Are You Ready for Battle?

A young man in Bible school offered to help David Wilkerson (of The Sword and The Switchblade) when he was ministering on the streets of New York City. Wilkerson asked him how much time he spent in prayer. The young student estimated about 20 minutes a day.

"Go back for a month and pray two hours a day, every day, for 30 days. When you've done that, come back. I might consider turning you loose on the streets where there is murder, rape, violence, and danger. If I send you out now on 20 minutes a day, I'd be sending a solder into battle without any weapons, and you would get killed."

(Floyd McClung on Apostolic Passion in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, p. 205)

Did You Read?

Which Dream Are You Pursuing?

For over 20 years I've been interested in simple living. I have to say "interested" in it because I haven't always practiced it. In the blogworld, there are many popular blogs about simple and/or minimalist living. I read many of them each week. (I'll give you a sample list of blogs with links at the end of this post.)

I've read dozens of books on the topics of frugality, tightwaddery, and economical approaches to American life. Amy Dacyzyn wrote the classic Tightwad Gazette in the '90's. Amy made herself famous by encouraging people to reuse aluminum foil and teaching people how to put a plastic jug to use after the milk is gone. I've read most of Elaine St. James' books. They were much more practical for me since I identified more with Elaine than Amy. Amy lived on a farm. Elaine was a professional city girl. Elaine wrote books like Simplify Your Life, Living the Simple Life, and Inner Simplicity. All good reads and, though a little dated, worth a look.

Books on simple living with a spiritual side to them have also spoken to me. Richard Foster's Freedom of Simplicity is a classic in my opinion. Also Christopher Heuertz's more recent book Simple Spirituality has spoken to me, Beth, and Bailey (my daughter). Bailey read it first and told us about it. Books like Radical by David Platt and The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns also touch on the need for simplicity and challenge their readers to consider the over-indulgences of Americans.

I mention all of this to say that it has been on my mind a great deal lately. In my reading (books and blogs) over the past year or so, I've become even more convicted and convinced that we Americans (myself included) have too much stuff. I occasionally touch on it with posts here. Since Beth and I have become empty-nesters we've come to a point where we've decided that we don't need all of the stuff that we have. Two of the most liberating days that I've had over the past 18 months were the day I sold my motorcycle and the day I sold our boat. These things were fun for awhile but they eventually became a drag.

Americans are suckers for wanting and "needing" the latest greatest gadget or gizmo. We have fallen for the lie that is the American Dream. David Platt's book is subtitled "Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream." Platt does an excellent job of convincing us that the American Dream is not God's dream. How we ever thought that it was...I don't know. Easy access to stores, generous credit from banks, and even our own boredom and purposelessness, has caused us to have houses and yards full of stuff that may bring pleasure for awhile but eventually collect dust - while we still pay the minimum on our credit cards and look for the next great thing that will bring us temporary pleasure.

We must stop.

This is especially true for Christians (which includes most of my readers here). Why are we doing this to ourselves? This isn't what we were designed for. Do you really think that God will be pleased when all you have to show for your one and only life is that you bought a big house for your family, always kept them riding in a late model car, kept your kids in expensive clothes from the mall, and entertained them with every techno gadget possible?

I have a hard time with that. Sorry. You can click the red X on the corner of your browser now if you want, but I have to be honest.

You were made for more than this.


Which dream are you pursuing? The American Dream or God's Dream for your life?

I want to encourage you to consider what you do with your 3 T's, i.e., your time, talents, and treasures. Don't fall for the marketing ploys on TV and don't assume that one more trip to the mall will make you happy. It probably will - for a short while. Look deeper. Evaluate what you're doing with the blessings that God has given you. You are blessed to be a blessing. Think about it. Pray about it. Ask God how you can live His dream, not just the American Dream.

The sermon is over. Let's pray, sing a hymn, and go home now.

Here's a list of blogs that might interest you. I'm looking forward to unveiling a new website soon that will help readers gain a new perspective on life. More about that later!

BecomingMinimalist
RowdyKittens
mnmlist
TheSimpleDollar
Wisebread
ZenHabits
FarBeyondTheStars

Inside-Out Simplicity

Get ready for a 360 degree approach to the simplified lifestyle. “Inside-Out Simplicity: Life-Changing Keys to your Most Important Relationships” is a brand new e-book that goes beyond external fixes to our complicated lives. Instead, this book dares to focus on the very heart and soul of a simplified life.

It is based on the truth that a simplified lifestyle begins in a person’s soul and will help the reader find an inside-out simplicity by focusing on life-changing principles in their most important relationships.

Healthy relationships are absolutely essential for simplicity. And healthy relationships always flow from the inside-out.

• It is meant to challenge you.
• It is meant to encourage you.
• It is meant to inspire you.
• It is destined to help you find a simpler way of life.

Some of the topics and principles covered in the book will help you:

• Discover why healthy relationships are essential to a simplified life.
• Live intentionally by embracing contentment, gratitude, and humility.
• Promote generosity, kindness, service, and forgiveness as a way of life.
• Find greater simplicity in your marriage by focusing on the essential building blocks.
• Be intentional in your dealings with your children and family.

READ THE REVIEWS

• “An excellent new e-book.” – Leo Babauta, Zen Habits
• “Inside-Out Simplicity is the best ebook I’ve ever read.” – Sam Spurlin, The Simpler Life
• “This book is awesome. If you’ve never read Joshua’s stuff before, I’d start with this book. I’d highly recommend it.” – Stu Gray, The Marry Blogger
• “If you’ve mastered “beginner” minimalism and simplified your belongings and clutter and want to continue improving your mental outlook and relationships with those around you, I highly recommend this book. It discusses many areas that are not being talked about among minimalist bloggers right now and definitely need to be.” – Brett Oblack, Step 1 Minimalist
• “It’s a great read as it covers several aspects that are involved in living a simple life, namely our relationship with things, others and ourselves.” – Corey Allan, Simple Marriage
• “The reason I’m recommending Joshua Becker’s new book is because it’s challenging, it’s engaging, and it really asks some tough questions about why you’re pursuing this lifestyle, and how to maintain your decisions in the long run.” – Everett Bogue, Far Beyond the Stars
• “This book is the perfect reference for someone looking to go beyond the ‘pare down your stuff, stop shopping so much, and head outside on a bike’ mentality that the minimalist movement seems to be adopting. To get beyond that, you need to look inside…” - Robyn Devine, the minimalist knitter

Click here to purchase!

How to Pay Off a 30 Year Mortgage in 12 Years

It's that time of year again. Each January, I adjust my automatic payment plan with our mortgage company so that our mortgage will be paid off sooner. I plan to pay our 30 year note off in 12 years.

There are a lot of good ideas out there on how to pay your mortgage off early.

• Make bi-monthly payments instead of monthly.
• Pay an additional 10% of the payment each month.
• Make an extra monthly payment each year with your income tax refund, Christmas or birthday gifts, or other source.

Doing any of the above will take about 7 years off of your mortgage.

I'm no financial guru or expert. Though I read a good bit on money management and investing, I am no Warren Buffett. (No, Warren is not Jimmy's brother. He is perhaps one of the greatest investors of this generation.) So, if you agree or disagree with this plan, so be it. It is what I've chosen for us to do and so far it seems to be working out great. I have not seen this "strategy" in anything I've read which means it is either a great original thought or a dumb original idea. We'll see.

My 30 to 12 plan:

We refinanced our mortgage in the fall of 2008 when the rates drastically dropped. I was glad to make this transaction but I did not want to have a mortgage hanging over my head for 30 more years so I created a plan.

Beginning with the first payment, I paid $100 in additional principal each month for the first year. Each year one of us usually gets a cost of living increase. I determined that with our small increase in salary, I would increase the additional principal payment by $100 each January. Therefore, at the beginning of the second year I would add $200 to the principal each month. The third year I added another $100 so that my additional principal payment was $300 and so on. By the 10th year, I will be paying an additional $1000 each month toward principal using this strategy.

Because we are slowly adding to our principal payments each year using our salary increases, the additional $100 per month doesn't sting too bad and it doesn't affect our monthly budget. I chose $100 each month. You may do more or less. The point is by adding a little bit each month and incrementally increasing that figure each year, it will dwindle your mortgage balance down quicker than the original terms of the note.


I ran an amortization table and projected out my mortgage payments using this strategy and, in our case, it makes our 30 year note a 12 year note.

Ask me how I did in 2020.

Simplify by Joshua Becker

Two years ago, a typical family of four living in the suburbs made the decision to minimize their possessions, declutter their home, and simplify their life. Since then, they have inspired hundreds of thousands of others to give the new lifestyle a chance.
And now, to help you experience the same freedom, they offer the most important lessons they have learned through the process in their new e-book: Simplify: 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life.

Click here to view more details