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7/29/2019 Different articles

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Are We Already Fulfilling God's 'Plan' for

Us?

John Shore

Whenever I hear how God has a plan for me, I always think, "Excellent! I can't wait to findout what it is!" Like any time now a Fed-Ex guy will knock on my door with an overnightdelivery envelope.

"Looks like God's plan for you has arrived!" he'll say. "Sign here."

Lately I've been rethinking the whole idea of God having a "plan" for me. Because if therereally is a plan for me, then that means that ultimately God intends me to be somewhere other

than where I am right now, to do something other than what I'm doing right now, to maybe besomeone other than who I am, right now.

Something about that feels a little counter-intuitive. And it makes me wonder if instead ofbeing essentially subject to a "plan" God has for me, I'm not, exactly as I am right now, beingthe "plan" God has for me. I think maybe I'm already livingthe exact "plan" that God has hadfor me since the beginning of time. Not that I'm perfect, or have arrived at some lofty height

just south of heaven, or anything like that. No, because that kind of paradigm -- that "I'mmoving from this lower point to that higher point"-- is, I think, a view of God's relationship tous that's entirely too simple, linear, essentially evaluative in nature. I think it's too... human away of looking at how God looks at us.

If there's one thing we know about God, it's that he's allabout process. All any of us can everbe is a work in progress. It's not like we evercomplete our relationship with God. None of usever reaches a point where we go, "Ah, good. I've now attained complete spiritual andintellectual understanding of God, and of all his glory! Great! Well, I'm off to the store! Bigsale on watermelons!"

No. God ever unfolds before us. From wherever we are we keep falling, and he keepscatching us, and putting us back in place. That's the relationship. That's the model.

That's the plan.

That's always the plan.

There is no other plan.

I do think God has a plan for me. I think maybe God's always had a plan for me. I thinkmaybe that plan was for me to be born, to live exactly as I have, and to be, right now, exactlythe imperfect, questioning, arrogant, willful, stubborn person that I am. Something about me

being just who I am right now must workfor God, or he'd have arranged it so that I hadsomehow ended up being different than I am.

It's a scary thought, in that it's awfully close to really arrogant, and dangerously satisfied. Butthat's not what it's about. Instead, it's about saying, "Okay, if God loves me, then he loves all


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of me, right now. So maybe I can just relax. Maybe who I'm supposed to be, and how I'msupposed to be, and where in this life I'm supposed to end up, is allup to God. Maybe allI'msupposed to do is just be alive. Maybe simply existing-maybe simply living every moment ofmy life exactly as I have up to this moment- is God's "plan" for me. Maybe that's always beenGod's plan for me."

Maybe the whole of my life has been the fulfillment of a plan God's always had for... well,me.

Maybe God's entire plan for me is nothing more complex or demanding than my finallyunderstanding that God really and truly loves me, just as I am today.

15 Things I Have Learned from My FatherJohn Piper

Desiring God

Since my father died on March 6, I have been looking through his papers. I found a smallsheet with the following fifteen counsels, titled Things I Have Learned. He didn't makemost of these up. Some of them go back to his college days when he was absorbing the pithywisdom ofBob Jones Senior. They have again confirmed the obvious: I owe my father more

than I can ever remember. The comment after each one is mine.

Things I Have Learned

1. The right road always leads to the right place; therefore, get on the right road and go as faras you can on it.

My father was totally persuaded that wrong means do not lead to right ends. Or, morepositively, he was persuaded that living in the right way that is, doing the right things are means that inevitably lead to where God wants us to be. This is why he told me, when Iasked about Gods leading in my life, Son, keep the room clean where you are, and in Gods

time, the door to the next room will open.

2. There is only one thing to do about anything; that is the right thing. Do right.

This is what one might say to a person perplexed by a difficult situation whose outcome isunknown. The person might say, I just dont know what to do about this. It is not useless to

be told: Do the right thing. That may not tell you exactly which good thing to do, but it doesclear the air and rule out a few dozen bad ideas.

3. Happiness is not found by looking for it. You stumble over happiness on the road to duty.

My, my, my. How was John Piper born from this? I would never say this. The main reason isthat the Bible commands us to pursue our joy repeatedly. Rejoice in the Lord, and again I say
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rejoice. Delight yourself in the Lord. I think what he meant was: 1) Joy is always insomething. Joy itself is not thesomething. So we seek joy in Christ. Not just joy in general. 2)When duty is hard and we do not feel joy in doing it, we should still do it, and pray that in thedoing it the joy would be given. But what we need to make plain is that duty cannot becontrasted with joy, because joy is a biblical duty.

4. The door to success swings on the hinges of opposition.

Remarkably, this saying implies that opposition is not just a natural accompaniment orantecedent of success, but that it is a means by which the door opens. One can think of many

biblical examples. The opposition of Josephs brothers opened the door to his leadership inEgypt. The taxing of the empire opened the door to getting the Messiah born in Bethlehem,not Nazareth, and thus fulfilling prophecy. The betrayal of Judas opened the door to thesalvation of the world.

5. God in the right place in my life fixes every other relationship of life (Matthew 6:33).

I wonder if this was tucked away in my mind so that unknown to me it controlled my analogyof the solar system to our many-faceted lives. If God is the blazing center of the solar systemof our lives, then all the planets will be held in their proper orbit. But if not, everything goesawry.

6. It is never right to get the right thing in the wrong way like good grades, wealth, power,position. Dont sacrifice your principles.

Again, he hammers away at dont use bad means for good ends. Be a principled, not apragmatic, person. O how we need to hear this today. Churches need to be principled, notendlessly adapting to culture. Persons need to make a promise and keep it no matter howmuch it hurts.

7. It is a sin to do less than your best. It is wrong to do [merely] well.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might (Ecclesiastes 9:10). But be careful.Sometimes the best is a B+ sermon and spending time with your child. In other words,best always involves more decisions than the one you are making at the moment. That onemeans many other things are being left undone. So best is always the whole thing, not justthe detail of the moment.

8. It is wrong to be yoked to one who refuses the yoke of Christ.

Dont marry an unbeliever (1 Corinthians 7:39). Not all relationships with unbelievers areruled out. Otherwise we could not obey Jesus command to love them and bless them. Butyoke implies a connectedness that either governs where we go or constrains where they go.And you cannot constrain faith in Jesus. It is free.

9. The part of your character that is deficient is the part that needs attention.

This is the counterpoint to the advice: Go with your strengths. There is truth in both. Yes, be

encouraged by every evidence of Gods grace in your life, and use your gifts and graces for


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his glory. But you will become smug and vain if you do not keep your deficiencies before youand work on them.

10. Dont quit. Finish the job. God cant use a quitter.

Warning: He who endures to the end will be saved (Mark 13:13). Promise: He who begana good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

11. Anything you do that hinders your progress for God is wrong.

O how thankful I am that this was the dominant way my father pressed me to pursue mysanctification. He did not mainly impose lists of donts on me, though we had them. And theywere clear. Mainly he said: Maximize your progress in knowing and serving God. That ruledout a hundred foolish behaviors, some bad and some uselessly innocent.

12. Beware of any society in which you feel compelled to put a bushel over your testimony.

This implies that you can go into a group of people who are evil if you are willing to openyour mouth and take a stand for Jesus and righteousness. Nevertheless, 1 Corinthians 15:33stands: Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals.

13. It isnt enough to be good. Be good for something. The essence of Christianity is not apassionless purity.

This is what I have meant in talking about a merely avoidance ethic. Dont just think ofrighteousness or holiness in terms of what you avoid, but what you do. As my father said inanother place: Dont be a donter; be a doer.

14. Positive living produces negative effect[s].

This is wise counsel that affirmation of the good always implies negation of the bad. If youthink you can live your life without negating anything, you have lost touch with reality.Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good (Romans 12:9). You cannot love withouthating what hurts the beloved.

15. Learn to be sweetly firm.

This was what he said to my mother over the phone when she was exasperated with her onedisobedient son: Be sweet and firm. I think she succeeded.

With abiding and deep thankfulness for my fathers wisdom,

Hold Lightly What You Value Greatly

Ray Pritchard


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Keep Believing Ministries

The land of a rich man produced plentifully and he thought to himself, "What shall I do, for I

have nowhere to store my crops?" And he said, "I will do this: I will tear down my barns andbuild larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul,

Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry." But Godsaid to him, "Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared,

whose will they be?" So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward

God (Luke 12:16-21).

At first glance, it's hard to know what this man did wrong. He seems like the sort of man anyof us would want as a church member.

There is no hint in the story that he was a cheat, a crook or a scoundrel. Jesus never suggeststhat he obtained his money by unethical means. He doesn't seem to be the sort of man whotried to take advantage of his friends when they were in trouble. He wasn't a loan shark or a

shady lawyer or a dishonest merchant. If he ever tried to hurt anyone, Jesus doesnt mentionit.

He was a farmer. That's a noble profession. We wouldn't eat if there weren't farmers to growthe crops and tend the herds. Since moving to Mississippi 20 months ago, I've come to a newappreciation of what farmers do. In this part of the world, they grow cotton, soybeans,

peanuts, corn, rice, onions, sugar cane and sweet potatoes. And they raise cattle and hogs andchickens. It's hard work, not just the physical part, which is hard enough, but today's farmerhas to be an economist, financier, business executive and computer expert on top of all thethings he has to know about growing crops and raising animals. It's a 24/7 job and only thestrong need apply. Lazy farmers won't last very long, and even the hardworking ones have atough time making it. Right now we're suffering through a severe drought in the South, one ofthe worst in years, that has affected the growing season. The farmers are hoping and prayingfor rain to come, just in time but not too much because the water that produces the crops candestroy the harvest if it comes at the wrong time. Then there are bugs and diseases of variouskinds. And even though today's farmer has a wide variety of pesticides to choose from, the

bugs seem to get smarter every year. It's a hard life being a farmer, and even though you canfind plenty of third- and fourth- and even fifth-generation farms, it true that many young

people see how hard their parents have to work to keep the farm going, and they soon decidethings look better in Memphis or Atlanta or Dallas or Chicago.

You have to love the land to be a farmer, and you have to have perseverance to stay at it yearafter year. Among other things, a certain stoic resolve is required. A sudden disease can wipeout a herd or a late rain can ruin a crop and destroy your savings. A man can be farming todayand bankrupt tomorrow. Sometimes it happens to those with the best of intentions. Anyonelooking for an easy life should look elsewhere.

So when you find a man who has made his fortune in farming, you know that he must havehad a strong work ethic, he found some good land, he has good business sense, he knows howto manage his resources well, and he has good fortune on his side. You may think I'moverdoing it, but we can't grasp the point of Jesus' parable unless we give this man his due.

You really can't fault him for anything he did. We can go further and say that he did what hewas supposed to do. He farmed his way to the top. He was so successful that he had a bumper
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crop. I have seen those mountains of grain when the harvest has come in. Sometimes they pileit up by the side of the road so it will dry before they store it. But sooner or later the farmerhas to find a place to store it. He needs a barn or a silo or someplace else to keep it.

His Success Overwhelmed His Capacity

That really was this man's problem. His success had overwhelmed his capacity. He had all thegrain he needed, more than he expected, and he had nowhere to put it. So he decided to buildsome barns to hold all the grain.

That's a wonderful problem to have. It's like having . . .

More money than you can spend.More food than you can eat.More clothes than you can wear.More cars than you can drive.

More TVs than you can watch.More rings than you have fingers.More gifts than you have friends.More homes than you can visit.More beds than you can sleep in.More lawn than you can mow.More house than you can clean.More yachts than you can sail.More planes than you can fly.More cattle than you can count.More games than you can play.

Most of us think that's a nice problem to have. To have so much of everything that you neednothing at all. You have more of everything that matters in life.

Before going on, let me spell out this one key insight. Jesus is not condemning this man forworking hard and being successful. The problem is not his outward success. The problem wasin his heart. And that's what makes this story so tricky and so universally true.

This isn't a parable about the dangers of being rich and successful.This is a parable the dangers of having the wrong kind of heart.

And that can happen to any of us rich or poor, young or old, male or female, American orBengali.Empty Nesters

Marlene and I have had a chance to think about this a lot in the last twenty months. When weleft Oak Park to move to Mississippi, we gave away a lot of what we owned. What wecouldnt give away, we threw away. We disposed of a great deal of what we had accumulatedover the last three decades. Some of it was old and worn out. Some of it we didn't need sincethe boys aren't living with us any more. Some of it we simply didn't want to bother with. Now

that we are empty nesters, we're de-accumulating. Besides our furniture and our clothes and


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various household items, my books constituted the largest part of what we carried with uswhen we moved.

Box after box after box of books, most of them heavy, all of them packed tight, sorted only inthe most general sense, and mostly just jumbled together. I had dozens of boxes of books that

went from my office to our garage to the truck to the lodge on the other side of the lake. Formonths they stayed in boxes against the wall. Eventually I opened them up and put them on along table in what once was the indoor recreation area at the lodge when it used to be a churchcamp 25 years ago. There my books collected dust and heavy Mississippi humidity during thesummer months. Several times Marlene asked me what I was going to do with those books.To be fair I should add that over the years I have discarded hundreds of books, given someaway, and still I have hundreds of books in those boxes. Here's what I discovered. I didn'tneed most of those books. Some of them I had carted from Dallas to California to Dallas toChicago and then to Mississippi. The number of those books that I had actually consulted wasvery small indeed. Maybe I looked at them once or twice and then put them away. When I hadthose books covering three walls of my office in Oak Park, people used to say, "Have you

read all those books?" And I would reply, "I've read parts of all of them." Which was looselytrue, with an emphasis on the word "parts." A lot of those books I hadn't used in twenty years.

Part of it is technological. More and more books are available either on the Internet or onCDs. I imagine the day will come when you can have a collection of 50,000 books on just oneDVD. For all I know, that day may already be here.

Of Making Many Books

But having those books made me feel secure. If consulting five books is good, ten is betterand twenty is better still, even though the last ten say the same thing as the first ten. Solomonexplained all this 3000 years ago when he said, "Of making many books there is no end"(Ecclesiastes 12:12) or as The Message puts it, "There's no end to the publishing of books." Iam living proof of the truth of those words. Let's be clear about this. There is nothing wrongwith writing books or owning books.But life is more than books. Woe to the man who thinksthat his books matter a whit in the eternal scheme of things.

But there is more I wish to say about this. Recently just within the last week Marleneand I have moved from the cabin in the woods into a nice home in Tupelo. When I say a nicehome, I mean that it is the newest home we've ever owned. It's only a year and a half old,

beautifully finished, on a half-acre of land on the north side of town, near the airport. It's also

the smallest house we've ever owned. It's a spacious kind of cozy, but there are threebedrooms, with one being my office, so we have plenty of room to do what we need to do. Sothis move meant going to the lodge on the other side of the lake, taking our things out ofstorage, loading them in a borrowed truck, and taking them to our new home. Like I said, wegave away or discarded lots of things when we moved, but we still had all those boxes of

books that I had discovered I didn't really need. So do you know where they are now? They'restill in the lodge on the other side of the lake. Why move something you haven't used and

probably won't need in the future? And if I do need one of those books, I can always go outthere and dig through the boxes to find it.

We're very happy in our new home, and very grateful to God for his provision, part of which

came in a way that seems miraculous to us. Moving ought to cause you to take stock of yourlife. One of my college professors who had moved many times said that every time you move,


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you lose 20% of what you own. If you move five times, you end up replacing everything.Lets see. We moved from Dallas to California (1) back to Dallas (2) to north Oak Park (3) tocentral Oak Park (4) to the cabin in the woods (5) to our new home in Tupelo (6). I think my

professor was right. We have almost nothing left from the early years, we gave away a lotwhen we moved from Oak Park, and were replacing some things that didnt survive this

move or the storage in the lodge. And most of us as we grow older find that we can live a lotsimpler than we could years ago. David reflects this truth in Psalm 131:2, "But I have calmedand quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soulwithin me." A weaned child has learned that he no longer needs what he thought he couldnever live without. Even so the Lord takes from us those things we thought we had to have sothat our trust will be in him alone.

The Upwardly-Mobile Fool

The rich farmer did well in so many ways. He worked hard, he played by the rules, he spenthis money wisely, he found good land, he worked it in the hot sun, he planted and he irrigated

and when the harvest came in, he was rewarded far beyond his expectations. He planned tobuild more barns because he had so much that he couldnt care for all of it. Let me repeatwhat I said in the beginning. I find it very hard to criticize this man. He did what any of uswould have done.

In fact, this is exactly the sort of man we want in our churches. When we find a man like this,we cultivate him, we build a relationship, we invite him to a special dinner, we make he getsthe red carpet treatment. A man like that could do a ministry a lot of good. We might makehim the chairman of the elder board because he is such a good businessman.

The lesson of this parable will be lost on us if we think that Jesus is criticizing him for beingrich. That's not his problem. His problem isn't his wealth or his plans to expand his buildings.That was all quite commendable.

Jesus condemned this man because he forgot one fact. He forgot that he was going to diesomeday. And what then? Someone else will have all that he owns. An old Italian proverbssays, "The last robe has no pockets." Billy Graham likes to say that he has never seen a Brinkstruck following a hearse. There is no point is asking how much a man left because the answeris always, "He left all of it."

Naked we come into the world,

Naked we will leave the world.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Harry Bollback told me recently that he had been collecting some memorabilia about the lifeof Jack Wyrtzen important papers, crucial correspondence, that sort of thing. Harry saidthat the stack ended up being several feet tall. He said that he had done the same thing whenone of his aunts died. Her stack was very thin, only an inch or two. "But they're both gone,"he said. That's exactly the point.

Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief.

Death plays no favorites.


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Watchman Nee

Let me draw one simple application from all this and I will be done. I can state it this way.Hold lightly what you value greatly because it isn't yours anyway. In one of his books

Watchman Nee said that we approach God like little children with open hands, begging forgifts. Because he is a good God, he fills our hands with good things life, health, friends,money, success, recognition, challenge, marriage, children, a nice home, a good job, all thethings that we count at Thanksgiving when we count our blessings. And so like children, werejoice in what we have received and run around comparing what we have with each other.When our hands are finally full, God says, My child, I long to have fellowship with you.Reach out your hand and take my hand. But we cant do it because our hands are full. God,we cant, we cry. Put those things aside and take my hand, he replied. No, we cant. Itstoo hard to put them down. But I am the one who gave them to you in the first place. OGod, what you have asked for is too hard. Please dont ask us to put these things aside. AndGod answers quietly, You must.

I learned this truth the hard way twenty years ago. It happened in another time and anotherplace when I thought I was on top of the world. Everything looked so good to me. One day afriend dropped by to see me. Do you have a few minutes to talk, Pastor Ray? Of course, Ireplied, Come in. After a few minutes of conversation, she came to her point. Pastor Ray,you have to let go. Youre holding on too tightly.

How a Good Thing Becomes an Idol

It was one of those moments where from the first word of that sentence I knew exactly whatshe was going to say. And I knew she was right. Deep in my heart, I had known it for a longtime but didnt want to face the truth. I was holding on to something so tightly that it had

become an idol to me, something dearer than life itself. Before you ask, let me say simply thatthe thing was not evil or bad. In fact, it was a good thing that had become an idol that I darednot give up (an idol is anything good that becomes too important in your life).

One year passed and things in my little world began to fall apart. Through a long string ofcircumstances I found myself facing a tragedy. Looking back I can see clearly that God was

prying my fingers off that thing one by one. But when he got down to the thumb, I foughtback. I didnt want to give it up. But God is stronger than any man and eventually he pulledmy thumb off. As the wise man said, your arms are too short to box with God. I gave my idol

back to him, but when I gave it back, I saw clearly that it was no pagan idol, but somethinggood that had become too important in my life. In the end God took back that which hadalways belonged to him in the first place.

One Sunday afternoon during this personal crisis I took a long walk and began to meditate on1 Peter 4:19 (NIV), So then, those who suffer according to Gods will should committhemselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good." The little phrase according toGods will caught my attention. I realized that it had been many years since I had beenconcerned about doing Gods will. Once that had been a consuming passion; now I hardlyever thought about it.

And I remembered my friends admonition: Ray, you need to let go. As I walked, I held outan open palm and began to let go. Little by little, I released the things in my life that I had


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been holding onto so tightly. As I did, I felt an enormous sense of relief, as if God weresaying, Its about time.

God orchestrates the affairs of life both the good and the bad to bring us to the placewhere our faith will be in him alone. Slowly but surely as we go through life, he weans us

away from the things of the world. At first the process touches only our possessions (whichwe can replace), but eventually it touches our relationships (which may not be replaced), thenit touches our loved ones (who cannot be replaced), finally it touches life itself (which isnever replaced). Then there is nothing left but us and God.

Through all this process our Heavenly Father leads us along the pathway of complete trust inhim. Slowly but surely we discover that the things we thought we couldnt live without dontmatter as much as we thought they did. Even the dearest and sweetest things of life takesecond place to the pleasure of knowing God. In the end we discover that he has emptied ourhands of everything and then filled them with himself.

Hold Lightly What God Has Given You

In writing these words I am aware that I only dimly understand their full meaning. At thispoint in my life I still have many things in my hands my wife, my three boys, a wonderfuldaughter-in-law and another one coming soon, my friends, my career, my health, my dreams,my plans for the future. But the process of growing older is nothing more than this learningto hold lightly the things God has given you, knowing that you cant keep them foreveranyway. At any moment, he can take them away one by one, two at a time, or all of themtogether. Or he could take back the life he gave me 54 years ago.

If I have any advice for you, it is this. Learn to hold lightly what God has given you. Youcant keep it forever and you cant take it with you.

Some of you who read these words are in the midst of a great struggle in your life. You feelpressured about something and you dont want to give it up. But you must... and you will. Icant spare you the pain of yielding your dearest treasures to God, but I promise you the joywill far outweigh the pain you feel right now.

We call the story Jesus told the parable of the rich fool. But he wasn't a fool because he wasrich. He was a fool because he tried to hold on to what was never his in the first place.

Don't be a fool!Let go of the things you own.

Hold lightly what you value greatly.It all belongs to God anyway.

What Is It Like to Lose Every Worldly

Possession?

Cal Thomas


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Syndicated columnist

September 8, 2004

The devastation in Florida with losses in the billions of dollars made me wonder: what is it

like to lose every worldly possession?

I hope I never find out.

Relief has been delayed for many because of the magnitude of the damage.

Frances killed 11 people, nine in Florida. It could have been a lot worse.

Thankfully modern forecasting gives people plenty of warning.

But imagine how you would feel if everything you owned - furniture, keepsakes, family

heirlooms, pictures - everything - had been wiped out.

For many older people there is not enough time to make new memories.

Most people are frustrated when they see catastrophes because they don't know what to do.

May I suggest we all do something?

There are many relief agencies - Christian and otherwise - working to help Floridians in theirtime of great need.

Could all of you who hear my voice contribute $1, $5, or even more to a responsible agency?

You can find the more familiar ones on the Internet, like the Red Cross.

Don't look for the rest of the world which we have helped to help us.Let's help our own and do it today.

Use Your Material Possessions to DrawCloser to Christ

Whitney Hopler

Live It Editor

Kelly is constantly thinking of stuff she doesn't have. A pastor's wife, Kelly lives on an

income that's far tighter than she would like. She regularly reminds her husband of what a


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painful sacrifice it is for her to live on their income, and she often window-shops for thingsshe would like to own.

Kelly feels guilty about secretly buying lottery tickets, and even more guilty about resentingthe members of her congregation who live in large houses filled with more stuff than she has

in her small townhouse.

Mike is always thinking about the stuff he has. He worked and saved for years to acquirethings he dreamed of owning -- a Porshe in his garage, a big-screen television in his livingroom, an extensive collection of suits in his bedroom. Mike can't bring himself to get rid of allhis stuff, but he frequently worries about whether it's demanding too much of his time andmoney.

He and his wife sense a calling to start a family someday, but Mike doesn't see how he canmake the necessary sacrifices. Then there's giving to their church. Mike never manages todrop more than a few dollars into the collection plate each week, despite knowing he should

contribute much more. When he finds himself feeling badly about it, he takes a ride in hisPorsche, which never fails to put him in a better mood.

You may think you have either too little or too much stuff. But what truly matters is how youuse the stuff you have. Here are five principles for using your stuff as tools to grow closer toChrist:

1. Don't give greater priority - as measured by your time and attention - to your stuff

than you do to your relationship with Christ. It's often the case that the more possessionsyou have, the more they possess you. Buying, maintaining, insuring, fixing, cleaning, andstoring your stuff can eat up a considerable amount of time. Do you really need that Orientalrug that requires you to take off your shoes every time you walk in your house? Do you needto get a wax job for your car every other week, or can you skip it?

More importantly, time you don't spend taking care of your stuff can be spent in prayer orreading the Bible. Take an inventory, not of your stuff, but of the time you spend dealing withyour stuff. How does that compare with the time you spend with Christ? If the former numberis out of balance with the latter, you'll do well to simplify.

Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, orhe will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money"

(Matthew 6:24).

2. Your attitude toward stuff should bless others. In all things - including dealing withstuff - an attitude of love should rule your actions.

It's not enough just to decide to get rid of extra stuff you already own and decide not to buymore. You can sanctimoniously congratulate yourself on not wanting or owning a lot of stuff,

but still end up sinning if you fall into the traps of ingratitude or miserliness.

For example, if friends or family members present you with gifts that cost more than youthink they should, don't criticize their generosity by judging how they spent their money.

Remember that just because a gift is expensive doesn't make it bad. As long as the gift-givers


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are sincerely expressing love through their gifts and not trying to manipulate you throughthem, you should accept graciously and cheerfully.

Don't feel pressured to reciprocate with expensive gifts of your own if God doesn't lead you todo so. But whenever you have stuff that you don't truly need - and that other people could use

- be willing to be generous yourself. Acts 2:45 records that early Christians sold theirpossessions, giving "to anyone as he had need." They knew that material things are merelytools to express Christ's love and grow closer to Him.

3. Your stuff should foster enriching experiences. Manage wisely whatever God chooses togive you. Stuff isn't inherently bad; sometimes it can enable you to experience something thatwill draw you closer to Christ. If you can hear God's voice more clearly out in nature, itmakes sense to own a tent and a sleeping bag so you can go camping.

When Jesus attended the wedding in Cana, He chose to perform His first public miracle bychanging water to wine. Serving wine was an important part of the wedding experience in that

culture, and Jesus knew that preventing the supply of wine from running out would supportthe fellowship the wedding guests were enjoying.

4. Your stuff should honor Christ. In 1 Corinthians 10:23, 31, the apostle Paul wrote,"'Everything is permissible' - but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible' - but

not everything is constructive. ... So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all forthe glory of God."

Whatever stuff you choose to have should glorify God. Of course, that means you shouldn'town stuff that is by its nature opposed to God's teachings - such as pornographic magazines.Most of the stuff in our lives, however, doesn't fall into that category. We should usewhatever we have in ways that honor Him. For example, you can use your television to watchnews that keeps you informed, or an inspiring show that reflects biblical principles. Or youcan use it to watch soap operas, filling your mind with values that don't please God.

Think about how your stuff honors the Lord. If certain items don't, it's best to give them up.

5. Your stuff shouldn't make you feel discontent. Just like Kelly and Mike's experiences,stuff can rob us of the contentment God wants for us. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to agreewith the apostle Paul: "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to be have plenty.

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situations, whether well fed or

hungry, whether living in plenty or in want"(Philippians 4:12)?

What is that secret? A close relationship with Christ. All of our stuff will one day pass awayfrom us, but a relationship with Christ is eternal!

How to Handle a Money Crisis

Mary Hunt


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Debt-Proof Living

You know what to do in a medical emergency, but do you know what to do when faced with abig fat financial crisis? Read on ....

After 10 years of marriage and tons of unwise decisions, my husband handed the finances tome to handle. I have never done this before. We have mountains of bills and $900 in the bank.

I dont know where to start. Please help me. I feel like

I am drowning. ~ Gladys A., email

First you need to separate facts from feelings. There will be a time later to address emotionalissues and how to develop financial intimacy in your marriage. But for now pack up yourfeelings and put them on a shelf. Develop a mindset that youve been called in to perform afinancial rescue for a complete stranger.

Take a deep breath and write down all of your bills. Include the bills for basic food,

gasoline and necessary medications, if any, to survive until your next payday. Divide thesebills into two lists: Essential and nonessential. An essential debt is a serious obligation that ifnot paid could produce severe, even life-threatening consequences. Follow this rule to figureout which bills should get paid first:

Do not make payments on nonessential debts when you have not paid essential oneseven ifyour nonessential creditors are breathing down your neck.

Now prioritize your bills as follows so that the most essential come first. This is the order inwhich you should allocate the $900 you have on hand.

Essential debts

1. Family necessities. This means basic food, necessary medication and health insurance.

2. Rent or mortgage. Being late with a mortgage payment or rent could mean eviction orforeclosure.

3. Utilities. Pay the minimum required to keep essential utility services.

4. Car payments. If a car is necessary to keep a job, the payment is essential.

5. Child support. Paying child support is absolutely essential or you go to jail.

6. Other secured loans. If getting the item repossessed would be devastating, pay this bill next.Otherwise, consider it nonessential.

7. Unpaid taxes. If the IRS is about to take your paycheck, bank account, house or otherproperty, you need to set up a repayment plan immediately.

Nonessential debts

These are bills you can let slide for a while because the effects of not paying will not bedevastating. You still owe the money, youll pay late fees and you will damage your credit

report. But in the big picture a blemished credit report is easier to live with than being thrownout of your home or having your car repossessed.


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8. Student loans.

9. Credit cards.

10. Personal loans.

11. Medical, legal and accounting bills.

12. Other unsecured debts.

Survival mode

Its time for your family to move into survival mode. This means absolutely no spending at allfor anything that isnt critically essential.

Determine that you will live on the food you have in the house already, supplementing with

milk and produce as necessary. Start planning for ways you can raise casha garage sale,working extra hours, selling larger items on eBay and so on.

Please read my book,Debt-Proof Livingand also the back issues of this newsletter as soon asyou can. Soon you will know how to manage a paycheck. Join our online Discussion Boardsas soon as possible. There you will find support, encouragement and friendship with peoplewho understand because they are or have been where you are now. Knowing you are notalone will give you the hope you need to keep going.

I know things look bleak right now. And that will change quickly. Just dont let youremotions run the show. Make decisions based on principles, not feelings.

Remember tough times never last but tough people do.

Coaching Corner: Between the Dreaming

and the Coming True

Michael D. Warden

Life Coach & Author

In my work with clients, a lot of the focus naturally centers on the question, What does itreally take to make a dream come true?

The process for moving a dream from a place of deep desire to reality is actually fairlysimple. But that doesnt mean that the process is easy. As you already know from your ownexperience, the path to making something real is often fraught with obstacles and ditches andgiants and gremlins and all sorts of other speed bumps that get in the way.

The most common dream killer, however, is not an external one. Rather, it springs out of ourimpatience to make something happen right away, before the dream within us has had theopportunity to fully form in our hearts. Too often, people dream just a little, then grab their


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dream by the collar and race headlong into action. And the action (or strategic planning,which is also action) kills the dream before it has had the chance to mature and become strongwithin us. Its horribly disheartening to snuff out a dream in this way, and typically leaves

people feeling stuck and robbed of hope.

What's missing is the artful, expansive skill of pondering. To ponder a dream is to ruminateon it, to meditate on it, to simply set it before you and look at it with open-ended curiosity

purposefully refraining from trying to figure it out or make it do or be something in the realworld. To ponder is to set the dream before God, and in that quiet, sacred space, to simplylook at the dream together, and listen and watch as God unfolds it on deeper and deeperlevels. Pondering is not something you do with your head. Its a heart activity (Luke 2:19).Its about giving a dream room to breath, to shift and grow, to change or expand, without youtrying to force it to do any of those things.

Pondering gives time and space for a dream to become fully formed. More importantly, itgives time and space for letting God have access to the dream, and giving Him free reign to

speak to or touch or reshape the dream in any way He wishes; or perhaps, simply to breatheon it until it is fully alive and strong enough for you to stand on. When the dream is reallyready, the path to making it real will become clear as well (via Gods Spirit), and the plan thatemerges will feel more like something that came to you as inspiration, rather than somethingyou had to strive to create out of your own strength and wits.

Moving from dream to action without adequate pondering is like sending a baby out into theworld and expecting him or her to act and fend for itself like a full-grown adult. It sets thedream up for failure, and squashes hope in the process.

As I mentioned, our resistance to pondering stems from our impatient drive to get on with itand just make it happen, along with a sneaking suspicion that pondering is really just awaste of time. After all, you already know what you want, so why do you need to ponder itanymore? But the reality is, what you see of a dream at its beginning is just the tip of theiceberg. Its only about 10 percent of whats really there. And if you move to action tooquickly, you will most likely find you do not really have the resolve or inspiration needed tomake it succeed; but even if you do, the end result will only be 10 percent of what you reallywanted. You discover the other 90 percent by allowing yourself the time and space you needto simply, openly ponder the dream in your heart.

Pondering is essential to the process of making something real. It is not an optional step. Of

course, it is possible to ponder a dream to deaththat is, to get stuck in dreaming as a wayof avoiding the risks associated with taking real action. But I find the compulsive lurch toaction is a far more common dream killer for most people.

If your dream is worth engaging at all, then its worth taking the time to let your heart ponderitin the unhurried space between the dreaming and the coming trueuntil the dream isfully formed and resonates with a life and solidity all its own.

How to Change Lives through Worship,

Justice, & Evangelism


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Whitney Hopler

Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

Too often in the church, an artificial divide exists between three key areas on Gods heart worship, evangelism, and justice. God doesnt want you to separate what you sing, say, anddo. If you let those areas overlap, theyll each become more powerful in your life andcommunity, while honoring God more fully.

Heres how you can combine worship, evangelism, and justice:

Recognize that theres no true distinction between the sacred and the secular.Understand that God cares about every part of your life and wants you to make choices thathonor Him in everything you say and do. So, for example, buying a pair of running shoes isnt

just a secular activity; its also a spiritual activity because you can do your part to ensure that

the people who made the running shoes earn a fair wage and work in reasonable conditions,which is an act of loving your neighbors as God wants you to do. Realize that you can have

just as much of a ministry by chatting with your coworkers in the office cubicles next to yoursas you can by speaking to large crowds of people from a church pulpit if you approacheverything you do by giving your best effort to honor God.

Worship through every part of your life. Know that worship means much more thanjust singing praise songs to God during a church service. Give God more than just a songwhen you worship. Realize that true worship means making God your highest priority in life.Dont allow anything or anyone else to take more of your attention than God. Understand thatwhatever you place above God in your life will cause you to see everything through the lens

of that priority and often conflict with Gods plans for you. For example, if your top priority isto make money for financial security, that will affect all your decisions and conflict withGods call to rely on Him for security and be generous with others. Be completely honestwhen expressing your thoughts and feelings to God. Remember that He knows all about youanyway, and wants to have a close relationship with you where you approach Him withconfidence about anything thats on your heart. Dont use worship as an escape from reality;instead, invite God in through your worship to help you in the midst of your doubts and fears.Rather than worshipping God only when life is going your way and you feel like celebrating,worship Him when youre in the middle of tough circumstances as well. Remember that Godis always worthy to be praised because of who He is, no matter what your feelings orcircumstances at any particular time. Get rid of a consumer attitude that asks what you can get

out of worship personally, and instead focus on how your worship can become an offeringthat blesses God. Ask God to use your worship to break your heart with the things that breakHis heart and motivate you to intercede in compassion for people who are suffering in thisfallen world. Hold nothing back from your worship, because God is worthy of more than eventhe very best you can give. Try to make everything you do an act of worship to God, so yourlife matches the worship songs you sing.

Let your love for God motivate you to love people through evangelism. As youexpress your love for God through worship, let that naturally lead you to love other peoplewho are made in His image by sharing your faith with them. Pray for God to make you awareof daily opportunities to share His love with others, knowing that doing so is an act ofdevotion to Him. Dont settle for interacting with people from a distance; instead, get to knowthem, build relationships with the, and participate in their lives. Ask God to help you see


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people the way He sees them so you can have the compassion and wisdom to help meet theirneeds as God leads you. Instead of viewing people as projects to work on, view them simplyas people to love. Care for them not because you want to rack up a certain evangelism quotaof converts and move on, but because you want to build relationships with them, no matterwhat. Instead of expecting people to change to believe and act like you do before inviting

them to church, invite them to come just as they are. Remember that Jesus doesnt expectpeople to clean up their lives before He decides to love them. Pray every day, asking God:Who do you want me to talk to, love, or serve today? Ask the Holy Spirit to make youaware of opportunities you might otherwise miss. Be yourself, trusting that God will use yournatural personality to communicate His message to others in your own style. Just do your bestto love and pray for people while leaving the results up to God, since its only God who canactually save people. Listen to people more than you talk. Let them share their stories withyou and ask them thoughtful questions so you can genuinely get to know them well. Pray foreach specific situation theyre concerned about in their lives, as well as for their salvation andGods blessing on them. When people go through suffering, show them that God cares forthem by obeying Gods call to care for them in whatever ways He leads you to do so.

Show people Gods love in action by pursuing justice. Know that you worship Godand evangelize others most fully when you work for justice in this fallen world. Ask God tomake you passionate about helping the poor, oppressed, marginalized and dispossessed.Commit to working for justice as a way of life. Realize that the groups of people who sufferinjustice are much broader than simply those who dont have enough money. Seek to alsohelp those who suffer physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and socially, such as

people who are lonely, abused, forced into slavery or prostitution, are victims of terrorism,have lost their homes due to wars or natural disasters, etc. Give your money generously toGods work on Earth, remembering that all you have (including your ability to earn anincome) is a gift from God to you. Know that as you obey Gods call to be freely share yourmoney and other resources (like time, energy, and talents), He will take care of all your ownneeds. Recognize that loving your brothers and sisters in Gods family is a vital part of lovingGod. Dont avoid news stories of suffering; make time regularly to really see and connectwith whats going on in the world and ask God to use what you see, hear, and read about inthe news media to expand your heart. Pray for God to make it clear how He would like you torespond. Be assured that God will guide you and help you make a real positive impact on

people He leads you to help. Remember that the costs involved will ultimately be worthwhile.Pray regularly about specific injustices in the world. Consider using prayer guides or e-mailalerts produced by Christian charities working on the frontlines of injustice. Financiallysupport charities who are pursuing justice. Sponsor a child in need through a monthly

donation that will cover vital costs like food, basic healthcare, and education. Instead ofbuying material items from a regular store to give people for birthday and Christmas gifts,give donations to charities in their names. Join others from your churchs small group or someother group and to fundraise for charities in creative ways (car washes, yard sales, dinners,raffles, etc.). Shop only from businesses that you know engage in fair trade practices and haveethically sound company policies; boycott others and contact company representatives to

protest their unfair practices or policies. Lobby your government officials to change laws tobenefit people who are being mistreated. Find out how your bank invests your money to see ifit is being invested in organizations who dont support your values. If so, switch to a bank thatwill invest your money more ethically. Consider taking short-term missions trips, and supportlong-term missionaries. If you sense God calling you to become a long-term missionary

yourself, follow where He leads. Find ways to help people in your local community andchurch by figuring out what needs exist and how you can best use your unique mix of


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interests, talents, and skills to help meet those needs. Keep your devotional times with God ahigh priority in your schedule; never get so busy serving Him that you neglect yourrelationship with Him. Be good news for people by serving them so theyll be more open tohearing the good news of the Gospel when you talk with them about your faith. Offer all yourfaithful decisions in every area of your life to God as living sacrifices. Let every action you

take to work for justice in a broken world also become an act of worship to God and an act ofevangelism to the people you help.

Abraham: The Footprint of an Obedient

Faith

Bayless Conley

Answers with Bayless Conley

To some people, faith is a mysterious thing. Yetthe Bible tells us that its impossible to pleaseGod without it. Scripture also tells us it is by faith that we stand and that we are to walk byfaith and not by sight.

Thats why Im so thankful God gave you and me a faith mentor. His name is Abraham. Andthroughout Scripture, God points to Abraham and says, If you want to know what faith lookslike if you want to see faith with flesh and bones look at him.

A good example is Hebrews 11:8which says, By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called

to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, notknowing where he was going.

Before we go any further, understand that Abraham was a person just like anyone else. Hehad bad days he had setbacks and he even was known to tell a lie every now and then!But there was one thing that was true of Abraham. He consistently trusted God. And that trustwas demonstrated in his unwavering obedience to God.

So today, I want to focus on this one aspect of Abrahams faith and then I want to challengeyou to follow the footprint of obedient faith that Abraham has left us.

Now, the verse from Hebrews that I mentioned earlier refers to an encounter Abraham hadwith God in Genesis chapter 12. Here it says the following:

Now the Lord had said to Abram: Get out of your country, from your family and from yourfathers house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you

and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and

I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. SoAbram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was

seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran (vv. 1-4).

If you think about it, Gods call on Abrahams life was a pretty scary thing. I mean, Abrahamwas no spring chicken when God spoke to him about leaving! He was 75 years old! When
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was the last time you heard about a 75-year-old man packing up his family and moving awaysomewhere?

Nevertheless, notice what Abrahams response was! He went out not knowing where hewas headed. All he knew was that he was being obedient. This is what the Bible calls faith.

I have a friend who loves maps. And he loves to use maps to plan every mile of every trip hisfamily ever takes. But you know, when God called Abraham, He didnt give him a map with acarefully planned-out route. God just said, Get going and Ill lead you.

This is where a lot of Christians get hung up. Because heading out with only a directive and not a destination requires us to give up control. It requires us to be vulnerable. Andthese arent things many of us relish!

But look at Abraham. He obeyed God when God called him. And so should you and I!

Let me ask you today, is God calling you to do something but you havent obeyed Him?Maybe its walking next door to your neighbors house to begin a friendship with the goal

being to share Christ with them. Maybe its helping out a ministry at your church. Or maybeGod is calling you to move your family to another country to serve Him.

Whatever it is, when you know that God is calling you to do something, you need to startmoving! Waiting on more direction or detail may prove to be an exercise in futility, as well asa lack of faith.

There is no way to steer a parked car, yet many of Gods children seem to insist on stayingparked until they know exactly where they are going and how long it will take to get there.

Today, I want to challenge you to follow in the footprints of Abrahams obedient faith bystepping out and doing what God has called you to do. To be truly used of God, you need tolearn to obey His leading even if you dont understand or cant see the outcome!

Your Obedience is the Key to God's Work

in Your LifeWhitney Hopler

Live It Editor

God wants to transform you more and more into Christ's likeness. But He won't force Hispower on you. If you're passive about your relationship with Him, you can't expect to grow.God is looking for an invitation from you. He wants you to show Him you're serious about arelationship with Him by being willing to follow wherever He leads. Only then will youexperience His transforming power.


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Here's how your decisions to live faithfully can invite God's transforming power into yourlife:

Seek true life. Don't look for life anywhere else but in a relationship with Jesus Christ, whoselife is the light of humankind, revealing God the Father to us. Understand that everything

necessary to create, sustain, and transform you flows through Christ. His Spirit working inyou is the spirit of the perfect child toward the perfect father. Just as Christ laid down His life,decide to lay down your own life in obedience to Him, sacrificing your own agenda andembracing His plans for your life. Trust that, in doing so, you will open yourself up to a betterlife than you could ever hope to live on your own.

Embrace an abundant life. Remember that Christ came to supply all that you lack. MakeGod your all in all, and rely on His unlimited power. When you feel discouraged, weary, ordoubtful, pray for the courage, strength, and faith to rouse yourself and fight rather thangiving up. Decide that you won't settle for a mediocre life, but that, no matter what yourcircumstances, you will constantly pursue a richer and fuller life than ever before. Don't limit

God's plans for you. Ask Him to keep you growing.

Deny yourself to find rewards in Christ. Decide to reject all ways of thinking that are notdivinely inspired - ways that don't take God into account and don't set His will supreme as theonly law of life. Choose God's ways over the ways of our fallen world. Rather than asking,"What would I like to do?," ask "What would God like me to do?" in every situation. Don't letyour own ambition rule your heart. Do nothing to please other people that wouldn't pleaseGod. Don't place your trust in money or any other worldly resource. Understand thateverything you have is a gift from God, and trust in God alone. Deny your fears and havefaith in God's power to accomplish whatever He wants to in your life. Forsake falsehood in allits forms and pursue the living truth that can only be found in Christ. Realize that no greatworks or sacrifices of your own can possibly be great enough to earn you a closer relationshipwith God. Give God what He's really looking for - an obedient heart that is willing to dowhatever He asks, every day. Then expect to experience pure joy, directly from the source ofall that is good.Break free. Don't let sin hold you a prisoner in your own life. Know that Christ died not tosave us from suffering, but from ourselves, not from injustice, but from being unjust.Understand that we are all slaves to either sin or to God, but that when we're slaves to God,we're also free, because we can master sin through His help. Realize that Christ alone can

break sin's destructive power over you in the midst of our fallen world. Get to know Christ,who embodies truth, and let that truth set you free by deciding to listen to His voice rather

than sin's urging.

Cry, "Abba, Father!" Don't be afraid to approach God like the beloved child of His you are.Know that He wants you to develop into a true son or daughter, who feels at home with Godand begins to think like Him and feel with Him. Understand that this is possible when youinvited His Holy Spirit to live inside you. No matter how your human father or mother mayhave failed you, believe that your heavenly Father will never let you down. Embrace God asyour Father by choosing to obey Him out of love.

Recognize the difference between opinion and truth. Understand that you don't truly knowanything unless God reveals it to you. Humble yourself enough to realize that even your most

dearly held opinions can change if they're not firmly rooted in divinely revealed truth. Clingto the living God rather than your opinions. Don't let that which is merely human obscure the


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divine. Don't waste time or energy arguing with other people over your opinions, no matterhow strongly you hold them. Instead, pray that if your opinions are true, God Himself willreveal that to the people you would like to be convinced of them. Spread truth not just bytalking about it, but by living it out in front of others so they can see God's light shining

brightly through your life. Remember that the more you love God, the more His truth will

emanate from you.

Mirror Christ's likeness. Ask the Holy Spirit to live inside you and invite Him to changeyou, so that over time you develop more and more into someone whose life mirrors the wayChrist lived on earth. Ask God to infuse you with His light so you can reflect it to others.Shine God's light as brightly as you can by living in obedience to Him, motivated by love.Know that doing so will dispel the darkness of this world around you and cause other peopleto want to follow the light themselves.Look forward to the resurrection. View your current, mortal body simply as a tool forlearning how to draw closer to God while you're on earth. Know that it will pass away whenyou leave this world, like an old garment that's discarded for a new and better one - your

glorified resurrection body. Trust that, as you choose to be obedient to God, He will respondby revealing more and more of Himself to you. That revelation begins here on earth and willcontinue forever in heaven. Start now by following God, the Creator and Master of your bodyand your entire life.

Moms: Develop Wise Financial Strategies

for Your Family

Whitney Hopler

Live It Editor

As a mom, you want to take good care of your family, and that includes managing moneywisely. But despite your good intentions, you may still find your family among the ranks ofmany who struggle financially.

You can change that. Heres how you can develop wise financial strategies for your family:

Know your money management personality. If youre a "Frugal Family Financier," you tryto do everything as cheaply as possible. You probably have only one checking account andone savings account, and you may have no credit cards at all (or just one and you pay the

balance off in full each month). You resist replacing "big ticket" items like cars andappliances until they fall apart.

If youre a "Capable Currency Manager," you likely spend everything in your checkingaccount(s), but you dont touch your savings. You work diligently to save for the future andshop around to get the best deal possible on whatever you want to buy.

If youre an "Ambitious Breakeven Caretaker," you work hard but cant seem to get ahead. Alack of discipline, skills, or both prevents you from achieving financial security. You canusually manage to pay your bills on time each month, but not save for the future.


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If youre an "Extravagant Home Economist," you live for today and often live beyond yourmeans. You likely have more credit than you need and use it to excess, ending up in seriousdebt. You dont bother to shop around for the best deals on what you want to buy, and youhave little or no savings. Once you recognize your money management style (and that of your

spouse), you can identify what your specific money problems are and focus on solving them.Be respectful of one another (not judgmental) as you work out your differences.

Set up checking accounts in the way that fits your family best. Consider whether it wouldwork better for you to have just one checking account for your family, two accounts managedseparately by you and your husband, or three accounts (one joint account and two separateaccounts).

Stay on top of paying bills. Assign the task of paying bills to either yourself or your spouse whichever one of you is most gifted in this area. However, if youre not the one who actually

pays the bills each month, make sure that you stay informed about the process. Know that

theyre being paid on time. Know approximately how much is being spent on monthlyexpenses and extras. At least every six months (and preferably once a month or quarter),schedule a meeting with your spouse to discuss your finances in detail.

Set financial goals. Write down specific and measurable financial goals for one year, fiveyears, and 10 years from now. Put your goals in order, from most important to least important,for each time period. Have your spouse do the same, and compare notes. Once youveidentified similar priorities, you can organize your finances to meet those goals. Considerwhether or not you might want to hire a carefully selected financial planner to help youachieve your goals.

Choose insurance wisely. When purchasing life, home, auto, and other types of insurance,strike a balance between what you need and what you can afford during this season of life.

Prepare a will. Realize that preparing a will is the only real way to choose your childrensguardian and have your assets distributed as you would like when you die. Dont put off thisimportant task.

Balance your checkbook. Reconcile your checkbook to your bank statement each month bylooking through the last months transactions. Use the statements ending balance, then adddeposits appearing in your checkbook register but not on the statement. Then subtract

outstanding checks (those youve written but that arent on the statement). The total shouldequal your checkbooks balance on the same closing date. After you have a reliable balance,keep your checkbook updated by making sure you always record every transaction that affectsyour checking account and continuing to check your records against every monthly bankstatement.

Organize financial paperwork. Organize your bills, receipts, bank statements, and otherfinancial documents in a way that allows for easy access at any time.

Establish a budget. Discover how youve been spending your money by tracking yourexpenses for the past year, noting what you spent in each expense category (regular monthly

expenses, plus less frequent expenses such as home insurance, vacations, or Christmas gifts).Then compare that with how much you earned in the same period of time. Pay special


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attention to how you spent discretionary income (not fixed expenses, but optionalexpenditures for clothing, food, entertainment, etc.). Understand that the money you spend ondiscretionary items even if its just a few dollars a day can make a big impact on your

budget. Think and pray about what youre willing to give up (perhaps Starbucks coffee eachmorning, or new clothes every month) to reduce your discretionary spending.

Set spending limits for each category in your budget. Keep in mind these general guidelines:30 to 40 percent of your take-home pay for housing costs (including taxes, insurance, andutilities), 10 to 20 percent for food, 10 to 15 percent for car and other debt payments, 15 to 20

percent for varying expenses (like clothing, entertainment, and home repairs), and five to 10percent for savings. Use financial software to help you develop and maintain your budgetrecords. Every month, check to see how your actual spending compares to each category onyour budget, and make the necessary adjustments to get your spending under control.

Choose a bank or credit union wisely. Visit several convenient bank or credit unionlocations, and pick up brochures from each one that outline each institutions services and

fees. Compare them. Look for the best deal for your familys unique needs. Make sure yourinstitution is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

After you select a place, minimize the fees youre charged by understanding the rules of youraccount (such as a minimum balance requirement) and not violating them and developing a

positive relationship with your bank (get to know people who work there, dont excessivelyoverdraw your accounts, dont make late payments, etc.).

Prepare well before asking for a loan. Go into a meeting with a loan officer with some ideaof the monthly payments you can afford (usually, fixed obligations including the loanyoure requesting, your rent or mortgage, car payments, credit card payments, etc. shouldnot exceed 40 percent of your gross income). Be prepared to answer these questions: "Whatdo you want the money for?", "How long do you want to take to pay the loan back?", and"Where do you plan on getting the money to pay it back?".

Save all you can. Build a nest egg for the future that will help you with both short-term needs(such as an emergency fund of three to eight times your monthly salary to cover anunexpected job loss, medical bills, car repairs, etc.) and long-term needs (such as yourchildrens college costs and your own retirement income requirements). Spend less than youearn. As soon as you receive each paycheck, deduct a certain amount and immediately put itinto a savings account. Then discipline yourself to make do with whats left.

Invest wisely. Understand that every financial investment involves risk, and that, in general,the higher the risk, the more you should expect to earn. Educate yourself about investmentssuch as savings accounts, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Diversify by putting your moneyinto a variety of different kinds of investments to spread out the risks while earning the mostyou can. Keep in mind that the mix of assets you choose should be based on the amount oftime before youll want to use the money and how much risk you are willing to take.Periodically review your investments to see if they are performing as expected.

Give all you can. Invest toward goals you embrace by tithing and giving money to worthycauses. Check out charities before you donate to make sure theyre legitimate.


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Use credit responsibly. Figure out how long it will take to repay credit card debt at variousinterest rates and monthly payment amounts. Visiting a Web site suchas www.bankrate.com can help you do so. Do all you can to pay off your credit cards in fullevery month.

Order a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax,Experian, and TransUnion); youre entitled to one free credit report from each bureau per 12-month period. Call 1-877-FACT-ACT or visitwww.annualcreditreport.com to order them.Promptly correct any inaccuracies you spot on any of the reports. Improve your credit rating

by avoiding collection actions, foreclosures, or repossessions; paying on time; staying wellbelow your credit limit; and keeping your current balance low.

Try to prevent identity theft. Store new, unused and canceled checks in a safe place. Keepyour financial records and other important documents (like your Social Security card) in asecure place like a safety deposit box. Never give out personal information on the phone orthrough the mail or Internet unless youre the one who initiated the contact.

Shred your personal papers before discarding them. Get a locked mailbox. Carefully reviewall bills and statements you receive; promptly report any errors or questionable charges.Update your computer virus-protection software regularly. If you do become a victim ofidentity theft, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, and file a report with yourlocal police department. Also, immediately place a fraud alert on all your accounts that have

been affected.

Reduce debt. Commit to spending money only on necessities as dictated by your budget. AskGod to help you be content with what you have, thankful for it, and disciplined enough to livewithin your means. Focusing on higher-interest debt first, pay down all your debt (creditcards, student loans, car payments, your mortgage) as aggressively as you can. Considerrefinancing certain types of debt if doing so will save you money. Dedicate any lump-sumincome you receive (such as tax refunds or bonuses from work) to paying down debt, ratherthan additional spending.

Talk to your creditors as soon as you know youll have to fall behind on a payment, such asafter a job loss or major illness. Be honest with them about your situation and work with them(and possibly also a credit counselor) to develop a manageable new payment plan. If youdlike a credit counselor to help you (services are usually free), contact the National Foundationfor Credit Counseling at www.nfcc.org or (800) 388-2227. Avoid filing for bankruptcy at all

costs; its truly a last resort and will mar your credit record for years to come.

Downsize your lifestyle. Base your lifestyle on what you truly need and can afford instead oftrying to keep up with your neighbors. Have the courage to scale down significantly to enjoythe peace of mind that comes with savings, such as by trading in your car for an older modelor moving to a smaller house. Simplify by considering whether or not you really need an itemor service before buying it. Substitute by getting something else that costs less or by making ityourself. See if you can borrow the item you need, or ask someone else to split the cost withyou and share the item. Shop off season for the things you need. Compare prices at severaldifferent stores. Use coupons. Never buy anything on impulse. Look for low- or no-cost waysto have fun rather than spending a lot of money on entertainment.
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Teach your kids how to manage money well. Be open and honest with your kids bydisclosing how much your family earns and how much things cost [Editor's note: if your kidsare very young or you're uncomfortable with the possibility of your kids sharing personal

information with those outside the family, you may want to refrain from sharing the exact

details of your income at this time.]

Help them understand your thought processes when deciding how whether or not to make apurchase. Teach them the importance of prioritization and delayed gratification. Considergiving your kids an allowance or paying them to do extra chores around the house. Help themset up a savings account or (for teens) a checking account.

How to Expand Your Life with God

Whitney Von Lake Hopler

Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

Editor's Note: The following is a report on the practical applications ofJoni Grace Powers

& Robert A. Pyne's new book,LifeSpace: The Practice of Life with God, (Regal Books,2007).

Lifes demands can suffocate you if you settle for less than the abundant life God offers. Sotake a breath of fresh air and expand your life with God beyond the limits what you canimagine and into an experience of unbounded adventure.

Heres how you can expand your life with God:

Seek worth beyond measure. Instead of trying to prove your worth to yourself and otherpeople, remember that Gods glory shines through you because He has made you in Hisimage. Be confident in the fact that you are valuable simply because you are Gods child.

Pursue identity beyond circumstance. Understand that your circumstances dont define whoyou are. Know that your circumstances are simply tools for God to use to shape you into the

person He wants you to become. Realize that God is able to redeem even the worstcircumstances in your life to accomplish good purposes.

Seek love beyond performance. Rather than or trying to earn Gods favor, accept the factthat God already loves you deeply and unconditionally. Rest assured that your relationshipwith God through Christ is sealed for eternity.

Embrace the messiness of being human. Understand that you can grow not by trying totranscend your human frailties, but by being honest about them and coming to God just as youare so He can use your weaknesses to make you strong. Dont focus on trying to project animage of perfection. Instead, admit your flaws and let them reveal how much you need God.Be authentic in your relationships with other people and seek to learn from the messyinteractions you sometimes have with them. Realize that being human isnt a problem to be

solved; its a calling to grow more like the God who chose to take on human form to save theworld. Know that God loves real human beings like you because He chose to be incarnated asone.
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=744534&p=1025023http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=744534&p=1025023


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Live fully in the present. Instead of wishing the present away and longing for your future inheaven, pay attention to where you are right now in life. Rather than trying to escape yourlife, start looking for ways that God is at work around you. Ask God to help you bloom whereyoure planted.

Invite the Holy Spirit to fill you. Remember that everything even your next breath is agracious gift from God. Thank Him regularly for giving you life through His Spirit, andwelcome the Holy Spirit to fill your soul and transform you. Ask the Spirit to enlarge yourview of reality so you can envision more than just what you can see and embrace the full

potential of your life.

Aim your love in the right direction. Ask yourself the key question: What do I love?Honestly consider what you might currently desire in place of God, such as comfort, stability,affection, opportunity, piety, or success. Make sure that nothing knocks God out of Hisrightful place as your absolute top priority. Plan how you spend your resources (time, energy,money, etc.) around the fact that your relationship with God is most important. Choose to love

for who He is instead of just what He can do for you. Expect that the more you get to knowGod, the more youll fall in love with Him. Know that loving God for His own sake will bringyou true joy.

Discover joy. Be alert to specific ways God is at work around you, and make time to reflecton the beauty of that work (such as something you appreciate in nature, or a quality you findcharming in a person you know). Notice when and how God answers your prayers, and maketime to thank Him for His generosity and creativity. Read, meditate on, and study the Bible tolearn more about God, and delight in what you discover about Him through His Word. Beopen to the mysteries of faith and avoid futile attempts to fit Gods work into a box you canfully understand or control. Look for Gods reflection in human creative expression, such asthrough art, music, literature, and dance. Make a frequent practice of getting out of yourcomfort zone and trying something new, such as traveling to a foreign country or learning anextreme sport. Celebrate fresh joy whenever you encounter it.

Let Gods love flow through you to others. Dont just take Gods love for yourself and let itend there. Share that love with other people by reaching out to them as God leads you to doso. Draw a diagram that represents your sphere of community, listing the names of peopleyoure closest to in the smallest circle and moving outward. Then, outside the largest circle,write the names of people you consider enemies or dont feel able to love for whatever reason.Pray about how your circles can expand to encompass allthe names you wrote as people with

whom you share Gods love. Recognize that God intends for you to be roped together withothers in community. Dont practice your faith alone; build meaningful relationships withother believers and actively participate in church. Rejoice with others when they havesomething to celebrate; weep with others when theyre suffering. To the extent that it dependson you, be at peace with all people. Slow down the pace of your life and make time to be with

people face to face often. When you spend time with friends and family, enjoy their companyinstead of just trying to accomplish a set agenda during your time together. Dont use love asa tool to try to manipulate others for your purposes. Ask God to help you love others as Heloves them unconditionally.

Make space for grace. Thank God that His grace gives you the space to grow as youre

becoming more like the person He intends for you to become. Let your gratitude motivate youto extend grace to other people. For example, let your husband enjoy eating goat cheese or


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sauerkraut, even if it grosses you out, and give your son or daughter permission to join agarage band, even if that means loud practice sessions at your house. Go easy on others whenthey make mistakes for which theyre repentant. Just as you dont have to earn Gods love,dont make other people earn your love. Dont parcel love out sparingly to others. Ask God tohelp you love people lavishly, whether or not you think they deserve it. Ask God to give you

the humility you need to overcome pride, self-righteousness, and self-sufficiency. Rememberthat you just like everyone else around you are a sinner, yet God still loves you and Christstill died for you. Be willing to help other people without expecting anything in return. Decideto love even in ugly situations. Believe the best about others and wish the best for them,encouraging them and supporting them as they pursue Gods dreams for their lives. Everyday, be proactive about doing small things with great love, such as forgiving an obviousslight, offering someone a ride, preparing a meal for someone in a crisis, or complimenting acolleague. Constantly ask yourself: How have I seen Gods grace extended by others towardme? and How have I been the space of grace for someone this week?

Forgive. Know that, just as God has forgiven you for all your sins, He expects you to be

willing to forgive others who hurt you. Dont wait until you feel like forgiving; you likelynever will. Instead, make the choice to forgive, and rely on the help God will give you to doso. Work toward reconciliation with those who are willing. Realize that by forgiving, youcreate a new beginning out of past pain. Understand that forgiveness opens up the space youneed for healing in your relationships.

Sacrifice. Ask God to help you place your life at His disposal with gladness and eagerness tosee how He will use you to accomplish good purposes. Let your love for God and gratitudefor all He has done for you motivate you to give freely of your time, energy, money, and otherresources to Gods work on Earth. Dont just give whats left over after you take care ofyourself; give the best of what you have. Be willing to make sacrifices for others as God leadsyou, even when your efforts arent rewarded or even acknowledged. Remember that, thoughyou main gain nothing from other people, God will give you joy as you serve Him. Bewelcoming toward others, taking a genuine interest in their lives and making time to buildmeaningful relationships with them. Let go of your own agenda for your relationships andinvite God to use them however He chooses to help you and others grow. Ask the Holy Spiritto empower you to be humble and kind as you go about each day, willing to give yourselfaway one commitment at a time.

See clearly. Dont settle for a small vision that limits your concept of who God is and whatplans He has for your life. Instead, ask God to give you the right perspective on Him and

reveal His big vision for you. Let go of your own plans that dont align with Gods plans,trusting that for every one of your own dreams that falls away, a better dream from God foryou will take its place. Place your hope in the reality of Gods promises, and realize that doingso creates space for your faith to keep expanding.

Is Ten Percent Enough?

Steve Scalici, CFP(r)


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Treasure Coast Financial

Just when I start getting comfortable, God rocks my world. Granted, he rocks it in a way thatis good. Giving is one of those areas where He continues to show me new things. When I

began tithing about 15 years ago, I thought I was fine. I gave 10% of my gross income and I

felt that was adequate.

When I got married about 11 years ago, my bride and I continued to give 10%. Then, aboutfive years ago, I read a book entitledMoney, Possessions, and Eternity written by RandyAlcorn. I shared the book with my wife and we both agreed that 10% was no longer asacrifice and we made a commitment to increase our giving.

Soon after, I read another of Randy Alcorns books called The Treasure Principle. This tookour giving to another level. My wife and I made a commitment to limit our spending to aspecific amount each month and then we would give the rest of the money away. As it is withmany of us, our income generally increases each year and we realized that we didnt need that

much. We could live on less than we were earning. Last year, we gave away about a third ofour gross income. I struggle with s

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