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- Time to examine your priorities.

Written by Matt Wegner Founder and Lead Counselor, Matt Wegner Financial Coaching, www.mattwegnercoaching.com

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  (Matthew 6:21)   It’s been said that you can learn a lot about someone by looking through their trash.  I don’t think you have to go to such extent. It’s pretty easy to see where someone’s heart is by simply looking at their belongings.  Do you have that neighbor that spends all his time waxing his three sports cars every weekend?  Do you know someone that’s spent more on his bass boat than his retirement plan?  How about the hunting enthusiast who has every weapon, tool or gadget known to man but can’t keep his lights on because he is late on his payments?  Or the sister-in-law who has enough shoes and clothes to outfit a small army but doesn’t have enough spare change to drop a few coins in the red kettle at Christmas time?  Where do you think their heart is?  It’s pretty obvious their heart is in their earthly treasures.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with following your passions and dreams to have a good balance in life.  I want you to have the things that make you happy.  But the keys here are balance and defining happiness.    Let’s define happiness for a moment.  You can’t buy happiness.  You can buy a lot of fun, but there’s always that burning desire for more, for something bigger and better.  More money or more “stuff” won’t get you the long-lasting happiness that everyone seeks. The happiest people don’t have everything they want.  They want everything they have.
Now bring in the balance.  We are constantly making excuses for lack of action in different areas of our lives.  I often hear that we just don’t have time to sit down and do a budget together, or to track our spending, or to work out, or, or, or.  But more often than not the truth is that we have plenty of time.  We just don’t use that time wisely.  Think about how much time you spend watching television or talking on the phone?  What if you spent that much time and energy on your finances or your family?  Now there’s an idea.  Think of all the things you could accomplish if you turn off the t.v. one or two hours a week.  Finding a good balance in your life comes from examining your priorities and deciding what is truly important, then living according to those priorities.

If you’re not sure where your priorities are, look at your check register and see where your money is going.  Your treasures will be stick out like a sore thumb if you take a step back and look at it objectively. This Christmas, take some time to examine where your treasures are and ask yourself if your heart is in the right place. When your heart changes to the right place, the right treasures are not far behind.

- Matt Wegner

Matt Wegner is a personal finance, career, small business and leadership coach focused on teaching his clients the tools for L.I.F.E. (Living In Financial Excellence).  Learn more about Matt at www.mattwegnercoaching.com

Another day, another dollar.

One of these days, the boss is going to notice I have been the one unlocking the doors, turning on the lights, brewing the first pot of coffee, and checking the answering machine for missed calls.

By the time management gets here, the paper in the copy machine has been filled, the meetings for the day have been confirmed, and I am ready to offer solutions for any obstacles that stand between the company and its success.

And this is what I do every day before it’s time to flip the sign that reads, “Open, please come in.”

I sure hope “one day” is coming soon.  I have been waiting for this moment for a long, long time.  Every time the boss schedules a time to meet with me, I get excited to think today is that day. 

Unfortunately, today looks a lot like yesterday.  And yesterday looks a lot like the last few years.   And every meeting looks the same too.  He always asks for just a little bit more.  The request is always predictable.

“Ya think you could do just one more thing for me?”

Of course I can.  As if there is another acceptable answer to that question.

I am loyal, hardworking, trustworthy, and determined.  What must I do to move forward?  What will take me higher?  Lord, how do I become more?

King David sang the following prayer as recorded in Psalm 61–

“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.  From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.  I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings.  Selah.

For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.  Thou wilt prolong the king’s life: and his years as many generations.  He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.  So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.”

This month I have just completed and published an ebook:  Free and Clear: Break the Debt Habit and Gain Financial Liberation, an inspirational, motivational personal finance how to book.

Topics include evaluating your finances, organizing, recording and tracking expenses and income, creating a personalized financial plan, how to save, dealing with creditors, repayment of debt.

You can download a free sample at Smashwords.com

It’s hot.  The summer heat is bearing down on you as if you are on a beach in Mexico.  Except there is only one problem—this is no vacation.

You are wearing your best clothes and the closest gas station is about a mile away—at least that is what you hope.  You take one glance back to make sure that your car is still there.  It is.  It’s bright orange hazard lights flash loudly to let every passerby know that you are the owner of that car.

How could you be so wrong?  You noticed the light come on.  You even set the tripometer the last time you filled up.  According to your calculations, you should still have exactly twenty-two miles until you were completely out of gas.

Obviously, your math is wrong and with every step, your sweat reminds you of all the gas stations that competed for your patronage along the way.  A few cents difference in price, the brand of gasoline, the grade—none of these things matter anymore.

And as you repent and promise to God you will never ignore that flickering gas light again, a car pulls up on the shoulder in front of you and puts on its flashers.  Could it be that misery has found company?  Could they have been just as foolish?

As you approach the vehicle, you realize they have stopped for you.  With your heart pounding with excitement, relief, and disbelief, you thank God for His perfect timing.  After a few deep breaths, you gather your composure, dry your brow, and meet your new friends.

At the end of the next thirty minutes, you find yourself reviving your car’s ability to move with the precious contents of the infamous plastic red gas can.  And while you pour, you realize your promise to God is more than just a future discipline to “fill ‘er up”.

Psalms 116 and King David share your testimony, prayer and promises best—

“I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.  Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.  The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.

Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.

Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.  The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.  Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.  For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.

I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.  I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:  I said in my haste, All men are liars.

What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?  I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.  I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.  Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.  O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.  I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.  I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.  In the courts of the LORD’s house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.”

I recently met Jason Price, a Crown money map coach and Christian money blogger who lives right here in Frisco, Texas.

If you are a Christian who wants to apply biblical principles to your finances, and you are struggling with debt or budgeting issues, Jason (and other money map coaches like him) are available for one-on-one coaching sessions at no charge.

Also, make sure you check out his blog, One Money Design.

I AM A CHILD OF THE KING. 

The King is my Father and I am His son.  His kingdom is my home.  Each day I feast with the Lord and He feasts with me.  I honor my Father with thanksgiving and praise for He is the King.  I will not forget my Father, the Lord my God, for He has given me the abilities and talents which cause me to create wealth. 

My Father is training me to one day become king.  I am learning what it means to be a great King like my Father.  The kingdom is mine to inherit.  I am His heir.  His blood runs through me.  My Father has given me one assignment:  To go outside of the kingdom and deliver a message in the name of the Most High. 

When the people see me, they notice me wearing the King’s royal robe and ring.  The people respect me and give me praise for they respect and praise my Father.  The people hear my voice and obey me for I am an extension of the voice of my Father.  I speak with the authority of the King and I write using the King’s seal.  There is no reason the people will not receive His message.  The King’s word will not return to His kingdom void or unfulfilled. 

I am not afraid as I leave my Father’s Kingdom for the Lord, my God, is with me.  He has fitted me with the finest armor, given me the sharpest sword, and equipped me with the strongest army.  He has prepared a way for me and has commanded provision for my entire journey. 

I will plant seeds and harvest fields in His name.  I will bring the first fruits to His banqueting table and fill His storehouse with meat. And because I will fulfill His will, my Father will give me His blessing and I will prosper. 

A celebration in my honor awaits me.  On that day, my Father will run to me and say, “Well done, my good and faithful son.” 

THE KING IS MY FATHER AND I AM HIS SON, FOREVERMORE.  AMEN.

Dealing with transition can be difficult.  It can be down-right painful.  Whether you are being asked to resign from the CEO position of a Fortune 500™ company or being told your hours are being cut, the life of comfort and familiarity you have grown to know and love is now gone.

You have decisions to make.  And you have to make them fast.  Should you move out of your house?  Will you find a new job before you run out of savings?  How are you going to explain this to the kids?  What will your friends think?  Should you cancel the family vacation?  Oh, and then there’s Christmas!

And as your mind begins to fill with doubt and uncertainty, you turn to God and ask, “Why Lord, why me?”

Job knew this question well.  Job speaks of life’s woes in Job 14:1-6—

“Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.  And doth thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?  Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.  Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.”

You have had your day in the sun.  And just like Job, you have blossomed like flower just to be cut down by the heartache of an unforgiving world.  And now, for this moment, you feel it is better to have been without than to have had and have taken away.

Job goes on to reason with God by comparing man’s frailty to the resilience of a tree.  Job 14:7-9 says—

“For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.  Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.”

Perhaps, it’s time to you become like the tree.  No matter how many times it get mowed down, a little bit of water causes it to spring forth a new shoot.

Now more than ever, it is time to sharpen your saw.  It’s time to know who you are in Christ.  It is time to plant for a future harvest.  Align yourself with people who are going to encourage and lift you up.  Be a blessing to others.  Be obedient to God’s word.

Psalm 1:1-3 says—

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

Let your roots find the river of water you once knew.  In God’s time, your season will be upon you.

www.marcusjasso.wordpress.com