No Longer Silent about Poverty

No Longer Silent about Poverty (emotional – spiritual – physical) is the focus of a high school Global Leadership in Action program at The Jaffray Centre for Global Initiatives at Ambrose University College.

Come support a great cause at their silent auction and dessert event June 26^th 2009 at 6:54pm at the new Ambrose campus and listen to guest speaker Sean Campbell, alumni and previous Executive Director of Samaritan’s Purse who has seen and responded to poverty in almost every corner of the world.

Are Church Folks nicer?

Yes they are, according to David Campbell and Robert Putnam. Here is from their presentation hosted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

The scholars say their studies found that religious people are three to four times more likely to be involved in their community. They are more apt than nonreligious Americans to work on community projects, belong to voluntary associations, attend public meetings, vote in local elections, attend protest demonstrations and political rallies, and donate time and money to causes — including secular ones.

At the same time, Putnam and Campbell say their data show that religious people are just “nicer”: they carry packages for people, don’t mind folks cutting ahead in line and give money to panhandlers.

The scholars say the link between religion and civic activism is causal, since they observed that people who hadn’t attended church became more engaged after they did. “These are huge effects,” Putnam said.

How Rich are You?

Here is a verse from 1 Timothy that is very timely these days:

"Tell those who have the riches of this world not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, they should place their confidence in God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy." 1 Timothy 6:17 (GOD'S WORD Translation)

Whether you realize it or not, you are probably one of those that Paul was referring to as having "the riches of this world". The truth is that if you make $28,000/year, you are part of the top 10% of the wealthiest people in the world. Check for yourself at http://globalrichlist.com/

No matter how you define “rich” it is probably tough to argue that Paul isn’t referring to someone like you. Since many of us haven’t known anything else, it has been easy to place our confidence in our ”riches”. The recent economic downturn may just be a warning that it would be wise to heed the instruction of this verse, and place our confidence in God.

N M I CONVENTION 2 0 0 9

COME AND BE PART OF THE CELEBRATION

AMBROSE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
C A L G A R Y, AB
150 - Ambrose Circle
near corner of 69th Street + 17th Avenue SW

when W E D N E S D A Y J U N E 10, 2 0 0 9

time 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

missionaries Dr. ANDY + JUDY BENNETT

also DEL WERGELAND
Compassionate Ministries

Kristin Siggelkow - Ecuador
Matt + Kerri Burns - Kidztown

COME - EXPECTING GOD'S BLESSING

DEBT got you.... DOWN

Debt reduction is not always an easy process - especially when you’re first starting out. Maybe you have a car loan that just can’t be shaken. Perhaps you have a mortgage that you think you’ll be comfortable paying for the next thirty years.

If you feel can’t get yourself to start the debt reduction process, you need to take some small steps toward building momentum today. Once you get that momentum, your task won’t seem so difficult - it’ll just be a normal part of your routine.

What small steps should you take?

• Gather three months of expenditures to analyze your spending habits. By taking three months and averaging your expenditures, you will have effectively seen where you money naturally goes. Don’t have your old receipts? No problem! Just start today and in a few months (not that long from now) you’ll have the ammo to cut back unnecessary expenditures!
  

• Keep a little card in your wallet by your cash that says, “Should I really be buying this?” This frugality card will serve as a constant reminder to think before you hand over your cash.

• Find someone who can keep you accountable to the goals you’ve set out for yourself!
  

• Use the envelope budgeting system. In our credit-infested world, it can be difficult at first to spend cash for variable expenses such as groceries and entertainment. However, spending cash is a very visual process that can curb overspending - which ensures you’ll have some money left over at the end of the month to throw at your debt.

• Try something brand new. If your job has gotten you down and not bringing in much money, why not try something new? You know that side hobby you enjoy during your free time? Why not turn that into a business! It just might be the extra income you need in order to knock out that pesky credit card debt!

There’s no need to go to a debt reduction agency. If you want to eliminate your debt, you must create the momentum to do so yourself. Attack the root of your problem and don’t try silly shortcuts. You’ll feel uplifted when you pay off your first loan. You’ll feel better and have more peace of mind.

Are you ready to knock out debt? Need a friend to help? Ask Pastor Steve about "The Christian's Guide to Financial Freedom".

Money Saving Tip from "The Practical Nerd"

One of the hallmarks of being a Practical Nerd is the ability to legally get the most functionality out of your computer without having to pay an arm and a leg. But there are so many people I talk to out there that have no clue about most of these options.

A few great benefits that come with using these Practical Nerd Alternatives:

• You will literally save hundreds of dollars in most cases.
• About 98% of the general public will still retain all the functionality that they need, if not more.
• You will, in most cases, be able to jump right into the program and know how to use it easily.
• All of these options are perfectly fine to use, even if you are sharing files with someone who is using a more bloated program.
• When these programs get updated with new features – you get them, without having to buy a whole new piece of software!

1. Your office program (word processing, spreadsheets, etc.).

Cooler People: Microsoft Office.

Microsoft Office is the standard-bearer in office products. Everybody has them, and they do fine work. But in 2007, Microsoft Office started messing around with what worked – they added a “ribbon” interface at the top, which looked really cool. The problem is, people who start using it have NO idea how to find anything! In addition, Microsoft Office is expensive.




Practical Nerds: OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice.org replaces your Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint. Functionality is simple, but loaded with plenty of features. You can use it to open Office documents – even those created in Office 2007, which Office 2003 can NOT do – and save in those same formats. So, if you need to swap files back and forth with someone using Office, there’s no problem!

... more tips from the Practical Nerd later...

Five First Grade Money Lessons that Many Adults Have Forgotten

1. Save money before buying something, if you don’t have the money, you don’t get it.

As the Proverb says, “The eyes of man are never satisfied.” We live in a nation where far too many people have forgotten how to say “NO”. We teach our kids to use a piggy bank, and when they have saved up enough, then they can go buy an ice cream cone.

2. It doesn’t matter what other kids are doing

I still remember hearing, “if your friends jumped off a bridge, would you follow them?” in response to my longing to do what my friends were doing. It seems that as adults we play into that crowd-think much like kids.

3. Money isn’t a right or privilege - it is compensation for hard work

My parents did a pretty good job of driving this point home to my thick skull. Like many, I was a lazy teenager that needed money and eventually figured out that by working I got more money. If I cut one lawn I would get $10, but if I cut two lawns I would get $20. It was a difficult concept to grasp, but I eventually got it!

“He who tills his land will have plenty of food, but he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty.” Proverbs 28:19

4. If it seems too good to be true - it probably is!

I remember on numerous occasions getting excited about an opportunity presented to me and running off to my Dad only to tell him about it. His healthy dose of skepticism saved me a lot of wasted time and energy. I notice that there is always an abundance of scams to prey off of people willing to fall for them.

5. You can be anything you want to be when you grow up

This is one that I forgot for while and am working on remembering again. I have a lot of other things that I want to do while I am on this earth, so I am working to fight off self-limiting thoughts. Life is too short to do something you don’t enjoy for all of it! God didn’t create us to spend 40 years in a job we hate! He has a better purpose and plan for our lives - but it requires our following after Him!

- from Christian Personal Finance