So in what has become an annually ritual on Luke1428, I’m highlighting three big victories and three big disappointments from this past year.

Hail to the Victors

“Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.” - George S. Patton

If you’ve been a regular reader of my blog throughout the year, these three victories should come as no surprise:

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Filed Under: Goals Tagged With: Disappointment, Goals, Victory

Pushing Against Evil: I Have My Basketball Goal Back!

December 19, 2014 by Brian 17 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #68: “Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?” - Psalm 94:16

Several weeks ago I wrote about being robbed and how we were dealing with the theft of a portable basketball goal at our house. After some investigation on my own, I discovered that the neighborhood kids in the subdivision behind ours took the goal and had placed it in their subdivision’s park area. The big complication to the whole situation was that the subdivision directly behind ours is in another county.

Because I didn’t have proof like a model number for the goal or any personal identifying marks inscribed on it, our local police would not cross jurisdictions to retrieve the stolen property. So we were left frustrated about what to do.

In the end we felt resigned to let the issue rest. It seemed dangerous to retrieve the goal ourselves in that it might incite the teens to take some further action against us. The wise course of action was to just chalk this up as one of those unfortunate life situations that you are forced to stomach.

Before we closed the book on the case though, we had one last route to consider (which some commenters here suggested). Now I’m glad we decided to push back just a little bit more.

How We Got Our Goal Back

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Filed Under: Current Events, Hidden Nuggets Series, Vices Tagged With: Evil, Justice, Theft

3 Tips to Boost Your Credit Score Before Getting a Loan

December 17, 2014 by Guest 2 Comments

Getting a loan soon? In today’s guest post, Certified Financial Adviser Joseph Hogue shares some ways to boost your credit score before you apply for a loan.

The original title of this article was going to be, “3 Tricks to Boost Your Credit Score…,” but then I thought better about giving the impression that your credit score and lenders were something to be tricked into giving you a better interest rate. Like most things in life, there is no quick-and-easy solution to improving your credit score but with a little work and these three tips, you can save yourself thousands in interest over the life of a loan.

The graphic below shows the five credit score factors used by credit bureaus to determine your credit score and on which is based the interest rate you pay on loans. Using ways to manage each one of these will go a long way to lifting your score and saving big money.

More than 5% of credit reports contain errors

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Filed Under: Debt Tagged With: Debt, Loans, Peer Lending

Insurance: The Black Sheep of Our Personal Finance Family

December 15, 2014 by Brian 17 Comments

This may see like an odd time of the year to be discussing insurance. No doubt your mind is geared toward preparing for Christmas and figuring out how to save money on all the presents, decorations and food you will buy during the holidays. There is a reason however why this is coming out now, one that highlights an issue many people have when it comes to insurance.

I’ve put off talking about it…for months.

This post idea to go over the basic reason why we need insurance has been listed in my “blog topics to cover” spreadsheet since March. But I keep putting off writing about it, pushing it back month after month. Honestly, I don’t enjoy researching and talking about insurance.

It’s like the black sheep of the family. Every family has one at some level, right? That person who brings immediate tension to the room whenever their name is brought up? That historical figure we’ve conveniently deleted from the family ancestral tree?

Insurance is that black sheep in our personal finance family. With the exception of insurance salesmen, I don’t know anyone who gets up in the morning fired up about reviewing insurance policies. I’ll worry about saving, getting out of debt, investing, budgeting, root canals…anything before insurance.

Is it just me or is anyone else with me on this? Insurance can be really frustrating and confusing to deal with.

But I know it’s important and that I need it…badly. Without it I could be putting myself in serious jeopardy.

The Basic Reason We Need Insurance

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Filed Under: Insurance Tagged With: Deductible, Insurance, Premiums

My Go To Bible Verse When I Worry About Money (or anything really)

December 12, 2014 by Brian 11 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #67 - “…tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” - Matthew 6:34

If there is one thing I’ve discovered while teaching and writing about money and monitoring my own finances through the years it’s this - the future is friends with worry. It’s inevitable - at some point I will worry about something money related as it pertains to my future.

I think a lot of you are right there with me…worrying about having enough for retirement…worrying about how to budget for the monthly bills…worrying about career options, housing options, how to pay for college, and having enough to buy those Christmas presents. We exhaust ourselves with worry about a future and events we cannot control.

Worry seems like a selfish act in that it places the whole burden on me. I’m the only one that can make it happen. I have to manage all the details. I need foresight into all the external factors that may arise so that I can juggle my decisions to achieve the desired outcome.

In reality, there is someone in my corner who knows my needs far better than I. And I can rest my worry about money (and all things really) at His feet.

A Comforting Bible Passage About Worry

My go to Bible verse when I start to worry is actually a series of verses. In the midst of perhaps his greatest sermon, Jesus challenges worriers with these words in Matthew 6:25-34:

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Filed Under: God's Provision, Hidden Nuggets Series, Vices Tagged With: Future, God's Provision, Worry

Finding Balance in the Holiday Gifting Madness

December 10, 2014 by Guest 11 Comments

Are you having trouble dealing with the pressure and the obligation to buy presents during the holidays? Please welcome Jacob from Cash Cow Couple as he shares his thoughts and offers some solutions to the matter.

Do you feel pressure to even give a gift to your dog this Christmas?

When I had been dating my wife just a few months, I told her that I sometimes refuse to participate in select American holidays. I expressed my opinion that people shouldn’t feel obligated to spend, buy, or gift things. Ever.

She probably thought I was a little odd at the time (it’s OK, I am), but I explained my reasoning and things worked out for us. It’s not that I refuse to participate in many holidays because we can’t afford it. Or because I think holidays are bad. Or because I don’t enjoy a good celebration with family and friends.

I hate it because much of the practice has become forced. There is a ton of great marketing and artificially-generated pressure to “buy something” or to “do something.”

The result is that many individuals regularly attend family gatherings, birthday parties, Christmas celebrations, Easter celebrations, Halloween celebrations, and a million other celebrations, and feel obligated to give gifts or spend money. That’s the wrong reason entirely.

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Filed Under: Giving, Spending Tagged With: Giving, Holidays, Spending

The Biggest Home Security Issue Everyone Is Missing

December 8, 2014 by Brian 27 Comments

When it comes to home security issues we typically think of analyzing and paying for the basics: quality dead bolt locks, an alarm monitoring system, and multiple smoke detectors. Maybe we also purchase a dog for the heightened sense of awareness they bring. These are all commonplace methods to deter entry into the home and keep us feeling safe.

Yet there happens to be another major security issue that is usually overlooked. This one is so big it’s hurting individuals and destroying families. Though we know it’s out there we refuse to take the necessary steps to stop its incursion into our home.

What could be so devastating?

The lack of internet security as it relates to online access of pornography.

Your failure to attentively monitoring the use of technology - mainly the access to apps and the Internet on computers and mobile devices that have become the main tool for the distribution of pornography - may be causing untold damage to your family.

Why Internet Security Is a Critical Issue to Address

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Filed Under: Kids and Money, Marriage, Vices Tagged With: Families, Internet, Pornography, Security