Drama Free Finances

Posted on September 18, 2015 by dkoop

businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-frontDo you have drama with your Finances?  Many Americans do but in this blog and through our church we want to provide you resources to help.

Consider this:

  • 76% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck[1] (CNN Money).
  • The average American is spending $1.22 for every dollar they earn (Dave Ramsey)  The average American household’s credit card debt is $15,950.[2] (CNN Money)

Is that you?  If so, how do you Live Drama Free with your finances?

“Plan carefully and you will have plenty.  If you act too quickly, you will never have enough.”  Proverbs 21:5

Have you ever said,  “I just don’t know where all my money goes”?

It’s  a warning light that says to you need a financial plan to determine where your money is going instead of wondering where it went. God says that you need to have a financial plan.

Do you ever struggle with your kids at the store, because they want to buy everything? I have learned to tell them before I go in, “we are buying ___& ____ and that’s it!’   As parents it’s our job to teach our kids they can’t have everything.  Let me ask you, what can stop adults from trying to buy everything?  Its like we need someone to slap us on the hand to say, “No!  You can’t buy that!”  Who does that for adults?  I’ll tell you.  It’s a spending plan.    How do you break the habit of impulsive buying?  You have to nip it in the budget!  A budget is simply planning your spending.

Do you have a plan to get out of debt? Its so easy to get in debt these days but how will you get out?

We are excited to offer the following resources:

  • Downloadable Spending Plans(Budgets) to choose from several on this blog, click here
  • Financial Peace University: We are excited to announce at The Ridge we are offering Dave Ramsay’s Financial Peace this semester in our Growth Groups!  Financial Peace is 9 week DVD format with a work book led by an FPU alumni that will walk you through how to budget,  how to get out of debt, how to save, and how to plan for the future.   It meets on Thursday’s in Georgetown.  The class is free but the workbook has a cost.  Here are the dates: September 24, October 1, 8, 15, 29, November 5, 12, 19
  • To sign up for Financial Peace at The Ridge in Georgetown, click here.  Scroll down until you see “Dave Ramsay’s Financial Peace”
  • For more information about Dave Ramsay or to purchase group material, click here.
  • Free Financial Counseling.  Just mark on your Connection Card in any Sunday Service and someone will contact you to help you go over a budget, develop a plan to get out of debt or whatever needs you may have.

I’m excited about what God will do in people’s finances this fall.

Darrell

For more about our Drama Free Series or Fall Growth Groups go to

http://www.RidgeFellowship.com

[1] http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/24/pf/emergency-savings

[2] http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/money101/lesson9

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Drama Free

Posted on September 9, 2015 by dkoop

businesscard-3.5inx2in-h-frontDrama is a drain and a pain.

Not “drama” as in movies and TV shows that are heavy emotionally, but rather “drama” as in the petty ridiculous unimportant events or feelings that get blown way out of proportion for no reason at all.

Urban Dictionary has my favorite definition of this kind of drama: “making a big deal over something unnecessarily.”

We’d like to believe that petty social drama ends the day we leave middle school, but sadly, this is not the case. No matter how old they are, people can still find ways of adding unnecessary conflict to their relationships, work, at home, or with friends.

This is truly a shame, because drama increases stress, ruins relationships, and eats away at that one precious commodity none of us can afford to waste: time.

If you want to stress less, have better relationships, and make the most of the limited time you have on earth, I would highly suggest you eliminate as much of the drama from your life as you can.   It’s why we’re doing a series called Drama Free. Here are 7 things you can do to live “drama free”:

  1. Act Your Wage

$15.706 is the average credit card debt per household today. 76% of American’s live pay check to pay check. 40% spend 110% of their income.  It’s why we offer free Financial Counseling at the Ridge.  Just mark it on your Connection Card. We have counselors who will come to your house and help you develop a spending plan (budget) as well as help you get out of debt and give. If you want to really get crazy then sign up for our Financial Peace Class offered by Dave Ramsey.  It meets on Thursday’s in Georgetown from 6:30-8:30 for nine weeks. Here’s a link for more information.   You’ll get out of debt, live by a plan, save and have drama free finances.

  1. Forgive

We all get hurt by others.  Un-forgiveness keeps the hurt alive and adds unnecessary drama.  It can control us as we replay the hurt back in our mind over and over. Often the person we are mad at has moved on but we hold on.  Un-forgiveness hurts us more by creating anger, rage, depression and sicknesses.  It’s been said that un-forgiveness is like you swallowing rat poison hoping it will kill the rat.  Learn to let go and let God deal with the other person.

  1. Keep Your Spouse a Priority

If you are married you have been given a gift.  You will become “one” with the other person according to the scriptures.  There are many good things that try to divide a couple such as work, kids, family, hobbies or other people.  Good can be enemy of the best. Ann Landers said, “Neglect the rest of the world if you have to but never neglect each other”  A bad marriage is full of drama, learn to make your spouse a priority.

  1. Give your Kids Exactly what they Need

Kids crave engaged parents, boundaries and meaning not stuff.  Instead of buying them off or keeping them and you so busy that you all go crazy, learn Godly principles of parenting such as accepting their uniqueness, affirming their value without losing yours, entrusting them with responsibility, correcting them without condemnation and loving them unconditionally.  We’ll look at each of these biblical principles of parenting in detail.

  1. Remember Church is About Christ and Redemption, not all the other junk we bring in.

Church is messy because it has people in it. If you find the perfect church, don’t join it or you’ll ruin it.   Yes the church is full of hypocrites, come on in!  There’s room for one more.  Thankfully as imperfect people we have a perfect savior.  He loves us, died for us and will change our lives.  As Christ followers, we’re just starving beggars who found bread and are showing others where to find it.  Church turns people off by the drama people bring in that has no place, things such as not dealing with conflict properly, politics, condemning some sins but not others and judging those outside of church.  Learn how to leave the drama out of church and then experience the greatest force for good on this planet!

  1. Social Media not the place to lose reality, or get discontented with your life.

Many people filter their communication, edit their pictures and portray only the high points in their seemingly wonderful life.  We may not see the real person in a social media feed who has struggles just like you.  Our church is a place where we encourage transparency. None of us have it all together.  Learn to appreciate the ups and downs of life, be real and not be overly discontented with what’s on social media.

  1. Conflict is Normal and Healthy.  Learn to deal with it properly.

On the other side of conflict is greater understanding.  Conflict reveals points of growth and improvement.  We learn to communicate better, express our needs and share our concerns, hurts and frustrations. Learn to deal with conflict in a healthy way and improve your relationships, we’ll show you how.

You may never be able to eliminate all the drama from your life, but with just a little bit of focus, discipline and with God’s help you can certainly minimize how much you have in your life. As a church, that’s what we’re doing together. It’s well worth doing – the less drama you have in your life, the more room you have for fun, joy and great relationships!

I hope you can join us for our series, Drama Free.  I’m really excited about it!

Darrell

www.RidgeFellowship.com

Sources:
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-card-data/average-credit-card-debt-household/

http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/24/pf/emergency-savings/

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The Life Saving Station

Posted on July 26, 2015 by dkoop
God on Film RidgeOn a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little lifesaving station. The building was no more than a hut, and there was only one boat; but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea. With no thought for themselves, they went out day and night, tirelessly searching for the lost. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding area, wanted to be associated with the station and give their time, money, and effort to support the work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The little lifesaving station grew.

Some of these new members of the lifesaving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those who were saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they decorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely because they used it as sort of a club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work. The lifesaving motif still prevailed in this club’s decoration, and there was a memorial lifeboat in the room where the club initiations were held.

About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet, half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick, and some of them were foreigners. The beautiful new club was in chaos. Immediately, the property committee hired someone to rig up a shower house outside the club, where victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities because they felt they were unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. A small number of members insisted upon lifesaving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a lifesaving station. The small group’s members were voted down and told that if they wanted to save lives, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast.

They did.

As the years went by, however, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old station. It evolved into a club, and yet another lifesaving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that seacoast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along that shore.

Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the passengers drown.

  
As disciples of Jesus, our primary task is to go and make disciples. (See Matthew 28:19.)  To put it another way, we are to go and save lives. It was Jesus primary mission:  “I came to seek and the save the lost” and he made it our mission as well. Unfortunately, we sometimes forget our purpose. We need to recover our passion for lifesaving.  

www.RidgeFellowship.com

Source:  Youth Specialties, Hot Illustrations 1.0
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I Tend Respond to Evil in One of Four Ways

Posted on July 21, 2015 by dkoop

God on Film Ridge It is natural to want to do something about evil that we encounter.  We all want to take some type of action.  

        The servants in the parable asked,   ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ (vs. 28b)   They were ready to suit up for battle!

 

 I can respond to evil in one of four ways.  I can be a …

  •  Separatist  – in Jesus day the Essenes

In the middle ages it was the monastic movement to start monasteries or nunneries to separate from society. You may have heard of this term because it described a movement in European Christianity and continues to this day.  We see this in movies like “Sound of Music” or “Sister Act.”  The Christian school movement, the home school movement, Christian colleges,  in many ways is Christians wanting to pull away from society. Separating themselves from the evil influences of the public school, from the evil influences of those evil school kids.  The only problem is that this is exactly OPPOSITE of what Jesus says we are to be.  “We are salt (Matt 5:13) we are light (Matt. 5: 14) we are a city on a hill. (Matt. 5:14) ”  They are putting our head in the sand like Ostriches is how I think of it.  “See no evil hear no evil.”  We have given up and decided we have no power, no influence.  When Jesus says we do.

  •  Puritan – in Jesus’ day the Pharisees

Trying to maintain a religious purity no matter the cost. You have heard of this term because it was another middle age and European Church movement that many still try to emulate today.  In Salem the Puritans burned suspected witches — to maintain a pure society. In the Spanish Inquisition people who disagreed with the official teaching of the church were tortured. Husbands have beaten their wives to teach them submission – so they could have model godly families.  Others have embraced such strong religious views that they cut off all ties with their children because they disagree with some of their lifestyle decisions.  We knew a family that their daughter didn’t marry a catholic so they disowned her and wouldn’t talk to her or their grandchildren for over ten years.  They got a divorce and they welcomed them back with open arms.  A friend of mine from college her dad, split a church over what translation of the Bible was the best and began a new church.  When she got married she married someone who didn’t share his views and the dad didn’t go to the wedding and now ten years later has not spoken to them.  Is this kind of behavior the answer?  NO!

Every time we try to use worldly influence, religion or power or scheming to get God’s work done we end up doing more damage to his kingdom.

  •  Militant – in Jesus’ day the Zealots

When the puritan methods aren’t working fast enough some Christians become militant.  We see the same thing in some contemporary political movements. “Once we organize and get rid of the hated godless pornographic homosexual media-driven infestation which is menacing our nation we’ll become the nation of God once again.”  Really?

And once people begin to think this way it’s not too much of a leap before they’ll take up arms against abortionists or homosexuals or whoever the current sinner happens to be. But hear Jesus, we’re stuck with weeds until harvest time.

  •  Realist

We’ve got to be realists! We are not going to eliminate evil from the world and we ought not to act as though that were the case.

Every group or individual that takes on themselves the mission of bringing in the kingdom of God in political or strong-armed or religious or rule infested ways ends up really warped with an inflated view of self-importance. Ironically, they begin acting in ways that are completely contrary to the kingdom of God.

            Which am I? 

 By the way these are also models of churches today.   Most churches in America today are a puritan model, they try to gather a pure church according to their definition of that with followers who follow their prescribed tenants.    We are realists.   Let me share with you our realist model.  We allow people to be in process.  There are wheat and weeds together.  Together we grow, we are not perfect we allow people to be who they are but we also provide opportunities for the wheat to grow.

The Ridge Fellowship is a group of Realists.

Those who want to grow, take advantage of the opportunities.    Those who want to be held accountable are held accountable by their decision only.  They decide to become a member, they decide to serve, they decide to lead.  We don’t hold those accountable who do not wish to.  Our mission is to KNOW Christ (its a choice each person must make on thier own) and   GROW to Be Like HIM (also a day by day minute by minute choice.)

MY RESPONSIBILITY

 Evil will not stop my spiritual growth

             Let both grow together until the harvest. (vs. 30a)

 As a believer, I am the good seed.  My responsibility is growth and reproduction.

 “The wheat sprouted and formed heads”  (vs. 26)

As wheat is profitable for bread, food, and seed, it has purpose. God’s children have purpose and are useful for God.  Is your life bearing fruit?  What are you doing in God’s field?   Are you spending your energy growing and reaching others?  Or are on some witch hunt or some gossip campaign or puritan endeavor or inquisition?   Try growing in Christ and reaching others.  It works!

There have been wonderful examples of those who have been changed when we thought they had no hope:   Alice Cooper, Korn guitarist, Brian Head Welch, Stephen Baldwin.
But the question asked by many is, “What happens to these evil people when they become good?”  The same thing that happens to you and me. They are forgiven and become new creation.

  • My greatest weapon against evil is transformation. 

 If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  2 Corinthians 5:17

God is in the business of transforming lives!  He changes us and recreates us.  He takes the evil and makes it good, the wrong and makes it righteous.

God can take this Johnson grass plant (a nasty weed) and transform it into a corn plant that is useful and provides food.  It’s not magic it’s a miracle! It’s a spiritual truth! God is in the life changing business.   He has called us to do the same.  We are to take every ounce of our energy and reach others with this truth.  Look at this.

 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

 He has given us the ministry of reconciliation (bringing people to Christ) not the ministry of grumbling, Ministry of complaining, or ministry of judging, the ministry of do nothing.

If you have never become a Christ follower, today is the day Christ can plant a seed in your heart, it will begin to grow and will transform your life.  If you are a believer let me ask you:  are you growing?  Are you seeing a change?  And lastly, whose life can you plant the seed of the gospel?  Which co-worker, family member can you give a bible to, invite to church or pray for?   This is how we best respond best to evil:  cooperating with the transformation power of Christ.

Darrell

www.RidgeFellowship.com 

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