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20 Aug, 2011

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Let Me Upgrade Ya

From time to time I see articles about celebrities who’ve “gone broke”. But I’ve never seen one that broke down professional sports leagues as a whole.  By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce. Within five years of retirement, an estimated 60% of former NBA players are broke. Here’s the full article from Sports Illustrated on this.

I could have easily entitled this blog, “Mo Money, Mo Problems.” But I’m not the guy to go there. I could go the route of talking about how I govern my own finances. (I use Mint.com and I could write a book on how it’s helped me save a couple thousand bucks this past year. No joke.) The elephant in this blog is that more money won’t solve your money problems. We could go on with “Don’t spend more than you make.” “Build margin.” Duly noted. Really. But I think there’s a simple verse that speaks to the heart of the issue, “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” -1 Timothy 6:10.

The rubber meets the road for me with this verse when I’m constantly trying to improve my way of life. It’s like I’m addicted to upgrades of all kinds. 2 years after getting a Mac Book Pro, I’m thinking of ways to get a new one that Apple has upgraded. I’ve already made plans to sell my iPad 2 to get the 3. Once a week I look into what I could trade my car in for. My TV… is huge. But every single time I’m in Target or Best Buy or Wal-Mart, I look at a bigger LED one. Mine’s LCD. So why not upgrade, right? Maybe it’s going from an apartment to a condo. Condo to a house. House to a bigger house.

A descent portion of Christians give 10% of their income to the church, and the rest is fair game for whatever they want. And we also live with the notion that if we were to make more money, we’ll spend that on upgrades. It’s like we keep a wish list of stuff we’ll get “when.” By no means do I think upgrades or the constant retrieval of them is wrong. For me, the love… and the relationship my heart has with them when examined at the core, is not what I find wrong… It’s what I find similar to the people who don’t have Jesus. When a homeless guy ask me for money, I “don’t have cash”, but if Jesus Christ, Andy Stanley, or Kobe Bryant was on the same street, and they needed $200… I’d find a way. I can say all the right things about what I should do with my money, but the evidence thereof will always reveal what I really value.

The next opportunity you have to give to missions, or just a friend in need, watch how your heart responds. Giving generously but grudgingly won’t cut it.

16 Aug, 2011

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Burgers for Lunch. Burgers for Dinner.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/27783233 h=288&w=500]

Justin Vagle, Ryan Skoog, Ryan Fox and I are crossing Death Valley in the Summer to raise $20,000 to get 250,000 meals to Burmese Refugees. We appreciate whatever you can give!

Donate Here.

22 Jun, 2011

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20 is the new 30

20 is the new 30. 25 is the new 35. 35 is the new 45. And ironically, 45 is the new 35. And 35 is the new 25. And 30 is the new 20. A common trend and trap we find ourselves in is comparing our current version of us to someone who is 10 years down the road from where we are. Or perhaps, it’s the other way around. You’re 35, and look at someone who is 25 and think they are just as successful, if not more successful, as you are.

Zuckerberg, arguably the founder of Facebook =),  jacked it up for all of us. He made people like me feel like I’ve got just a few years left before I have to come up with the next big idea or simply doing anything where you could describe me as “doing it big.” He made people 10 years older than me feel like what they’ve been doing for the last 5 years is insignificant in comparison to a guy who literally changed the world, drunk, from his dorm room.

I could name other revolutionary entrepreneurs like Sarah Prevette, who is a 28-year-old Toronto entrepreneur created Sprouter to combat her own feelings of isolation. The Twitter-like social network lets small business owners connect, network, and advise one another. At last count, the site had 15,000 users. Then there’s  Jennifer Hyman and Jenny Fleiss, who in an effort to solve the “I have nothing to wear” problem, Hyman, 29, and Fleiss, 26, launched Rent the Runway, a website that helps fashionistas get their hands on designer clothing from the likes of Catherine Malandrino and Herve Leger, at a fraction of the retail price. Since launching last fall, the New York City company has registered more than 450,000 members, and is on pace to add 20,000 new members each week. Or Aaron Patzer, who started Mint.com after becoming frustrated by the amount of time it took him to organize his personal finances using traditional computer-based programs such asQuicken and Microsoft Money. Launched to the public in September 2007, Mint.com is a free, Web-based money-management tool that automatically culls personal financial data and provides users with an easy-to-digest analysis of their spending habits. Patzer sold Mint for $170 million a year ago and just celebrated his 30th birthday in February. The list of innovative thinkers, entrepreneurs, and creatives who are killin’ it right now is endless.

Reading the above can either discourage you… or inspire you. But making a comparison to anybody but Jesus Christ is simply silly. Even comparing yourself to a better version you’ve conjured up of yourself… is silly. Jesus Christ carried a cross that he was nailed to in an effort to express his love for the current version of you. Sure, hold on to this idea that the best is yet to come. But I say the best you is here right now! You’ve been given today!

Jesus is not my hope for tomorrow or next week. He’s my hope for today! I’m not hoping that “things will get better.” Things are already better because My God is an ever-present help who refers to himself as “I AM”, which means He’s a God who’s constantly in the moment who’s still able to see everything in every direction from every angle. But he’s not a God who’s looking to rewind or fast forward your life. You’re 24, 21, 26, 32, 40, or whatever age God meant for you to be. If the best is yet to come, it’s coming later on today.

26 Apr, 2011

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Go Figure

Should I get a new car with better gas mileage? Should I be in this relationship? Should I continue going to this church? Should I finish school here? What about working on my masters? What about paying for it? Should I be investing or saving? Should I get a new job? Should we have a kid? Should we move? Decisions. Decisions.

It’s extremely rare that I sit across the table from a young adult and one of the above questions not come up. It’s rare that I look in the mirror and one of the above questions not come up. And here’s the usual conclusion from the conversations generated from the above questions: “I just gotta FIGURE it out.” It’s like we’re all trying to figure out the next scene in our movie called Life.

I’ve noticed, talking to people in their 40′s and 50′s, that the questions never cease. This quest to figure out everything will never stop. I’ve not found the cure for the questions that plague our hearts and minds, but I have a paradigm shift that will allow us to filter the countless thoughts.

SET GOALS. Take out a piece of paper or a journal and create 4 boxes and answer the important questions.

Box #1.] Spiritual Goals – Who does God want me to be over the next two years? What’s my point A and my point B? What’s the secret sin I’ve been dealing with for years that I could address over the next two years?

Box #2.] Relationship Goals – When I take inventory of the things my friends struggle with, what can I do to help them? What habit can I create over the next 2 years to be more intnetional about my relationships with my family, and with my friends?

Box #3.] Physical – Regardless of my weight, EVERYBODY should work out, so what’s my plan over the next two years to be in the best possible shape conducive for my lifestyle? How healthy am I eating? How can I slowly change my diet over the next two years to create balance in my health?

Box #4.] Financial – What kind of financial position do I want to be in two years from now? How much do we want to say we gave away two years from now? If I eat out one less time a week from the norm for a year and transferred that money to a savings account, who could I bless with that $500 or more? What can I do to discipline myself in the area of how I spend my money beyond the basic budget?

Use these as your filter. So if you’re making a relationship or career decision, ask yourself, does this person or job help me get closer to who God wants me to be over the next two years? Once you think you’ve figured something out, the game changes anyway. But don’t ever lose track of who God wants you to be. That’s something transcends seasonal wishes and desires for your own life.

What are some of the goals you’re setting for yourself? Is there another box you’d add?