How to Give Enough!

Our church is in the process of a remodel project and in the course of that project we are forced to think about future projects that will involve construction or at the very least sizable sums of money.  We are fortunate enough to have a nest egg that was left by a generous donor to build or remodel as we need to, but that gift which was given some time ago is pretty rare. 

To be frank, how many of us have enough money now that we are whiling to give a large chunk to the church before we die which out worrying about possibly needing that cash to live on before we die?  Most of us who are church goers would like to leave behind a legacy but we can't afford to lose control of the money that we may need if our retirement investments take a turn for the worse once we are relying on them for our income.  Sometimes it seems that the days of the big donors are gone, but some young people are planning ahead now and securing their legacy before it starts costing too much.

A 65 year old man can plan to leave $25,000 to the church by putting it in his will and having the money in a money market account just in case he needs it.  But who knows if that will even be left for the church by the time he dies, taxes and probate expenses can eat up the proceeds and lessen or eliminate the money this gentleman wants to leave behind.  The same 65 year old can put that $25,000 in a single premium life policy and the church will get nearly $45,000 before the rest of the estate is settled.  If the man out lives his saving he can always withdraw the cash and use it to live on, but for now he has protected his legacy.

A young woman age 25, wanting to inspire young people after she is gone can leave a $100,000 gift to the church and pay only $13 a week for a life insurance policy (plus she can stop paying all together at age 40).  Her gift can be used anyway she wants, to build a school room, pay for mission work, or create a youth program.

Young or old ... a lump sum of cash or a few dollars a week ... using life insurance to leave a legacy to your church is just a smart way to do it.  You can help your future church leadership expand, maintain or recreate and help show them the true meaning of Christian love.

Call a life insurance agent that you trust and talk about how you can create a legacy for the church and still have a safety net for your finances.

J

Let Freedom Ring!!!

As we head into the first week of July and celebrate Independence Day I find myself in reflection on the past week.

Last week was VBS (Vacation Bible School) and it is always a long week for all involved.  We plan it for months and put all that we have into a great educational and spiritual week.  But this also afforded me an opportunity to work with our local food pantry.  They loaned us a ton of corn (literally 2000 pounds of canned corn) to draw attention to the needs of the hungry in Greene County.  We built a castle out of the corn in our church that stayed up all week to remind the kids of what God's love could accomplish.

While thinking about the week, I realized that we have a great opportunity to impact the lives of those around us, far more that just a single meal.  The benefit one receives from our local food pantry can be quite literally LIFE CHANGING.

You all know that I am an insurance agent, and I like to say that I sell piece of mind.  My clients sleep better at night knowing that their homes, autos, and families are protected.  The food pantry gives people a sense of hope ... through the food and encouragement that they pass out each week they give people HOPE, and hope is far more valuable than piece of mind, or money in the bank, hope shows us that we are not alone, we do count, our suffering has purpose and there is something better just around the corner.

John, one of the Directors at the food pantry gave the kids a quick lesson each night, it was based around the scripture; John, chapter 21, verses 15 - 19.  In this passage Jesus asks Peter 3 times if he loves him ... each time Peter says, yes he loves the Lord, and each time Jesus tells Peter to "Feed my sheep!" ... our visitor John simplified it by calling out to the kids "Love God" and they would respond with a thunderous "FEED HIS SHEEP!" ... Service to mankind is mandated by our God!  Our service brings hope to those we serve!  Hope brings freedom to everyone!

Remember, if you need piece of mind call me ... if you need food call John ... if you need Hope ... pray.

J

Living Large!

Time marches on ... and on ... and on ... each day has a drudgery of it's own and when we string them together in long spans it makes the drudgery seem that much more unbearable.  Work, home repairs, laundry, charity efforts, bills, chores, responsibilities and even TV and cell phones ... all these things rob us of our natural joy in life.

We got away as a family last weekend to a place without TV or cell phone service or any of the things that bring us down each day.  Instead of treading water with finances, scheduling and responsibilities, we talked, played games and enjoyed being with each other.

The noise of modern life seems to clutter our every moment and that will keep us from enjoying our lives and even from just being creative in our everyday efforts ... so it's important to get away from it all and be quiet for a time to recharge those batteries and jump start your creative self again.

My weekend get away wasn't the only thing that inspired this rant ... last night Tena and I watched the Bucket List, great show!  I highly recommend it!  If you've not seen it I'll tell this much the two main characters are from opposite ends of the economic scale (one is a life long mechanic and the other a rich hospital mogul) but they have both been given 6 months to a year to live.  They decide to finish their Bucket lists (things they wanted to do before they die) ... It's never too late to make a difference, enjoy living, or make a fool of yourself ... and all three are important.

So take some time away from the TV this weekend and on a yellow pad of paper write down a bucket list, then Before midnight on Sunday, mark off one item ... or at least spend some quiet time imagining all the things that you will do. 

Live Large ... J

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..."

— Dr. Seuss (Oh, the Places You'll Go!)

Real Stuff ... our view of Joplin!

The Joplin relief effort here in the South West part of Indiana has really caught us off guard, but not in the way that you might think.  You see Greene county is the 4th poorest county in Indiana, we rank in the bottom 10% of counties nationwide for higher education and in the bottom half of all counties in the US for adults with a HS diploma.  Our unemployment rate is 8.3% and the average household income is only about $41,000 a year.

I'm not trying to deflate my fellow Greene county residents, in fact it's quite the opposite.  You see it is the perfect example of what my friend Jerry told me the other day (Jerry is over 70 and always has words of wisdom).  He said "Jason if it ever comes that I need a hand out, you know real help, I'll head over to the poor side of town."  Greene county (and our neighbors) decided that we may not have a lot but we have enough ... in one week the efforts of Leroy Barnhill and his army of volunteers, along with the residents of our community, shipped 115,000 pound of aid to Joplin in 4 separate semi trailers.

By the time we are all home from work on Tuesday that will be 5 or 6 semis and 135,000 pounds of supplies.  And this is shipped direct, no middle man, no government, no red tape ... just good people doing what Jesus would do!  I've heard about very young children giving their very best toys, young men giving the jacket off their backs, and a mysteriously appropriate gift of thousands of sets of rain gear.

How great are the people in my community ... pretty damn great.

http://www.bloomfieldfcc.org/page_32.html

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greene-Daviess-County-Joplin-Relief/209609692411938

Helping Joplin Now!

Sometimes it is amazing what can be done with just a mission and some focus!  My friend LeRoy is very focused and he's on a mission.  When he heard that the main terminal for the trucking company that he works for was under assault from nature along with the rest of Joplin MO, he leaped in to action. 

LeRoy is a trucker and so he started filling a semi-trailer with stuff ... makes sense, truckers driver trucks and trucks haul stuff.  But in the course of a day Leroy ran out of his own stuff to put in the truck so he said a prayer and called some friends.  Those friends brought some stuff and they all said a prayer and called their friends.

It wasn't long until they had the 1st truck filled with pallets of water, clothing, food and supplies.  Right now LeRoy is filling the 3rd, 4th, and 5th trucks ... his friends and the friends of those friends have continued to pray and bring stuff.  People (strangers) are calling LeRoy from as far away as Oklahoma and donations are coming in from the east coast and all around.  The TV news and the local papers heard about LeRoy's friends and their stuff and they started talking about it.

So now LeRoy and his band of friends (long time and newly introduced) are looking to collect 150,000 pounds of good to send to a couple of churches in the Joplin that are distributing the goods.  This has turned into a massive relief effort that is unique as it is going direct from the donors to those in need. 

If you want to help or just show your support to this little group, click on the link below and log on to facebook ... LIKE the page and keep tract of the needs for this effort.


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Greene-Daviess-County-Joplin-Relief/209609692411938

What would happen ... ?

This week reminded me that my job is to ask the questions that no one wants to ask.  I'm here to say "what if?" and not in a good way most of the time.  What happens to a child if a single parent losses their life?  Would the estranged ex spouse take on raising the kids?  Would the Grand parents put off retirement to take in their grandchildren?  Would they have enough money to take care of them?

Not real fun stuff to talk about, in fact it is much like growing old (if you read my last post you know I think that getting old sucks).  But if you never talk about the possibility of your children losing their only source of income, they'll be in trouble if that day comes. 

I suggest that you call an insurance agent that you trust and talk to them, like I said our job is to ask the questions that you don't what to or even know to ask.  Many times just talking about the need is exhausting but getting protection in place for your children (or spouse) will give you piece of mind. 

Nope it's not fun but just like getting a cavity filled, it may not be fun right now but you'll feel better when you get it done.  There are lots of options but remember the best option gives you all the coverage you need!  If you can't afford what you need, something is WAY better than nothing!

Getting Old Sucks!

I know this is obvious to anyone that has moved beyond their youthful days, but it really needs to be said.  I came to this conclusion not long ago after my last eye exam.  I let Doc know that I have been seeing fuzzy for a while, he tested my eyes and said that my vision is technically 20/20 with my glasses but I had a second set of letters showing up when I look at signs.  After much testing and measuring and poking and prodding, he tells me that I have wrinkly eyes.  Now let me pause here and tell you my eye doc is Brian Steward in Lyons and Bloomfield.  As docs go he is aces, no fluff or bull just good service and advice on the health of your eyes, I trust him completely with my eye health. 

That being said ... wrinkly eyes?  I mean come on!  I'm not that old am I?  The condition is called an Anterior Basement Membrane Dystrophy ... but it's really just a wrinkly eye.  It's not too serious and the most common treatments are hard contacts or surgery, where they scrape your wrinkles off the eye (sounds fun huh?).

Needless to say I tried the hard contacts ... I won't bore you with the details but 4 office visits (1 to 2 hours each) 3 weeks of bloodshot eyes and at least one contact stuck for an hour and a half on my eye later, and Brian and I had the talk.  Maybe contacts weren't my thing.  But he suggested that I wait on the surgery until it gets worse.

I guess it's not bad but imagine seeing someone that looks familiar but you can't see the details of their face until they are 3 feet from you.  Not what someone in the business of dealing with people really wants to admit.  I wave at everyone and I can carry on a conversation for several minutes without knowing who I'm talking to for sure, sometimes I totally miss people because I can't see their features.

Driving is okay but I can't read signs no matter how big they are until I'm right on them ... GPS is the best invention ever!

I guess I take Brian's advice and wait til it gets worse before getting scrapped, so if I don't recognise you at times perhaps you'll understand, and if I get lost easily perhaps my wife will understand! 

Happy Aging!