Debt-Free is the new rich

I read an article this morning and it really got me to thinking about values and such. My wife and I had a good 2008 financially, unlike many in America. Our 2006 & 2007 was most every body's 2008. We had it rough (by American standards) with job loss, foreclosure, etc. Thank God we didn't go hungry and our marriage stayed in tact ... got stronger as a matter of fact.

But coming through a 2008 that was stable financially (compared to previous years) and reviewing what we want, and in some cases need to do in 2009, we are making some adjustments and being more disciplined.

Going through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University twice was great for us - Fall of 2006 & Spring of 2008. Some of our thinking about money has radically changed. Some of our thoughts haven't. Information is great ... putting it into practice is best! We have more to practice.

We have made a fresh commitment to adjusting our spending in '09 - cutting out fluff like cable, etc. and saving more, eating out less. Our goal is to be better managers of what is given to us.

The Crossroads is offering it's third session of FPU session at the beginning of February. I hope many will put into practice what they learn.

What financial adjustments are you making in 2009? Please share

Here is the article I read.
DaveRamsey.com

What's your weak link?

I had a great conversation with a friend yesterday about the expectation of who we want to be ... and who we really are. The disparity is the thing that either drives us to be better or discourages us to say, "forget it, I will never attain that pipe dream!"

How many times have we wanted to improve only to be pulled down to the reality that you "ain't all that!" - excuse the bad grammar. This whole scene sounds like the scene given in Romans 7. We want to do right, but don't.

I like how the chapter ends: 25The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

Chapter 8: 1-2With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

3-4God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that.

Bottom line: I need Jesus and his power in my life...daily...each moment! "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." - I Thes. 15:57

What's your weak link in your life?

R E S P E C T

How many times have you been in a restaurant or store and saw a kid meltdown only to have the parent follow suit, jerking their arm here and there, screaming at the kid for disrespect, etc. If only, I had always acted correctly in every meltdown situation. When a kid disobeys their parent, it's easy for the parent to become emotionally wrapped up in the situation, taking personally and such. Guilty!

I read a daily email of ScreamFree Parenting by Hal Runkel. Today Hal addresses some of this in today's email:

This is one of the hardest things about parenting, in my mind. And it seems like I'm not alone. We get emails every day from exasperated parents who are fed up with their children's lack of respect. Here's the truth: You can't control whether or not your kids show you respect. What you can control is whether or not you show it to your kids and whether or not you act respect-worthy – even when they don't.

As with most parenting issues, this has nothing to do with them and everything to do with you. Be the grown up in every situation and then be confident enough to allow your child's immature attempts at disrespect to fall off of you like the tiny arrows of the Lilliputians in Gulliver's Travels. After all, their barbs cannot hurt you without your permission.

So, instead of huffing and puffing with intimidation when they act disrespectfully, smile to yourself and remember that you don't need their affirmation to know that you are a good parent. Set simple and clear cut consequences and follow up without taking it all personally. You'll be showing them what real respect looks like and you just might even earn some along the way.

Hal Runkel, LMFT, author of ScreamFree Parenting: Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool. He's a regular on NBC's Today Show. Click here to view segments.