Kookie Cut-Outs by Rachel Britz

Delivering cookies and good news.

Coffee, Gold, and Other Valuables #TabooTuesday

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Some things are more important than others. Like coffee, for instance. Coffee is extremely valuable to me. Can I live without it? Yeah. Do I want to? Nope. Truth be told, I think about it a lot. Especially when I’ll be traveling. It’s a comfort to me and I like to keep my life cushioned with those sorts of things.

How about you? What valuables have you captivated?

Last night our dinner table conversation turned to inflation, the cost of goods, and the gold standard. Our 16 year old daughter has been working on a History project and had a gazillion questions. Our little talk helped me remember a little lesson I learned a while back. The lesson was about control.

There are some things in life that we have no control over.
Like, finding good coffee on a dusty corner in Sierra Leone, Africa.

And then, there are others, that only we have the power to govern.
Like, determining what’s important to us and why.

This week I’m kicking off a #TabooTuesday series focused on talking about the squeamish topic of money. If you desire you can download the Motivate Your Legacy guidebook here.

So often, we associate money with a question rooted in “What?”

What can I get?

What do I want?

What should we do with…?

Instead, I believe that the BEST place to determine the worth of money in our lives is to ask, “Why?”

Why is money important to me?

Over the years, I’ve worked one-on-one with clients to help guide them into a deeper understanding of why money is important to them. To do this, we go through an exercise called The Values Mountain. It’s really a conversation beginning with the simple question…”Why?” Then, building from that initial answer and continuing to ask deeper questions will reveal the essence of your money motivation.

In one case, I had a woman discover that her deepest desire was to give gifts. It’s the thing that made her feel most alive. She had never associated the language of her heart to money and in doing so it answered a handful of life-long questions. The uncovering also did these two things:

1. Showed her a glimpse into her identity. The ways she was using money to bless others.

2. It exposed a big problem. Overspending.

Here’s the thing with what we deem as valuable, it’s our passion, the thing that motivates us to do good in the world. It’s known to get messy though when money stands in our way. Emotions tend to overrule and sometimes that causes a hiccup in our financial world.

The good news it this, awareness is step 1.

You might be thinking that a values conversation with yourself is a waste of time. Wrong. Want to get your big girl panties on this year and make some changes in your money world? This is where you begin, by asking the why question. Writing it down is helpful.

From here, all else stems. In the coming weeks when we talk about organizing, making money, cutting expenses, getting deals, or saving for a dream vacation…the root will always come back to the value (why?) money has in your life.

Tonight at 7pm(central), I’ll be joining my husband LIVE on a free webcast. We will dive into the subject in greater detail. I hope you can join us! All you have to do is click on the link here. Easy, peasy. Hope to see you tonight!

Motivate Your Legacy

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When I was about 12 years old I flat out asked my aunt how much money she makes. Her mouth fell, silent. My mother scolded. What?  I didn’t know it was that big of a deal. I was curious, afterall.

Money.

It has a bad rap. Talking about it is taboo. Believe me when I say, nothing spikes arm hair faster than the mere mention of the subject. My husband and I have a financial planning business and throughout the year we speak to various groups and organizations. Introducing ideas and insight to help others make smart choices with their money is tough nut to crack. But I’ve learned a few tricks, like, always bring cookies!

Who doesn’t love a little sweet mixed with the salty?

In 2013, I wrote and published a financial guidebook called Motivate Your Legacy: 5 Simple Steps to Creating a Financial Foundation. The goal is to help kick start a movement. Beginning by looking within, and uncovering what we really think about the value of money in our own life. It’s different for each one of us! Then, I dive into some organizational tips, ideas, and resources.

If you’re looking for a solution to all your problems. This isn’t for you. Have you been thinking you don’t know where to start or how to get your ducks in a row? Then, Motivate Your Legacy might be a great first step.

Sold? Well, great, you can download your copy for only $1.99 right here. Or click on the image above.
So, here’s the deal, over the next 7 weeks I’m going to dive into this taboo topic of money and tackle big issues like organization, income, protection, and yep, spending. Will you join me? Remember, you can always subscribe to have this information delivered to your inbox.

In addition, my husband and I will be hosting a periodic LIVE webcast to share more winning ideas to help you make the most of your life. Join us this Tuesday, February 18th @ 7pm (central) for our first LIVE webcast. Purchasing the guidebook isn’t necessary, but we will reference some ideas and exercises during our time together. You can RSVP for the webcast here.

Ready, set, let’s do this thing!

Guest Blogger: God, in the form of a black woman…

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Guest Blogger: My Mother


The past few months have been unsettling to me.  As a mom, it’s hard to see your children go through difficult times.  We are ‘fixers’ by nature and it’s no different for me.  But when your child is 30 years old, there isn’t much you do to control their lives or situations.  So … I lay awake at night, feeling helpless.  One really good thing was getting a copy of “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young for Valentines Day.  It has helped me so much to seek Jesus’ presence in my life, and not depend on myself (or others) for my happiness.  

So last week I had my annual physical with Dr. B.  She is a small-framed, Nigerian-American woman.  This is the third year I’ve come to her for my physical and really like her as my doctor.  As I’m waiting to see her, I was asked to fill out the usual forms and explain any conditions or ailments that you have.  One of the questions was “Are you having trouble sleeping”?  “Are you depressed, anxious, etc?”  Even though I answered ‘no’ to every other question, I wondered if I should be totally honest with these two.  So I checked ‘yes’.

Dr. B came in and we began our conversation and exam.  She finally got to my ‘yes’ answers and asked why I wasn’t sleeping.  So I shared with her that my son got a divorce and how I knew the lack of sleep was only temporary.  She asked me a few questions, like how long had they been married, any children, etc.  I shared how easy it is to get a divorce these days and we talked a bit about ‘commitment’.   I told her that my sleepless nights had been good for my prayer life.  She looked into my eyes and nodded, knowingly.  She said God is good.

I told her that the good thing was that my son had come back to the church … joined us every Sunday for worship, was reading his bible, and had joined a men’s bible study.  He had never done that before, so I felt God was a work in him.  I’m not sure why, but then I sort of opened up to her and said that I even questioned God, because, after all, I had prayed almost every day for my son and his wife.  I sensed something wasn’t quite right with them and knew they needed prayer.  I wondered why He hadn’t answered my prayer.

Dr. B listened quietly and then shared that divorce was a sin, but a forgivable sin.  She said maybe God would rather have my son’s soul and the divorce, rather than a good marriage without having them turned toward Him.  What?  I sat there (in my cute little gown) with my mouth open!  Would God really want my son’s soul so badly to have this other bad thing happen?  Or is it just that with God, nothing is truly wasted?  I believe the latter.  

Dr. B also shared a story with me about how when she was married, several years ago, she and her American husband went back to Nigeria to get married.  She shared that her and her husband-to-be only wanted a very simple wedding … no alcohol, no dance … just a simple ceremony.  Her family was enraged and said they were disgracing the family and they must have alcohol, dancing and invite the whole village.  She remembered very clearly that when she was alone and feeling discouraged, God spoke to her and said that she need to concentrate on the ‘marriage’ and not worry about the wedding.  So, she said, her and her husband had a beautiful wedding ceremony; but once they were done cutting the cake, the rest of the wedding belonged to her family.  Cute story.

I sat there and listened to her talk, with her beautiful accent and soft voice.  Then it dawned on me … I was acting like her family!  I was caring more about how this divorce looked on the outside and how it reflected on our ‘perfect’ family!  Dr. B reminded me that God cares most about our souls … and little else.  The tears flowed freely.  

As she was preparing to leave, she asked if she could pray with me.  I said sure.  She took the time and prayed over me, my son, my family, our souls.  It was the most beautiful thing.   Then she said she wished she could stay and do this all day, but she had to get back to work.  And she was gone.  I gathered my things together and left, feeling a peace I hadn’t felt in a long while.  

It wasn’t until the next day, when I was telling my husband about my “physical” that checked my soul, as well as my body, that it dawned on me.  I had had a visit from God, in the form a beautiful black woman … just like in the book “The Shack”!  It made me smile to know that He can really speak to us in the most unlikely places … Thank you, Lord.

“Stay on the path of Life with Me, enjoying My presence.  Choose to trust Me in all circumstances.”


Suicide-A story of hope & intention

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It was January 2007 when I got the call.

He died. My dear friend, the one from high school, the one I’d always considered a brother. It was suicide. It was intentional.

I could describe for you the pain, the looping roller coaster of grief. A cheap ride I never wanted to go on in the first place and one that took a long, long, long time to get off. But I’m assuming you’ve been acquainted with heart wrenching loss. If you haven’t…someday you will.

So, this is my suicide story. The way it sliced me to the core, bloody and bruised, leaving me vulnerable to the realms of this world and beyond. This is my story of how God courted me during that season. This is my story of how He used all those broken pieces to create something new in me.

God says He is the beginning and end. He who is, who was, and who is yet to come. {Rev.1:8} He is the past, present, and the future. And when I welcomed Him to live and reign in my heart, He promised to never leave me or forsake me. He knew what was to come, and looking back I discover that in a million little ways He was preparing me for that black moment. He always does.

Even still, grief is an unwelcome companion.

In the month’s preceding my friends suicide I had developed a very strong unsettling feeling within my spirit. It was odd. Unlike anything I’d ever experienced. I kept it to myself mostly. I prayed. Then one day, while driving I heard a voice whisper, “Death is near.” Whoa! I shook it off. Yet, it periodically returned. The voice. Those words. Death is near.

And then, the call.

Death is destruction, disaster, and a devastating mixture to our soul. Suicide tosses in additional ingredients. Heaping cups of guilt, pounds of regret, and bitterness served up in bulk. We assume our role. We feel part to blame. We could’ve, we should’ve….

This past week a young college student from my church committed suicide. I didn’t know him but my heart aches for his family and friends. I remember the pain as if it was yesterday. It’s palpable. I hold my journal in my palm, I flip back, and I recoil as I relive that moment.

This grief zone; it’s complicated, dangerously confusing, and life changing.

Are you there? Here are a few things you can do:

1. Record Your Journey. A journal helped me pour out my grief. It was good to help me cope and process the waves that crashed and battered. I quickly discovered that grief measures itself with time. One week, one month, the last time you did this, the anniversary of, words exchanged, all of which become marked by time. In the same way, your grief journey can be measured through words, thoughts, and feelings. As you look back, the million little ways that God was comforting and restoring will slowly be revealed. Not now, not in the fog, but later when you can see a little more clearly. Believe it or not, this journey will be used as a tool. It’s shaping your testimony. Write it out.

Resources: Evernote is an online tablet that you can use to record events or make simple notes. Or consider using Blogger. Opt for private settings if you wish to record for your eyes alone.

2. Guard your heart. Above all else, guard your heart. Imagine your heart as a door, the gateway to your soul. Would you allow a thief in? Never. It’s tempting to want to connect with your loved one. I know. I dabbled. I did not protect myself because I did not understand fully. And because of it I flung open doors to a world that I never intended to enter. But God gave me wisdom and in JESUS NAME I cleaned house and closed doors. I also learned some truths about the Devil. He is a trickster, an impostor, and he masquerades as light. {2 Corinthians 11:14} This means he can disguise himself to look like someone we care deeply for. To masquerade as light means that by all appearances it is good and lovely. Why would Satan do this?  To deceive.

 “Demons are undoubtedly more than willing to masquerade as dead humans if they can deceive tens of millions of people and draw them away from Jesus.” -Ron Rhodes

What’s at stake? When we focus our attention on the spiritual realm or connecting with a loved one rather than fixing our eyes on God, the enemy succeeds. The last thing the Devil wants is for you to gain strength, wisdom, and council from the Lord. This subject is wildly controversial in most circles. I’m stating the biblical truth that has been made known to me. If you wish to have a private conversation about this I’d love to talk. Please message me here.

And pray. He who is in you is greater that he who is in the world.

Resource: The book, The Truth Behind Ghosts, Mediums, & Psychic Phenomena by Ron Rhodes was a huge gift to me. Full of wisdom!

3. Step out of your comfort zone. I know your hurting. Scripture says, “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.”{Psalm 126:5} Stepping forward and wrapping your arm around someone who shares your grief is good for healing. When my friend died, God laid a burden of compassion on my heart for his mother. One week after the funeral, my sweaty hands picked up the phone and called her. We talked and cried together for hours. And that was only the beginning…

The remedy does exist. We discover it in a movie, a novel, or in the lyrics of a song. We see it painted in a rainbow or in one star twinkling brighter than the rest. We read it in the Word. Profound and bold, we’ve never noticed it before. The calm, gentle voice whispers truth while the hot shower beads our tear streaked faces. These are the things that bring out hope. Cling. Write. Live. Hope.

Make this your intention.

 

A Word is Hope

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It’s all a buzz. One word. A challenge to name 2014 with one declaring word. In recent years the new year resolution factor has been slowly fading away.  

Have you created your manifesto? Forget it.

Did you set a few goals? Big whoop.

What’s your resolution this year? Oh, you’ve given up. Who cares?



Well, I know you, and you do care. But you’re busy. Life is crazy nuts. The mani-festo thing, goals, and resolutions are a thing of the past. I get it. But a word is something different.

      A word is a name. 

      A banner.

      A prophesy. 

      A word is life. Your life.

I’ve been thinking about this. And I began to pray that God would reveal His “word” for my life this year. Then, one morning I awoke to a word wrapped like a Mayday gift on the front porch of my heart. Dropped off. One complete word.

BELIEVE. 

My word for 2014. It means confidence in the truth, the reliability of God, and to have faith that He will be fully engaged in every aspect of my life.

      A word is hope.

So, what’s your word? Seek and ask. Meditate on it. It will come!
And once you have it what should you do with it? Grab your paintbrush and color the canvas of your heart with it. Write it in your journal, on your mirror, in chalk on the lesson plan for your day. Ponder your word in your heart. Look for it in everyday life. Color your world, your community, your kiddos with your one word. 
Name it and claim it. It’s yours. Make it bright!