Friday Introductions: Money Resources

My youngest daughter learned a valuable lesson yesterday about money on our trip to Wal-Mart. Both girls took $1 with them on our shopping trip. My oldest decided to buy a package of pencils with her dollar. My youngest didn't see anything she wanted to buy, so she decided to spend her dollar in the little arcade at the front of the store.

There weren't many games in the arcade, but there were a couple of those claw games where you try to pick up a stuffed animal with the claw. Both I and my older daughter warned my youngest that she probably wouldn't win anything, but she was determined to try.

After she spent her dollar and ended up with nothing, we had the expected fussing and grumbling. I told her to quit grumbling because she had been warned that she probably wouldn't win anything. When we got home she immediately went to our chore chart to find chores she could do that would replace her dollar.

My youngest definitely regretted her choice, but she learned that if you make poor decisions with your money, then you have to live with them and work harder to have the same amount. It's a lesson I could have talked to her about for weeks and not been nearly as effective as letting her learn the hard way.

It's important that we give our kids some freedom to make mistakes with their money while they are young. It just may keep them from making poor decisions when they are older. It is much less painful to lose $1 than it is to lose $10,000 in a risky investment.

Choose to use money as a learning tool in your home. Set up an allowance system that gives your kids enough money to make some choices with. Use that allowance to teach good habits in tithing, saving and spending. If your child wants to spend money on something frivolous or something you know is of poor quality, let them. If we never let our kids make mistakes, they won't learn to manage their money.


Talk, talk, talk about money. Too often, we shelter our kids from discussions about money, but we should include them. When things are going well and when they aren't, your kids need to see how you deal with money. If your family has decisions to make about how to spend money that will affect your kids, include them in the discussion. Talk about how you choose to spend your money and why. Show your kids the family budget and get them involved in planning it.


When you are planning a big family vacation or purchase, get your kids involved in saving for it. Set a jar on the counter and decide as a family how much everyone will put in the jar from their allowances each week to save for the trip. We did this when we went to Disney World and used the money in the jar as our spending money.


God wants us to use our money wisely, and He wants us to teach our kids to do the same. But we want to be sure that money is not our main focus in life. We need money to live in our society, but we don't need money to constantly be the focus of our lives. When we place the pursuit of money above God, we make it an idol. Matthew 6:24 says "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

Use money as a tool, but don't let either the acquisition of it or the lack of it consume you. Use it wisely and follow God's guidelines for it. Ask for help when you need it.

Lots of great resources exist for getting a grip on money -- resources that keep the focus on God while letting us take control of our money. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Dave Ramsey -- If you're struggling with getting out of debt and setting up a budget, check out Dave Ramsey and his resources. His "Total Money Makeover" will change how you view and handle money. He also has a great set of resources for teaching kids, teens and college-aged young people how to handle money.


Crown Financial Ministries -- Crown offers biblical money guidance through Bible studies and resources. They also have a full complement of children's resources that teach your kids about handling money.

Whatever resources you choose to use, start today to control your money rather than letting it control you. God provides all that we need, including money, but He asks us to use it wisely.

Debt Has Consequences

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We had the most interesting conversation at dinner last night. My oldest daughter is having some friends over to have a mystery party on Friday. The theme revolves around the American Girl doll, Kit, whose story is about growing up during the Great Depression.


My oldest daughter asked what caused the Great Depression. My husband, with the degree in economics, launched into a toned-down explanation of the causes. This somehow led to a discussion of what’s going on in Congress today with the debt limit debate. (Hefty stuff for an 8- and 10-year-old, I know.)


My youngest wanted to know what the debt limit was. As we explained, she looked at us and said simply, “The government shouldn’t spend more money than it has.”


It struck me that my 8-year-old has grasped a concept that most of the world struggles with. Debt isn’t a good thing.


Our culture has made debt seem like a necessity. We think we can’t have all that we need if we don’t go into debt. The truth for most of us is we can’t have everything we want without debt.


God is really clear about what debt does to us. Check out these verses:


Proverbs 22:7 -- The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.


Proverbs 22:26-27 -- Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.


Romans 13:8 -- Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.


When we have debt, it forces us to serve a master that isn’t God. Debt must be repaid or it causes great consequences. Debt payments cause us to put the debt before God’s work. While our tithe always comes first, the payments on a debt can keep us from having money available to help others on a moment’s notice. It can keep us from taking that mission trip or supporting a soup kitchen. While having debt isn’t a sin, it is not good stewardship of what God gives us.


But, you say, I can’t live without some debt. Most people owe money on their houses, cars and have some amount of consumer debt like credit cards and student loans. Living in our culture is difficult without debt. It’s not the norm, and it requires us to make hard choices.


But the freedom that comes from living without debt is amazing. Not having to make a mortgage payment or a car payment every month lifts a burden off your shoulders you didn’t even know you were carrying.


So, how do we live without debt? We make tough choices, and we follow a budget. It may take you a while to pay off whatever debt you have, but the reward is worth it. Working at getting rid of debt means we stop accumulating more debt even if it means we have to give up some things that we enjoy.


Most kids today come out of college in debt up to their eyeballs. They’re 22 years old with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. And, that’s because we haven’t taught them to avoid it. They leave college with a huge burden on their shoulders that they will carry around with them for years.


Starting now to teach your children to avoid debt if at all possible is important. It will save them many years of being a slave to debt down the road. My 8- and 10-year-old grasp the concept that debt is bad, not because they’ve picked it up from their friends but because we have made a conscious effort to teach them.


Start with the easy stuff. Talk about debt. Explain that debt is simply borrowing money from someone so you can spend more than you have. Talk about how when we are in debt we can’t always do the things with our money that God wants us to do because we have to pay the debt.


Live a lifestyle that eradicates debt. If you’re talking to your kids about avoiding debt but doing nothing to get rid of your own debt, then your kids will follow your actions, not your words. If your kids see you buying things on credit and making minimum payments, that’s the lifestyle they will adopt. Kids learn what they live.


This topic is tough, and the path out of debt may seem hidden by the mountain of debt in front of you. But making an effort to get rid of your debt will free you in ways you never thought possible and give you the opportunity to serve God in ways you didn’t know existed.

Faithfulness Requires a Plan

Courtesy Thanunkorn

My husband and I are polar opposites when it comes to organization. He likes to have a plan for everything, especially our money. I'm more of a "fly by the seat of your pants" type of person. Too much structure makes me feel hemmed in and stifled.

As you can imagine, that has led to more than our fair share of "discussions" about everything from why there's so much clutter on the counter to how to spend our money.

A couple of years ago, my husband decided that we needed to have a written budget and go to a cash envelope system (thank you, Dave Ramsey). I was not interested. The written budget was OK, but the whole cash thing really threw me for a loop. I mean, who pays for anything in cash these days?

In my mind, things were fine the way they were. We had a mortgage but no other debt, and we were managing to save a little. Why mess with it if it's not broken?

But, my husband was insistent, so we switched to an all cash envelope system budget. That means we put cash in envelopes for things like groceries, gas, entertainment and clothing. When the envelopes were empty, that was it. I hated it. The thing I hated the most was having to go into the gas station to pay. That meant I had to haul my kids out of the car and into the gas station every time I filled up my car.

I also didn't like looking at the empty envelope and deciding we couldn't go out to dinner or to a movie because the entertainment envelope was empty.

However, as we worked at this system, it began to grow on me. We spent less. There's something about handing over cash that makes you think twice before spending it, and we began to whittle away at that mortgage. In less than five years from the time we made the switch, we were completely debt free.

Now, our income went up in that time because I started working more, but the budget made us more disciplined with our money.

A lot of money troubles come from not having a plan and sticking to it. Every family needs a written budget. A budget is simply a plan for your money that you and your spouse, if you have one, arrive at together. It lets you see exactly how far your money can go. It forces you to make choices about how you want to spend your money. And it helps us to be faithful with what God has given us.

Luke 16:10 tells us, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." God wants us to be faithful in using our money wisely, so He can trust us with even bigger responsibilities, monetary or otherwise. If we frivolously spend our money, go into debt and don't give a care for how God says we should spend it, then He's unlikely to trust us with more. But if we are faithful in the way we handle our money, then God knows that He can give us even greater responsibility and we will be faithful with it as well.

Start being faithful by creating a budget. List all your expenses and all your income. The expense column must be less than the income column. If it's not, you either need to reduce expenses or create more income because the Bible tells us not to go into debt (which is a topic we'll tackle in-depth tomorrow).

Once you have a plan, you and your family need to stick to it. When your kids see you sticking to a budget, they learn that being faithful with your money is important. My kids have learned that when the envelopes are empty, we don't go out or buy things. They may not like it, but they understand the idea.

Our kids need to know that money is not an unlimited resource and we have to make choices about what to do with it. God wants us to cover our needs, be prepared for tomorrow and take care of our fellow man. If we don't have a plan to do that, then we aren't being wise. Proverbs 21:5 says "The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty."

Teach your kids the value of a budget as early as they can understand the concept of money. Young kids can learn that they need to tithe 10 percent, save whatever percentage you decide and can spend the rest. That's a simple budget.

As kids get older, they can begin to budget for things like birthday and Christmas gifts, special activities they want to do and any miscellaneous purchases they want to make. Help them create a written budget, so they can see exactly where their money is going. Teenagers can begin budgeting for their own clothes, trips, gas for the car, car insurance and going out with their friends.

If we teach our kids the value of budgeting when they are young, it will be a habit that they can rely on when they get older.

Whether the system we use for budgeting is right for your family, is up to you, but every family needs a plan for their money. It's impossible to be faithful with what God has given you without a plan.

Bring the Tithe

Money is a touchy subject. We all have our own ideas about what to do with it. And we don't always like what the Bible has to say about it. Many pastors don't like to preach about it, and many of us don't like to hear about it.

Yet, God has a lot to say about it. There are 113 verses in the Bible that have the word "money" in them. There are another 126 that include the word "wealth." There are only 114 that contain the word "salvation." If God talks about money as much as He talks about salvation in the Bible, then He must think it's pretty important.

I think God spent so much time dealing with the issue of money because He knows that we struggle with making it, holding on to it and using it wisely. Yesterday, we talked about ownership and how important it is for us to recognize that God owns everything. He just loans it to us.

It takes that attitude to faithfully commit to tithing, our topic for today. This may well be the touchiest subject for Christ-followers. I've heard all sorts of explanations for tithing that absolve people of the responsibility. Let's look at a few of them.

• A tithe just means a portion of my income. It doesn't mean 10 percent. There's no getting around this one. The word tithe in Hebrew means 10 percent. It doesn't mean anything else.
• I can tithe my time or talent. Nowhere in the Bible does the word tithe refer to anything but income. It does refer to livestock and plants, but those were the currency of the day. Few people used money to buy things in those days. They traded with one another. So a tithe refers to 10 percent of your income. Nowhere is the word tithe used in reference to time and talents.
• I don't have to tithe because that's an Old Testament ritual. By this logic, we should throw out everything that's in the Old Testament. The 10 Commandments would no longer apply as well.

The truth is that God commands us to tithe. And, He promises us a blessing if we do. Malachi 3:8-11 says:

“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."


God is talking to the Israelites who were not tithing, and He tells them that by not tithing, they are robbing Him. Then He promises to bless them beyond their imagination if they tithe.

If we truly believe that everything belongs to God, then that includes our money. God commands us to tithe: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse." God graciously allows us to hold onto 90 percent of our money. He simply asks to keep 10 percent of it to do His work.

Tithing is a tough concept for many of us because we look at our money, and we don't see how it will possibly stretch if we take out 10 percent. Yet, I have never known God to go back on His word. He promises to richly bless you if you tithe. He also promises to provide for us. We'll never know the blessings, if we don't follow the command.

The easiest way I know of to stop struggling with the concept of tithing is to simply make it a habit. Decide you're going to do it, then step out in faith and write that check every pay period. You may have to make some adjustments to the budget, but God will provide all that you need.

Teach your children to tithe at a young age, so they won't struggle with the concept when they are adults. Nearly everyone I know that was taught to tithe as a child has no trouble with the concept as an adult. Every time your child gets money, immediately show them how to separate out what belongs to God. Let them put their tithe in the offering at your church. Show your kids what your church does with that money. Talk about how our tithe money lets our churches reach out to both the local and worldwide communities. Focus on the things your church does to help kids, so your child can see that he is helping other kids.

The best thing you can do to help your child form a habit of tithing is to form one yourself. Let your kids see you tithing, and encourage them to follow your example.

God promises to bless us if we tithe. I know that God's blessings are much greater than anything I can buy with that 10 percent of money that God asks to hold onto. Don't miss the blessing.

It's Not Yours

If you try to take a toy away from a 2-year-old, you're most like going to hear the child yell, "Mine!" Two-year-olds have no problem declaring their ownership of something for all the world to hear.

Almost from the beginning, we begin staking our claim of ownership on things. My girls can tell you exactly which things in our house belong to them. And many times they aren't interested in sharing those things.

Unfortunately, even as adults, we spend time figuratively yelling "Mine!" We want to hold onto our possessions with a tight hand. And, many times, the more we have, the harder we try to get more.

Yet, that's not what God had in mind for us when He blessed us with our money and possessions. He never intended for us to claim ownership of everything. As a matter of fact, the Bible is pretty clear about who owns things. Deuteronomy 10:14 says "To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it."

Everything belongs to God. None of it belongs to us. That's not exactly the attitude we bring to the table most of the time. When God asks us to part with our money and possessions, we often grumble and act as if none of it belongs to God.

The truth is that God blesses us with money and possessions. He graciously provides for us. In return, He asks us to follow His principles for using those material possessions.

Too often, we take what God gives, and we close our hands around it like a 2-year-old. If God wants us to use our material possessions for Him, he has to pry our fingers off.

God wants us to hold our possessions with an open hand, not a closed fist. If our hand is open, then it's easy for God to use what He has given us for His purposes. But, if our hand is closed into a fist, God can't get to our possessions without first opening our hand.

Having an open hand and heart about your possessions reflects your attitude about the ownership of those possessions. If you hold your material goods with an open hand, you reflect the attitude that God owns everything. If you hold everything with a closed fist, you reflect the attitude the you own everything.

All this week, we're going to look at how we can teach our kids to have the right attitude and follow God's principles with our money. But none of that is useful if we don't have the right attitude about ownership.

Memorize Deuteronomy 10:14 with your kids this week. When selfish attitudes crop up in your home this week, remind one another that God owns everything. He simply allows us to use the things He blesses us with.


God has a lot to say about money. Much of what He has to say goes against everything the world tells us to do with that money. Following God's principles for what to do with our money is a whole lot easier if we've already determined in our hearts that our money and possessions don't belong to us. They already belong to God. Since they belong to Him, we should handle them the way He wants us to.

Changing your attitude about ownership can radically change the way you handle your money. Teaching your kids God's principles for handling money can save them a lot of heartache and struggle.

It all boils down to one simple concept. It's not ours, and we shouldn't act like it is.

Friday Introductions: Jesus and My Orange Juice

A couple of years ago, I bought a new Christmas decoration for our home. I was at a craft fair, and I fell in love with a big, wooden cutout of the word JOY. In the center of the O, there is a wooden cut out of the manger scene. It stands about 2 1/2 feet tall.

I brought it home and set it on the mantel at Christmastime. The first time my husband saw it, he looked at it and said, "It screams joy." That decoration reminds us of the source of our joy. It's big enough that it's not overwhelmed by our 10-foot ceilings and our 7 1/2-foot Christmas tree. It's the first thing your eye notices when you walk into our family room.

That decoration captures the source of our joy and reminds us that because Jesus came to earth as a baby and died, we no longer have to be separated from God. And that brings us joy.

We want our lives to reflect that joy. We want to be like my Christmas decoration. We want our lives to "scream" JOY.

Because joy draws people in. It makes people want what we have -- a never-ending source of joy. Even in the midst of difficult times, we draw our joy from God. Psalm 30:5 tells us "weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning." While the world may seem bleak, God promises joy will come. All we have to do is tap into the source of that joy.
 
My friend Shannon Milholland provided some great insight into this verse this week in her blog Jesus and My Orange Juice. Shannon is a mother to four girls, wife to her husband Scott, and a talented speaker and writer. Her blog gleans spiritual wisdom and truth from the everyday events in her and her family's lives. Usually short, her devotional style writing offers a scripture, a story and a Biblical truth in each post. I know you'll love reading her blog as much as I do.
 
Check out Shannon's blog and as you go through this weekend, assess whether your life shouts JOY to others. If not, spend some time with God, simply tapping into the source of our joy.

Joy Busters

I was tempted this morning not to finish out this short series on joy and contentment. It’s not been the best week with a sore body and a wrecked car. On top of that several things have broken, my kids have been at each others’ throats because we’ve been stuck at home and I’ve struggled to get anything done.


I got up this morning thinking today would be easy. My kids are spending the next four days at GrandCamp, their annual summer camp with Grandmommy and Granddaddy. My days are open. The only other creature I have to look out for is the dog.

Ah, yes, the dog. Our beautiful German short-haired pointer who never has accidents in the house. The first thing I got to do this morning was clean up a lovely present he left for me in his crate. I really don’t think he was any happier about it than I was, but I have to tell you my attitude of joy and contentment has already been sorely tried this morning.

After cleaning up his mess, I sat down here at the computer to write only to discover that my Internet isn’t working. My whole day today revolves around catching up on my freelance projects, which requires an Internet connection. Joy and contentment were not the first words that came to mind.

I don’t know about you, but it seems the more I focus on having an attitude of joy and contentment, the harder it becomes. Satan loves to throw things in my path that make me work for that attitude.

And, you know what? I can’t have an attitude of joy and contentment on my own. I’m simply not strong enough, nor focused enough. Joy and contentment come from God and only through His strength can we achieve a consistent attitude of joy and contentment.

Philippians 4:13 tells us “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” That includes finding our joy and contentment in Him.

There’s always going to be something trying to tear our focus off of God. When we lose our focus on Him, we lose our source of strength. When we rely on our own strength to find contentment and joy, we fail. When we rely on God’s strength to find contentment and joy, we are filled up with His strength and we can remain focused on Him, the source of joy and contentment.

Illustrate this for your kids by hanging a picture on the wall. Tell them to walk from one end of the room to the picture while looking at the picture. Repeat the exercise, only have them look at something else in the room while walking toward the picture. Lastly, blindfold them and have them walk to the picture.

Explain that when we keep our eyes on the picture, we can walk in a straight line to it. When we lose sight of the picture, either by looking at something else or not being able to see it, it’s much harder to walk toward the picture.

God is the picture. When we take our eyes off of Him, we wander away from the source of our strength. We want to keep our eyes on Him so He can give us the strength for whatever comes our way.

Don’t let whatever frustrations that come your way today rob you of joy and contentment. Keep your eyes on God and let Him fill you with the strength and joy that only come from Him. In that, you will find contentment.