Faith Based Investing

Eye Exam

A E I O U

D O I H A

V E A V I

E W T O W

A R D

G O D

Where is your world view? Can you still see God in the world? Your worldview today is based on what you have learned thus far in your life. As they say “you do not know what you do not know”. In order to get a grasp of your worldview, some important questions need to be addressed. There are things you need to know about yourself: what do you believe and why do you believe it? Here is the exam. For each question, ask yourself what do I believe and why do I believe it:

* Is there a god and what is he like?

* What is the nature and origin of the universe?

* What is the nature and origin of man?

* What happens to man after death?

* Where does knowledge come from?

* What is the basis of ethics and morality?

* What is the meaning of human history?

Based on how you answer these questions, you can begin to see if your viewpoint is in harmony with God’s Word. To double check your work, look to the Bible, pair with another and check your answers, challenge one another.

So why is a Biblical Worldview Important?

When you have a biblical worldview, you are putting God’s will before yours. When God is first you will live better, make better decisions, and have a better sense of purpose. In order to incorporate a biblical worldview with your finances, some biblical truths need to be explored.

Every financial decision starts with God. God is Sovereign. God is ultimately in charge of your life including finances. God created finances. He transcends time and history and can make anything happen .with your life. He can use you at any given moment if you allow Him. He is a personal God that takes a interest un our lives. Because he has an interest in our lives, he has a plan for each of us. If we easily buy into the world’s way of thinking, we may limit our growth, dismiss callings, be more apt to blend rather than be a guiding light. Our worldview determines how closely we will follow God and His direction for our lives.

Age is just a number

Because many are living thirty or more years in retirement, it becomes less important to gage one’s actual age. What is important is a person’s physical health and mental capacity. If your body and mind are sharp, you are still in the game!

Studies* have shown that keys to living longer include maintaining physical and mental activity, being actively engaged in life, and avoiding diseases and disabilities.  In order to remain “healthy” key activities should include having social ties (friends, family, and associates), physical exercise to prevent the body from breaking down, continuation of mental stimulation (learning and active thinking), and meaningful engagement (using time and talents to benefit others).

* Macarthur Foundation Study of Successful Aging, 2001

Find what you love to do

Someone very wealthy once said, “find something you love to do and find a way to get paid for it and you will become rich”.  Living a successful retirement involves this principle.  If you can find work that you truly enjoy doing, you will probably want to do this until the day you leave this earth.

You should examine the gifts God has given you, find your true passions, and find work that combines your God-given abilities with your passions.  Why wait until an arbitrary age in the future, why not do it today? If you prioritize what is important to you today and why you are working in the first place, you may come to new conclusions.   Am I just working to make a paycheck or could I do something more meaningful and rewarding and still make ends meet? When work and play are one in the same, you will never work a day in your life!

Many people do the following:

* They set arbitrary dates in the future as to when they will stop working.

* This is usually done to escape their current work conditions (career, industry, current employer).

Instead look at:

* How can you use work to express the God-given abilities and talents you uniquely possess and use them to bring glory to God?

* How can you take advantage of the aging process? Much of the aging process revolves around our activities, level of engagement with life, and our attitudes.

* How can you balance your priorities? (God, family, body health, mental health, and your relationships)

Family Fun, Anyone?

Have you ever wanted to create an exciting and fun way to get the kids or grand kids excited about stock market investing?

Now that my oldest son, Cameron, is seven, he is ready to start working!  Dad is so ready to teach him the value of a dollar.  Wait…child labor laws?  Oh..well maybe he’ll have to wait…

While he’s waiting, maybe I’ll teach him a lesson or two about investing.   I decided to have his sister Katelyn (age 5) be his partner in crime.  While we’re at it, Mom can join too!

Here’s what we’re doing:

1) We bought I’m a Shareholder: The Basics About Stocks for Kids by Rick Roman available at www.giveashare.com for $13.95 plus shipping.

We will use this great book for teaching lessons on the basics of stocks, economics, the markets, and investing.  This book does a wonderful job showing children complex concepts in an easy to understand format.  It has great visuals and a ton of entertainment value.  Hey at the very least, Dad will have fun!

2) I made a chart of about 50 different companies for the children to choose from.   I started with companies they were familiar with and even allowed them to do their own research to come up with some suggestions.  For example my son Cameron found a company called Cameron International (Ticker Symbol: CAM)  and a company, Odessey Marine Exploration (Ticker Symbol: OMEX) that literally searches for shipwrecks and hidden treasure in the ocean.  How cool!

My Daughter, Katelyn found Leap Frog (Ticker Symbol: LF) maker of her Leapster Learning System and Petsmart (Ticker Symbol: PETM), one of her favorite places to go to get treats for Noah, the family dog.

Mom even had fun discovering Coach stock (Ticker Symbol: COH) - her favorite purse manufacturer and we can’t forget about her gas…I mean gas for the car with her Exxon (Ticker Symbol: XOM) pick.  She cheated.  She saw they were the top spot on the Fortune 500 list;)

Now Dad’s a little more boring… My two favorites were Research in Motion (Ticker Symbol: RIMM), maker of my crackberry…I mean Blackberry!  Can’t go anywhere without my phone! And Cracker Barrel (Ticker Symbol CRBL), one of my favorite breakfast spots!

3) We each picked 10 stocks.  We will keep track of how our picks do over time.

4) We used a FREE online website to set up portfolios for each of one of us and ficticiously bought $100 of each stock.  Whoever has the largest portfolio gain for the month wins!

5) The winner each month will be awarded $100 to invest in a stock of their choice.  We will keep doing this every month to encourage investing in our home and get the children excited about learning how the markets work, how companies are run, how to do research, and how to keep track of gains and losses.

I love lemonade stands to teach the fundamentals of capitalism, but this is another fun way to get the children excited about the markets at a young age!  It will be a ton of fun and create long lasting memories I’m sure!

How do you teach your children or grandchildren about money?

Got a Dream? Change the World!

Recently I came across this site and wanted to share it with you. Most of us are dreamers, yet few people share their dream. Why are our dreams so secretive? Why do we keep our dreams locked away, hidden for no one else to see? Why don’t we pursue our dreams more fully?

I believe change can truly happen when we embrace our dreams, live with purpose and passion, and connect with others on a similar journey. Inspire to be different, dare to be bold, long to make a difference. Pursue your dreams and make it happen!

DREAM BUILDERS www.dreambuildersnetwork.org

Vision: To see men in Dream Builders groups all over the world pursue and fulfill countless dreams that God has prepared for them to do.

Dream Builders Defined: To Christian men who desire to make a difference in life, Dream Builders is the men’s network that provides encouragement, group mentorship, connections, and creative resources to help men pursue their God-given dreams.

Dream Builders Creed: The glory of God is man fully alive. We come fully alive when we pursue God-given dreams that use our uniqueness to benefit others. By the grace of God we shall pursue his dreams for our lives by listening for him to say “Let there be…”

Dream Builders History: In May of 2004, 20 men began meeting together on a monthly basis to encourage each other to pursue God’s dreams for their lives. The outcome is a story that only God could tell.

Start a Dream Builders Group in Your Area: In order for you to become a Dream Builder you need to start a Dream Builders group. All you need is at least 4 other men and their email addresses.

Here’s how you start a group: CLICK HERE

Expensive Tuition

One of the ways God uses money is to teach each and every one of us lessons about money.  Until we learn to responsibly handle all He has provided, it is unlikely He will bless us with more.  He is a God of many chances, but He wants to ensure you are learning key lessons along the way!

God’s desire is to teach us life lessons through the use of finances. In our day-today lives, there are certain lessons to be learned.  There are times when I have failed miserably with the wealth God has entrusted to me.  I have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars making foolish mistakes.   However, it is how we learn from these mistakes that determines our future.

Why does God use money to teach us lessons?

It says in Matthew 6:19-25 “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Whenever we place our money somewhere, we develop a strong interest where our money goes.  God wants to train our hearts to long for Him and place him above money.   We often see God using money as a tool to do some of the following things:

1. God uses finances to meet our basic needs.

2. He uses money to strengthen our faith.

3. He uses money to prove His power.

4. God uses our finances to direct our lives.

5. God uses money to teach us financial freedom

6. God uses money to help us face ourselves

Is God Providing For Your Needs?

What if God does not seem to supply what we think is a need? If the funds to buy an item are insufficient and God does not seem to supply the money, you should ask the following questions:

God answers prayers with a yes, no, or not now response. We often see the “no” and “not now” responses as one in the same. We forget that it is in God’s time, not our own. There is a bigger plan. There is another piece to the puzzle. You need to learn certain lessons before proceeding to the next chapter of your life. If your financial prayers are not be answered think about these questions:

1) Was my prayer for a need or something I want?

2) What are my intentions and where is my heart?

3) Am I trying to deceive God by not having pure intentions?

4) Did I misspend the money God has already sent?

5) Have I violated a financial principle in God’s Word?

The Greedy Millionaire

Many look at millionaires and assume they are greedy, selfish, and uncaring. Movies, TV, and the media depict the rich like slothful fools. The thought process is they must have done something illegal, immoral or unethical to accumulate that level of wealth. Though some of these stereotypes may be true, I have found the true story with many millionaires. It has to do with one’s attitude more than one’s level of wealth. I have seen more people who are greedy and don’t have wealth than those who have money and are greedy. In fact most of the faith-based millionaires I have interviewed over the years, do not like to talk about money, they live very humble lives, and use money to help others. Their generosity is their main motive. Greed is not a part of the equation. Yet our society sells greed like it’s a good thing. There is so much talk about getting rich as fast as you can. How do you view greed?

Seven Reasons People Desire Money

When you look at a person’s views on money, it impacts many other areas of their life: how they view God, their Spouse, their children, their other relationships, and even their career. The motives behind why someone wants money become a root question. People generally feel money is important to them for seven main reasons:

1. for security–now

2. for security–in the future

3. As a reward for a job well done

4. for freedom

5. To give away

6. To buy the necessities of life

7. To buy things to make life more comfortable or convenient

It is when greed and the pursuit of money consume you that problems arise. Do you remember the movie Wall Street? One of the most famous quotes from the movie is when one of the main characters Gordon Gecko who is a high flyer says “Greed is good. It works” To him, it did. It brought him the things he wanted–a big office with people at his beck and call. A beautiful beach house in the Hampton’s, and untold wealth to do with what he liked. But he got trapped by his greed, and that is often what happens with greed. It traps you until you have no way out. It can be humbling.

The Meaning of Greed

Regarding those who are greedy the Bible says, “The greedy bring ruin to their households, but those who hate bribes will live.” (Proverbs 15: 27). There are people whom the Bible describes as greedy in the commission of sin (Ephesians 4:19). One word that involves and describes greed is the word “covet.” There are about seven different Hebrew and Greek words translated covet. “To desire for oneself,” “to fix the mind on,” and “to extend the arms for anything” are the meanings of three of these words translated covet.

What Does God Say About Greed?

As intimated, greed is inordinate and misdirected ambition and desire. Paul said, “I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel” (Acts 20: 33). Rather than being guilty of covetousness and greed, Paul assisted others (vs. 34). In so doing, he serves as an example (vs. 35). Even preachers can be guilty of greed (I Tim. 6: 5-11). Some are greedy because they believe materialism is the answer. Jesus addressed some greedy people when he said, “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12: 15). Jesus then described a greedy farmer and the waste that characterized him (vs. 16-21). Greed precludes contentment (Heb. 13: 5). Moreover, greed is the prolific cause of all evil. “The love of money is the root of all evil,” penned Paul (I Timothy 6: 10). So how do you view greed?