Great Depression Deliverance

By Brenda Black

In the U.S., grit was born out of the Great Depression! The enduring folks who remember those desperate and sparse days have tried for decades to impart prudent wisdom to generations that followed. But have we heeded their advice or their example? Whether you are stubborn and selfish or just careless on matters of money or faith, it's time to get smarter for “wisdom is found in those who take advice.” (Proverbs 13:10) Your deliverance begins with Great Depression guidance.

Gregg Koep, a blogger at “Not Buying Anything” (NBA), summarizes the Great Depression Survivors' sentiments saying that “People who lived through the depression often gained a new outlook on life. Many survivors still hold the same virtues today, so strong were the lessons learned. Generally, they avoid the self indulgence and immediate gratification that comes from easy access to material things. Instead they tend to focus on the important relationships in their lives, like with their families and community.” (http://notbuyinganything.blogspot.com/2011/05/advice-from-depression-survivors.html)

Listen up to more sensible and godly wisdom from the mouths of our own pre WWII citizens:

• Pay cash instead of adopting the credit mentality. “Don’t spend money you don’t already have in your pocket.”

• Don't make the rich richer by giving them your money. “Don’t pay someone else to provide something that you can learn to do or to make yourself.”

• Cultivate traditional values of thrift and frugality. “Only buy what you can’t live without.”

• Avoid self-indulgence and self-gratification by immediate acquisition of possessions. “Give yourself a good, long waiting period before making purchases.”

• Do not gamble with your money (stock market, real estate speculation, lotteries, get rich quick schemes, etc). “It doesn’t matter how much money you make, it matters how much you save!”

• Work is the way to make money. "Don't be afraid of honest, hard work."

• Ambition is over-rated. "It is enough to just enjoy and appreciate each day."

This blogger says many depression survivors realize that good can come from bad, and meaning can come from tragedy. I agree. As evidence, take a look at Calvary. Jesus Christ died on a cross -- His suffering horrible, the price exorbitant! He owned nothing. Lived nowhere in particular. Walked everywhere. Ate at the generosity of friends and followers. And yet He lived His life lavishly and gave abundantly! His great sacrifice and self-denial, along with His suffering, resulted in freedom. I'd say that's good coming from bad and meaning springing from tragedy!

Whether enslaved to debt or economic hardship or worse, spiritual depravity, the wisdom of the ages is applicable. “It doesn't matter how much money you make, it matters how much you save!” That goes for dollars and cents, as well as souls. It's really that simple. People who use common sense, common courtesy and turn to Christ in time of crisis are best positioned to survive financial downturns or any frightening circumstance. I call it Great Depression Deliverance!

As the body of Christ we can help one another in the times in which we live by sharing what we have. We can serve one another by bartering skills and goods. We can encourage one another and pray for one another and pull together like family does when times get tough. And we can still embrace each day and just enjoy it. When we employ these attitudes often born out of hardship, we'll be strengthened to face whatever comes down the road and be a valuable witness for the Lord Jesus who paid our debt in full.

Give Me a Break

By Brenda Black

American gossip rags are littered with royal wedding news, joining the British journalists who are following every minute leading up to William and Kate's blissful day. As the fuss over young love rises, I guess it's par for the course then for BBC News to cover the posh life of our own upper echelon – the golfing president.

It just about makes my not-so-royal blood boil as I peruse top headlines from around the world that scream of bloody battles, bank crashes, kidnappings and more earthquakes. In the midst of such grave topics, a story about poor President Obama's tough job and his need for recreation paints our U.S. Chief of Staff as a rock star in need of yet another vacation!

The article is titled “Obama says golf is only 'excuse to get outside'.” Read it for yourself:

US President Barack Obama has said he enjoys golf in large part because a game is the only way he can escape outdoors for hours at a time.

He said he misses the trappings of ordinary life - weekend lie-ins, trips to the market and walks in the park.

"I just want to go through Central Park and watch folks passing by," he told Hearst newspapers. "I miss that."

Mr Obama's security bubble precludes much privacy and spontaneity. He recently announced a re-election bid.

"I miss being anonymous," he told Hearst Magazines' publishers and editors at the White House.

"I miss Saturday morning, rolling out of bed, not shaving, getting into my car with my girls, driving to the supermarket, squeezing the fruit, getting my car washed, taking walks. I can't take a walk."

He said he loves his life at the White House but does not enjoy the "kabuki dance" of Washington DC partisan politics.

As to golf, Mr Obama rejected suggestions he is fanatical about the game, saying: "It's the only excuse I have to get outside for four hours at a stretch."

On Saturday, Mr Obama took a rare, unscheduled outing to the Lincoln Memorial near the White House, dashing up the steps to greet tourists, shake hands and talk about a budget agreement struck the night before with Republicans.

So you tell me, are you feeling sorry for the man. I might add that a photo of a cheezy smiling Obama zipping around in a golf cart accompanies the column. Say, I wonder how many miles to the gallon he gets with that buggy? Golf carts might just be the vehicle of choice the way things are going. While Obama is teeing off and dodging sand traps, we hard-working Americans are getting teed off, virtually paying to go to work because of fuel hikes. And we feel trapped, thinking about our children's children's children, who will still be shoveling this country out of debt thanks to ridiculous spending by the illustrious leader and his yes-men. Yet, according to this reporter, Obama says “he misses... ordinary life.”

Okay, Mr. President. Then step on down and join the pressure cooker that looks like paradise from where you sit with your feet propped up on the presidential desk. If you had to live on what the rest of us make, you would certainly be walking to the park, because you couldn't afford to drive. You would either be curled up on the weekends praying for a job or working a third factory shift to just buy groceries. And you can kiss golf goodbye. Because when everyone in America is on equal terms as you suggest, there won't be a tee time available – we'll all qualify for membership!

If there is so much complaining about loss of privacy and his fetish for golf being his only great escape, then why make a bid for the presidency again?

Do yourself and all the rest of us a favor and quit! Wait, that would put the next worst option for president behind the golf cart wheel – the V.P., that we haven't seen or heard anything from in months. Maybe he's joined a Japanese dance company and is brushing up on his kabuki.

Hindsight in the Future

Hindsight in the Future
By Brenda Black

Mamas have eyes in the back of their heads. What kid has not learned that the hard way. A mom's intuitive abilities are real, even if a bit exaggerated, so why not name a month after them instead of a mythical deity. Early Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and guardian of doors and entrances. Janus sported two faces affording the ability to simultaneously look back while seeing forward. Some ancient Roman most certainly based the divine character on his mother.

Regardless of the real or imagined insight and foresight of moms and gods, the uncanny knack for looking back while looking forward is a trait we might all aspire to acquire. Consider what mistakes we could eliminate if we looked back for a better view ahead.

The top ten New Year's Resolutions from a survey of 300,000 responses are posted on Gary Ryan Blair's site GoalsGuy.com . Blair believes “that a single resolution can positively and profoundly create lasting change in a person's life and make the world a better place.” Let's see if some of the top ten wield such power.

Number 1 – Lose Weight and Get in Better Physical Shape. Researchers in Britain have carried out a study and found that obesity is more dangerous than smoking as it can cut life expectancy by as much as 13 years. If you could look ahead and know your length of days on earth, what would you do to add 13 more healthy years?

"We may only put on a bit of weight a day but there are 365 days in the year," according to lead researcher Professor David King. Prof King, the British government's Chief Scientific Adviser, and his team of 250 scientists published their study in a report, titled “Foresight”.

Will your weight loss make the world a better place? That depends on what you bring to the world in those additional 13 years! Leave the bad habits behind and live lighter in 2009.

We'll combine Numbers 2 and 3 – Stick to a Budget and Debt Reduction. Crash of 2008 ring any New Year bells! If we have half a brain, we are all looking back at waste and strategizing for wiser money management in the upcoming year. As the headlines have reported for weeks on end, how you manage your dollars and cents can affect the entire modern world! Wake up to worldliness and waste and live smarter than you did in 2008.

I love Numbers 8 and 9 – Learn Something New and Volunteer and Help Others. “People throughout the world are realizing that a strong resolve to lifelong learning is more than just education and training beyond formal schooling. A lifelong learning framework encompasses learning throughout the life cycle, from cradle to grave and in different learning environments, formal, non-formal and informal,” says Blair.

The world is our classroom and access to understanding just about anything under the sun is within easy reach thanks to technology. When you look back on what you know, will you venture to add wisdom and new information to keep your mind strong in 2009. I hope so.

An honest look at our own personal history will reveal the truth about our destiny. Are we self or servant driven. Are we gluttonous and greedy or disciplined. Are we eager to stretch our minds and narrow our waists, tighten our budget and pay off our debts. Any attempt to be a better person makes the world a better place. But choosing to help others guarantees a resolution success because it is the best help you can give yourself. Mama probably already told you that.

2009 is the time to meet goals for the greater good. My utmost goal is to look back a year from now and see how far I've come and know I made a difference with the first of my extra 13 years. May the Lord bless your New Year's Resolutions as well!