In terms of financial health, the equation is fairly simple: don't take out more than you put in. Unless you're the federal government, most banks require you to have the money in your account before you can spend it. That's one reason why credit card debt is so high - it's easier to charge it now and pay later than to pay for it now. Unfortunately, what we end paying later is much greater than the original cost. When our girls entered high school, we created checking accounts for them. The bank representative strongly encouraged "overdraft" protection. Why? Because teenagers are likely to spend more than they have in their account. The maturing process involves learning to make responsible decisions. To put it another way, immature people continue to make irresponsible decisions. While this basic math makes sense financially, it also translates to other areas of our lives. Learning to…
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If the last 14 months have taught us anything, it’s this: Anything in our physical world can be shaken. Our health can decline – with or without the coronavirus. Our savings and investments can go up or down. When people ask me, “Ken, what have you learned from the last 14 months?” here’s what I tell them: Your sense of security will only be as secure as what you worship. To be fair, you might be thinking “I don’t worship anything.” I'm not suggesting God is the only thing that can be worshiped. Worship is anything you declare worthy of your time and devotion. We all know someone who worships being physically fit. If you don’t know someone, here’s hint: they usually don’t look like me! What’s the problem with worshiping your physical body? Your body changes! It begins to wrinkle as you get older … and it makes strange…
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I’m not the same person I was a few years ago … or even a few days ago … and neither are you. Science teaches us that … The cells that line your stomach can renew every 2 days. Your skin cells regenerate every 2-3 weeks. Bones regenerate every 10 years. Unfortunately, that donut from 10 years ago might still be in a fat cell. With the exception of the donut, all this renewal and regeneration goes on without much effort on our part. Now, you might be thinking, "Ken, that’s fascinating information. But how does that help me follow Jesus?” Here’s the thing: I’m not same person I was a few years ago … or even a few days ago. Not just biologically, but – more importantly – spiritually. Which brings me to why Christians gather to worship. It’s not to swap ideas on being better parents or grandparents.…
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If we've learned anything over the last fourteen months, it’s this: Not much is really stable in our world. Our health can improve or decline, with or without the coronavirus. Our savings and investments can go up or down, or go away. Even the most secure, bolted-down belief will feel a tremor every now and then. I'm often asked, “Ken, what has been your biggest test throughout these fourteen months?" It's hard to single out a specific, unique event or moment. What often appears to be a single, solitary moment rarely happens in isolation. Even in those cases that appear to be standalone events, you will often find there are things building up to it and the aftermath that follows. So, I believe the biggest test I've faced -- and I'm not alone -- is not one single test but the stacking of multiple tests over a compressed period of…
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It happened to me. From the moment I came home from the hospital as a newborn baby until I left for college, I slept in the same bedroom. It was my room. Baseball cards, a few books, and other "valuables" were spread across my dresser. A Nerf hoop was clipped to the back of my door. The same two posters hung on my closet all throughout high school - John McEnroe and Peter Frampton. Then I left for college in the fall of 1987, and when I returned for Christmas break, it was different. Technically, it was still my bedroom because dad had left my bed in there. The posters were still there. But he had moved in a desk with an office chair, a filing cabinet and a phone, and a television. He had converted my bedroom into a home office. I had mixed feelings about it. While I…
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