Words to Think About

“If any of you lacks wisdom, heshould ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault,and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

I originally posted this on my Longboard blog, but I figured I would re-post it here to start a five post series on financial management using biblical principles....

So there are a lot of businesses outthere...so what makes mine different? Well for one thing, instead ofusing a conventional business model...where one makes a businessesplan and presents it to the bank and gets a start-up loan, I startedTipsi D longboards using a biblical model of finance.



But I guess that I should probably putthings in to context. Just over seven years ago, like many otherNorth Americans out there, we were swimming in debt.....with acapital D. One time I actually sat down and figured out that if Ionly worked to pay the principal...never mind the interest on ourcredit cards, it would take 15 years to pay off what we owed oncredit cards!!! There comes a time when a man is faced with the starkreality that he can not do things alone. When that time comes...itcan cause a man to fall. Which is exactly what I did....to my knees.



I realized that if I was to ever getout of this mess, I would need to turn to God for help. Around thistime several things happened within months of each other...in a waythat can only be described a providential. First, we went on a familyretreat that totally blew us away! We were pretty devout already, butthis retreat brought our faith to a whole new dimension! It was thereI pleaded with God to help us out of our Debt Crisis.



Next we heard about this family calledthe Duggars who at the time had 17 kids and started to watch theirreality show....which I where I first learned about the Scripturalprinciples for financial management.



To make a long story short, after about4 years of following the financial principles laid out in Scripture,we are credit card free. Line of credit free. Car payment free. Checkout this site for some ofthese principles I mentioned.



Anywayhere are some pics of a board that I am working on:

Gavinis also working on a board of his own:

See you next post:



TiPSI Dad

Esto Dignus

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the annual provincial convention of the Columbian Squires.

You know, with all of the false images of manhood there are out there in the world today, it was really refreshing to see a convention hall filled with 150 boys aged 13 to 19 behaving with dignity and respect. It was amazing! I know a ton of youth ministers who would say that to conclave 150 boys in a stuffy convention hall to listen to hours and hours of speeches would result in an all out riot. I will fully admit that before this weekend I would have agreed, but after what I saw at the convention, I have completely had a change of heart. Sure we weren't playing “get to know you” games or icebreakers or Knights, Horses and Cavaliers, but what we did do was conduct business meetings, develop long term visions, and hold elections that would rival the conduct of any corporate entity.

I have always held the not so popular view that you do not necessarily have to be entertaining to be engaging. I think that there is a growing trend towards “edu-tainment” as opposed to real academic growth and intellectual stimulation. Case in point, there are a bunch of experts and studies that would say that attention span of the average teenager is about 14 1/2 minutes...heck I have quoted the same studies myself! However I had a revelation a long time ago that these same teenagers will spend hours and hours on end playing video games while sitting stationary in front of the game console.

There is a difference between being engaged and being entertained....

Never was that more clear than at the Squires convention. Here was a bunch of boys who you would have normally expected to be sitting in front of the computer screen watching the latest uploads at failblog.org. Instead, these boys behaved in a manner fitting of their motto “Esto Dignus” (Be Worthy)

I know that there has been some confusion about the role of the Squires and how they fit in the world of Youth Ministry....and it would be understandable if someone were to think that Squires is the "youth ministry wing" of the Knights of Columbus.

But Youth Ministry is about Catechesis, spiritual formation, and the development of the individual. Squires is about developing the discipline, drive and leadership skills needed to succeed in any worthy endeavor. It is about learning how to put their formation into practice as Catholic gentlemen.

Now some would say that I am an idealist always looking at the bright side of things. And I will not deny that in any human organization there is always room for improvement.....but at the end of the day, this room full of boys, these Squires, whose friends were all probably sitting on a couch and playing Call of Duty, managed to raise, in one hour, $1200 for a boy with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma who was one of their own.Now that's Worthy.

 

 

Esto Dignus

TiPSI Dad

 

So Much to Say.....

So if you have been following along, you will know that it has been a bit crazy for us as of late...which is why my posts have been pretty irregular lately. But that is not to say that I have not being doing any thing...nor does it mean that I haven't had anything to write about lately....

The truth is, I think of about 100 different topics I want to write about every day!!! The problem is I have so much I want to say that I don't know where to begin. From little things that tick me off (like drivers who don't signal), deep profound thoughts (like how all beauty is a reflection of the Maker of beauty, who IS beauty itself...and how wonderful it would be if we all looked at each other as a reflection of God's beauty, instead of being just simply attractive), and everything else in between.....like how I haven't been posting as much as I have been wanting to lately.

There is also the balance between letting things unfold and reporting them as it happens. Allow me to explain. I have this thing where I don't talk about things that are not set in stone. So when we were negotiating the deal to the house we just sold I just stopped blogging for a little bit not because I did not have time....but because I am a firm believer that negotiations happen behind closed doors...and should stay there. In other words, don't talk about it 'till it's signed.

But at the same time, it is amazing to see how God's providence has been so active in our lives lately. And it is hard to keep all the many great things that have been happening due to God's providence!

Anyway I have a feeling that the next few days are going to see some rapid postings about our latest adventures.....

see you soon!

TiPSI Dad