We all exchange things in order to survive. It is how we get along together. When we communicate, we use a medium of exchange called language. Everyone uses language to communicate. Words stand alone and all must submit to them, and cooperate with them, and agree to them, in order to get along. The fixed rules that govern its structure and meaning must be upheld by all, and defended and protected. We use an alphabet, A through Z, and everyone learns them when they are young. We learn simple then complex words as we grow up. We all agree to use the form of the language we are raised with in order to co-exist and work together. With it, we communicate our thoughts, desires, requests, needs, hurts, hopes, feelings, etc. We instinctively correct our children when language is used improperly. We regard people highly who use it well and articulate clearly. Clear words and meanings ring like bells, and everyone enjoys receiving the words as the speaker intended. There is unity, pleasure, and harmony when people understand each other. There is no debate or discussion on what was meant. There is no need for interpretation, or clarification.
Unfortunately language as a medium of exchange can be altered, perverted, twisted, and deceptive. Slang creeps into the vocabulary. We use the words such as "cool" and "neat", "bad" and "rad", and "dis" and "bling". However, people slowly learn the latest slang, and if used enough it can even become a real word. A little slang, or a little change, can be digested and accepted by people without a revolt. Carried further, words can be used to deceive and hurt, and is a symptom of a corrupt heart and mind. Users of language may not want to be understood by other people at all, to keep information hidden. They may speak in codes, giving different meanings to common words. People may drift apart geographically, and may begin to uphold different standards, vocabularies, pronunciation. The effect is clear, people can not exchange information as effectively, as when a fixed standard is upheld.
Money is like language. We use it to exchange things and support a division of labor. Each item for sale has a separate value or number. When we go shopping, we communicate with sellers on products and services. The shopping cart has many differently priced items, made by people who value their product in dollars. We agree to the value expressed in dollars. Money is essential for us to cooperate with each other. It is a medium of exchange just like language. We rely upon that medium for the division of labor. Not everyone can make paper from trees, so we exchange our work and products with that of others via money. Money is how we communication economically, and the dollar is our specific language. It is so crucial to our way of life, that the United States historically used gold and silver as money, as required in the constitution. It was a fixed, secure medium of exchange - the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. When it was given in exchange for goods and services, no one had to wonder what they were getting, or whether it would hold its value. It was reliable, valuable in itself, reliable, identifiable, testable, and unchanging.
Money, like language, is morphing. The true value of paper money is hard to understand and trust. It's value in the future will be lower, but how much lower is hard to know. It is difficult to even know what money "is". Some have described it as an I.O.U., others as electronic digits, still others say it is only a concept. All agree it is intangible. Paper money is not solid, and it is only reliable in that it can be predicted to decay and is subject to politics, alliances, and supply and demand. Inflation, or decay, is like slang. Decay slowly creeps in to change the meaning, or value, of money. Slow decay appears to be acceptable to people, but fast decay or collapse would lead to social unrest.
Monetary decay leads to economic strife and separation of buyer and seller, just like language barriers cause separation and walls between people. Verbal sparring occurs between lawyers who war over the meaning of the words. People fight over why their money did not go as far as it did before. A very old man thinks a dollar ought to get his lawn mowed and he argues with the boy who says "$20." Husbands and wives argue over the monthly bills because they come up shorter each month. Few recognize that monetary decay is significantly to blame for their arguments. Money is a basic need for retirement, yet it is a frustrating unknown since its future value is uncertain.
When our money's (slow-motion) collapse is complete, as is the fate of all paper currency (e.g. Weimar Germany, Russia, Venezuela, Brazil etc), its destruction would be the equivalent of a monetary Tower of Babel. That tower may have collapsed all at once, or it may have decayed away slowly, but we do know that nothing survived. And we know the language of Babel was rotten and confounded so that people could not work together any longer and they were scattered. A new tower could be built, which would be the equivalent of moving the decimal places over 10 or 10000 places as the case may be. Monetary policy and management should be a fearful thing to oversee. The earnings, hopes and dreams, and lives, of hardworking people hang in the balance.
It is the arrogance of the people of Babylon that led to its confounded language and downfall, and this should be a warning to all that the monetary collapse currently in progress could accelerate. The God of the bible hates deception and trickery (Leviticus 19:35-36), and loves honesty. The bible says that those who sow trickery and deception will eventually reap a full harvest as payback. Stewardship of dollar has degraded into a form of trickery (Amos 8:4-8) as people lose their hard-earned purchasing power. Husbands and wives should consider that monetary decay may be a significant reason for their money woes, and this is not their fault. So do not fight, but work together and look respond appropriately to the changes upon us. We can stop placing our faith in money, pray for wisdom, and work to diversify (Ecclesiastes 11:2) and convert our dollars into something more tangible to invest in (Matthew 6:19-20).
Debt Free lifestyles help men to keep growing and learning, both of which contribute to mental and physical health. There is a deep satisfaction in debt free living, learning new skills, self-sufficiency, and gaining new abilities that can be shared with family, friends, and others.
Personal finances, properly managed by mencan bring physical and emotional blessings such as security and peace, and joy in giving. Poor personal finances can result in debt, insecurity and uncertainty, marital conflict, suffering, and a gloomy future for men and families.
New perspectives for men on financial, relational, and spiritual prosperity
Sometimes things in life get goofed up. But it's not the way things will always be. We can rise up and straighten things out, with a powerful Friend. We can think ahead, move in a new direction, work hard and handle money smartly, conquer debt, overcome stagnation and boredom, resist bad attitudes, reach our fullest potential in all ways, and find purpose and
"Dedicated to helping men achieve prosperity in all ways."
Cirrovista
Poor Eating Habits in College
The poor eating habits of this college student make a good lesson in cardiovascular stewardship. My roommates and I went to college with little experience in cooking. We did not have much money either, and had to live very cheaply. Being poor did not necessarily mean we had to eat unhealthy foods, but we did not know that. Life was simple, and simple and convenient were the two most important criteria for making dinner. We lacked any understanding of what constituted healthy food, and lacked the skills on how to make it. Though we had lots of mathematical knowledge, we engineers-in-training did not have a clue or care about a balanced diet. All we really cared about was how to make it through the end of the month on a tight budget. At that time most of us lived on $100/month rent and about $100/month for food and everything else, excluding tuition and books etc. There were 4 of us guys living in an apartment, and we were among the fortunate few to each have our own room.
One of my favorite poor eating habits in college was to heat up a very large can of chili and add sliced hot dog chunks and cubes of cheddar cheese to it. The cheese would melt in and it became a gourmet chili! Another favorite poor eating habit in college was a faux Asian dish consisting of 8 packages of top ramen noodles heated to boiling, to which was added a half dozen eggs and 3 cans of tuna fish. The boiling soup would poach the eggs and give a realistic-looking egg flower soup effect. The tuna was a fishy addition to the concoction. The memory of these gourmet salty creations causes my hands to feel like they are puffing up and my heart feel as though it is laboring with every beat. A little finger pointing is in order here concerning one of my roommates’ poor eating habits, a.k.a the melted cheese sandwich dinner. The toast was first heavily coated with margarine, then thick slabs of cheddar were put on and melted in the oven. Next it was topped with creamy white mayonnaise, evenly spread on top of the melted cheese, and finally it was all seasoned with salt to taste. That was one heck of a juicy cheese slab, the toast providing structural support for the molten orange mass smothered with a white frosting. On an aside, it was not my idea to put the little hot doggies into the chili, though I did not object because they added a burst of salty tastiness to the chili. Though we were young and strong, that chili still hit pretty hard, and gave steady reminders of its presence until late at night.
On the healthier side, a good eating habit was what we called steak rice. We would take a piece of steak or ham, chop it up into chunks and fry it up, and then spice things up with sugar and soy sauce. We would then add onions and spices, allow the water to boil off, add more butter or margarine if needed. With a liberal amount of butter used to fry the steak, or more accurately Golden Soft® margarine, it would be ready for a huge pile of white rice which was then piled high on top. The rice sizzled in the butter and meat and was mixed in, glistening with succulent oils and aromas. To be fair, also had some good eating habits consisting of spaghetti, Hamburger Helper ®, and tacos, sometimes substituting ketchup for either tomatoes or hot sauce depending on what we ran out of.
All of my roommates had the same poor eating habits. We were all from the same food culture. We all sought convenience in cooking. We all had the same lack of imagination. No one questioned these eating habits, nor did anyone seek to change them. When I was growing up, my mother said she regretted feeding us a lot of unhealthy fatty, fried foods, and I was never taught how to cook. More often I was encouraged to leave the kitchen and stay out of the way. I remember her deep frying some very fatty cuts of pork. I loved it, because you could fry rice in that oil bath after cooking and spicing the pork. I am so thankful for my wife and the healthy meals she makes, and confess that I still find myself hunting for fat. She could cut it all off the steak and chicken but I know she leaves a little on just for me.
There are probably some lessons on “good eating habits for boys” here somewhere. Perhaps it is to consider training our sons to cook well for themselves. With no cooking skills, these four young men made do with four basic food groups - fatty, salty, processed, and convenience foods. Young parents, what if we trained our sons when they are young to cook a variety of healthy meals? We could teach the boys not to be lazy but to shop for and prepare vegetables, lean cuts of meat, whole grains, and ease up on the salt and fat. Maybe this family culture of good eating habits can rub off and as they go away from home and they will be good stewards of their health. Let us send our boys off with their favorite copy of San Francisco A La Carte, or at least a Betty Crocker Cookbook!
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It's All Water Under the Bridge So Diversify!
As the story goes, ancient Chinese merchants would ship their products down the river to the next town as part of normal trade. Farmers would ship their produce and livestock as well. The problem, however, was that accidents were waiting to happen and could strike any ship at any time. An entire season's harvest could be ruined all at once. Merchants became wise and split their goods between 10 ships. This obviously increased the chances that a ship carrying some of their goods could sink, or be stolen, or ruined somehow. But, the rest of the ships would make it, and the small loss was part of doing business in order to ensure that most of the goods reached their destination. This is insurance in it's basic form. It is also an example of diversification.
Most people have their retirement funds in stocks and bonds. Much is heard about mutual funds as the pathway for diversification. But the stock market, while divided up into different sectors, still consists of stocks. They are part of the stock universe. Some may disagree, and say that a variety of stocks is all you need. At any rate, the entire stock market can fall in the aggregate. Electronic trading can accelerate this, as selling spills over from one sector to another. Some sectors are more stable than others, some more volatile than others. The market can get disturbed easily, and there are numerous examples of very large drops in the stock market, slow and fast, such as occurred in 1929, 1973, 1980, 1987, and 2000. Drops in the 20 - 60% range, which have occurred routinely, correspond to the sinking of 2 to 6 out of 10 boats! After the 1929 crash it took 28 years before the market recovered to its pre-crash high. In 2000, popular stocks inevitably filled the portfolio of popular mutual funds. Stock market 'gurus' led the choir in unison as they sang of the wonders of technology stocks. Fundamentals were ignored. The technology boom of the 1990s, cheered on by stock analysts, ended with wild stock overvaluations and subsequent 80% collapse, especially in the NASDAQ. The ridicule is still fresh in my memory as a few of us had the nerve to warn others of the frothiness in the stock market, and pulled out to greener, safer pastures.
However, let's look at 7 diversification areas. The stock market is one area for your retirement funds or nest egg. This means we need at least 6 more. Ecclesiastes 11:2, written by King Solomon thousands of years ago, says "Divide your wealth into 7 (or 8) portions, because you do not know what risks lie ahead." The verse carries the meaning that we should divide our nest egg into many portions because we do not know what will happen in the world. That would be nice if we could tell the future! Perhaps Warren Buffet is an exception, and is qualified to mock those who diversify as ignorant, but time will tell. Even if we diligently read every annual report, and understood them, there is still a significant amount of information that the individual investor does not have access to, nor is he likely to get it in a timely manner to act. Many markets are interconnected and a crash in one can cascade into others as seen in 1929. At that time the drop in the stock market caused a both bank closures and a real estate price collapse, amid unemployment over 40%. Aside from stocks, 5 other areas to invest in, after due diligence of study, include bonds, real estate, home business, commodities, and insurance. The 7th investment is a radically different investment area to consider, which is tithing.
Why tithing? If we cannot take anything with us, it would be like having all ships sink with nothing to show for our hard work. The ancient book of Malachi, written by Malachi, says in Chapter 3 about tithing: "If you do, says the Lord Almighty, I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great that you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!" God apparently knows that we are programmed to desire a profit, and this looks like a challenge to invest in Him. There also looks like a big promise of rewards too. Well, the proverbial Hearst never pulled the proverbial U-Haul trailer filled with the belongings of the deceased to the next location, as King Tut found out. So this promised wealth would have to be durable and transportable out of this world, a promise only God could make good on. This author certainly can't make promises like that.
I hope you are all doing well. I imagine there are beginning to be a few hints of spring around there, although I heard that the mountain pass is more like the dead of winter. Here, we are starting to have a little bit of rain, but not enough to plant vegetables yet.
Well, it's Saturday evening. I'm writing the newsletter early because starting tomorrow morning I'll be staying with a little boy at the hospital. I'll get back to that later. First let me fill you in on James.
James was in the hospital for four days after having a serious seizure. I stayed with him during the day and Sally stayed at night. He has been diagnosed and is now on treatment for meningitis. A month ago, he was taken to the hospital with the same symptoms (only that time the seizure lasted a full two hours) and the doctor ordered a meningitis test. The nurses started treating for malaria, giving a strong injection of quinine. James seemed to respond almost immediately so they assumed that the seizure had been caused by malaria so didn't run the meningitis test. Now, a month later, it all started over again. This time he tested negative for malaria so they ran the meningitis test. They've also decided to leave him on Phenobarbital for a while.
Now to tell you about Mark Stephen. He is very, very malnourished. If you're wondering what he looks like, just think about the pictures you've seen on the news of starving children in war torn Africa. His stomach is not dissented, in fact it's so sunk in I swear that when he's lying down, the front of his stomach is just laying on his backbone. You can count every rib.more than count..they stick out like a skeleton. Same with his back bone. His face is just skin over bone. Ok. You get the picture.
Mark Stephen must be three or four years old. I don't know how long he's been sick, but he has huge bed sores on his hips and buttocks, so it's been a while. Anyways, the story is that his mom was "chased" away from home about a year ago and his dad just recently sold their home and moved away, leaving him behind to die. After I don't know how long, a neighbor discovered him and brought him to the hospital. He then went and explained the situation to the Children's Officer. The Children's Officer contacted another ministry in town, but they don't really deal with such cases. They did, however, send a woman to the hospital to care for him. She'll stay until tomorrow morning when I take over.
Mark is very, very sick. Besides the extreme malnutrition, he's been diagnosed with TB Meningitis. He can't move at all. His eyes just stare forward.I don't know if he's blind or not. He's being fed formula through a tube, but is having trouble keeping it down. However, when I watched the woman feed him today, it seemed like an awful lot to be poured through the tube directly to his stomach. It was only three ounces, but still, to just be poured in all at once... I was thinking that even when a baby takes three ounces from a bottle, it's a ten or fifteen minute process. I'm wondering if that's why it comes back up. I'm going to try giving him like one ounce at a time and see if he keeps it down.
Anyways, we've agreed to take him on. If he recovers and comes home with us, wonderful. If he doesn't recover, at least he'll be given a proper burial. Please pray for him. He's very critical. Even if he recovers, I suspect there will be some ongoing health problems caused by the untreated meningitis. And pray for me as I try to take care of him. The hospital is not a pleasant place. Just the smell is almost more than I can take. It's not like hospitals in America. There are eight beds in this particular ward. I'm hoping they won't become overcrowded because then we will probably have to share Mark's bed with another patient. If that happens, where will I lie down or even sit? (We talked about moving him to the amenity ward so we could have a private room but decided against it because he may be there a while and that would get expensive.) And on top of it all, being the rich white person, I'm sure I'll be constantly asked for help from the others in the ward. To get people to leave me alone and let me just take care of the child will, I'm sure, be impossible. But, it'll be ok. I'll just have to trust that God has a ministry for me to do while I'm there.
This week Jeff has started doing something a little different as far as medical ministry goes. There have been times in the past that he's brought some supplies to the hospital, but something happened a few days ago to make us realize the extent of the problem. There was a baby girl who needed half strength dextrose drip. The hospital didn't have any on hand so the family was expected to go to the pharmacy and buy some. You guessed it! They didn't have any money. So the baby got sicker and sicker. We weren't aware of the situation until a nurse approached Jeff and told him what was going on. He immediately sent his assistant to the pharmacy, but before he got back the baby died.
This really made us stop and think that maybe this could be a less expensive form of medical ministry and would help those who are in absolute dire need. We've still been taking some very serious patients, but our budget isn't really covering it very well. But when someone's outside your door with a dieing baby..or is obviously critically sick themselves..what do you do? Anyways, Jeff looked into the situation further and discovered that the hospital didn't have any IV kits on hand or even any strapping tape or gauze! Every single thing a patient needs he has to provide for himself and if he can't provide it, he doesn't get it. Obviously we can't provide each and every thing any and every patient needs. But in the cases of life and death, maybe we can help out.
The land meeting is the middle of this week. We're hoping to close then. After we close, we'll take a few of our friends to the property and prayer walk the boundaries, giving God the glory for finally delivering it to us and asking him to pour his blessings out on any and every work that takes place there in the future. We are so excited! Pray that it all goes as planned this time.
I guess that's about it for this week. We are both doing fine. We are healthy and strong and praising God for it. I'll tell you, when you spend some time in a Kenyan hospital and see the sickness and distress, you can't help but praise God for your health.
We love you all and appreciate your prayers and other support. I know, I end the same every week! But I just can't help it! We truly do appreciate everything done on that side of the world that makes this ministry possible. If it weren't for you allowing God to use you, we'd have no choice but to pack up and come home. God bless you!
Note: April 27, 2009. Monetary decay to accelerated with additional dollars created by the Federal Reserve. Suggested portfolio allocation recommends 25% precious metals as a protective measure, now up 380% from the $252 low 8 years ago, vs. stocks (Dow Jones) lower than it was 10 years ago (inflation adjusted down 50% for the same period).
