You hear it all the time, but do you know what it means to live below your means? More importantly, have you figured out how to do that? The truth is many people live above or beyond their means. “Between 1993 and 2008, personal savings rates in the U.S. declined, hitting the lowest levels since the Great Depression in 2006 by falling into negative territory, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis,” according to Glenn Curtis of Investopedia. It took a credit crisis and near-global economic disaster to get Americans to close their wallets and stop spending and “acting” rich.
First, let’s clarify by what I mean by “rich,” as this is a subjective term. It’s an ever-moving target. It’s like trying to nail jello to the wall. Defining “rich” is as personal as taste preferences of food or fashion. Many times, even when you are considered by others to be rich, you don’t think of yourself that way. Why? It’s all about perspective. The problem is you don’t “feel” rich. For the sake of this post, I won’t define rich…I’m leaving that task to you.
Recently, I shared the first reason why you’re broke is because you don’t have a budget. Remember, money without a direction will disappear. You can read it HERE. Next, I shared the second reason you’re broke is because of bad habits. Bad habits interrupt your life and prevent you from accomplishing your goals. You can read about it HERE. Now that you’ve caught your breath, let’s talk about the next reason why you’re broke…living ABOVE your means.
People will tell you what’s on their mind if you ask. A few weeks ago I asked this question on Facebook:
As you pursue your journey towards success, what obstacle, challenge, or problem keeps reoccurring that you’d like to resolve?
Overwhelmingly, the reoccurring challenge was financial. Since my personal vision is helping people get from here to there, the first step towards getting to your “there” is clearly defining where you are now. Recently, I shared the first reason why you’re broke is because you don’t have a budget. Remember, money without a direction will disappear. You can read it HERE. Now that you’ve caught your breath, let’s talk about the next reason why you’re broke…bad habits.
If money really could talk, what would yours say? For some, it’s saying Good-bye? Is it me or is everything more expensive? A few weeks ago my wife asks me to pick up a few items from the grocery store (bad idea).
Something told me to eat before heading there, I didn’t (another bad idea). After getting the requested items and throwing in a few “extra” snacks to curb my appetite, I couldn’t believe the final cost of 12 items. I’m shocked! Not only is food expensive, I’m discovering EVERYTHING is expensive.
Buying a house is expensive. Cars are expensive. Buying quality foods cost more than buying processed food. And guess what, it’s expensive. Schools are expensive, especially for those paying off massive student loans with under paying jobs.
Being single is expensive. I know being married is expensive. Kids are VERY EXPENSIVE. And there’s no doubt that getting divorced is expensive. What’s the point: EVERYTHING is expensive, but that’s not the real reason why you’re broke. So if you’re ready to stop complaining about how expensive things are, then here’s the remedy — the real reason why you’re broke. (more…)
Most churches have mission statements. Corporations and businesses have mission statements. Mission statements are meant to infuse an organization with long-term vision and set the tone for all company goals, accomplishments and efforts. So, what’s a mission statement?
What is a Mission Statement
A mission statement acts as an invisible hand that guides the people in the organization. It explains the organization’s reason for being, and answers the question, “What business are we in?” However, a personal mission statement is different. And there’s a scene from the movie Selma illustrates the power of having a personal mission statement.
The scene takes place in the social hall of Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, Alabama. Two Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee college students are being taken to task by Southern Christian Leadership Conference leader Reverend C.T. Vivian as Coretta Scott King looks on. And then a voice from the back of the room speaks. “That’s enough,” reprimands Martin Luther King Jr. “Enough of this, now. I don’t have time for this. None of us got the time for this. The way our organization works is simple:
We negotiate, we demonstrate, we resist.
We raise white consciousness. And in particular, the consciousness of whichever white man happens to be sitting in the Oval Office.”
On Christmas Day, I took my family to see Selma. It was an entertaining movie, but being a Martin Luther King, Jr. fanatic, I did not recognize many of the speeches presented in the movie. Why? In 2009, the King Estate licensed his speeches to DreamWorks and Warner Bros. (along with the rights to his life).
Because King’s speeches are licensed to another project, Selma’s filmmakers had to find a way to re-create the meaning of MLK’s words without plagiarizing. That means they had to rewrite MLK’s words. The film skirts close to MLK’s words without using them.
One of the most memorable scenes occurs when Martin Luther King, Jr., while preaching to the congregation, explains why equal voting rights are crucial. He rallies them to stand up for their rights and sparks a movement that would change the world.
It is unacceptable that they use their power to keep us voiceless. As long as I am unable to use my constitutional right to vote, I do not have command of my own life. I cannot determine my own destiny. For it is determined for me by people who would rather see me suffer than succeed. Those that have gone before us say, ‘no more! No more!’ That means protest. That means march. That means disturb the peace. That means jail. That means risk. And that is hard. We will not wait any longer. Give us the vote. We’re not asking. We’re demanding. Give us the vote! Martin Luther King, Jr.
Happy Birthday frat! You stood tall among giants and I am because of you!
Spiritual growth is not automatic. If it were, every person who is born again would progress along a certain path and at some point automatically “arrive” spiritually. Instead, just like physical growth, spiritual growth is a gradual process of development.
If you’ve been at Mars Hill Baptist Church long, you know how important practical teaching is to our church. Our goal is simple. We begin by identifying what is important for people to know. Practical teaching reveals where we are and where we need to go. We want the message to come alive so we added REWIND.
REWIND is weekly email designed for us to look back to Sunday’s message and allow God’s Spirit to prompt us in areas that need to change in our lives (before we shelve the thoughts in the archives of our mind). There are three sections to it: (more…)
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