photo by Jinx!

I hear this question asked in a local bankruptcy attorney’s television and radio commercials. Every answer blames something, the economy, debt consolidation, or credit cards just to name a few. Not one of these people takes ownership of the problem.

It’s not my fault.

Not a single one of these fine folks say “I really don’t know how to manage money that’s how I got into this mess.” Or perhaps “I just knew that debt consolidation loan was the answer to my money problems.” How about this one? “I had no idea you had to pay back credit card debt; I thought that was free money”.  And my personal favorite; “Everybody has a car payment, right?”

Take ownership.

Unless someone twisted your arm, held a gun to your head or otherwise threatened you with bodily harm, you and only you got yourself into this mess. I had a state trooper tell me once, as I attempted to explain why I was driving 45 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone. I had not seen the sign; therefore, I was not aware of the reduced speed limit. As he was writing my citation he said; “Ignorance of the law is no excuse”.

You can educate the ignorant, but you can’t fix stoopit.

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Photo By mldundar79

I was absolutely shocked at a news report I found on a local television station website. They list seven ways, in their opinion that are the best to pay off debt. Of the seven, three of them would help, some. The other four will only move the debt from one debtor to another thereby doing nothing to pay off the debt.

The following are the best ways to pay off debt. I start with five steps.

1.    Quit borrowing more money.

2.    You must save money.

3.    Prayer really works.

4.    Sell something.

5.    Take a part-time job or overtime (temporarily).

While these steps may seem simple, they do work. You must remember you cannot borrow your way out of debt! Just take a look at what has been going on in Washington D.C.

Always save some money. Pay yourself first, even if it’s only $5.00 a week, make a commitment to save something.

Prayer really works. God answers prayers, in His time not ours, but you have to ask.

Sell so much stuff the kids will think they are next, you can always buy more stuff.  Right now you are in a crisis that you need to get out of.

Take any job you can find, temporarily. You don’t have to deliver pizzas or clean toilets for the rest of your life.

Let me break it down farther.

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Photo by Gregor_y

One of the ladies in our Sunday school class used the phrase “Go against the flow”. In this context, she meant it pertained to our walk with Christ. Often times we are tempted to go with the flow. After all everyone else is doing it so, it must be okay, right? We also tend to water down God’s word to fit our situation. Thinking, well that’s not so bad compared to what someone else is doing. The problem is each time we do this we get just a little bit farther off course.

The Nerd in me started thinking.

Many years ago I was an adventurous lad. On my second motorcycle trip to the Colorado Rockies, I had the opportunity to “shoot the rapids” on the Colorado River. After thirty years, our guides name has long since escaped my memory, so I’ll call her Jane. Jane gave the eight of us in the rubber raft instructions on how to paddle, and when to paddle. One of the most important things she pointed out was the fact we may need to go against the flow.

The water was calm and very cold.

We began our little journey on a stretch of the river that was calm as an indoor swimming pool. When riding in one of these rafts you place one foot in the raft, the other in the water. To say the water was cold is an understatement. When we reached our pickup point, we had gotten used to the cold temperature. We paddled for perhaps a mile, practicing our newly acquired paddling techniques. “Right side back, left side forward”, Jane shouted. We learned how to turn the boat around. As we were taught Jane’s various commands, we were approaching a bend in the river that flowed into a canyon.

What’s that sound?

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For those of you who know me, you know my princess Hannah. I have always referred to her as princess. It’s not because  I put her on a pedestal. It’s  because I’ve said: “oh no what did my little princess do now?”

Hannah is clearly a blessing from God. While she is not my child, I couldn’t love her any more if she were. Hannah came into my life a few years ago at a time when she needed a father figure in her life, and I needed her in mine. I feel every child needs a strong father, for many their fathers are not in the picture.

Not being a father presented a bit of a challenge for me.

The first order of business was to order the book Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters by Meg Meeker. It is a must read if you have a daughter. The biggest take away for me was your daughters will test you. They will test you to see if you really do love them. While she has tested me a time or two, my love for her has never changed.

I treat her the same no matter if we are downloading music on her IPod or shopping for nail polish at the mall. I show her the respect I expect her future husband to show her. When I pick her up I go to the door, I don’t sit in the car honking the horn. I open doors for her. I laugh with her when she is happy, and I’ll cry with her when she is sad. I don’t cry with her when she doesn’t get her way that’s another test.

She needs to know she is beautiful, and she is.

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This is a bit of a “shout out” to my friend Kyma Drake. Kyma is an artist, with God given talent. The picture shown is from her Butterfly Greeting Card Collection.

Each card is 5×7 and comes with an envelope. Every card is one of a kind. There are no two alike. Each one is created by hand and it takes 17 steps to produce them. The cards are made from hand-marbled paper. Each card is cut, punched, stamped and glittered individually. Every one is very unique.

Kyma is also gifted in crocheted items, special order pencil portraits, photography and one of a kind items designed by her.

See more of her Butterfly Collection at http://www.etsy.com/shop/kymaskreations
You may follow Kyma on Facebook KymasKreations to see some of her other creations.