Posts Tagged ‘Freedom’

Some Solid Financial Advice in An Unexpected Place

Whenever I get a chance to visit Barnes & Noble I love to frequent the Management & Leadership/Marketing & Sales sections.  I just enjoy reading these books.  One of my favorite authors in this section is Seth Godin.  Godin writes about, “the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership and most of all, changing everything.”  If you’ve never read Godin, he often writes in very short, pithy paragraphs that give his books a proverbs like feeling to them.  You can pick up any of his books, open it randomly, and likely get something useful from the page.  Try it.  You’ll understand.

As effective as Godin’s writing style is in printed form it is even more so in digital form.  It has been suggested that his blog is the most popular in the world written by a single person.  I was perusing some of Godin’s older posts recently and stumbled upon a nugget of financial advice that I love.  It is succinct, to the point, and challenging; it’s counter cultural.  Godin’s sentiments are very Dave Ramseyish.  Freedom!!! Here is my favorite part of his post.

My suggestion: Go to defcon 1, and do it immediately. Shift gears to live well below your means. That means:
No restaurants
No clothes shopping
No cable TV bill
No Starbucks

It means:
Take in a tenant in your spare bedroom
Carpool to work
Skip vacation this year

Eat brown rice and beans every night for dinner. Act like you have virtually no income.
Entire Post

Found by Freedom

John 8:1-11 is a powerful story in which Jesus goes toe-to-toe with the teachers of the law and the Pharisees on the matter of sin and condemnation.  The teachers of the law and the Pharisees were trying to drum up accusations against Jesus by confronting him with a challenging situation – a woman caught in adultery that deserves condemnation and punishment.  Jesus in turn confronts those present with their own sins and says, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”  The outcome of this is that everyone leaves except for Jesus and the woman.  Jesus then declares to her that no one, including himself, has condemned her and that she is to go and leave her life of sin.

What an incredible moment that must have been for the woman.  One moment she is broken, terrified, ashamed, overwhelmed in an intense situation, and on the verge of being killed.  The next she is alone with the Prince of Peace, all condemnation gone, and given a second chance on life.  This is intense.  This is life transformation.  I try to imagine what it would be like in that moment, what would be going through my mind and I can’t help but hear these lyrics…

Where are the people that accused me?
The ones who beat me down and bruised me
They hide just out of sight, can’t face me in the light
They’ll return but I’ll be stronger

God I want to dream again, take me where I’ve never been
I wanna go there, this time I’m not scared
Now I am unbreakable, it’s unmistakable
No one can touch me, nothing can stop me

Full Lyrics

These lyrics are from the band Fireflight.  The song is a couple years old but I was just reacquainted with it this past week and the message is powerful.  From the words of the lead singer herself…

“The people in charge were ready to kill her, and Jesus speaks up for her, changes their minds and makes them feel ashamed for accusing her,” explains Dawn Richardson, the group’s fiery lead singer. “How would you feel if you were the woman? She knows she’s guilty, and yet she’s suddenly free and given a second chance.” – Source

Here’s the video for the song.  Take three and a half minutes to reflect on the power of Jesus to set captives free and the beauty of life transformation.

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