At this point we are all feeling very strongly that God had preset this specific set of people meeting, and we said a prayer right there in the coffee shop and asked God to continue to bless each of our endeavors. Continuing on with my meeting and sharing with each other what our individual organizations can do it became very apparent that we knew a lot of the same people and that each of our services complimented the other’s without doing exactly what the other person does. Needless to say this was a great moment to watch God at work and we will be moving forward with some more discovery of how we will begin working together on some generosity projects. This was indeed an answer to my prayers for new avenues to expand this program. Thank you God for your prompting and for my being a willing and obedient steward of your resources.
Gratefully,
]]>As I have continued to embrace the journey that God has set me upon I realize the importance of providing good and helpful content regarding stewardship or in a more modern tongue “management” of the resources He has so kindly given us the opportunity to use and manage for Him.
As we look to the dictionary for the official definition of “Steward” we read the following:
[stoo-erd-ship]
noun
1.
the position and duties of a steward, a person who acts as the surrogate of another or others, especially by managing property, financial affairs, an estate, etc.
2.
the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving:
From the perception or viewpoint of the Christ Follower I think one of the great authors of our day said it this way;
Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service, you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already.
– C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
What I hope to discuss in the pages of this site is anything related to our living out daily the call of the steward. As a manager of resources this would encompass everything that affects our expenditure or investment of time, money, and resources. My personal belief is that this also goes to how we steward our bodies, reputations, relationships and anything else that is a blessing to us.
Hence we will address
-Personal Finance
-Travel
-Health and Wellness
-Relationships
-Reputation and Leadership
-House and Home
-Generosity
The goal is to work with other gifted communicators to share their insights on specific categories that fit their content specialties. All for the purpose that as a community we grow and improve in the way that we manage our resources so that in the future we can do like my friend Dave Ramsey says and “live and give like no one else”.
Legacy is something you will hear a lot about as well. The Good Book says “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.”
Proverbs 13:22 NKJV
Generosity is part of this legacy mindset.
So as we gather our thoughts and prepare for the upcoming changes and new content, I am in prayer that God blesses with abundant and valuable material.
Blessings,
]]>I think these are great questions that any socially conscious business owner should be asking themselves and their advisor teams. But the biggest impact is made prior to the sale transaction, not after.
One modern day business legend that has figured out the concept of legacy planning is David Green of Hobby Lobby. Can you imagine this… he started with less than $1,000 and now his empire is worth over $4 Billion. He has a new book coming out in Late April that speaks to the concept of giving your wealth away. I’m not going to go into the details but this is going to be a must read for anyone who is considering developing a solid exit plan that benefits the family, the causes they care about, and minimizes the affectual tax amount owed on a wealth transfer. Look for Davids book on April 25th everywhere books are sold.
Then if you have questions concerning this concept reach out and we will be happy to introduce you to our friends who are experts in the creation of these types of legacy strategies. They would be happy to meet with you and your trusted advisory team to discuss the process and share insight from their decades of proven success in the giving space.
On a hill far off in the distance stood a cross of rugged wood, a place for the derelict and fallen to be executed by an occupying government. A place where one would never expect to see the Son of God. But for us Jesus Gods only son laid down His life. It was a plan laid down in the thrown room of God and played out here on Earth. We as men had fallen so far short of the plan that God had laid out for us and had so turned away from His vision of what earth and man had been created for that there could be only one way to redeem the human race. After all He had created us to worship and adore Him and that through that worship we would have blessing and relationship with Him.
So on that lonely hill and on the old wooden cross Jesus laid down His life so that we could have the opportunity to know Gods grace, mercy and redeeming power. Through that sacrifice the entire way we worship changed and became personal. It was a sad day for those close to Jesus but God had a plan… In Luke 24 we see that when the women, who were in mourning, came to the grave on the morning of the third day there was a surprise waiting for them. Can you imagine the feelings that must have come over them when they saw the tomb of their beloved savior standing wide open with no corpse lying in it. Praise God our Lord is risen.
As I walk out the journey that is life I, in all transparency, fail and fall just like many of you. But I am so grateful that because of the cross and the tomb I can humbly come before the throne of God Almighty and receive His grace and His mercy, and walk with Him as Father and friend.
Its personal because of a sacrifice made 2000 years ago on an old wooden cross………
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only son……………”
Blessings
Dan
]]>There are so many distractions and they come in the form of news, propaganda, rumor, etc. We as entrepreneurs must stay committed to the vision or the “why” of our plan. I have found that having a group of like minded people surrounding me is of great help. Surround yourself with like minded mentors, men and woman who have been through the creation of a startup and know what obstacles can be thrown in your path, and the solutions and tools for navigating these obstacles. They can be called many things; think tanks, mastermind groups, accountability partners. Whatever you want to call this group doesn’t matter, what matters is that you have them on your side.
Now get out there and get to work putting together this team of wise counselors and if there’s anything I can do to help, send me a message.
[email protected]
See below an excerpt from a paragraph in Brad Thors “The Apostle”.
‘”Accountability as well as personal responsibility had been chucked out the window of American government. It also has been abdicated by the American voter. As long as most Americans could have their McDonalds drive throughs, listen to their iPods, and watch American Idol,they didn’t seem to care….
Bread and Circuses.The Romans had it right, As long as people had food and fun, they didn’t care much about the erosion of their nation.”‘
Wow this strikes so clearly to the core of what is wrong in this country today. People are so entertainment focused and living in a predominately entitlement state of mind that anything goes, as long as they are taken care of.
The Politically Correct culture is afraid to stand for anything so little by little the Nations values erode and the entitlement state of mind grows.
America must return to its roots. A Country of people who had pride, a people who were determined to make a life for their families by the sweat of their brows, and a people who stood up for the values on which this great country was founded. Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. A country run by The People, for The People. Not a country run by a group of self serving folks, interested in their personal agendas.
America, wake up and return to your roots. Return to the founding principles upon which our ancestors lived. Upon which they gave much to insure that we could have Peace and Freedom.
God Bless America!
I think back on an interesting point of view that was shared with me years ago;”don’t sweat the small stuff…and it’s all small stuff.”
This seems very simple but let’s put it into view. In the vastness of space lies Earth, our home. Earth itself is enormous in relation to an individual, and an individual who puts his mind and effort to a cause can have massive impact. So in an effort to keep us focused on the positive, let’s move forward viewing the “small stuff” around us as opportunities to take massive action and change the course of our situation. Reflect on the positive.
God has instilled in each of us the power , skill, intelligence to make a difference. The power to leave a ripple in the proverbial pond of life. Get out there and be a ripple maker……. ]]>
With Christmas rapidly approaching its a good idea to check your lists and budgets and make sure you stick to your guns.
So many Americans fail to plan and Christmas suddenly is on them and out comes the famous charge card ,and then the first half of the new year is spent paying off Christmas.
That is no way to live guys….
Check out your local credit union or financial institution for a Christmas Club Account.
See this article for some facts…
-Christmas and Other Club Accounts
Until recently, Christmas Club accounts were the most common and popular bank savings account in which payments are made over a specified period of time to achieve a specific goal. In a typical account years ago, banks allowed customers to open up an account at the beginning of a year, gave them a coupon book with weekly coupons for deposits as small as $5, often did not pay interest on these deposits, did not allow or severely penalized early withdrawals, then returned accumulated savings all at once in October or November. Despite the limited access to and low yield on these accounts, they were popular with many low- and moderate- families who otherwise found it difficult to save for the holidays. And according to a number of small and medium-size bank branch personnel interviewed by phone, they are still popular.
Today, most Christmas Club accounts look somewhat different and exist with other club accounts whose goal is to save for a holiday, for a vacation, or for some other expense, sometimes unspecified. In our sample, 28 percent of small banks, 46 percent of medium- sized banks, and 36 percent of large banks offer at least one type of club account. Small and medium-sized banks are more likely to offer Christmas accounts with some restrictions while large banks are more likely to offer club accounts with few restrictions.
As well as greater variation in goals, there is also greater variation in other club account characteristics. Many banks still allow small weekly or monthly deposits of $5 or $10, but many require that these deposits be preauthorized, regular transfers from checking. There are also great differences in a customer’s ability to withdraw funds early, with a few banks disallowing these withdrawals, some imposing fees for early withdrawals, and some allowing the withdrawals for free.
At present, banks not only are more likely to pay interest on club accounts than years ago, but are more likely to pay a higher interest rate on these accounts than on regular savings accounts. In our sample of 48 banks, 20 paid higher rates, 23 paid the same rates, three paid lower rates, and one paid no interest.
SAVINGS ACCOUNTS: THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND USEFULNESS
Stephen Brobeck
Consumer Federation of America June 2013 ]]>