Hope for your financial life and beyond

A Soldier’s Pledge - If This Doesn’t Inspire You, Nothing Will

May 25, 2015 by 6 Comments

“America is depressing…mixed up…adrift…an afterthought.”

Have you sensed these themes rippling through our cultural narrative in the past few years?

A lack of pride in who we are seems to have blossomed. There is little passion for greatness. Few believe America’s best days lie ahead.

Everyday the news points out our flaws…can’t get our economy right…can’t get our race issues right…can’t get our foreign relations right…can’t even get our rights right.

Everything rises and falls with leadership – including America. So perhaps our malaise can be contributed to the uninspiring and ineffectual leadership we see in our government…in our communities…in our churches…in our homes.

We don’t have to settle for this though. We can choose a different path. We don’t have to feel blasé about America.

How do I know this?

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Filed Under: Current Events, Inspiration, Leadership Tagged With: , ,

The One Winning Formula For the Poor (Proverbs 28:11)

May 22, 2015 by 10 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #88 - “The rich man is wise in his own eyes, but the poor who has understanding searches him out.” - Proverbs 28:11

The winning formula to have success with money involves two things: altering our knowledge and altering our behavior. Of those two, behavior is by far the most important factor in the winning formula. We can have all the knowledge in the world but unless we put it into practice we’ll never win.

winning formulaRich people have figured this out. Their behavior is commensurate with the fact they have money. Somewhere along the way they realized (gained knowledge) what they should and should not do (behavior). They’ve done something (actually a lot of right somethings) to get to where they are.

According to the Bible the rich are “wise in their own eyes.” They understand what they’ve done and know the right path to take. They have chosen to avoid or pursue behaviors that might damage or propel their future respectively.

They don’t need any more advice.

They’ve figured it out.

The poor on the other hand haven’t and could sure use some.

And as we see in the second part of Proverbs 28:11, they would be wise to seek advice from the rich.

Seeking Out the Rich Is a Winning Formula

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Filed Under: Hidden Nuggets Series, Inspiration Tagged With: , , ,

I Have No One to Blame But Myself

May 15, 2015 by 11 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #87 - “Also to you, O Lord, belongs mercy; for you render to each one according to his work.” - Psalm 62:12

Hard workIn my teaching days I’d often hear moans and groans coming from students when they learned of their failure on a test. What usually followed their whimpers of dissatisfaction was a litany of excuses as to why they did so poorly.

“I had a ballgame last night.”

“My little brother wouldn’t leave me alone.”

“I forgot.”

My favorite complaint was this one, “But I did study!” to which I’d respond by saying, “How long?”

“30 minutes while I was watching TV” (or something like that was the typical response).

Ugh.

I worked in a Christian school so it was typical for us to pray during the day. I always prayed before tests just to calm the atmosphere and help kids get their mind focused.

As I began to put two and two together - lack of study time translating into poor grades (and then subsequent griping about said grade) - I decided to set the tone in my prayer for what the students could reasonable expect to happen based on their study patterns. So at the end of my prayer, I’d be sure to say something like this…

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Filed Under: Hidden Nuggets Series, Work Tagged With: , , ,

Why You Should Never Discount Success When Others Praise You

May 8, 2015 by 15 Comments

Have you ever received praise from someone because of a great personal success and then downplayed why that success came? In other words, do you discount or make excuses for personal achievements when people applaud you? I find myself continually tempted to do this even though I know it’s damaging.

woman receiving an award Last month I had my most successful day and month ever on this blog…more page views and revenue than I realistically thought possible considering what I’m doing. When my wife complimented me on a job well done I assumed my best Floyd Mayweather stance and went into defensive mode.

“Well, if it hadn’t been for this and this and this then…”

“It really wasn’t anything I did, it was because…”

“It was just one month…I don’t think it will carry over.”

I sucked her praise right out of the air.

I didn’t accept it.

I didn’t acknowledge it.

Instead I downplayed it and swatted away her alley-oop praise pass.

Why Do We Act This Way?

You’d think we would relish the chance to be recognized for worthy achievements. I love awards and a pat on the back as much as the next guy. But why do we become a downer in the moments immediately after receiving praise for a success?

Perhaps it’s because…

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Vices Tagged With: ,

How Science Proves That Tithing Is Linked to Success and Happiness

May 1, 2015 by 5 Comments

Please welcome blogger Anum Yoon as she shares her thoughts on the personal and spiritual benefits of tithing.

Hidden Nuggets Series #86 - “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi 3:10)

tithingGiving away 10% of your income will lead to success and happiness. Sounds like the start of a scam, doesn’t it?

For centuries, Christians have committed to the counter-cultural practice of tithing (giving 10% of your money to the church, charity or missions). Although the secular world thought it crazy, Christians understood the true blessings that come from financial obedience to God.

In an unexpected turn of events, recent scientific studies have proven these blessings, showing empirically that tithing is linked to happiness and success.

Tithing Brings a Better Mood

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

How I Got Financially Real in 5 Minutes

April 27, 2015 by 32 Comments

(A special “Thank You” to Shannon at The Heavy Purse for organizing this blog carnival for Financial Literacy Awareness Month. Check out her post and see how other personal finance bloggers got financially real.)

Financially Real

Up until seven years ago I lived with the delusion that I had no money problems. Everything seemed fine to me. We were paying bills on time, building our credit score and saving/investing money along the way.

What more do you need than that, right?

The truth however didn’t match reality. I was an over-spender…a chronic over-spender. Every month we were spending more than we made. (Well, it probably wasn’t every month but it sure seemed that way.)

Like so many others who live on credit and spend, spend, spend, I was content to keep walking that path. That was until I had an encounter I’ll never forget.

The five-minute encounter changed my life.

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Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: , ,

Arbor Day Special: The Only Type of Tree I Ever Want to Be

April 24, 2015 by 1 Comment

Hidden Nuggets Series #85 - “…he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water…” - Psalm 1:3

tree by waterI can’t imagine a world without trees. Years ago we planted two (#ArborDay) in our front yard so our kids could eventually climb them. Mostly I love the spring when trees come budding back to life. It’s a beautiful scene when your winter world goes from browns to greens in the span of a couple weeks.

Of course trees have been around forever and figured prominently in some Bible passages. They served as places of refuge and places of worship. They marked territory or direction and provided fruits of all kinds.

Absalom’s long hair got him caught in one, Solomon used them to build his magnificent temple and the vertically challenged Zacchaeus climbed one in order to see Jesus.

There are all kinds of trees listed in the Bible from terebinth to tamarisk trees, to poplar, almond, chestnut, palm, cedar, olive, fig, pomegranate, mulberry, cypress, sycamore, fir, apple, and oak.

And of course the two most famous trees planted in the Garden of Eden - the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Of them all though, I want to be the tree mentioned in Psalm 1:3. This one is fascinating because it describes the life I, and I think most people want to lead.

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Filed Under: Hidden Nuggets Series, Travel & Health Tagged With: , ,

One Simple Truth About Money: You Reap What You Sow

April 17, 2015 by 12 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #84 - “…for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” - Galatians 6:7

No one understood the concept of “you reap what you sow” better than my grandfathers. Both of them loved to work the land. One was a large-scale farmer, plowing and harvesting acres of land. The other took the small-scale approach by planting a vegetable garden each spring.

reap what you sowThat heritage spilled over into my mother and father. I remember about this time each spring, after the soil had thawed from the winter cold, dad would till a section of our backyard. We’d all then make a trip to the local nursery to pick out starter plants and little packages of seeds. Those seeds would go into the ground and with loving care, some sunshine and just the right amount of water, they would produce a harvest of vegetables we consumed all summer.

Something I never saw all those years though was a tomato plant that produced green peppers.

Whatever type of seed we sowed into the ground produced what the package said it would. Watermelon seeds became watermelons. Onions became onions. Eggplant became eggplant (sadly to my boyhood “forced-to-eat-it-at-dinner” dread…yuck!)

The fact that when we planted carrots we harvested carrots should not have been a surprise. It’s the simple concept of you reap what you sow. Whatever you put in, that’s what you’ll get out.

The Truth About Money: Reap What You Sow

Reaping what you sow isn’t an exclusively agrarian concept. It has application to many facets of life.

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Is the Bible Really Clear About Paying Taxes?

April 10, 2015 by 3 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #83 - “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” - Matthew 22:21

taxes in the bibleLike you, my tax paperwork is due to be filed by April 15th. I’ll grant you this is no fun to fill out every year. It’s become a much easier task though since my wife became a CPA.

Talking about taxes sets our blood to a boil. We don’t like that we work so hard only to see that much money taken from each paycheck. “Isn’t there a way to avoid it?” we ask.

That question should raise alarm bells for everyone. While certain maneuvers with money are legal, many others are not. If we are not careful, that question can lead us down a path of handling our money in a way that we might regret one day.

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Filed Under: Hidden Nuggets Series, Taxes Tagged With: , , ,

The Bribe That Fueled the All-Time Greatest Easter Myth

April 3, 2015 by 9 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #82 - “…they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while you slept.’” - Matthew 28:12-13

Money is at the heart of many cover-ups. Flash enough cash and some people could be encouraged to keep quiet. Make that sum of money big enough and they could even be persuaded to promote a lie.

We’d call this type of gift a bribe. It’s money given so that you act in someone’s favor - usually in a dishonest or illegal fashion.

Bribes have been given in different circumstances throughout history to conceal an action or advance an agenda. In one instance one was used to push an Easter myth that continues to be believed by many to this day.

The Event That Fueled the Bribe

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Filed Under: Hidden Nuggets Series, Vices Tagged With: , ,

3 Reasons A Good Name Is Better Than Riches (Proverbs 22:1)

March 27, 2015 by 13 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #81 - “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.” - Proverbs 22:1

What’s the status of your name?

a good name is better than richesWould you say it is good?

Do you even care how those around you view your name?

I’m not talking about the actual name. Mine is Brian. There is nothing fancy about that as over one million people in the U.S. share it. It’s statistically the 29th most popular first name.

I’m talking about what your name implies. When people hear it what do they think of you?

A good name really speaks to your integrity. Therefore, it’s about your reputation and the character you have inside. It identifies who you are from a moral and ethical standpoint. Essentially it is what you are all about.

The Bible says in Proverbs 22:1 “a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches…” That’s amazing! Your good name is better than all the money in the world. That’s what people think when your name is mentioned.

Does that seem odd? I mean I could find some positive ways to use great riches. It sure would set my mind at ease knowing I’d never need to worry about money again.

That may be true but a good name still provides more value than money. Here’s why.

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