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Jesus said... "If you follow My teachings, you will be my student. And, you will know The Truth, and The Truth will set you FREE."

What's Your Story?Abraham was a very old and sneaky liar, Peter had a big ego and a temper, Solomon was a sex addict, Noah got drunk, Paul was a murderer, David had an affair (and then killed the hubby), Mary was a prostitute, Sarah was an impatient manipulator, Martha was a worrier, Gideon was no Warrior, Thomas demanded proof to believe, Elijah did miracles and then became depressed, Moses stuttered, Zacheus was short, and Lazarus was dead.

I started out great, got over-extended, then buried in debt, then hit bottom, then discovered The Truth.

What's Your Story?

Jim Munchbach, Managing Editor of Money Bible for iPad, iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry

_Do you love cookies? When I watched this video, I could tell that Kristy loves to make cookies - because she loves people and her way of showing it is with great cookies. Kristy's video made me think about my own business.

What if every financial planner in America figured out a way to treat our business, our work, the people we serve, the same way Kristy treats hers in this video?

To your Success, Significance, and Satisfaction...

Jim

_If you're a Money Bible user, I want to say "thank you". Below is a copy of the email that I'm sending to the folks who are connecting with me on LinkedIn!. I appreciate your purchase and look forward to reading, hearing, or watching your story on my iPad!
Jim

_Thanks for connecting with me on LinkedIn! It’s nice to virtually meet you.
I'm Jim Munchbach, Managing Editor of Money Bible for iPad, iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.

Before you spend time and money with your financial advisory team, we want to invite you to experience Money Bible.

Money Bible helps people manage the challenges of financial planning with purpose and contentment. Version 2 of Money Bible for iPad and iPhone is available now in iTunes, the cost is $0.99. For less than a dollar you can share your story on Money Bible. Here's a list of features and benefits:

Daily Message: Money Bible highlights biblical principles related to financial life planning with a "daily message" brought to you by Christian Financial Advisors, Pastors, and Community Leaders from around the world.

Financial Tips: Practical insights, tips, and ideas from Wealth Management experts in all seven areas of financial planning: Retirement, Risk Management (insurance), Estate Planning, Education Planning, Tax Planning, Investment, and Cash Flow Management.

Advisor Connect: Veteran Financial Advisors share their stories and the wisdom they have gained from years of providing insurance and financial services to clients from all walks of life. If you're a financial professional - in any field of finance - you're invited to be our special guest. When you share your story, we'll include your picture along with a link to your website or blog. Once you spend the $.99 to download the app, it's FREE. We want your story and we're happy to help you promote your business in exchange for Your Story, Financial Tip, or Financial Planning Principles that can help people manage their money with purpose and contentment.

Your Story: Money Bible stories will leave you touched, moved, and inspired because they are Your Story. Share the experience with friends, family, associates, and people around the world. Anyone with an iPad, iPhone, Android, or BlackBerry device is welcomed to join the Money Bible community. I look forward to reading, hearing, or watching your story on my iPad!

The Blueprint: Just like a master builder uses a "blueprint" to design a house from top to bottom, Financial Planners follow a process. The Blueprint for Financial Success, Significance, and Satisfaction is a tool designed to help you Make Your Money Count. Money Bible will show you how to build your own financial plan step by step. Download Money Bible today and we'll help you take the first step.

Why Should You Buy Money Bible for $.99?

• To Support Our Cause: Money Bible Empowers People to Manage Finances with Purpose and Contentment
• To Be The First to Own Money Bible: The $.99 deal is a limited time offer. If you wait, the app will likely be FREE very soon.
• To Share Your Story: If you're a Financial Advisor, Pastor, Community Leader, or someone who just wants to share your story, download Money Bible today. If you're not totally satisfied, we'll post your complaint for the world to see (but we'll keep your $.99).

Why Should You NOT Buy Money Bible for $.99?

• If you're easily offended by people and ideas that challenge traditional or modern ideas about money and life, you should NOT buy Money Bible.
• If you're looking for an easy path to quick wealth, you should NOT buy Money Bible.
• If you're expecting a finished product with no bugs, please wait, do NOT buy Money Bible. (Money Bible - current version  - is offering contests and awards to Financial Advisors, Pastors, Community Leaders, and Early Adopters for ideas and suggestions to make future versions of Money Bible better.) *I will be posting the first contest later this week: For the first 50 users who share their story on Money Bible, I will send a FREE copy of Make Your Money Count (also available in iBook on iTunes).
  

We will be adding content to Money Bible over the next several weeks, months, years, decades... Once you download Money Bible, please comment on one of the articles. Much of the content will be changing in version 3. Currently, we are posting, testing, and having fun. The user group is intentionally small (once we have all the bugs worked out, we'll offer Money Bible for FREE).

The cost to develop Money Bible is well over $10,000. We appreciate your contributions - the $.99 iTunes fee and your comments and suggestions!

Thanks again for connecting with me on LinkedIn.

Jim

_Suzanne is a single mom who was buried in debt. She was raising two children on a job that didn't pay well. Suzanne came to my office and shared her hopes, dreams, and fears. As we talked, I asked her about her goals as well as her assets, liabilities, and expenses. One of the things she really wanted to do was to take her sons on a nice vacation to Europe. That was her dream, but she was afraid her piling debts would keep her family from experiencing the good life.One of Suzanne's expenses was smoking cigarettes. We calculated that she was spending $40 a week on cigarettes. "I've tried to quit," she told me, "but I guess I haven't been too motivated." I showed her that by saving the $40 a week, she'd have over $2000 in a year. For some reason, this reality had never dawned on her. Actually, we found several other expenses that she could eliminate, like cable television and some magazine subscriptions, and in the end, she chose to keep cable but drop the magazines.

As the year went by, Suzanne was able to pay off $1500 in debts, and a year after she came to see me, she took her boys on a vacation to the beach in Florida. When she got back, she called to tell me, "Jim, it wasn't Europe, but we had a great time together. And I feel even better because I paid for our vacation with the money I would have spent on cigarettes. Thank you!"

Finding Treasure

All of us value-in fact, truly treasure-something or someone, and we devote time, attention, and other resources to it. We may have very different treasures, and we may have very different means of fulfilling our dreams, but we are devoted to the thing that matters most to us. Some of us devote ourselves to success or comfort or popularity. Some are devoted to feed the hungry or cure a disease. And some are devoted to a person. The famous French philosopher and physicist, Blaise Pascal, observed this drive in all of us. He wrote, "All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves."

The question is: What treasure is worth the investment of your heart, your life, and your money?

One of my favorite parables Jesus told is actually two parallel stories. Both of them talk about something of value. He said, "God's kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic-what a find!-and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field. Or, God's kingdom is like a jewel merchant on the hunt for excellent pearls. Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it" (Matthew 13:44-46).

In the first story, a man was walking along and found a treasure that had been hidden in a field. In that part of the world, armies marched and fought for centuries. When an army approached, people often buried their prized possessions in the ground to keep them safe. For some reason, this treasure had not been recovered. The man realized that the value of the treasure was so immense that he sold everything he had to buy the land.

The second story is about a merchant whose job and passion was finding prize pearls. One day, he found one so magnificent that he responded just like the wanderer: He sold all he had to buy the pearl.

In both stories, the value of the treasure prompted action that would be considered extreme if the treasure and pearl weren't so valuable. I believe the treasure and the pearl in these stories are Christ himself, who is so valuable that nothing compares to him. It's precisely at this point that many of us become confused or just say "yeah right". We may realize that Christ's love, forgiveness, and acceptance are the most wonderful treasures in the world, but fear, anxiety, and selfishness focus our affections on us, not him. We live in tension, with emotions and values in conflict with each other. One of the purposes of this article is to clear away some of the confusion, to surface the long hidden perceptions that cloud our hearts, and to clarify the choice to treasure what matters most every day. As long as we are human, we won't get it perfect, but with clearer insights, at least we might see the choices to live for selfish goals or for a higher purpose.

How do we know what we really treasure?

All we need to do is examine our thoughts, our dreams, our checkbooks, and we'll begin to see our treasure. When I have a few minutes to think and daydream about the future, what do I imagine? Too often, I think about looking good in someone's eyes-or more accurately, looking better than that guy in someone's eyes. And I have learned to measure my value by the performance of my portfolio or the quarterly profits of my business. If my treasure is the approval of others, I'll always be a puppet dancing on a string, being pulled by a word of affirmation or a frown on someone's face.

There's a better way to live.

Jesus said that our time, thoughts, and resources could be devoted to what matters most in the universe. In fact, he invites us to be partners with him in the greatest adventure known to man: loving people. He told his followers, "Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or-worse!-stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being" (Matthew 6:19-21).

Risk Losing Your Grip

Elisabeth Elliot often has piercing insight about the spiritual things. We are wise, she observes, to loosen our grip on money so our hands can grasp something far more valuable. In Keep a Quiet Heart, she wrote, "Money holds terrible power when it is loved. It can blind us, shackle us, fill us with anxiety and fear, torment our days and nights with misery, wear us out with chasing it.... Poverty has not been my experience, but God has allowed in the lives of each of us some sort of loss, the withdrawal of something we valued, in order that we may earn to offer ourselves a little more willingly, to allow the touch of death on one more thing we have clutched so tightly, and thus know fullness and freedom and joy that much sooner." *[Elisabeth Elliott, Keep a Quiet Heart, (Revell, 2004), pp. 38-39.]

As we learn to value the things Jesus Christ values, we live the richest, most rewarding, and most challenging life we can live. Sure, it's complicated, and there are many risks. That's what an adventure is all about. I'm learning that life is not as simple as some folks suggest-it's more like a twisted mystery most of the time. In the struggle for our soul, Christ has promised that his Spirit will guide us, even when we aren't aware of his presence.

May your new year be filled with peace, joy, and love.

Jim

Thank you for downloading Money Bible on your iPad and iPhone! I look forward to reading Your Story! Money Bible shares financial principles in the form of stories. Money Bible is a great place to tell Your Story.

Money Bible for iPad and iPhone is NEW! If you used our Android version, you know a little about us. The Apple App Team sent me an email last night letting me know that Money Bible (version 1) is ready for release - but I'm on a road trip from Houston to Michigan with my wife) so you are seeing the live version of Money Bible before I am!

Your Story will be one of the first in Money Bible and I can't wait to read it. Upload Your Story, picture, and a link to your blog today and I'll post Your Story tomorrow (or, next time I stop at Starbucks).

As a token of my appreciation, here's a little something to get you thinking about Your Story from my book Make Your Money Count, chapter 3: Powered by Purpose. I'll ask for your email once you Share Your Story on Money Bible. .

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones from all of us at Money Bible.

_ Buck and Jeeta are friends who taught their son Todd valuable lessons about money by giving him simple, meaningful choices. When they went out to eat as a family and the waiter asked for their drink order, they asked Todd, “Do you want a Coke, or do you want a dollar?”
    Jeeta told me, “Todd’s pretty smart. He picked the dollar every time.”
    Buck and Jeeta found a teachable moment, and they used it over and over again to show their son that simple choices make a difference. Many of my friends, including me, forget to employ this valuable learning tool with our kids. Moms and Dads love to be in control at all times and sometimes we miss important opportunities to help our kids learn to be responsible.

_One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to come to his home for a meal, so Jesus accepted the invitation and sat down to eat.  A certain immoral woman heard he was there and brought a beautiful jar filled with expensive perfume.  Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. When the Pharisee who was the host saw what was happening and who the woman was, he said to himself, "This proves that Jesus is no prophet. If God had really sent him, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She's a sinner!"
 Then Jesus spoke up and answered his thoughts. "Simon," he said to the Pharisee, "I have something to say to you."
"All right, Teacher," Simon replied, "go ahead."
 Then Jesus told him this story: "A man loaned money to two people--five hundred pieces of silver to one and fifty pieces to the other.   But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?" 
 Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt."
"That's right," Jesus said.  Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn't offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair.   You didn't give me a kiss of greeting, but she has kissed my feet again and again from the time I first came in.   You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.   I tell you, her sins--and they are many--have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love."   Then Jesus said to the woman, "Your sins are forgiven." 
 The men at the table said among themselves, "Who does this man think he is, going around forgiving sins?"
 And Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." 

_    We love our children, and we want to show it. Some of us show it by giving them lots of money, but the effects can be quite the opposite of our intentions. Instead of providing wings for them to fly, those funds handcuff them to the ground.
Not all gifts of money shackle our children. We can use gifts of money to stimulate responsibility. For example, some parents offer to match dollar for dollar the money their children earn toward buying a car. That can have a very positive impact on a young person by teaching the fact that discipline and hard work yield rewards.
Too much of a good thing—large gifts without expectations of responsibility—can genuinely harm our kids. In their study of millionaires, Stanley and Danko made a number of observations about parents who give money to their children. In retrospect, these conclusions seem to be obvious, but many wealthy parents don’t realize the negative impact they have by giving too much. Stanley and Danko found that receiving cash gifts produces kids whose lifestyle is characterized by consumption rather than saving and investing, and these kids become emotionally and financially dependent on their parents, often well into adulthood and until their parents die. * [Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko, The Millionaire Next Door, (Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books, New York, 1996), pp. 153-159.]
Why do some parents give their kids too much? There are several possible answers. Some parents experienced hardships when they were young, and they simply want to protect their children from those difficulties. Other parents feel guilty that they haven’t been the mothers and fathers they know they should have been, and they try to compensate by giving cash and presents. Similarly, some parents try to buy their children’s love, or they may try to use money and lavish gifts to make their kids happy. The questions we need to ask are:
—Am I giving money or things primarily for them or for me, to make me feel better as a parent because I’ve blown it so badly?
—Will this gift build or destroy my child’s sense of independence and responsibility?
    In some cases, parents who have been giving too much to their kids for a long time have developed children with a debilitating, deep-seated dependence. Changing course at this point requires far more courage and communication than would have been necessary if they had changed directions earlier, but it’s still worth it. It’s never too late to wean a dependent child from his parents. The process may be painful, but it simply must be done if you want your children to become emotionally healthy adults.
Ultimately, personal maturity, growth, and wisdom are stunted in young people who receive too much from their parents. Self-absorption ruins relationships, distorts purpose, and crushes drive that leads to achievement. Irresponsible adult children—that’s not a legacy any of us want to leave to our families. Teaching our kids some of these small steps early in life has a huge payoff for them and for us.
 

Jesus Said...
"No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, it is put on a lampstand to give light to all who enter the room.   Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness.   Make sure that the light you think you have is not really darkness.   If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight is shining on you."

_    In my Financial Tips blog, I've been telling stories about the seven important components of a financial strategy, I want to focus readers on some principles and practices that have caused a lot of people to say, “Wow! That’s incredible!” When we realize the implications of our decisions, we’ll see that these are small steps that result in surprisingly big payoffs.
    For example, a couple of friends try to eat lunch every day (that they aren’t meeting with clients) for less than $2 each. One of them explained, “I certainly don’t need to eat a big lunch every day, and besides that, we can have just as good a conversation over a $1.50 burrito as we can over a $10 trout. I don’t have all the money in the world, and I want my money to go into things I treasure: trips with my wife and kids. If I save $5 a day five days a week for 52 weeks, that’s $1300 I can spend on making memories for all of us. Pretty cool, huh?”
    Yes, that’s pretty cool. I’ve noticed that it’s kind of a game to these two guys. They aren’t obsessed with saving money on lunch, but they’re glad to find a good deal!
   

_Jesus Said...
 "The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast used by a woman making bread. Even though she used a large amount of flour, the yeast permeated every part of the dough."  Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. This fulfilled the prophecy that said,
"I will speak to you in parables.I will explain mysteries hidden since the creation of the world."

_You and I live all day, every day in the culture of self-indulgence. If we’re aware of it, we can do something about it. From my own experience, I’ve learned that living a life without a transcendent purpose is a dead end street. Santa Claus isn’t going to bail us out, and there’s much more to life than barely making it each month or living in fear that no amount of money is enough.
For most of us, living a life of purpose will require some adjustments. The question is: Is it worth it? For me, the answer is emphatically “yes!” I’m still tempted by those messages that I deserve the newest this or the best that, but I’m far more aware of those messages today, so I can more clearly see the choices. Over the past decade, I’ve been reorienting my life according to the purposes that challenge me and fill my heart with gratitude. As I’ve looked beyond my own selfish needs and tried to meet some of the needs of those around me, I’ve seen God use me to touch a few lives—and that both humbles me and thrills me. Sure, I could work harder and make more money, but I’ve gradually become deeply convinced that there are things more important than a little more money.
In his book, The Call, author Os Guinness described the powerful, clear sense of purpose in the lives of the Puritans as an internal gyroscope that kept them on track no matter what was going on around them. That’s what my purpose is becoming for me.
Someday, each of us will receive a report card of our attitudes and behaviors. You and I have been given great wealth in time, resources, and abilities. Jesus once remarked, “Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!” (Luke12:48) If we squander those great gifts on meaningless things, we’ll regret it now, and we’ll regret it even more when the report card comes out.
A good grade isn’t based on not having any weeds. No, we get a good grade because we had the perception to see the weeds of worry and selfishness, and we mustered the courage to pull them whenever we saw them. I want to be a good weed puller.

_Jesus asked, "How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it?   It is like a tiny mustard seed. Though this is one of the smallest of seeds,   it grows to become one of the largest of plants, with long branches where birds can come and find shelter." 
 He used many such stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they were able to understand. In fact, in his public teaching he taught only with parables, but afterward when he was alone with his disciples, he explained the meaning to them.

_People who are full of purpose and contentment arrived at their tipping point years before. Some had been taught valuable lessons when they were kids, and they made good choices early in their lives. Many others, though, lived for years deeply in debt, barely in the black, or fairly wealthy but without a sense of purpose. At some point, however, they realized that money, stuff, and hard work are all valuable up to a point, but life is about much more than things. It’s about people and purpose. They came to a point of decision, and they made a wise choice.
   Earlier I asked you to consider Jesus’ parable about the soils, and we saw that the weeds of worry, deception, and greed have choked out the spiritual vitality of many people. Many of us have been choked like that, but at a point in time, we realized that we had a choice to go in a different direction and experience a life of joy, peace, and contentment. Today, people who are full of purpose and contentment still are tempted by worry, deception, and greed, but they see the weeds and take initiative to pull them before they choke their lives.

_Jesus said...


"Here is another illustration of what the Kingdom of God is like: A farmer planted seeds in a field,   and then he went on with his other activities. As the days went by, the seeds sprouted and grew without the farmer's help,   because the earth produces crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.   And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle."