Comfort is Relative

It is amazing what you can learn when you just listen.  I have been on this Dave Ramsey kick lately.  I take that back, I have been on a getting things right in my bank account kick.  It just so happens that I agree with Dave Ramsey on how to do it.  I just got sick and tired of always being broke.  It had become a regular part of my life that I would end the month in the negative.  I was in the negative in my bank account and in many other parts of my life.  Is it just me or does money effect your mood, your relationships and your ability to be comfortable.  I decided a couple months ago that making cuts in our budget was the way to go.  Smartphone?  I don't need you!  Flip phones work just as well.  Home security system?  I just need to spend more time at the shooting range!  Satellite TV?  You must be kidding!  But wait!  Even with all the cuts, I still had no money left.  Then, at the suggestion of my new friend Dave Ramsey, and some prodding from my wife, I decided to make a monthly budget.  I started reading books from Christian authors that discussed the Biblical principals of handling money.  Well, November was the first time in a long time that I had money left at the end of the month.  $3.80 to be exact.  I was so excited!!! 
You know what though, this morning I was praying and thanking God for what He had done for me and BOOM!  Something came to me.  Everything seems to have been better this month.  My relationships, my attitude.  I have even been sleeping better (I am usually and insomniac.)  Is this all because of money?  Could it be that I have found the secret to happiness is money, after all?  Don't be an idiot!  Money has nothing to do with it.  Dave Ramsey says "God's way works 100% of the time."  God says "Commit to the Lord, whatever you do and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3.
I started handling money God's way and other things worked out.  Awesome!  My motivation could not be greater.  My new budget has allowed me to increase my contribution at church.  Come on God, let's see what  you got!

Thanksgiving for just one day?

I couldn't let a holiday titled Thanksgiving go by without voicing my completely unsolicited opinion!  This particular blog is dedicated to all my brothers and sisters of the "Occupy" movement.  I am thankful for you.  I am thankful that you remind me that working hard is rewarded.  I may not make as much as I think I should but on the last business day of every month, my employer thanks me for my hard work and dedication with a paycheck.  Every morning, I try to take just a few minutes and thank God for my ability to work my job and support my family.  When I get the opportunity, I thank veterans for the fact that I live in a country where through my hard work and their dedication, I can work in any industry I desire and worship God.
You, my friends of this "revolution" as I have heard some of you call it; are motivating me more than ever to pray even harder than ever.  I pray for you.  I pray for those people that are not as fortunate as you and I.  I pray for those people that make the decisions in our government.  I may not agree with them very often, but if you would read your Bible, you would understand that they are put in place by the will of God.  They are there to fulfill His will, even though many of us may not understand what that is.  He calls that faith. 
God tells me, "Kevin, you don't have to understand why I do what I do.  You just have to have faith that I want what is best for you."  My only real "job" on this earth is to trust Him and know that, in the end, God has a plan and when I follow His plan, it will work every time.  If I come up with a plan of my own, as long as it is in line with His will, it will work every time.  If you don't believe me, look up Proverbs 16:3.  If you don't have a Bible handy, look it up on biblegateway.com.
To my family and friends out there - I am thankful for every one of you.  God has brought everyone of you into my life for a purpose.  I pray that God blesses you beyond your expectations today and everyday.  Don't try to understand His plan, just have the faith to follow it.  I love you all.

Life is good!

Those that know me may be surprised to know that I have struggled with pessimism.  I seem to have always had a knack for finding the negative in most people and things.  My wife Karen has been instrumental (and patient) in working on this with me.  I really don't know when or where this all started but I have found that negative thinking is downright exhausting!  It is also a choice.  I have determined that I am going to make that choice every day from here on out.
We all have a choice, right?  I can decide to just sit back and wait for life to happen or.......I can go out and make it happen.  I am sick to death of sitting back,  doing nothing and then wondering why bad things are happening.  I don't keep track of my money and then I wonder why I have none.  I avoid maintaining my vehicles and then wonder why they break down.  I don't keep in contact with people and then I wonder why our relationship fades.  I don't study my Bible as often as I should and I wonder why my attitude becomes bad.  Why are humans (mainly me) like that?  I guess that is one more question I can put down to ask God when I meet him.
In the past few weeks I have decided that instead of trying to control everything (which has proven to be a waste of everybody's time) it is time for me to give up that control and let God run things.  After all, he has a couple thousand more years of experience at all of this.  I am involved with a Dave Ramsey "Great Recovery" class at church.  Dave has a saying that "doing it God's way works 100% of the time."  Now, you can call me stupid but those are some pretty good odds.
So, who's going to join me?  If you have a plan with better odds, please let me in on it.  I'd be happy to give it a whirl.  Also, if you are in or around Pueblo West on Tuesday nights, join some friends and me for the Great Recovery at the PW Church of Christ. (7 PM)