there’s all kinds of names for it, but there’s no way around it. this world runs on money.

1) don’t be afraid to talk about how your parents spent money.
that’s right, i said your parents.  it’s easy for accusations to fly, and feelings to get bruised when we’re discussing how our spouse spends, or defending how we spend.  but it’s not quite so personal to talk about how our parents viewed money when we were growing up.  and in doing so it gives your spouse a lot of insight into why you make the decisions you do.

2) find help
although most of us are far wealthier than we think are compared to the rest of the world, we could all use some advice in the area of finances.  and there’s no excuse for not finding that advice.  there’s books, cds, podcasts, blogs, websites, and software all dedicated to helping you get “on track” when it comes to your finances. if you have now idea where to start go to www.daveramsey.com and click the link at the top of the page titled “new to Dave Ramsey?“

3) know where your money is going
“budget” is not a four-letter word. and it doesn’t mean “not spending”.  it simply means knowing where your money is going before it’s gone.  DO IT!! whether you do it on paper, in a spreadsheet application, or some fancy computer software, DO IT!!  (and do it together with your spouse)

4) be generous
even Ebenezer Scrooge didn’t want to be known as  a scrooge by the end of the story.  and in all honesty, i’m not even throwing this one in because Deb and I are currently in a process asking people to support our ministry with FamilyLife.  even if you aren’t or don’t want to give to our ministry, we still want you and your spouse to be generous people.  and save the excuses for why you’re not, i’ve heard them all.   you’ll thank me later.  be generous.

we’re still amazed at God’s goodness and at people’s heart of generosity.

 deb sent in the last round of support checks/money orders so this makes 6 of these envelopes that we’ve sent in.

 thank you, to all who’ve been able to give. and thanks as well to those who’ve mentioned they’d like to give but for various reasons or circumstances are unable to at this time.

 we are grateful for your support and prayers.

this is a story about two persons.

some are probably saying “it’s about time”, but i’ve finally put an official online giving link on our blog for your convenience to partner with us in our journey to staff with FamilyLife.

we’ve been so blessed the past few weeks as we’ve shared with people what God is doing in our lives, in the ministry of FamilyLife and how he’s brought us together. we’ve seen people become excited to partner with us and the ministry of FamilyLife.

well, it’s crunch time people. we’ve only got 15 days left till we leave for Orlando. back in June we were encouraged/challenged to raise $6000 to cover the expenses of New Staff Training and the Follow-up Training. so far we’ve received a little over 50% of that in pledges towards that $6000 goal.  yet we’ve only been given in hand a little over 30% of it.

so, for those of you who needed a reminder to fulfill your pledge or perhaps you were waiting for a more convenient way to give (because honestly, who in the world still uses checks?), here it is.

on the right you’ll see an Online Giving button/link that will take you directly to the giving page on Campus Crusade for Christ’s website where you can give towards our ministry.  it’s a simple process.

1. first, you’ll be asked for an amount and frequency (special needs gift or ongoing monthly or quarterly gift). you can also add a note for us in this step.
2. then, you’ll be asked to give as a guest or log in with your account (if you’ve given to Campus Crusade before-not necessary though).
3. third, you’ll be asked for your contact info.
4. finally, it will ask for your method of payment – bank withdrawal or debit/credit card.

by default it asks for a bank withdrawal using your bank account # and routing #. this is the default method since there aren’t any fees associated with it charged to our account. if you use a debit/credit card our account (not yours) is charged the 2-3% processing fee that Visa/Mastercard/Discover/etc. charges to Campus Crusade.  in other words if you choose to give $100 using a debit/credit card, we’ll actually only receive $97 or $98 because of the fees (you’ll still receive a receipt for a donation of $100 though).

we could care less by which method you choose, we are so grateful to every person who is able to partner with us; be it with $100, $1000, or $1.  we’re simply glad that you’ve obeyed God in what he’s asked you to do, and trust that He’ll take care of our every need.  but for some, you may feel it’s worth the extra effort to pull out the seldom used checkbook to find your account and routing #s in order to make sure that every penny of your donation gets credited to our account.

once again, a huge THANK YOU to all of you who have already given, or are planning to give. we’ve got 15 days left till we leave for our first training and we’ll have much more information and vision to pass along in the coming weeks and months as we enjoy (and labor through) this next season of our lives.

so click on the link to the right or the button below.

almost every american has childhood memories of what Christmas was like growing up. for me those memories include trips to california, singing around the piano, lots of family, and the nintendo.

that’s right. “the nintendo”.

that was the most memorable gift my sisters and i ever got for Christmas. i don’t know what your “nintendo” was, maybe a bike, a cabbage patch doll, a He-Man Master of the Universe action figure, an ipod, or maybe a puppy. whatever it was, it was what lit up your eyes. that thing that you made promises to your parents, Santa, or God in order to get. you saw it a catalog or online or maybe your friend had one. or then there’s those incessant saturday morning commercials in between the cartoons.

for me and my sister’s it was the original Nintendo Entertainment System (also known as NES).

Continue reading