Heritage Of Honor

A Father's Story
Monday, January 14, 2008

I owned and operated a landscaping business. To meet upcoming expenses, I had to quickly finish a landscape job. After the crew and I completed the job, the customer approved of the work and paid in cash. It was a sizable amount that barely fit into my wallet.

I had to make a stop at the local city dump before dropping off the crew. We barely made it before they closed for the day. After unloading the trash and dropping of the crew, my manager and I stopped by the car wash to wash out the trailer and equipment. I reached into my back pocket to find no wallet. My muscles squeezed my stomach tight and my mind started backtracking all my steps. We jumped back into the truck and headed back to the house to think things through.

I was a nervous wreck. You see, this payment not only covered payroll, but also many other expenses. It was a considerable amount. I was sure this was the end of my business. The only possible location I could have lost it was in the city dump. My manager, a fellow brother in Christ, challenged me to go search for it. They were closed, it was dark outside, and I knew the heavy bulldozers had already buried everything in sight. So I found a flashlight, grabbed a bottle of water, and make the trip back to the dump.

The dump was closed so I had to jump the gate. I new it was a lost cause, but the prayer on the way there helped restore my faith. I climbed up the massive hill to the spot where we dumped the trailer. I turned on the flash light, pointed it to the ground, and light up my wallet laying in the mud. The bi-fold was opened, the cash was still in it, and all the credit cards were bent in half from the bulldozer running over it. I feel to the ground in tears thanking my Savior.

I tell my story to my children and no matter how many times I tell it, they still listen.

Posted byAnonymous at 1/14/2008 3 comments    

Labels: fathers, money, testimony

Debt: Building Honor or Causing Destruction?
Monday, December 17, 2007

Over the last 50+ years, we have become dependent on the all mighty 2 1/8 inch by 3 1/8 inch sheet of plastic with a magnetic strip. It comes wrapped in any color or image of your choice. Toys are teaching children to just charge it. Commercials chastise the use of cash for slowing down efficiency. Customer loyalty is built by advertising to high school students. Deals come by means of low interest rates or no interest for 3, 6, or even 12 months. And there is my all-time favorite, "Let's cash advance our Visa card to pay the Discover card."

I am not alone in knowing how the chains of debt feel. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis, for every $1.00 earned, each American spends $1.22 [1]. This snowball of a spending trend, sparked by credit cards, leads to an enslaved path of destruction.

In biblical times, debt could lead to slavery; see Mathew 18:26-28 . "If you're in debt then you're a slave, in the sense that you do not have the freedom to use your money to powerfully change your family tree[2]."

Let me clarify, I am not stating that the use of credit is evil. However, I do agree with Dave Ramsey's comment that the use of debt limits our ability to build a Heritage on Honor. A mortgage is not evil; it is the person who sinfully purchase more than what they can afford. We should be good stewards of what we have been entrusted with.

Our children need to be taught and given examples of how to live without debt. They will be bombarded with advertisements that teach them to live the American dream by using a credit card. Without our example and teaching, our grandchildren may seek a life of servitude to debt. I like Dave Ramsey's example how a family tree can change from a debt-free life. Imagine a life of financial freedom giving you the ability to have no mortgage. Your children have learned how to manage finances and live a debt-free life. What kind of heritage could you build by being able to purchase your children's first home for them, with cash, as a reward for living a debt-free life? What kind of example will this set for your generations for come? Good stewardship is way to build a Heritage of Honor, but debt is the destructive opposition to stewardship.


Footnotes

1. Sourced from "Financial Literacy" from Ad Council web site at http://www.adcouncil.org/default.aspx?id=373.

2. Sourced from Dave Ramsey on "Dept" from MyTotalMoneyMakeover.com https://www.mytotalmoneymakeover.com/members/index.cfm?fuseaction=dspCat&intCatID=52

Posted byAnonymous at 12/17/2007 0 comments    

Labels: family, hetigate, money, traditions

Traditional Spending Habits
Saturday, December 15, 2007

As a child, I watched my grandfather purchase a saw when he needed one. When the garden tractor broke-down, he would buy another one. When fishing tackle went on sale, he would add to his tackle boxes. My grandfather enjoyed life and I learned to buy whatever, whenever I had the money. My parents' love taught me many truths about life, but I personally failed to learn good spending habits.

When my wife and I purchased our first home, I needed to fill to it with all the stuff that took my father and grandfather years to acquire. My spending habits caused years of servitude to debt. Unfortunately, I had to learn about bad spending habits through experience.

It is fairly common knowledge that it takes twenty one days, or twenty one times, to make something a habit[1]. The problem lies in the time it takes to realize a bad habit and the consequences of those habits. As the saying goes, "Bad habits die hard."

To protect my heirs from learning my bad habits, I must change mine. Also, I must teach them how to become good stewards of the money we are entrusted with. After they learn where money comes from (see Allowance vs Commission), then they should be taught how to handle that money. I like Dave Ramsey's approach to split the money into three envelops; Giving, Saving, and Spending [2]. A child that tithes his earned money will learn more than a child who is given dollar to put into the offering plate. The child learns how to set-aside hard earned money for savings or emergency funds. In addition, he learns how to manage funds for buying toys or candy.

This is what Dave Ramsey considers changing the family tree; I consider it a way to establish a heritage of honor. Let's not give our children the opportunity to learn bad spending habits. Instead, we should teach them to properly manage funds and how they can teach their children to do the same.

I would like to recommend the use of Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace Junior."

Posted byAnonymous at 12/15/2007 0 comments    

Labels: child development, family, foundations, money, traditions

Commission V's Allowance
Tuesday, December 11, 2007

During my upbring, it was either do the chores or get the belt. We did get allowance, but it was just that; an allowance. Dave Ramsey suggest that children should receive a commission instead of allowance[1]. The purpose is to use chores as an opportunity to teach children the biblical concept of work and money. Commission for chores does not denote that chores are voluntary.

I find Mr. Ramsey's use of the term commission interesting. The word "commission" as a transitive verb is defined as "to appoint or assign to a task or function [2]." Would this mean we are to commission our children for their commission?

Mr. Ramsey's way of rewarding children for completion of chores teaches them that they will be compensated for entrust responsibilities. Ensure each child knows how to do the task, what quality is acceptable, and when it is to be completed. Based on their performance, they are given either commission or discipline. If a child does more than what is expected, then compensate them. If they fail while attempting to do additional choirs, then help them get back-up and encourage them to continue. Hum, this is beginning to sound just like an every day job. Mr. Ramsey recommends using a dry-eraser board to keep weekly record of chores completed and how much they earned.

I write this because I have yet to fully assimilate this plan in my home. I find this way of assigning choirs to be a good teaching tool. At the dinner table, my family read about Paul's warning against idleness (2 Thessalonians 3: 6-19). This is one way to teach our children the importance of earning our food; that things in life are just not free.


Footnotes:

1. Ramsey, Dave. "DAVE RAMSEY’S FINANCIAL PEACE JR. TEACHES KIDS THE IMPORTANCE OF MONEY MANAGEMENT". DaveRamsey.com 11 Dec 2007. http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/cms/index.cfm?intContentID=3203

2. "Commission." Merriam-Webster Online. 7 Dec 2007
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/commission

Posted byAnonymous at 12/11/2007 0 comments    

Labels: child development, money, traditions

Building a Heritage of Honor through $$$$
Tuesday, December 4, 2007

• It's not a get rich quick scheme!
• It's not immortality for sale!
• It's not buying great children and grand-children!

• It is teaching our generations, by example, how to build honor through stewardship!
• It is about changing the family tree to exemplify faith in God!
• It about teaching our children what we were not taught!

Posted byAnonymous at 12/04/2007 0 comments    

Labels: heritage, money