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one day at a time

Thank God One Day at a Time

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I’m a little leery to share today’s springboard with you. To do so, I’ll be sharing some of my weaknesses and flaws. However, it is probably good to pass on that really I post these springboards for me; you just get to listen in for free. If you weren’t reading this, I would still post because I put these springboards out to remind me so I can overcome the weaknesses I’ve worked so hard to develop over the past 35 years.

In just the past two weeks, I’ve reached an understanding that has revolutionized my prayer life and deepened my relationship with God. 

The background is that for most of my life I’ve handled money abysmally. Even after learning better, old habits died hard. This has left me in the sad position that what others who have planned better might consider small emergencies are DEFCON level 5 crises for me. For instance, we recently had some work done on the Suburban and my friend who did the work basically said, “This might last two weeks, it might last two years, but its time to start looking for something new.” This poses a problem. We don’t have a car savings. Additionally, we are now working our way through the Dave Ramsey approach of getting out of debt. Therefore, we don’t want to borrow money to buy a vehicle. 

Add to that, my wife went to the dentist and we learned she has some work that is imminent and extremely costly. And I really do mean extremely. As long as a tooth doesn’t break, we can hold off. But once that happens, then it will be an emergency. Like the car, we don’t have a dental savings. We’re still doing that Dave Ramsey stuff, which means we don’t want to borrow money for this either.

Here’s a separate springboard for you…SAVE MONEY! As Dave Ramsey says, the rain is coming, you need a rainy day fund.

But back to my main thought. In my mind’s eye, because of my own financial folly, I have these two anvils hanging over my head held by fraying strings. At any moment, they’ll come crashing down. Every day, I beg God not to let it happen. However, I’ve been holding out on my thanksgiving. I’ve had the idea that when I have the money to get a new vehicle before the Suburban breaks down, then I’ll give thanks. Or when I have the money to pay for dental work before the emergency hits, then I’ll give thanks.

Here is the problem with that. Each day is spent in amazing fear that today might be the day. When that is my mindset, a wedge is being pushed between me and God. The relationship dwindles. However, just recently, I was thinking about living one day at a time as Matthew 6:34 teaches. It hit me. I haven’t been giving God His due thanksgiving.

Today, the Suburban is still running. Today, Marita’s teeth are still working. Who knows what might happen tomorrow, but today, God has delivered me from these crises. As Proverbs 3:5-6 says, I need to acknowledge Him. As I’ve learned to give God thanks for daily victories, I no longer see Him as the adversary. I realize He’s not obligated to stave off the crises coming because of my own folly. Yet, today, He has done so. Therefore, today, instead of being filled with fear about tomorrow, I’m filled with gratitude about today. 

The more I see God’s daily victories, the closer I draw to Him. As I offer this thanksgiving and think about the daily blessings God has given me, my faith in Him increases. Who knows, maybe tomorrow will be the day it all comes crashing down. However, I’m learning each day that God will see me through today. When that “today” gets here, He’ll see me through that day as well.

So, today I thank God. He is providing my victory today.

3 Keys for Facing Our Financial Future, Bailout or Not

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You can’t turn on the television or fire up an internet home page on Yahoo, Google or some other place without getting a face full of “Government Bail Out.” It’s almost more prevalent than Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Now, I’m not an economist, so I don’t fully understand what needs to be bailed out. And I’m not a politician, so I don’t fully understand what the government plans to do about it. But, I am a house owning, debt paying off, job working, family raising American who begins to get a little worried when I hear things like “Biggest crisis since the 1930’s” and “Reminiscent of the Great Depression.” 

At the same time, I’m a Christian. Should I face this financial fallout with a Chicken Little attitude? Or should I take another approach? I’d like to share three keys, I think we as Christians need to keep in mind as we hear all this news and begin to get our fears and worries up.

 

  1. Seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (cf. Matthew 6:33): Yes, that still applies during an economic recession. It still applies even in a depression. No, God didn’t promise we would live in a nice house, drive nice cars and wear nice clothes. But He did promise to take care of us if we sought His kingdom and righteousness first. We need to remember that stocks, bonds, insurance plans and savings accounts will not take care of us in the long run. God can and will if He is our priority. No, that doesn’t mean throw financial caution to the wind, running up debt, wasting money and then expecting God to bail us out (our government’s example notwithstanding). It simply means make serving God a priority, even if you think it will cost you money and God will take care of you.
     
  2. Take it one day at a time (cf. Matthew 5:34): Let tomorrow worry about itself, Jesus said. We need to simply face today. You know what, the economy may come crashing down next Monday. But it hasn’t crashed yet today. Next Monday may be really rotten. It may be the most horrible day of our lives. Who knows? But today is not so bad. We’ve eaten today. We’re still able to access our internet today. We are living in our home today. Let’s not make today rotten by focusing on how rotten it might be next week. No, as with our last point, this doesn’t mean throw caution to the wind and live recklessly today trying to capture fun in the sun while it lasts. That is just as much letting today be dominated by tomorrow as the fearmongering approach. Rather, live wisely today. Make wise choices with your money and material blessings today. Don’t do it out of a sense of control as if you can somehow make sure that next Monday is not rotten if the economy turns south and we run into a Great Depression and it becomes so bad we are like a third world country. But simply live wisely today and rejoice in today’s blessings. Don’t let today’s blessings turn sour in your mouth because you are worried about what might happen next week. Just take it one day at a time.
     
  3. Share (cf. II Corinthians 8-9; Hebrews 13:16): This is the hard one. Financial ruin looms around the corner. Our natural reaction is to hoard. If I don’t take care of me, who will? I need to look out for #1. We need to remember instead that sharing on an individual level is how God expects us to take care of each other, not government bailouts. When times are good, we need to share those blessings. When times are bad, we need to share what blessings we have. I think of the story that I’m sure I read in one of those “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books of “The Poor Family in our Church.” As the story is told in first person–
    The preacher had announced that he had learned about a poor family in the congregation and wanted the church to do something good for them. On the following Sunday, they would take a special collection for this poor family. Our family took it very seriously. We knew we didn’t have much, but we wanted to help out the poor family. So, we made some sacrifices. We cut and scraped. Mama bought cheaper meat for supper. Daddy put some of his overtime money in. The kids cut some neighbors’ yards. By Saturday, we had scraped together $20. (This obviously took place several years ago.) On Sunday, we were so proud we all sat up on the second pew. We were beaming as Daddy dropped in the $20 bill. We knew there were so many better off than we were and they would do so much more. But we had done what we could. That afternoon, the preacher knocked on our door and handed Daddy an envelope, saying he hoped we would accept this gift with the love he had intended it. The preacher was smiling as he left. Daddy slowly opened the envelope. $25 fell out.–
    The sad fact is, it is often those who have the least to share that are the most generous. We as Christians need to share. Whatever we face in the future, we need to remember that the blessings God has given us are meant to be spread around, not hoarded. 

 

Hey, I don’t know what’s going to happen in America’s financial future. Frankly, I have the feeling that sooner or later, we’re going to have to pay the piper. Band-aids like government bailouts won’t fix the problems. They will only postpone the inevitable. But God has shown how we should act no matter what comes our way financially. Let’s quit facing this like Republicans or Democrats and start facing it like Christians.

ELC

One Day at a Time

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One Day at a Time is a motto for many. And it’s a great motto.

But it finally occurred to me that I have been living “One Day at a Time” in all the wrong ways.

How many times have I visited the Canton Buffet or the Grand Buffet and said, “Tomorrow I’ll start eating right, therefore today, I’m going to have one last hurrah”?

How many times have I said, “Tomorrow, I’ll start getting up earlier. So, just for today, I’m going to sleep in and get one last lounge”?

How many times have I said, “Next Saturday I’ll clean out the garage, so just for today, I’m going to get some rest and relaxation”?

How many times have I said, “Tomorrow night I’m going to really get after working on my latest project, so just for today I’m going to play the Wii and watch my favorite movie”?

How many times have I said, “Tomorrow I’m going to get some real work done, so just for today I’m going to spend some time surfing the internet”

And sadly, how many times have I said, “Tomorrow I’ll spend some time talking with my wife and playing games with my kids, so just for today, I’m going to have personal time to do what I really want to do”?

It seems I have been living my life one day at a time, but going in the wrong direction. If I keep one-day-at-a-timing it this way, I’m going to be in real trouble.

You know, I don’t have to manage my time well tomorrow. I don’t have to make healthy decisions tomorrow. I don’t have spend time with my wife and kids tomorrow. I don’t have to get any work done tomorrow. I just need to do all that today. If I keep living like this every day, then all of my days will string together and I will have lived an excellent life. 

So how are you doing today?

 

ELC