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August 12, 2008
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
Hard Times Good for You?, by Rubel Shelly
My parents lived through the Great Depression, and it changed them
forever. They were certainly never wasteful. They hated and avoided
debt. They made prudent purchases. And they were generous with others
in distress.
I am neither an economist nor a prophet, but I am not impressed by the
people crying "Wolf!" today and predicting another economic disaster
comparable to the one my mother and father survived. Maybe it's just my
natural bent toward optimism, but I am bullish on the future of our
country.
True enough, times right now are challenging for all of us and
downright cruel to some of us. But we'll be looking back in a few
months to a few years -- and telling our children and grandchildren
what we learned "back then."
Maybe you can tell them how you ...
* Wised up to the money you were wasting and the harm you were doing
to your health -- and quit smoking.
* Beat your addiction to credit cards and started living within your
means.
* Took your lunch to work three days a week and saved over $150 a
month.
* Learned to use the public library not just for checking out books
but for borrowing (not buying or renting!) movies and educational
programs.
* Began eliminating cable channels, text-message services, or
telephone land lines you weren't using enough to justify.
* Got serious about eliminating debt from your life and quit living
by the assumption that you had the right to everything advertisers
offered.
* Started saving for their college education or first house purchase
and opened the savings account you are giving them now.
* Began living the generosity they are marveling at now.
We need to quit waiting for someone to fix things!
I'm sure you are getting the picture by now. Taking the long view of
things, you need to see what is happening today from the perspective of
where you want to be in five or ten years. I need to quit whining about
how tough things are and figure out ways to cope with unpleasant
realities. All of us need to quit waiting for someone to fix things and
begin doing the things that will make a difference.
The choice in life is not between having problems and avoiding them. It
is between growing from them and being destroyed by them.
Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for
you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And
let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and
complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4 NRS).
---------
(c) 2008 Used by permission. From Rubel Shelly <rshelly@rc.edu>'s
"FAX of Life" printed each Tuesday. See Faith Matters for
previous issues of the "FAX of Life."
RELATED LINKS:
* Facing Adversity Over and Over
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200503/20050318_adversity.html
* Real Perseverance
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200804/20080426_realperseverance.html
* Character Building
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200112/20011205_character.html
* RubelShelly.com
http://www.rubelshelly.com/
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200808/20080812_hardtimes.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
SIMPLY CHRISTIAN: WHY CHRISTIANITY MAKES SENSE, by N. T. Wright
Destined to become a classic alongside Lewis's Mere Christianity - a
fascinating and accessible apologetic for modern seekers.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?255
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