Family Vacations?

One of my favorite people on the planet is Dennis Prager. I love listening to his radio show and download his podcasts on a regular basis. He talks about everything in life and is a clear and fair thinker.

Last week he spent an hour on the topic of family vacations. His initial question was do you take family vacations with your kids? The follow-up questions evolved around whether you would rather take a vacation with your kids or just with your spouse? He was not asking about which you feel you SHOULD do, but which would you WANT to do. He continued to clarify the question that you had to pick one or the other, since for most families that is the reality.

This is a particularly interesting topic for me, having a young family. With limited funds and limited time, what do you do? On the one hand, you want to do things with your kids as a family. On the other, you want to maintain a relationship with your spouse.

What do you think?

Dave Ramsey on TV!

Dave Ramsey will be hosting a show during prime time on the new Fox Business Network set to launch on Monday, October 15th. Set your TiVos!

Next Study Series

I know I haven't finished posting my notes on the study we did on eschatology, but I only have time for a short post. I'll try to finish the notes soon.

We did finish our study of eschatology. It was good. It's not a subject I am typically very interested in, but I did enjoy it more that I expected. Our next study series is going to be on the New Testament book of James.

20 Great Nuggets of Personal Finance Advice

I recently found Get Rich Slowly and really like it. They had a great post yesterday on 20 Great Nuggets of Personal Finance Advice. I thought I would pass it along. Enjoy!

The Study of Last Things - Part 2

As I mentioned in my last post, there are several aspects of eschatology that all orthodox Christian teaching agrees on. With the help of Grudem's Systematic Theology, here they are:

(A) The sudden, personal, visible, bodily return of Christ

"So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." (Matthew 24:44, NIV)

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:3, NIV)

"“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”" (Acts 1:11, NIV)

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first." (1 Thessalonians 4:16, NIV)

"so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. " (Hebrews 9:28, NIV)

"You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near." (James 5:8, NIV)

"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare." (2 Peter 3:10, NIV)

"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." (1 John 3:2, NIV)

"Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen." (Revelation 1:7, NIV)

"He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20, NIV)

(B) We should eagerly long for Christ's return

"He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20, NIV)

"It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ," (Titus 2:12-13, NIV)

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ," (Philippians 3:20, NIV)

"If anyone does not love the Lord—a curse be on him. Come, O Lord!" (1 Corinthians 16:22, NIV)

"So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." (Matthew 24:44, NIV)

(C) We do not know when Christ will return

"So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." (Matthew 24:44, NIV)

"“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour." (Matthew 25:13, NIV)

" “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come." (Mark 13:32-33, NIV)

"You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”" (Luke 12:40, NIV)

(D) The final results of the return of Christ (*I'll have to come back to this in more detail later)

1. Judgment and punishment of unbelievers
2. Judgment and reward of believers
3. Believers living with Christ in a new heaven and new earth for eternity

I'll cover the areas of disagreement next time.

The Study of Last Things

Currently our Bible study group is studying eschatology, or the study of last things. To be honest, this has never been a topic I have been incredibly interested in. For one thing, it is very confusing. Secondly, it is a non-salvific issue (what you believe about this issue doesn't impact your salvation), which automatically makes it at least a secondary issue in my book, so it hasn't been high on my list of priorities. However, there were enough people in the group interested in the topic to do it.

I must begin by saying that Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology has been an incredibly helpful resource. It is a book I think all Christian homes should have on hand, along with a good concordance and Bible dictionary. The notes we have been using as an outline come almost exclusively from his section on The Doctrine of the Future.

It has been very interesting to learn which aspects orthodox Christianity agrees on and which it does not. It has also been very interesting to see the relatively few verses that all the different groups are arguing over and how unclear much of it is. It should certainly give all sides a level of humility and "holding-loosely" to their positions.

Basically, there are three main orthodox positions: Amillennialism, Postmillenialism and Premillenialism. I have heard of another view, Preterism, which believes that everything happened about 70 AD, but I haven't read enough about it to know if it another orthodox option or some form of heresy. FOr the sake of our study, we have excluded it.

I will give a description and some of the highlights of the positions in a future post.

Skippyjon Jones

I am a bookworm. I love books. I love to read and I absolutely love reading to my kids. However, my kids tend to get stuck on a book for awhile and want to hear the same one or two every night for a week or so at a time. This makes it even more important to find GOOD books to read.

A friend of ours from church recently gave the boys a new book: Skippyjon Jones. I laughed out loud the first, second and third times I read it to the boys. It is about a very imaginative little Siamese cat who likes to pretend he is a sword-fighting Chihuahua. It's great. If you have little kids, go buy it. You'll be very happy you did.

Baby Claire

Wow. Many things have happened since my last post, most importantly the birth of my little girl Claire. That and a surgery for Claire at about 4 weeks of age to correct something called Pyloric Stenosis. She is doing great now.

Here is a link to my wife's blog, Frantlings. She posts lots of pictures of the kids. The name comes from a great game of Balderdash we had with Matt and Shannon Blackwell many years ago before we had kids. I don't even remember what the word really means, but I remember we laughed for what seemed like hours at the definitions we came up with for the word.

Are You LinkedIn?

Are you LinkedIn? Have you heard of this this yet? I think I am way behind the curve on this, but LinkedIn is an on-line networking service that I recently joined. I am still trying to get the hang of things, but it seems really cool. It has allowed me to get in touch with some people I haven't talked to in awhile.

It's free. That's good. They also are pretty strict on privacy, so no one is going to be able to see anything you don't want them to see without your permission. You can adjust the types of invitations and things you receive, so if you only want to get in touch with former classmates and colleagues, you can do that and avoid job offers or inquiries.

I'll post more as I learn more about it.

Apple iPhone

This is going to be sooooooo cool... I am usually not much of a gadget guy, but this might be an exception.

Companies I Would Promote for Free

I read this very interesting article on Free Money Finance (a great blog, by the way) and it led to a great discussion over lunch the next day. Here are a few companies or products that I gladly promote for free...

TiVo - Wow! What was life like before TiVo? It's been great for my wife and I now that we have a few kids. We don't watch a lot fo TV, but the shows we watch we love and we can wait and watch after the kids go to bed. Plus, we can TiVo a few kids shows whenever they come on, but let them watch them after naptime or whenever. It's worth the price we pay every month.

Apple iPod - Another product that remains cool long after I got it. What TiVo is for TV, my iPod Nano is for radio. I obviously have music on my iPod, but I primarily us it to download radio program podcasts so I can listen to them when I have the time.

Honda - I know there are lots of good cars out there, but I love Hondas. We have had a 1987 CRX which finally a couple of years ago after surpassing the 200k mile mark. We currently have a 1994 Accord (which we bought in '98) with 220,000 miles and we just bought a 2000 Odyssey with 120,000. Good engineering, good ergonomics. Keep up with basic maintenance and they will run forever.

Logos Bible Software - as I have posted about before, this is definitely the coolest software on the planet. I would love to work for this company, but they are based in WA and I am in TX. Eventually, however, I will find a way... Yes, I will find a way...

Sewell dealerships - Sewell is a DFW area chain of auto dealerships. We bought our Honda Odyssey from a Sewell Hummer dealership in Dallas and it was, BY FAR, the BEST car buying experience we have ever had. The dealership was beautiful, the staff friendly, helpful and non-pushy. If possible, we will buy all of our future cars from one of the Sewell dealerships.

The Drivers Edge - I used to work with this group and it is a complete and total blast. For a little less than $300 a student gets to take their own sports car to a race track and go as fast as possible, with an instructor in the car teaching you how. AWESOME! Rick Schwalenberg, the owner/operator and his staff do a fantastic job creating a friendly atmosphere and keeping things running smoothly and safely.

Stand To Reason - Stand to Reason trains Christians to think more clearly about their faith and to make an even-handed, incisive, yet gracious defense for classical Christianity and classical Christian values in the public square. Their website has TONS of free articles, their weekly radio program is phenomenal and their blog is one of the few that I check daily.

If anyone reads this, I would love to hear what companies YOU would promote for free.

Homecoming

My oldest son, who is 4 years old, has been with his grandparents for two weeks. He is coming home tomorrow and I can't wait... It's definitely been more difficult for me than for him. Thankfully, I have been very busy at work, so it has kept me distracted. It's also been a wonderful break for my wife who, at 8 months pregnant, normally has to chase around two little boys.

Night at the Museum

Have you seen this movie? When it came out last year, I thought Night at the Museum looked really stupid, but based on the recommendation of a friend at work, we pay-per-viewed it this weekend and were pleasantly surprised.

Ben Stiller does a great job as the lead, but it was also nice to see so many other recognizable actors in the movie: Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Bill Cobbs, Robin Williams and Owen Wilson.

The special effects are good and not overwhelming. In fact, given that the movie DEPENDS on the special effects, it's amazing that they didn't seem overwhelming. Check it out. It's worth the rental.

READ MORE! Link

Well, I have a semi-solution. At the bottom of each post, the Permalink now says READ MORE! which makes it easier to see and read. Clicking on it will take you to that posts permanent web page, which will display the entire post, if there was anything more that was not shown on the front page.

Not a perfect solution, but I think both of my readers are smart enough to figure it out. Ha ha ha.

Continued Posts

Firends - Some of my posts are a little lengthy so I truncate them on the front page. This isn't always clear, I apologize. I am trying to figure out how to have a little link that says "Continue Reading Post" or something like that, but until I figure that out, if the post seems to stop in awkwardly, trying clicking on the link for the full post at the bottom where it says, "POSTED BY SCOTT AT 10:34 PM" and see if it brings up more. - Thanks for your patience.

Money Principles #2

The second discussion in our series on Biblical stewardship involved looking at creating a big picture plan. We compared two similar outlines, Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover baby steps and Crown Financial Ministries Money Map steps. They are very close, but have a few differences. Here is an outline of each followed by some of my thoughts...

Dave Ramsey Baby Steps
Baby Step #1
$1,000 Emergency Fund

Baby Step #2
Debt Snowball (all debts except home)

Baby Step #3
Finish the Emergency Fund (3-6 months living expenses)

Baby Step #4
Invest 15% Income for Retirement

Baby Step #5
Save for College

Baby Step #6
Pay off Your Home Mortgage

Baby Step #7
Build Wealth

Crown Financial Ministries Money Map
Destination #1
A. Spending Plan (Budget)
B. $1,000 Emergency Fund

Destination #2
A. Pay Off All Credit Cards
B. Increase Emergency Fund to 1 Month's Expenses

Destination #3
A. Pay Off All Consumer Debt
B. Increase Emergency Fund to 3 Month's Expenses

Destination #4
A. Begin Saving for Major Expenses
B. Begin Saving for Retirement
C. Begin Saving for College Education

Destination #5
A. Buy Affordable Home
B. Begin Prepaying Mortgage
C. Begin Investing Wisely

Destination #6
A. Mortgage Paid Off
B. Children's College Funded
C. Confirm Estate Plan is in Order

Destination #7
A. Retirement Funded
B. Free to be More Generous with Time, Talents and Money

Again, the two are very similar, but the biggest difference is that Dave Ramsey is more intense and focused on a single goal at a time, whereas Crown has you working toward multiple goals at the same time. For example, once you have your $1,000 set aside for an emergency fund, Dave recommends you do focus only on paying off your debt. Period. No increasing the savings, no 401k contributions. Nothing. "Gazelle-intensity" is what he calls it. Crown, however, recommends you use some of your money for paying off debt and some of it for increasing your emergency fund.

On this point I agree with Dave. From my own personal experience and from advising over a hundred clients (in my previous financial career), I know that personal finance is about 80% behavioral and 20% math. Most people are stupid, they are just undisciplined when it comes to making good decisions and following through with them - especially when they are difficult decisions. Therefore, the more results and success a couple can see when they are trying to follow a plan, the more positive reinforcement they will get and the more likely it is they will continue to do it. So, if you can focus on only one thing and put all of your energy and resources toward it, there is a better chance you will reach your goal and reach it sooner.

I think it is also important to point out their similarities. Notice that both start with having a $1,000 emergency fund. This is critical. Emergencies are going to happen. They are a fact of life. You simply don't know when, where and what they are going to be. Working your butt off for six months to pay down your credit card, only to have something pop-up out of the blue requiring you to charge it back up again can be an incredibly discouraging thing. That's why the $1,000 is so important. It provides not only some peace of mind, but it acts as an insulation from the inevitable discouragement that everyone will face when trying to get their finances in order.

They also then both attack debt before moving on to any kind of savings for retirement or college. This is another key point. It is both a behavioral issue and a spiritual issue. Going back to our first lesson, one of the Biblical principles that we found was the importance of avoiding debt.

General Principles on Money from the Bible

As I mentioned in the previous post, our Bible study group is going through a short series on Biblical stewardship. One of the first discussions was on what kind of general principles on money can we get from Scripture?

This list is obviously not exhaustive, but it should at least point out some very clear guidelines and reminders. We can then use these as a foundation as we try to make wise decisions on more specific, practical financial questions (budgeting, insurance, retirement, etc.). I'll continue next time with some thoughts on putting together an overall plan.

Money is from God
Deuteronomy 6:10-12, 8:10-18,
1 Samuel 2:7 “The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.” (NIV)
Proverbs 10:22, 22:2, 29:13
Ecclesiastes 5:19-20, 6:1-2

Honor God with your money
Proverbs 3:9-10 “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” (NIV)

Be diligent and plan ahead
Proverbs 6:6-11, 10:4-5, 12:24, 27, 13:4, 14:23, 18:9, 19:15, 20:4, 13, 21:5, 25-26, 24:27, 30-34, 28:19
Proverbs 10:4-5 “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.” (NIV)

Be generous
Proverbs 3:27-28, 11:24, 25, 26, 19:17, 21:13, 25-26, 22:9, 28:22, 28:27
1 John 3:17
Proverbs 11:25 “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” (NIV)

Be humble/simple
Proverbs 12:9 “Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food.” (NIV)
Proverbs 13:7 “One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.” (NIV)

Be patient
Proverbs 13:11 “Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.” (NIV)
Proverbs 20:21

Be wise
Proverbs 3:1-2 “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.” (NIV)
Proverbs 8:17-21, 13:18, 16:16, 20, 17:16

Be righteous
Proverbs 21:21 “He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.” (NIV)
Proverbs 28:6

Be faithful
Matthew 25:14-30
Luke 16:11 “So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” (NIV)

Be cheerful
2 Corinthians 8, 2 Corinthians 9
2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Don’t trust in wealth
Proverbs 11:28, 18:11,
Proverbs 23:4-5 “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” (NIV)

Avoid co-signing for others
Proverbs 6:1-5, 17:18, 20:16-27, 22:26-27, 27:13
Proverbs 11:15 “He who puts up security for another will surely suffer, but whoever refuses to strike hands in pledge is safe.” (NIV)

Avoid greed/love of money
Proverbs 15:27
Luke 12:15
1 Tim. 6:4-11

Avoid debt
Proverbs 22:7 “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” (NIV)
Proverbs 26-27

Financial Advice

Now that I am no longer a "professional" financial advisor, I am free to talk about financial issues and dispense financial advice on my blog without breaking any rules. I am excited about that since personal finance is one of my passions.

The married couples Bible study group I facilitate is doing a small series on Biblical stewardship, so I will post my notes here. The high-level outline of our series goes like this:

• What are some general principles we can glean from the Bible on how God would like us to handle our money, how we should view money, etc.?
• On a practical level, what are the financial goals that we should be considering?
• How do we budget effectively?
• How much and what kind of insurance do we need?
• How do we get out of debt?
• How much money will we need to retire and how do we best go about saving for it?
• How do we save for college expenses for our kids?

Obviously the Bible does not speak specifically on most of these issues, so much of this is a search for wisdom, weighing the options available and trying to apply the principles we do find in the Bible.

I'll begin tomorrow by posting my notes from the first discussion.

Running

Over the last several months I have been running pretty consistently. Typically, I will run four times a week, about two to four miles per run. Nothing too crazy yet, although I am gradually training and preparing myself for a half-marathon near the end of the year.

I ran a 5k on March 31st and my next event will be a 10k some time in the next two months. After that, it will be on to the half-marathon.

I enjoy running. I usually run at night, so it is a little cooler. Although physically exhausting, I find it very relaxing. It's also very productive time. I listen to my iPod while I run and I am usually listening to a radio program that I have podcast. Stand To Reason, Dennis Prager, Dave Ramsey or Crown Financial Ministries. I see it as getting my mind and body in shape at the same time.

The Coolest Software in the World

It's very late and I need to get up early tomorrow morning, but I wanted to try and continue to reinforce the habit of blogging, so let me introduce you to the coolest software program on the planet: Logos Bible Software. It's amazing. I've used it for a few years now and continue to be impressed with all that it can do.

The really cool thing is that least week the Logos Bible Study Bus was in Plano, so I was able to go by and meet Scott Lindsey, Ministry Relations for Logos and also Bob Pritchett, Co-Founder of Logos. Both are incredibly nice guys. It was great getting to hear some of the history behind how the company was started and their philosophy of how to use technology to help change the body of Christ. I'll talk more about it later, but before I sign-off for bed, let me point you to the sidebar for a link to Logos and their blog. You might also want to check out Bob Pritchett's professional and personal blogs.

Good night!

What's in a Name?

So... for those who might stumble across this blog who don't know me, my wife and I are expecting our third child next month - a baby girl. Unfortunately, we don't have a name yet.

Possible contenders are Emily Claire and Ella Claire, although a friend pointed out that he would be able to call her E. Claire. Hmmm... there is just something strange about having a little girl named after a pastry.

Another contender is Abby, which I like. My wife would want the actual birth name to be Abby, whereas I would prefer the name to be Abigail, but we would just call her Abby. But I don't think either one of us are crazy enough about the name to go to the trouble to argue about it.

And THAT is the primary problem. Neither one of us have any names that we really like. With our first son we both had names that we liked, but couldn't agree. It took us forever to decide on a name. With our second son, we had a name almost immediately. This time around will be the toughest, though, I think. I'll keep you posted.

I'm Alive! ALIVE!

I am going to keep this one short, but I am still alive. I will be blogging more going forward. Lots of news to report and get everyone up-to-speed on, but not now. It's time to go to sleep, but I didn't want to put posting something another day.