Success and Failure Blog

I have a question for you.  When was the last time that you went to a birthday party and all of the guests opened up gifts that was given to them by everybody else while the person whose birthday is being celebrated sat there and watched, receiving nothing?

What if the person was you?  What if it was your birthday, a whole bunch of people came over to help you celebrate, and then exchanged gifts with each other ignoring you?

This realization hit me this year a couple of weeks before Christmas.  Here we are year after year running around frantically weeks before Christmas buying presents for others, setting up Christmas parties, decorating, visiting relatives, going on vacation, baking cookies, being nicer to each other, etc.

On Christmas morning, the children wake up, squeal in delight, and race to open presents.  The parents and maybe other relatives look on smiling joyfully as the children open their gifts that were purchased for them.  Wrappings are flown around, the toys are played with, the Christmas feast is prepared for heating later that day.

But what is missing here?  What about the person whose birthday is being celebrated?  What did he receive?

Oh sure you may have gone to church, sang Christmas carols, read Luke 2, even served a meal at the homeless shelter.

But what did he received?  Yes, this is a hard question and one I had to realistically face.  So this year I challenged my family, and myself by asking all of us to give Jesus a present.  I have children ranging in ages from four years old to 11.  How does the child “give” something to Jesus?  What do we give?

“Ask him,” I said.  When you want to give a gift to someone do you not ask or get an idea of what the person wants?  I told my family it could be anything.  The physical something, something that is done, or whatever they believed is what Jesus would want.

Now, I really do not know how this will play out.  How do you give something to the one who created everything?  I did  not have an answer, so I prayed and asked him.  Immediately a gift idea popped in my head.

“Wow, you want that.” I thought upon the answer.  At that moment I realized that what he wanted was never mine in the first place but I considered it as such all of these years.  So without too much hesitation, I started figuring out how that would work in reality of everyday living, and purposed it in my brain that is what I would give Jesus as a birthday present.

And that is what I did on Christmas Day.  Now, I know you want to know what it is.  As I told my children when the idea was first presented, their gift is personal and may remain between them and Jesus if that is their choice.  This is a yearly tradition that I would like them to choose to do, not simply an act because that is what Daddy is expecting of them.

However, if there are enough comments on this article down below, I will tell you what I gave Jesus for his birthday.  Not to show off, but for instruction.

The last I heard, my six year old daughter wanted to be a godly girl for her birthday present.  Wow.  The other children and my wife?  I do not know.  I will bring it up in conversation one more time and then let it go.  The same as I’m doing here with you.

It is not too late to give a gift, you know.  I am sure that you have been to a belated birthday party at least one time in your life.  This could be one.  Not sure what to give?  Ask him.

Share with us below what you have given, or want to give, Jesus to celebrate his birth.

Are You Living Beyond Your Means?

The American spending habit mentality of living beyond your means has created more people deep in debt than are actually out of it.  What does this mean exactly?  And are you one of them?  Do you need to learn how to manage money a little better?

Living beyond your means implies that you are spending more than you should be, and more than you can actually afford to pay out every month. You are spending more than you make.  This is quite a big problem and a main reason why you may now need help with debt problems.  If you look at your own situation and see there is a possibility that you are creating a big pile of excessive credit card debt, here are three indicators that your suspicions are true.

1.  You Have Multiple Credit Cards

If you do everything with your credit cards from shopping to gas to business attire to pet supplies and fast foo and not paying it off in full each month, then you are spending beyond your means. If you have more than two credit cards that you actually use every week, that is another sign that you are spending more than you should. If possible, adopt a rule that if you cannot pay for it with cash then you cannot have it. Or, start using your ATM/DEBIT card with a Visa or MasterCard logo a bit more often.  The ugly flip side to these are the transaction fees, so be careful.

2.  You Buy Everything You Want

If you buy everything you want, you are probably living beyond your means. Why? Because you may not have considered that those who are not really wealthy still get most of every single thing that they want.   To the contrary, wanting things keeps us working hard; being patient builds character and teaches your children by example and experience.

Let yourself want a little. Sure you can get those sneakers on sale if you want to, but why charge it now when you get paid in two days? You do not have to impulse buy everything.

3.  You Have No Budget Whatsoever

You need a formal written budget.   This spending plan is your conscience that screams ‘wait!’ when you purchase something that you will need the cash for later.  This impulse spending may give you some short term satisfaction, but in the long run your financial, emotional, spiritual, and physical well being greatly suffers.

There you go:  three tell tale signs that you might be living beyond your means.

What is the solution?  Learn about budgeting money by curbing your desire for instant gratification, spend less than you make, save money, get out of debt, and live financially free.  A mouthful, I know.  Yet, a mouthful worth savoring, digesting, and acting on.

To further your understanding, check out these articles on YahooFinance.com and Mint.com.

Living Out the Parable of Rendering Unto God and Caesar

How We Are to Live Today

Jesus once said that we are to “render unto Caesar what is due Caesar and render unto God what is due God.” The meaning behind this parable is easy to understand. We must pay our taxes and follow the laws the government lays out for us, while at the same time tithing and obeying God’s word in our lives. It was the ideal way to live then, and it is the way we are called as Christians to live today.

This means we must follow the laws of the land, no matter whether we agree with them or not. This means following the speed limit, being honest on our tax returns, and avoid taking that which does not belong to us. It also means that we must follow God’s law as described in the Bible, go to church, pray, and tithe. We must also do charitable works and serve others, for “faith without works is dead.” As human beings, we have many rules we must follow, as we expect our children to follow our rules.

The Bible also states that, “Man can not serve two masters.” So what happens if the law of man (the government) is directly opposed to the law of God? Just as the U.S. Constitution states that the law of the federal government comes before the laws of the states, the law of God must come before the law of man. In some cases, especially in some countries, this means facing potential jail time for following God’s law, or even being martyred. Yet, it is what we are called on to do, and as people who love God, we should do these things gladly. We should always be glad to follow God’s law, no matter where it leads us.

Do Not Be Lukewarm

We have to be careful here and not straddle the proverbial “fine line”. If a law is proclaimed that violates God’s law as stated in Scripture then you must decide to whom you have final allegiance. Laws requiring abortion or euthanasia or other such things fall under what is “due God.”

However, matters dealing with expenses, and where we work, how we get our mail and many aspects of our daily lives all fall into the realm of what is “due Caeser.” Yes, even taxes, no matter how oppressive. The tax system in Jesus’ time was incredibly oppressive, he himself paid them.

Why? Because it was due Caesar. However, matters of the heart, soul, and mind are what we render to God.

The difference in our mindset in this country is borne from the fact that for almost 200 years our Caesar (elected government) have given us the rights over everyday matters. And now that Caesar has decided to begin taking control of these things more himself, we panic and become angry, when in reality it began long time ago, most notably in the 1930s.

My Guarantee

And here is my hindsight prophetic guarantee to you (yes, this is confusing to me also but sure sounds good). Had we in our own lives (collectively as a nation) rendered to God what is due him (heart, soul, mind, strength) then our Caesar now would not be asking/demanding/taking a bigger chunk of what he believes is due him.

A hard pill to swallow, I know.

So, do your best to follow the law of man; and if you do not like it, use legal channels to change it, all the while obeying it while it exists. But never obey the law of man above the law of God. God’s law is supreme, in all cases, and that is the way it should be.

Here is a little on Tithes and Offerings to further your learning.

Having Proper Preparation in Your Life

The motto of the Boy Scouts is to always be prepared. It is a good creed to live by, as you never know exactly what is going to happen. Boy Scouts always make sure they have everything on hand they could possibly need for any eventuality out in the world. Their whole objective is to never be caught off guard. You should live your life that way, too, in order to provide protection and security to yourself and your family. This is especially important when it comes to faith, as it is said that Jesus will come as a thief in the night, so you must always be prepared for his return.

However, the fact is that no matter how much you are prepared, you can not prepare for every single thing. Unexpected things happen. Things that are totally random and out of the blue happen that no one would ever have imagined happening. You can have all of the first aid kits, hurricane kits, outdoor survival kits, snake bite kits, poison control kits and even emergency food supplies for extended natural disasters, and still find yourself without the one thing you need when the unexpected occurs.

Even in household budget planning, the unexpected happens. A tire blows out, a child has to go to the emergency room and there is no insurance, or a job terminates.

So how do you ever have full security in life? The fact is, you cannot outside of salvation. There will always be something that you could never have foreseen or imagined, and it could happen to you at the most inopportune times. Now, do not blow this out of proportion. Having blind faith by not preparing as much as humanly possible is advocated against in Scriptures as it is admonished that faith without works is dead.
Take heed in the meaning of the story of the ant and sluggard. You still need to have a budget plan, savings, emergency supplies, etc.

However, when you have faith in God (proving it through your obedient actions) you know you are never alone, never forsaken, and always protected in God’s own way.

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Hebrews 13:5.

With this faith, you need never worry about being unprepared, because you will always have all the help you need right at hand.

Remember that God is never farther away than your prayers. When the earth quakes and the streets flood and your house comes crashing down, remember that God is with you. Reach out to him in faith and trust, and know in your heart He will protect you. The only way to have proper preparation in your life is to have God.

A Mandate from God is Serving Others

As Christians, we are called on by God to the role of serving others — and not only in the area of finances. We are to serve others with every opportunity we can find, and to always be looking for opportunities to do so. And next to witnessing to the testimony of the Gospel, it is a primary function as children of God as well as loving God with all of our hearts and souls and minds.

When we think of serving others, we often think of getting involved in charities or giving money to homeless people on the side of the street. However, serving is so much more than that. It is not something we do once in a while. It is a way of life.

Always have the thought of service to others in your heart, every waking moment of every day. There are all kinds of unexpected ways to go about this. You may not even realize you are doing it at times. For example, getting up before your children and making them breakfast and fixing their lunchboxes for school is serving. Making dinner for your family or buying groceries for your housebound grandmother is serving.

We are serving when we allow someone to get in front of us in traffic or let someone with fewer items get in front of us in line at the grocery store. Even picking up something that an old person dropped and handing it to them or retrieving a ball from a roof for a child are all ways of serving others as God intended, if done with the right motives.

However, be careful. If we serve because it makes us feel better, than no reward will be set aside for us. It is for a selfish reason … that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. Matthew 6:2.

Do it out of a heartfelt desire for, and love of, God. We are to serve for his pleasure, not ours.

The whole point of serving others is to think of the needs of others before we think of our own. As parents, we are used to doing that with our children, but we often forget to do it in other parts of our daily lives. We may become short-tempered with strangers, act selfishly in public, and decide that we deserve something more than someone else and grab that sweater out from under the reaching hands of someone else at a department store sale.

When tempted to be selfish, just remember how much God gave to us. It should be all we need to soften our hearts and serve as we were meant to as we serve God by serving others.

The Impact of Christian Blogging

With the explosion of blogging across  internet today people blog for different reasons, as the trend continues to grow we are seeing more and more Christian blogs and people who classify themselves as Christian bloggers.  Why would one become a Christian blogger or focus just on Christian blogging?

Christian blogging or reading a Christian blog can affect the life of those who write it and those who read it as well. Someone who begins a Christian blog does so with a purpose. That purpose being to spread the word of the Lord. This will impact their life far beyond just words on a page. God will speak through them and guide them not only in the development in their blog but with everything they do in their daily existence. Writing a Christian blog is more than just writing a blog geared towards the values of God, it’s a heartfelt ministry.

Christians are called by the Lord to begin this ministry as per His will. Being so chosen by God to spread His word will change and impact everything they now do in their daily existence. They will now have a closer relationship and they will lead their life according to His purpose, things will never be quite the same.

As you can see beginning a Christian blog is truly an act of love and devotion, but what impact does it have to those who choose to read it? Because of the fact that the Christian blog is a blog full of words spoken from God, it has the distinct possibility to speak to those who read it as well. The only prerequisite is that the reader must have an open heart. The Lord is capable of effecting the lives who those who seek Him, even through something as simple as a blog.

The Lord can show them that to follow His word and His teachings will change their lives in more ways that they can possibly imagine. All this can be achieved through an online weblog, more than possible if you have faith and believe in the Lord’s blessings.

A  believer who pens a Christian blog and those who are open enough to read it can truly have their lives impacted and changed through the Lord’s strength and love. Not just a simple journal but a journal that can bring both the reader and the writer closer to the one who loves us the most.

Psalm 34:1

I will bless the lord at all times.  His praise shall be continually in my mouth.

Wow, his name shall be continually in my mouth.  All the daylong I need to bless the name of the Lord.  Have I gotten this wrong?  Have we as a Christian people gotten this wrong?  Devotions.  There is nowhere in the Bible that talks about devotions.  We get so caught up in making sure we do our “quiet time” with God, make sure we have our “Bible time”.

We sit down, and we do it, and we open our Bible, and we read it, and we pray and then we get up and continue on with our day.

That is not the way it was meant to be.  It was not meant to be something we do but something we live.

Not just 10 minutes, not just for 30 minutes, not just for 2 hours a day just sitting down.

His praise shall continually be in my mouth — all the day long.

There are so many ways to do that.  Praising, worshipping, talking.  There are so many songs based specifically on the Psalms.  So many old time hymns, so many new songs.  Yes, a lot of the music is just screaming, trying to replicate what is popular in the culture and appeal to them.  Yet, there is so much good stuff out there that sings the praises of God.

Why can’t we be like my three year old who makes up songs and sing praises to the Lord?  Just make up words and a tune – whether it sounds good or not.

How can his praise be continually on my mouth when I am arguing with my spouse or trying to figure out the next best way to just make money?   Yes, with my financial coaching, I am in the business of helping people concentrate on honoring God with their money.  But it goes way beyond that.

No, I need a paradigm shift in my thinking, in my actions, and in my attitude.

And it is more than just singing.  I look out at my green grass and the dawn rising early this morning.  And I praise his name for what I see.  I can close my eyes or I can lift my head up and hold up my hands and praise him out loud.

Praise him continuously.

As I walk in my kitchen I can praise him for who I am and what I have.  Yes, I can do this.  His praise can continually be in my mouth.

So, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.  Join me in the new paradigm shift in thinking and in actions.  Let us bless the Lord at all times and may his praise be continually in my mouth — and in yours.

I love you Lord, and I lift my voice — to worship you.  Oh, my soul rejoice.  Take joy, my King.  In what you hear.  May it be a sweet, sweet, sound.  In your ear.

Learn to Negotiate Your Own Credit Card Debt

Why should you pay a credit counselor or loan consolidation service for their help when you could be negotiating your own credit card debt yourself?  It will not pardon what you owe, but could go a long way to eliminate unsecured credit card debt.

First, you must have all of your ducks in a row.  You are going to be speaking one-on-one with a representative who can help reduce your payments, so it is imperative that you be prepared.  Know exactly your total credit card debt.  Be certain to have the exact amount of your minimum monthly payment requirements at hand.  Have a detailed personal budget in front of you so you can informatively discuss what your monthly earnings and expenses are and suggest what sort of payment you can afford.

Let the credit card company know that you do indeed intend to pay your account in full, but you are looking for some help in reducing interest rates and eliminating late fee charges.  Ask the representative what you have to do to get a zero percent APR for six to twelve months.  Negotiate from a position of strength.  After all, you owe them and they want to get their money.  In the event that they tell you a zero percent APR is not available, tell them that you are sorry to hear that, as you may have to consider transferring the balance to another card and closing this account with them.  Be polite and courteous, but firm, when negotiating your credit card debt yourself.

The Bible admonishes us to be good stewards of what God has allowed us to have.  Doing so involves honoring the vows we made to pay for the item not matter what it takes.  Our reputation before others is much more valuable than the cost of what is owed.

In this effort, never lose your cool or start to sound exasperated.  If you are transferred to another party, start over from scratch.  Never assume that the person you spoke to formerly has passed any information on to the next person with whom you speak.  It is quite possible that the first representative just passed you along to get you out of their hair.  When you are told that they cannot help you, politely ask to be passed along to someone who might be able to help.  This is referred to as escalating the call, moving along to a higher authority.

I know this can get tedious, but patience and persistence often pay off well emotionally and financially.

Remember that you are in the process of saving yourself a lot of money.  By negotiating credit card debt yourself, you are saving fees and interest rates that would come from credit counseling and debt consolidation options.  Once successful, you will also be saving yourself interest charges and late fees.  So, if you get passed along and find that you’re repeating yourself over and over again, stick with it. The end result will definitely be worthwhile.

There is more help with credit cards to help you save money, live debt free and enjoy the many blessings around you.  Also, be sure to sign up to receive a free report, tips on budgeting, and encouragement to make your money worries go away.

For more reading on this, check out a further perspective on credit card debt settlement.

Reasons to Start a Personal Budget

We explore how a personal budget plan makes setting financial goals obtainable.  First, write down a paragraph or list of where you would like to see yourself five, ten, fifteen, or even twenty years from now.   Make this list financial, spiritual, career wise, etc.  Pour your heart out and write your true desires and passions.

Next, clearly see where are you are right now; time for some honest introspection.  Do your finances support your goals?  Look at what your earnings are in comparison to your spending.  Similar to starting a business, you need to consider all of the variables.

These variables include things such as what you spend the most money on, what expenses you can easily cut back, and what expenses are unavoidable.  Take a look at your checkbook.  There you will be able to see what you have spent your money on over the last several months.  Go back as far as a year if you can.  Some of the things you are writing checks for might surprise you.  How many of them were actual necessities, and how many could you have easily done without?  Without realizing it, you have now begun making a budget.

A key to success is in the Proverbs 21:5 admonition that, The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.

Next, think over your cash expenditures.  We usually spend a lot of cash on the “little” things.  Write down the items you can clearly recall spending cash on recently.  Are these repetitive items?  Do you purchase them every day?  Every week?  Add them together over the course of a month.  How much of this money could you save, or use to pay down credit card debt, or apply against the principal of your mortgage?  Can you now start to see your personal budget plan coming together?

Saving money alone does not equal happiness.  How does a life free of worry about paying bills and making ends meet sound?  Peace of mind is priceless.  What about being able to be financially free to go where God has given you passion for?  If you are encumbered by debt, you will not be free to serve at full capacity.

Your personal budget plan will help you to spend less than you earn, creating positive cash flow for you to save and to apply to meeting financial obligations such as paying off a car or house faster than you thought possible.

The best part is that it will not take long.  As soon as you begin the initial phase of your personal budget plan, you will be spending less, saving more, and setting financial goals almost immediately.  The achievement process takes time, but you will experience it step by step.  You will have a clear idea as to how you are getting ahead, even before you fully reach your goals.

Get started creating a personal budget now as you are setting financial goals that will lead surely to advantage.

What do you think?  Leave me a reply.