Freedom Through Restraint

At first glance the title from this entry seems almost contradictory. Freedom through restraint? Isn't that like "airline service" or "government efficiency"? I know it sounds like an oxymoron, but both my wife and I have found this to be true as we are working on fine-tuning our household budget. We have found that as we live on an agreed-upon plan, that is in writing, we have found so much more freedom to save and give.
Several weeks ago, Stacy and I started attending Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class. During the third session, we learned that in order to achive the financial goals we have set, such as saving for a down payment for a house, and getting debt-free, we need to have a plan. We need a roadmap. We need a blueprint. A written budget/spending plan/cash flow plan is that blueprint.
Our budget is allowing us the not feel guilty about spending money, and also reduces the panic when it comes to paying bills. Each dollar has a predetermined destination. Instead of wondering where all the money went, we are leading it to its destination. We are, as John Maxwell says, "telling our money where to go instead of wondering where it went."
I'm not going to spend a lot of time here explaining all of the nuts and bolts of budgeting, mainly beacause I am still learning myself. But I can say that if you are wanting to have some real peace in your finances, I highly reccomend finding somewhere where Dave Ramsey's class is being held in your area. If not this class, then find a method where you can budget, and start directing the destination of your money, and stop wondering where all you money is going.

Wisdom of a Wizard

One of my favorite film franchises is Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy. One scene that makes me think is the scene when Gandalf and Frodo are sitting together in Moria. Frodo confesses his doubts to carry out his quest to Gandalf. Gandalf responds by saying that "all we have to decide is what to do with the times that is given to us." This is not just a line from a movie or a book. This is about priorities. It could be posed as the question, "what are you going to do while you breathe?" We need to establish priorities. Lately I have been kind of getting away from the topic of passions. But priorities flow from your passions. If you are passionate about maintaining integrity in your marriage, then you will prioritize what websites you visit accordingly. If you are passionate about Jesus and his people, then church and being a part of a small group will be a priority. If you are passionate about getting and staying debt-free, you will prioritze how you spend and save money. Our priorities will flow from our passions. If you ever wonder what you are truly passionate about, look at your priorities. If you want to know how to prioritize your life, then look to your passions.

Mindless mob?

Well, as many of you know, the Democrats have been saying that anyone who disagrees with Pres. Obama and his vision of universal healthcare have been tagged as un-American and a bunch of Nazis. Wow! Isn't this the same group who believed dissenting against the policies of George W. Bush wasn't only a right, but an obligation? Isn't it interesting how you don't see the likes of Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon fighting for freedom of speech of those showing up at town meetings, and attending Tea Parties?
I guess free speech only is a right afforded to those who make a habit of bashing what makes America great. If you protest a crucifix submerged in urine, you are accused of censorship, and noarrow-minded bigotry. If you protest for the saving of innocent human life at an abortion clinic, you are villified as being uncompassionate towards women. However, if you protest the passage of a constitutional amendment banning homosexual marriage, like Prop 8 in California, then you are be socially minded. If you picket for the founder of a deadly gang who was sentenced to death, like Tookie Williams, then you are showing compassion to the underprivileged.
Something is very wrong. To paraphrase Daniel Patrick Moynihan, we have made good evil. and evil good. We see abnormal behavior as exemplary, and traditional, biblical values as oppressive. It's time, folks. It's time to stand up up and proclaim truth as unchanging, not fluid. It's time to promote biblical standards for life, family, and government. It's time that we stop bowing to political parties, and proclaim that it is the governed, and not the government, who make this nation great.
A mindless mob? Sorry, but that is just not the case. We are not a mindless mob. We are a determined bloc of Americans, exercising our First Amendment Freedom of Speech.

Rescuing Beauty

OK, so I've mentioned adventure and battle. Am I really going to wade into the deep weeds of rescuing the women in our lives? Yep. So, fully protected by a kevlar vest to lessen the damage of any potshots, here we go.
Women, no matter how tough the exterior, still want to know that someone is willing to fight for them. They need to know the men in in their lives have the necessary strength to ward off various dangers. These may be physical, such as a mugger. They may be emotional, such as low self-esteem. Some may be psychological, such as previous abuse of any kind.
As men we need to have the strength to combat these dangers. Of the longings of the masculine heart, this is the most vital. Go back to the stories you love. How many involved a beauty needing rescued. Indiana Jones rescued Marion from the clutches of the Nazis and the Soviets. Jack rescued Rose from the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. Prince Phillip rescued Briar Rose from Maleficent's spell. Notice that the risk and adventure all had the focus of rescuing the beauty.
As men, we need to see our wives, not as enemy combatants, but rather as damsels in distress. Our wives have dangers they must face. Are we going to allow them to face them alone? What are we willing to risk to rescue our Beauty. What battles are we willing to wage to rescue Beauty? Whatever it takes to rescue, you definitely have what it takes.

"This Day We Fight!"

One of my favorite scenes from the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy comes near the end of The Reurn Of The King. A small contingent of soldiers from Rohan & Gondor are getting ready to face off against Sauron's army of orcs, uruk-hai, and other less than savory creatures. Aragorn, last of the bloodline of the kings of old, stands before the soldiers of men. He encourages the men that this is not a day to cut and run, or give up in their battle againt the forces of evil. He cries out, "This day, we fight!"
I think the reason this scene is one of my favorites, because it reminds me that there are still battles to fight. There are still times that standing firm is essential. There still times that backing down is not an option. There is still a need for soldiers to battle against evil.
Even though the battles of today do not involve orcs and horsemen, they are no less urgent. There are still strongholds to be overthrown, in the form of addictions, abuse, and ignorance. There are still victories to be won, like victories over temptation, despair, and apathy. In Ephesians 6:12, Paul reminds us that "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities. against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age" (NKJV). Notice that this is in the present tense. It not someting that was happiening, but is happening now. We need to be fighting against the forces of darkness, and stop letting the Enemy of our souls gain any more ground in our country, in our cities, and in our homes. Let this be the day we let the forces of Lucifer know that, to paraphrase Gandalf earlier in the film, "Remeber we are soldiers of Yahweh!"

A Life Of Adventure

As men, we were meant for adventure. Some of you may be wondering what I mean by adventure. Do I mean we need to strap on a bullwhip and risk life and limb in our hunt for ancient treasure, like Indiana Jones? Should we go out on a quest to do a seemingly impossible task with a few friends, like Frodo? Do we lead a ragtag group of rebels against a mighty army, like William Wallace?
The answer to all these questions is no, these are not necessary to have an adventure. An adventure is any task that causes you to step away from what you know and are comfortable with, and causes you to take a risk. This risk may be a physical one, such as learning rock climbing (on my Bucket List). It may be personal, such as starting a friendship with someone who is currently just an associate. It may be intellectual risk, such as finally finishing up the degree you started so many years before. It may be psychological risk, such as confronting a past abuser. It may be a spiritual risk, such as explaining to a friend their need for God's grace. No matter what the adventure, there is some level of risk involved.
Why is risk essential in an adventure? Without the risk, you will not be changed. When going through an adventure, it changes you. You come out the other end a different person. You overcome that nagging fear. You widen your horizons by finding a fellow traveller. You accomplish that goal that everyone said was just pointless. You are able to move beyond the past, and look to the future with a renewed sense of vision. Adventure is not a goal. Adventure is an important part of the journey to our destination of restoration.

What Is A Man?

What makes a great book? Not in the sense of it being remembered throught history, buit personally. I think it has more to do with how it impacts the way you think. One of my favorite books is Wild At Heart by John Eldredge. In it, he describes what truly makes us men. According to Eldredge, we men need "a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue." I first read this book in 2005. Since then, I have probably read it six or seven times. Over my next several posts, I will be going into greater detail about what makes up the heart of a man. Are therer any adventures left in this age of technology? Are there any great battles left to fight? In this post-modern age, do women really want to be rescued? I hope to convice my readers that the answer to all three is yes.

Freedom

Thank God we live in America. Thank God we live in a country where we don't have to fear being a dissenting voice. Thank God we have the freedom the call the President a bozo when is being one (which is 99.99% of the time!) Thank God we can gather together to voice our oppostion.

Tea Party

Yesterday I attended my first "tea party." No, I wasn't sipping Earl Grey with my pinky daintily raised. This tea party was a protest of what is happening in our country. It was a protest of how the federal government is taking over areas of our free market system. It was a protest of the outlandish spending the current administration seems to be addicted to. It was a protest of the undermining of our Constitution and Declaraction of Independence. It was a protest of the way Washington has given power to unelected, unconfonfirmed, unaccountable czars. As radio host Jim Quinn has stated, "we now have more czars than a Romanov wedding!" It was a protest of our path toward socialism.
This gathering was a statement. A statement of "no more!" No more unbridled spending. No more goverment takeovers of industry. No more trampling our founding principles. No more power to the unaccountable. No more socialism. It is time we remind those we send to Washington that they work for us. It is time to remind them that it is our money they are throwing around like confetti. It is time to remind those inside the Beltway that this is still a government of the PEOPLE, by the PEOPLE, and for the PEOPLE! It time time for WE THE PEOPLE stand up for America, and stop its slide into socialism.

YouTube video

Yesteday, I mentioned a song by Rich Mullins. As I was searching YouTube, I found this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaNwTYJrYtA

I hope it inspires you

The wonder of it all

This is such an amazing world we live in. Such an amazing array of plants and animals, mountains and valleys, oceans and deserts. I look at our world, and I wonder when it lost its amazement. When did we become so "scientific" in our appreciation of Creation? When did we cease being in awe of hawks in flights and bison thudering across the prairie? In his song "Calling Out Your Name," Rich Mullins described all these aspects of the wilderness, and he saw all of it as a declaration of worship towards our amazing God. The older I get, the more I have an appreciation for nature. No, I'm not going to become some tree-hugging environmentalist wacko, but whenever I see deer running through the fields, or horses running free, I can't help think how pleased God is in his creation as he designed it to be. Though this world is fallen, it is far from hideous. It is filled with beauty and adventure.

Throw a Log on the Fire!

Ever wonder how to keep your passions ablaze? At our home, we burn boxes, as well as fallen tree limbs. As I was burning some of both this morning, I realized something. Most of us agree that when we are passionate about something, we feel "on fire." The question is, how can we keep that passion burning? I got to thinking as I watched the boxes burned, and the tree limbs. I noticed the boxes would flare up quickly, but soon die down. As the tree limbs burned, I noticed how they may take a little longer to ignite, but they burned longer. That's when it hit me. In order to stay passionate about something, we need to feed that passion. And to keep it long-term, we need to feed it with some "logs." If you are passionate about becoming a leader, wouldn't it make sense to study the lives of great leaders, like Winston Churchill or Theodore Roosevelt? If you want to become a better manager of your money, wouldn't it be logical to attend a weekend Total Money Makeover seminar? If you want to have a great marriage, wouldn't it be wise to study a book on marriage with your spouse? If you want to improve your skills at work, why not study the intricacies of your profession? Many who know me know I am passionate about counseling, and working on my PhD in psychology. One thing I am already stoked about is the conferences I'll be attending to learn how to improve my skills. I don't want to be a flash in the pan as a psychologist. I want to have the same passion when I'm 84 as I do now when I'm 34.

He called him "Son"

One of my favorite parables Jesus tells is the Prodigal Son. The reason I love it so much is when the wayward son comes home, his father doesn't call him a servant, slave, hired hand, or even dude. He calls him "Son." It's like that when we come to our senses, and come back to our true Father. He doesn't call us sinner, disappointment, or failure. He says, "My child is alive." God loves us, and when we return to him, he doesn't stand there, with crossed arms and a furrowed brow, saying, "Yeah?" When he sees us coming to him, He sprints out to meet us, embraces us, and throws a party, with us as the guest of honor.

The Power of Story

I was driving home from my Sociology final (yay!) when "Africa" by Toto came on the radio. This is hands down one of my favorite songs. I love hearing about "Kilamanjaro rising above the Serengeti." As I listened, it made me think of how a story can put so much impact on our lives. In his book Epic, John Eldredge reminds us that "story is the very nature of reality." The reason we are enraptured by a great story like The Lord of the Rings or Pride and Prejudice is that we can easily relate to the characters. I'm not saying that all men are destined to be king as Aragorn, but we can relate to his struggle with overcoming what he sees as his shortcomings to embrace his destiny. Not all women are as stubborn as Elizabeth, but all women want to be swept away by true love. Another reason stories speak to us is stories have the ability to take the profound, and make it easy to understand. If anyone understood this, it was Jesus in his time on earth. the Jewish people of that time were wanting to see the Kingdom of God. But what does such a kingdom look like? How many times did Jesus say, "The Kingdom of God is like..." When addressing the Pharisees, he would use an analogy, ususally of vipers and tombs. When expressing how God reacts to a redeemed sinner, he tells one of the most famous of his parables, of a prodigal son, and a Father who sprints to embrace him. Stories are able to do that. They take head knowledge, and make it heart reality.

Funny how things change

Several years ago, I though God was calling me to minister to men to help them live from their hearts. I still am passionate about this, but I am seeing this in less of a "gung-ho" kind of way. I am seeing God leading me to talk to men about being the leaders God has called them to be. We men need to take a stand in our homes, and lead our families. Not in a "I'm the the man, you will oey" type of fashion, but in a way that brings honor to God. We men don't need to be pushy towards our families, but neither can we be pushovers. I have read Paul Coughlin's book No More Christian Nice Guy several times. Each time I read it, I am reminded that God made men to be assertive. I love a quote Dr. Steve Brown of Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando says often. He reminds us that Jesus didn't die to make us nice, but to make us his. I look back on the sniveling, whining pushover I used to be, and I honestly don't recognize him anymore. And I'm glad I don't, becuase I'd want to smack him upside the head and tell him it's time to man up!