Are you ready to use cash yet???

I just read an article posted on Clark Howard's website about how banks are now making more money on debit cards than on credit cards and I will say that I am completely appalled!!! The article talks about how banks play games and juggle your balances so that it benefits them in order to charge you overdraft fees. Branch Managers at Wells Fargo have their pay reduced for multiple credits for customers who call and complain and are given credits. THIS IS LUDICROUS!!!

I mean, how many more times do we have to prove why it is so much better for YOU if you change your habits and use CASH!!! It seems even if you are responsible and balance your check book daily and never spend more than you have in your account you are still not in control. Why cause yourself so much trouble. Just do what our grandparents always did and pay CASH for it!!!!!!

For the original article see the following link:

http://clarkhoward.com/liveweb/shownotes/2009/09/30/16762/

Can Financial Peace exist in America?

I was reading an article in the Henry County Times from a columist who was asking the question "Can financial peace exist in Amerca?". That is a very good question. He was talking about how he and his wife had taken Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class and had learned so much about paying down one's debt, not using credit cards and sacrificing immediate gain in the interest of a secure future. The writer stated how he had seen so many families who were in need of FPU. Then he stated a very interesting statement that made me think. Maybe members of the US Congress should take Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University? He goes on to say that our political leaders have done little more than throw money at the financial problems of our nation, which have resulted in an ever-growing mountain of debt and financial turmoil. He comments that if this were a married couple or single struggling to see light at the end of a tunnel they would be told not to spend money they do not have and to exhibit more self-control. Then he asks, "Why should the response be any different for the government?"

That makes a lot of sense. Maybe we should host a new town hall event with Dave Ramsey where the people of the great nation of America evoke our rights as Americans and force politicians to take Financial Peace University and get on a zero based budget, where they spend every dime on paper on purpose before the month begins. Where they do not spend more money than we make and where we do not borrow money from other nations.

What do you think?

Then and only then can Financial Peace exist in America, on Capital Hill, today.

It doesn't matter how much we buy, there is always plenty more that I want

A friend passed along a great article in christianitytoday.com about living in a material world. The article was about a young lady who thought she would be satisfied with "just a house". After getting married and getting "just a house" she started asking herself if she could be satisfied with "just any old house" and she quickly realized NO. The article goes on to say that she quickly realized that she was a person who was not easily satisfied. Her story says that desire started to take over her and she realized that "just any old house" was not going to satisfy her now or ever for that matter. She says "I'm very much a part of the never-enough world and then states chances are so are you". Are you?

Isn't that what has happened to us in society today? Materialism is preached so much it becomes who we are. If material things provide the answers to life's basic questions in your world like "what am I worth", "am I successful", "do I have peace of mind", this is a serious disconnect. Ask yourself right now "who says?" Who says that having material things make me successful? Who says that having peace of mind is when I have stuff?

I love what this article reminds us. That God did not create us to be materialistic. He created us to be relational beings. When we start replacing relationships with materials things we have a void. The void that we continue to trick ourselves into believing is missing more stuff. The fact is the void is we are missing relationships with people. The article quotes "There will never be enough material things to satisfy the longings of the human soul."

Don't get me wrong, God does not care if we have material things. He does however care when we replace the "love of stuff" with the love of others.

Here are some questions to ponder as the writer in the article suggests:

What do I expect out of life and where do those expectations come from? What is success and do I tend to measure it by outward trappings? How much of myself am I giving to my loved ones and how much am I relying on expensive gifts (for birthdays or Christmas, for example) to communicate love? What is the real source of the emptiness or drivenness I feel?

Living within your means

I have talked to many people who feel being on a budget is like having a straight jacket on and someone telling them what they can and can not buy with their hard earned money. That is not the case at all. Living on zero based budget is merely a tool that helps you to live within your means.

Living within your means is defined by the financial experts as saving some of your paycheck each month and having no debt. The Federal Reserve did a survey of consumer finances in 2001, and the survey showed that about 14.5% of Americans consistently spend more money than they make. These people are in pretty big trouble. That is one of the reasons why we are in the situation we are in now as consumers and as a nation. 26.3% of Americans spend as much as they make or more. According to studies many Americans actually spend $1.22 for every $1.00 we make. That means we are going in to debt an average of 20% for every pay check we make.

If you can find a good financial advisor who will guide you through a zero based budget process, it is really not bad at all. It is merely spending every dime you make on paper on purpose before the month begins. A budget removes the fear of being in the middle of the month and not knowing how you will get to the end of the month. A budget helps a married couple communicate better. A budget will cover every possible expense that would occur in time, so you are not borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. A budget is merely spending what you make and no more!

If you are in fear right now of getting through the next month and have debt up to your eyeballs the best thing you can do for yourself, your family and our economy is to get on a zero based budget TODAY! It's not too late. You have to start WHERE you are, no matter how bad you think it may be.

Guilty as charged!

Today I was reading weekly newsletter from my local senator and I came across something that shocked me. Now I am not sure why I would feel something from a Senator would NOT shock me, but in any case, I was really shocked this time. The government has decided that it is necessary to appoint a special commission called the "Financial Crisis Commission" that has until the end of next year to determine and examine the cause of our nations' financial crisis.

Now, I am not at all about pointing fingers, but I am shocked that it takes a committee of 10 men over 18 months to figure this one out. "What and who was the cause of our nation's financial crisis?".

Well, I am one person and I can tell everyone in a matter of 1 second without thinking twice about it and it costs tax payers nothing, that WE ARE ALL GUILTY! Yes, you, me and THEM. We all purchased things that we THOUGHT we needed to impress people we do not like with money we did not have. Including the United States government.

We are GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY!

One thing I will agree with the Senator on is that "it is imperative that we get an objective evaluation to find out what went right, what went wrong and what we must do to prevent it from happening again," but to try and figure out who done it, well that case is CLOSED!!!

It's never too late to change your family tree

Our church just completed our first Wednesday night Bible study with six lessons from Dave Ramsey's book set Life Lessons with Junior. It was a lot of fun. The children learned about work, spending, giving, saving, integrity and debt. The kids and even their parents had a great time. I want to encourage every parent to take time to teach your kids about money. It is never too early or late to teach them. Take a look at these staggering statistics:

• 19% of Americans between the ages of 18-24 declared bankruptcy in 2001.- USA Today, 2001. The fastest growing group of bankruptcy filers are those people who are 25 years of age or younger.- Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, 2002. Over 80% of undergraduates have at least one credit card and nearly 50% of college graduates carry four or more credit cards. According to the Department of Education, the average balance carried by these students is more than $3,000.- Senator Chris Dodd, CT. 68.1% of high school seniors surveyed failed a basic financial survey, up from 52.1% in 2001, and only 10% scored a "C" or better.-Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, Annual Summary, 2002. Nearly half of college-age adults (49%) said they believe they are more likely to become millionaires by starring in a reality TV series than by learning how to budget and save wisely (36%).-Visa USA, 2003. Persons entering college are offered an average of 8 credit cards in their FIRST WEEK of school.- Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, Annual Summary, 2002. 83% of adults are unaware of the resources available to help them teach children practical money skills.- Visa USA, 2003.

Dave says that your job as a parent is not just to keep your child happy - AMEN! It is tough love sometimes isn't it and saying the dreaded "NO" word to our children is done out of love. You're raising a future grown-up who needs to be able to deal with grown-up matters. If you teach little Timmy how to handle money responsibly, then grown-up Timmy will be better equipped for a richer life.

Pay just the minimum on your credit cards and build up savings - NOT!!!

I know some of you have heard this, because some of you have asked me about it. Of course, you know me, I will always refer back to what Dave Ramsey says, but don’t just take it from me or Dave, see what the paid experts say on MSN Money. Putting yourself further into debt by borrowing fro your credit cards for your savings is a “STUPID” idea as Dave would recommend. Why? Even the Bible says “the rich rule over the poor and the borrower is SLAVE to the lender”. The reason why America is in such a mess today is because once the consumers started hurting financially the credit card companies tightened the hand cuffs on our lives and now we are screaming to be released from these chains. Why would you give the credit card companies back the key? It's time we break out of the bondage and handle our money the way God intended and then we can have true Financial Peace.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/CreditCardSmarts/why-suze-orman-is-wrong-again.aspx

The key to winning with your money in these trying economic times is to change your behavior and get on a budget. Handling money is 20% knowledge and 80% behavior. Following the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps as prescribed in Financial Peace University has been proven to win family after family, including my own. The Seven Baby Steps are attached herein.

Use the Baby Steps to get your finances in order and on track. Then pass them on to someone you know and help change their life!

$1,000 to start an Emergency Fund

Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball

3 to 6 months of expenses in savings

Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement

College funding for children

Pay off home early

Build wealth and give! Invest in mutual funds and real estate

"Believe what you know, not what you hear"

I was reading Crosswalk devotion today written by Tracie Miles "Believe what you know, not what you hear" and I just had to add my own words into this as it applies to the handling of our finances.

There are over 800 scriptures in the Bible about finance. More scriptures than there are about love. Society and our culture today have completely rewritten the biblical standards of handling money. We have heard so much on the news, from Hollywood, by the credit card companies, even by Congress about handling money, which completely contradicts God's law and advice. Because we have all believed these to be trustworthy sources, we have all been misled and fallen for their traps.

In the same way, today's culture does an excellent job of sending us wrong information, misleading us about right and wrong, and convincing us that God's Word, His Truth, is not accurate and all to make a quick buck for themselves. Take tolerance, for example. The term "tolerance" seems to imply, by today's standards, that anything and everything about handling money is morally equivalent. Society tries to convince people that the truth is relative, open for interpretation, and apt to be changed if anyone wants it to be different.

The world is currently in a recession and we are all to blame, including the men running this country in the White House. Now more than ever, it is imperative that Christians stay keenly aware of whether or not we are believing what we know to be the truth, versus believing what we hear or see, especially when it comes to handling our finances. The Bible clearly states that God set moral laws about money for His people, and the outline of what is right and wrong is written with great clarity.

Example, the scripture 1st Timothy 6:10 "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." We have wandered from God's truth and now the world is in great grief. Knowing where we are now, do we continue to allow ourselves to be swayed by information that does not line up with God's Word? Do we follow the crowd, even when it is operating on inaccurate or even potentially dangerous information? Do we act on questionable truths, just because it seems that everyone else believes it to be true and that is what the Jones' are doing?

As believers, we have the incredible responsibility of being sure that we place what the Bible says about money over what well-intentioned (even trustworthy or respected) people may say. If we doubt that the Bible is the one absolute truth, what other source of truth are we looking to? The government, the credit card companies, your neighbor who is broke and busted? Please....take a look again. Are you tired of believing what you "hear" to be truth?

A few scriptures about what God says about handling your money:

• Proverbs 22:7 "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender."
• Romans 13:8 "Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law."
• Proverbs 21:20 "In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has."
• Proverbs 13:11 "Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow."
• Proverbs 17:18 "It's stupid to guarantee someone else's loan."

It is very simple. We are Americans need to get back to the God's written Word, the Truth about handling our money, beginning in our own household and we can then claim back this great nation as it once was.

Proverbs 10:22
"The blessings of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it."

Does your credit score define you?

I certainly hope NOT! I was reading some information on a website and an ad shows a good looking model asking this question. Then they ask "My credit score is______?". If you feel a good or bad credit score defines whether you are good or bad person, then you need some help and fast. Society has sold us such a pack of lies and so many of us feel that our credit score defines us. That is so backwards from the way God sees you. "Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." 1 Peter 3:4

If Christians today were to realize that God cares about what is on the inside and not about anything else, especially not your creidit score, we would not be in the situation we are in today in this economy.

Are we ever really going to wake up as a nation and see ourselves as God sees us before we have sold out our souls to the credit card companies?

Dave Ramsey Town Hall for Hope Meeting

Tired of hearing the fear, doom and gloom that is filling the airwaves? Join Stockbridge Community Church and Dave Ramsey for a nationwide town hall meeting and discover what is happening with the economy, how we got there, and where we are going. Dave will answer your questions live throughout the event.

There is hope, but it takes work on our part. we must step up as a nation and refuse to be a participant in what is going on the economy right now.

Are you sick of the chains of bondage?

I know that many of you have seen the news or even experienced your credit card companies increasing your interest rates, lower your credit limits and demanding you close your accounts. It is frustrating I know, but it is legal. All the more reason why you need to get out from under this type of control over your life.

I read an article on smartmoney.com that stated that credit card companies are doing this now, because they are in fear of the federal government's attempt to pass a law that does not allow them to increase interest rates unless you are behind 30 days. This is an attempt to increase their profits before this happens. These higher interest rate, higher minimum payments are going to push the middle class consumer to financial ruins.

I was at a conference this past week in a session where a guy was telling everyone how to get out of debt. Someone from the audience asked him if he agreed with Dave Ramsey that you should cut up all credit cards. He stated no. That he felt that if you were disciplined enough to not let your credit card spending get out of control that it was ok to have them.

Please hear me loud and clear. Even if you can control your spending and can handle your payments, will you be able to handle them now when the credit card companies are raising your interest rates and increasing your minimum payments? You are playing with fire. You are at the mercy of their bottom line profits. If they need more money they will take it from you anyway you can. It is legal and nothing any of us can do about it.

Break the Cycle

Today I was honored to be asked to participate in Connecting Henry's "Break the Cycle" program and was privileged to meet some ladies who are taking the FIRST baby step into breaking the cycle in their lives and in their children's lives. It was a very humbling experience to be talking to people I did not know who, for most part, all had the same desire. They all had a desire to find financial peace in their lives. Many times during the day I had to hold back the tears because so many of these ladies felt that they had done something wrong and were feeling hopeless of how to get out of the mess that they had created for themselves. I just sat and watched as one young lady herself was holding back the tears all day. I could see clearly these were not tears of poverty, physical abuse, loneliness or even drug abuse. They were tears because she was in financial bondage and felt that there was no way out and she had no one to turn to.

One of the speakers at the event said two things that were very profound to me and I had to write them down to share them with all of you. She reminded these ladies that we must use our "mess" to be our "message" and we must use our "test" to be our "testimony". She also stated that we must train our thoughts to become our speech and train our speech to become our actions. Such true statements. Dave calls our mess, "stupid tax" and boy have I done my fair share of that. However, now, I am trying to take the "stupid tax or mess" of my life and turn it into a message of hope for these people and many more who will come through the Break the Cycle program and that I am able to reach in a Financial Peace class session. God certainly has tested me and my family this past year and now I have such a powerful testimony to share with others and a platform in which to share it. I try and speak financial peace into everyone I see, as much to help them, but to continue to help myself as well. It is when I am helping others where God makes me realize even more how we must break the cycle of generational poverty in our county, even if it is one person at a time.

One of the other speakers at the event said you must have "GOD" everyday in your life. Even though this man was a Godly man, this word was meant as an acronym to mean "Good Orderly Direction". Isn't that what God and the Bible are? Isn't that really what Dave is trying to teach us in the Financial Peace Program? The Bible is very practical good orderly direction. God talks about money over 800 times in the scripture, more than He does about love. The question I was left with as the session ended today, was, are these people going to take all of the good orderly direction that they had received today and use it to turn their thoughts into their speech and their speech into their actions and create their life message and testimony? That is my prayer...

Surrender

Today's blog is taken from the words of Rick Warren's Purpose Drive Life Daily Devotion.

The most difficult thing for many people to surrender is their money. Many have thought, I want to live for God but I also want to earn enough money to live comfortably and retire someday. Retirement is not the goal of a surrendered life, because it competes with God for the primary attention of our lives. Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money,”

(Matthew 6:24 NIV)and “Wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21 NIV). The supreme example of self-surrender is Jesus. The night before his crucifixion Jesus surrendered himself to God’s plan. He prayed, “Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine” (Mark 14:36 NLT). Jesus didn’t pray, “God, if you’re able to take away this pain, please do so.” He began by affirming that God can do anything! He prayed, “God, if it is in your best interest to remove this suffering, please do so. But if it fulfills your purpose, that’s what I want, too.” Genuine surrender says, “Father, if this problem, pain, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in another’s life, please don’t take it away!”. This level of maturity doesn’t come easy.In Jesus’ case, he agonized so much over God’s plan that he sweat drops of blood. Surrender is hard work. In our case, it requires intense warfare against our self-centered nature.

I truly feel that society is suffering today financially, because God is wanting to get our attention and that many of us are in these financial problems and circumstances because God wants to change us, so that he can fulfill His purpose in our lives. The only way He can do this is for us to surrender in this area.

Surrendering your control over your money means:

· Following God’s lead without knowing where he’s sending you;
· Waiting for God’s timing without knowing when it will come;
· Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide;
· Trusting God’s purpose without understanding the circumstances.

We must remember one thing. When we approach money with a clinched fist, no more money can get in. It is only when we release the strong hold or open our fist and surrender it back to God, is when God can truly bless us and perform a miracle in our lives with our finances.

Is your fist or your heart open or closed to God when it

comes to your finances?

"Help us through our cash crisis"

Today, I was sitting in a waiting room while Makalee was taking a dance class and picked up Red Book magazine, August 2008. I was just thumbing through it and came across an article titled "Help us through our cash crisis". I started reading it and it really got my attention as it was talking about how you should track your spending and start a budget. Well, you know with me being the nerd of the household and being a total geek about FPU, that was all I needed to read to keep me focused on what they would recommend next. The writer stated that the couple that the story featured "are like lots of Americans - good people, who got in over their heads". Then, in steps a financial advisor who was there to give them a money makeover and was offering her expensive wisdom. She states that this couple "feared money management and that this fear has led to poor decisions and has kept the couple from tackling their fear and their debt in order to get back on track." OK, so I agreed with these comments and read on, right up until I get to the point where the financial advisor actually says "if you tithe less for just a few months, you can pay off one of your credit cards." If any of you know me, from then on out, I could not read any more as my mind was going off and asking how could a financial advisor really say that. Then I realized well one who was not a Christian could say it easily.

Stockbridge Community Church just started our 5th Financial Peace class this past Sunday and we had 50 individuals there. Their first homework assignment is to actually put down their expenditures on paper in a budget. I am certain that some of these families once they actually write it down will realize that there is not enough money at the end of the month, just like this couple did and they will begin to panic and try to determine how to make the number balance out with nothing in the red and where they needed to cut back. I would just like to strongly caution all of you class members to stop and think about what expenses you will cut out and how they will really affect your life. Let's start with a simple list of extra items in the budget for this couple:

• Cable $150.00 (wow, you have all the channels)


• Dining Out $300.00 (loving those Friday night steak dinners aren't we)


• Gym $80.00 (that you never attend)


• Tithes $400.00 (not even a real tithe and 10% of their income)


• Starbucks $ 50.00 (or should we call it $5Bucks)


• Groceries $800.00 (holy cow, I guess they eat at home well also)


• 2nd mortgage $92.00 (that was used to pay off credit card debt that that recharged)

I know this sounds harsh and I really do not need mean to beat anyone up, but I know that at one point in my own life I could raise my hand and say hey that looks like my own budget.

So now is the time when you have your budget committee meeting with your spouse or accountability partner and you must then decide what you must cut out of our expenses to have a zero balanced budget. I will admit that I have recently actually had someone come to me and ask me the question "if I could not tithe for a while, we could make it, what do you suggest?"

I responded like this. This is really a decision between you and God and that Dave says that if he can just get people to give something it is better than most. I can tell you that statistically only 5% of Americans give a true tithe, a tenth of their income. Of the others that give an "offering", on average these evangelical Christians give less than 3% of their income. So Dave says if you give anything at all when you start this program, it is better than most give.

This is what I can tell you from a true experience in my own life. I have found that when I give back what does not belong to me anyway, I ALWAYS seem to be able to make ends meet at the end of the month. Sure, I have to cut out drinking tea when I eat out. For my family that is $20.00 a pop, because we have 6 children. I also had to cut my cable bill down to nothing, but hey, I have now have time to read and write this blog. I have read more books the last several months than I have my entire life. I have to use the cash envelopes to track my grocery spending and it is not always easy, but otherwise, I too, would spend $800.00 per month. I love a good Starbucks coffee and I will admit that I struggle with that one, so I made sure that my blow money is used up every week in that area.

The point I am trying to make here is that when you start managing your money the way God intended it to be managed, you will not have to cut out or back your "tithe" to God. God will always provide for you what you need. I will leave you with a few Bible verses and let you make your own decision about what you will cut back in order to have a balanced budget when you are ready to do your budget.

Psalms 24:1 "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof" - how can we even think that it is ours to decide how much we will give back to God anyway?

Malachi 3:10 "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it" - what HUGE blessings are you willing to give up in order to get a balanced budget? I bet this is not a guarantee the credit card companies can make when you pay them their full amount due each month?

Stuff by George Carlin

Last night Jamie and I were watching TV and on GBP they were doing a dedication to George Carlin. Now, I am not at all a George Carlin fan, but Jamie made me sit there and endure the TV show. He started doing his comedy act about "stuff" and it reminded me of what we learned in FPU about having "stuffitus". George looks at it like this:

• The whole meaning of life is trying to find a place to put your stuff. Really? at least that is what society wants you to think, isn't it?


• If we didn't have so much stuff we wouldn't need a house. That is a good point. We could become a missionary and not worry about leaving our stuff behind...hmmm.


• Your house is a place to keep your stuff, so you can go out and get more stuff. How many times have you just gone shopping just to get more stuff you did not need, to impress people you did not like, with money you did not have?


• Sometimes you got to get a bigger house to hold all of your stuff. Why, because you have TOO MUCH stuff. I wonder statistically how many people in America have more house than they can afford, just to store all of their stuff?


• Sometimes you even have to store your stuff. There is a whole industry based on keeping an eye on your stuff. Now that is where it gets to be a really big addiction and why Dave calls it "stuffitus".


• We think to ourselves when we go to other people's house and see their stuff "what an awful stuff it is". And, this is when greed steps in and we start coveting our neighbor with what stuff they have. Did you even stop to realize that this is one of the ten commandments, thou shalt not covet their neighbor?"


• Sometimes we've got more places than we've got stuff, so we have to go out and buy more stuff. And this causes debt up to our eyes balls my friends.

Amen to most of this right? At least until you have had a change about the way you think about money. If you truly hear what Dave tries to say in the weekly sessions of Financial Peace, you will understand that society has sold us such a pack of lies about how having stuff gives us power, control, prestige and fame. Then add having to pay someone for that stuff which we must have right now, just makes us "normal". Well, most people do think that, but once you really start to understand that God is very clear when he says that you will either love God or money and you can not love both, is when you really start to understand that "stuff" is not all that important any more. I want to be "weird" and try and change the way our community thinks about stuff. Stuff is OK, as long as stuff does not consume your life to the point where a comedian such as George Carlin has to write a script about it and sells millions, because it is true.

Transformed from the inside out

Music lyrics really speak to me and it is so funny how I am always looking at how things in life relate to Financial Peace. Our church praise band has started learning a new song. The title is "From the Inside Out". The chorus of this song begins "My heart and my soul, I give you control, consume me from the inside out Lord...". The road to financial peace is a journey. It is not easy and takes a great deal of discipline on our part. For most of my life, I allowed society to control the way I thought about money and having stuff. The real success of reaching true financial peace is to understand that this world, money and all stuff is God's and that if you can release control to God in these areas and allow God to change the way you think about money from the inside out, that you will truly have financial peace. A couple in our church will be screaming, "We are debt free" by March of this year. They began FPU in February of 2008 and had the average debt of most Americans. People may ask how did they do it? The answer is very simple. I have seen such an incredible change from the inside out in this couple. Having stuff is no longer what life is about to them. They have given all control of their money to God and God is rewarding them for that. One of the verses of the song says "YOUR WILL above all else, My PURPOSE remains, the art of loosing MYSELF, in bringing you praise". Are you ready to let God's WILL shine from the inside out and loose yourself and find your true purpose in life? When you do this, it brings true financial peace.

Criminalize Usury

You are probably asking yourself, what is usury? I would have asked the same thing had I not read an article that was given to me from a member of our congregation. The article was titled "A suggestion for correcting the economy" written by Joel Hilliker and was published January 2009 in The Philadelphia Trumpet. The definition of usury in the Webster dictionary is the lending of money with an interest charge for its use ; especially : the lending of money at exorbitant interest rates3: an unconscionable or exorbitant rate or amount of interest ; specifically : interest in excess of a legal rate charged to a borrower for the use of money.

Can you now say AMEN to the concept of criminalizing usury? The article says a great deal, but a few things it said is evidence that we must learn to live without credit and credit cards as not only does this make us slave to the lender, but also it is in direct violation of what God said is the right thing to do. In Deuteronomy 23:19 God actually forbids us from charging interest - "Do not charge your brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest." In Nehemiah 5 the entire story is about how God specifically condemns charging even 1 percent interest.

So why do I tell you all this and how will it help correct the economy. The writer of this article must have hooked up with Dave at some time, because he writes that the availability of easy credit teaches self-indulgence and financial irresponsibility. He goes on to say that it puts people in debt, which is a form of slavery, and leads to financial ruin. He suggests that if we criminalize usury it would teach the value of financial discipline, patience, self control and hard work and in the long run would increase individual and family wealth. The writer goes on to say that interest always tends to take money from the poor and give it to the rich. NO wonder why the banks buildings are so much more larger than our own!!! In a Bible-based economy, loans are actually a form of welfare, given to benefit the poor, not the rich.

How could that be you may ask yourself. Well, think about the interest you would have paid on $150,000 house over a 30 year period. Almost half, $150,000. If you were not charged interest, I bet you could find a way to invest that $150,000 of interested charged and I know that would change the financial status of your household. I know it would mine.

This article suggests that we need to start focusing more on God's laws, because had we have done this all along it would have prevented this financial meltdown. In God's abundant government people would buy only what they need, when they can afford it, and when they have the cash to pay for it. This prescription would solve the problem, because it comes from the greatest economist who ever lived. God designed a perfect economic system and all we would have to do in order to make it work is to follow His law.

What an economy and a wonderful world that would be. We would strive just like they did in the times of the Bible. This blog title just makes me shake my head and ask, wow, is it possible for that to happen? YES!!! We can make that happen one family at a time through Financial Peace University. I am on board, are you?

Loses his own soul - continued

God is truly amazing to me. This morning I was reading my Purpose Drive Life devotion and guess what verse the speaker referenced? Mark 8:36 NKJV - “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” To be honest when I wrote the blog yesterday, I knew these were words to a song, but did not know that they were a Bible verse. I mean, before I was walking with God daily, I would have thought oh wow what a coincidence. But now, I know that there is no such thing. God is trying very hard during this unstable economy through many voices to get this message across to all of us. The speaker goes on to say "our objective-in-Jesus is to rid ourselves of any gods we’ve fashioned from our own hands and to serve the one true God". What God are you serving today? Is it money? Are you losing your soul to it? I just want to remind you that it is never too late. It is possible to take control of your money and not let it control you. Are you ready to make a change? Then it takes faith in God and the principles of Financial Peace to do so. Come join the crusade. It is not just about taking back control of our money, it's about taking back control of our lives and no longer serving at the altar of money.

Gain the whole world and lose my soul

There is a new song out by Toby Mack on 104.7 The Fish, called "Lose My Soul". I am not much for rap music, but I love the words to this song. When I hear this song, I think about how what he says applies to money and what it takes to have financial peace.

"I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul......Lord forgive us when we get consumed by the things of this world, that fight for our love, and our passion...."

God's Word has over 800 scriptures on finance in the Bible. God knew that this subject was going to be a struggle for us, which is why he talks about it so much. Financial Peace is not about not having stuff. It is about not letting stuff have you. It is about remembering what the scripture says in Matthew 6:24. It is your choice, God's free will, to decide whether you will serve God or money...you cannot serve both God and Money.

When we choose society's way of doing things in life, we get consumed by the things of this world. This causes tension within ourselves and the devil starts taking over your soul. I do not know about you, but having things and gaining society's world view of what is important is not worth it to me to loose my soul in eternity.

Where is your "free will" headed? Are you choosing the path of loosing your soul?