Hope for your financial life and beyond

Living in the Present

July 28, 2013 by 10 Comments
In what year are your thoughts?

In what year are your thoughts?

Matthew 6:11 - “Give us this day our daily bread.”

I’m a personal finance blogger. It’s my business to help others plan for and navigate through the future. Yet I find myself often neglecting one of the simplest messages Jesus ever gave his disciples.

Focus on today.

Jesus’ challenge to his disciples came in the heart of what would later be called “The Lord’s Prayer.” He was modeling for them the appropriate way to approach and speak with God. He was alleviating any confusion they had as to what prayer should be. (I assume they were confused because they asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.)

So in the middle of the “Our Fathers” and the “Deliver us from evils,” Jesus asks his disciples to voice this line each time they communicate with their heavenly Father - “Give us this day our daily bread.” It’s a powerful request, and it is just as relevant today as it was 2,000+ years ago.

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New Year’s Goal #1: Putting My Trust Where It Belongs

December 27, 2012 by 5 Comments

Tree by waterChristmas 2012 is behind us, which means there are only a few short days until the calendar turns the page to a new year. If you are like me, you have already begun to plan ahead and maybe have already listed two or three resolutions to pursue in the upcoming year. It’s always beneficial to set goals as they set us in motion, give us direction and produce intensity to accomplish great things.

My personal goals have to begin with my most important relationship. So today as I begin this New Year’s Resolution Series, I would like us to (re)consider the value of placing our trust in the right thing.

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The Best Food Budget Ever (I Kings 19:5-8)

November 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment

What would it be like if you could go 40 days without food? If you could, that would seriously put you ahead on your monthly food budget. In my family of six, I estimate approximately six weeks of no grocery shopping or going to restaurants would put us to the positive about $1,800. (I know…we don’t coupon much.)

I think there would be a revolt in my house if I tried suggesting this and rightly so. None of us could naturally go this long without eating…unless maybe we had a supernatural meal to sustain us.

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God’s Doing This For You Today (Psalm 23)

November 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Perhaps no passage of Scripture is more familiar than Psalm 23. Here, I’ll get you started - “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…”

What follows below is not my attempt to improve on God’s written Word. I think He did a pretty good job without my help. Rather, it’s just what went through my mind as I read this passage again recently. Perhaps today, we can stop and consider all that God has and is currently doing for us.

My reflections on Psalm 23:

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Snickers Isn’t the Only Thing That Satisfies (Psalm 107:8-9)

November 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Around 3:00 pm this Thursday afternoon, I expect to be settling down into the leather reclining love seat in my living room for my annual post Thanksgiving Day meal ritual. Kids will be running around the house, there will be the noise of dishes getting cleaned in the kitchen and the CBS football analysts will probably be dissecting a helmet-to-helmet personal foul call. Yes, there will be a lot of noise, but it won’t matter. I’ll have a really satisfied feeling. My body will need to allocate more energy towards food digestion which means less blood flowing to other parts of the body, including the central nervous system. With blood flow to the CNS decreased, I can foresee only one possible outcome…nap time.

We love food that satisfies. In fact, Mars, Incorporated in the 1980s developed an entire add campaign for one of their candy bars around this theme. C’mon…you know the tune. Sing it with me. “Snickers satisfies you!”

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God is Not a Cosmic Killjoy

October 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Among the many false opinions or myths people have developed concerning the nature of God, lies one that speaks about God’s goodness. Many people envision God as a cosmic cop, standing in the middle of all the world’s traffic ready to blow His whistle when one car veers slightly to the left or right. People who have this view of God would basically see Him as the spoiler of all their fun.

“Stop that!” “You can’t go there!” “You don’t need those nice things!” “One more time doing that and I am going to zap you!” “Don’t you dare cross that line!”

At the heart of this belief people are really asking the question, “Does God really want to bless me and meet my needs?” In other words, “Can I truly believe that God wants to provide for me?” Well, the answer from the Bible is that He does in more ways than we can imagine.

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Lend, But Don’t Borrow

October 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

We live in a “Have It Now” culture. We want our fast food within 5 minutes or less in the drive-thru. We want to make quick money for as little work as possible. We drive fast cars so we can get to our destination sooner. We are first in line for the newest technology gadget the day it is released. Can’t wait…gotta have it.

This “Have It Now” culture has also skewed our reasoning ability, in that it has masterfully helped us change our “wants” into “needs.” We no longer want the new bass boat - it is a need. We no longer want the weeklong cruise to Bermuda - it is a need. We no longer want the $5,000 Hall of Fame rookie card - it is a need. We no longer want…(fill in yours here)…it is a need. Think through all of your major purchases in the past year. How many of them would truly be classified as “needs?”

Put these two things together - getting what we want quickly and “wants vs. needs” - and a real problem begins to arise for most everyone in society. We don’t have the money to pay for these items!

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