THE GIFT OF MONEY 16; THE RAINY DAY

"Enough is better than too much" - French Proverb 

For the most part, deciding where the line is drawn between wise saving and foolish hoarding is not a matter of money; it's a matter of the heart. Certainly, in our quest to live as stewards of God's resources, it makes sense to maintain a reserve large enough to handle some of life's tougher financial circumstances, such as an extended period of unemployment.

Teaching us about saving money, the Bible uses the word "fool" a number of times. (Consider Proverbs 21:20, and Luke 12:16-20).

The key to figuring out how much money you should keep in reserve, includes knowing your household's essential needs monthly. If you were to lose your (source of ) income, taking your next vacation or updating your wardrobe probably would (definitely) not come up as important, on your priorities list - but there are certain bills you'd still need to pay, such as your mortgage, utilities, groceries, and insurance. If you don't already have a budget, create one today. Financial planners often recommend maintaining an emergency fund large enough to cover three-to-six months' worth of essential living expenses. So, take your one-month figure and multiply by six.

THE GIFT OF A DREAM (20); WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR DREAM II?

"Let the man who says it cannot be done not disturb the man doing it." - Chinese Proverb

Dreams

As we continue to answer the question “what happened to your dream”, recall that I mentioned that a great dream could easily succeed or fizzle into nothingness depending on the people around it, either dream helpers or dream terminators. One indicator that you have a dream terminator around your dream is that you have a constant destructive critic around you, someone that never says or sees something positive about your dreams.

The story is told of a judge who had been frequently ridiculed by a conceited lawyer, who never saw anything good about the judge’s judgments. When asked by a friend why he didn't rebuke his assailant, he replied, "In our town lives a widow who has a dog. And whenever the moon shines, it goes outside and barks all night."

Having said that, the magistrate shifted the conversation to another subject; finally someone asked, "But Judge, what about the dog and the moon?" "Oh," he replied, "the moon went on shining--that's all."

There could not be a better response to a destructive critic. Be like the moon, keep shinning and pursuing your dreams. The moon doesn’t go into hiding because of a barking dog. Let me leave you with 6 pointers to a destructive critic who is a dream terminator. How they bury a good dream;