Mynhardt van Pletsen

With this next series of posts, we will converse together on the very stingy matter of your own personal finances.

Whew! That was hard getting out!

The reason I decided to tackle this matter is because I need to learn and apply thse principles more than most, and, just recently, I was blown away by how many financial or money related issues, events and thingys crossed my path. It was like God was trying to seriously get my attention, to get me to focus on this area of my life a little more!

So, I guess I’ll also discover a couple of financial truths as we go along…

Here is some of the resources that got me thinking, maybe they’ll get you to take another look at your money matters as well:

• This post by my friend, Flaps van der Merwe, on fundraising in their ministry setup;
• A teaching series by Andy Stanley called Take It To The Limit, which dealt with financial margin; and
• Chazown, an amazing book, and this post, both by Craig Groeschel, both of which dealt in part with reordering your finances;

One other guy that really inspired my to give my money matters another look, was financial advice and debt-cancelling guru, Dave Ramsey. You really need to hear what he has got to say about yout money! Check out these links:

• Dave’s website;
• He’s regular column;
• Some resources, including his podcast, free money tools and and online community.

See you $oon!

Since this weekend officially kicks of the holiday season, I thought we could all benefit from some interesting, true and tongue-in-cheek musings on Christmas.

For more holiday wisdom and wit, go here.

 Do give books – religious or otherwise – for Christmas. They’re never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal
[Lenore Hershey]

A turkey never voted for an early Christmas.
[Irish Proverb]

Aren’t we forgeting the true meaning of Christmas? You know, the birth of Santa?
[Matt Groenig]

Christmas is a time when people of all religions come together to worship Jesus Christ.
[Matt Groenig, also]

A good conscience is a continual Christmas.
[Benjamin Franklin]

Some updates from my past week…

• I had lunch with oom Adriaan and friends last week. What an amazing experience! He walked us through some of the recent changes in his life, and brought us up to date with some social projects he’s working on. We will surely join forces with him in the future.

• The weekend Lisha and I went with some other friends, Elisca Kruger and Leon van Zyl, to the Bakubung Lodge in the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve. What an amazing weekend! I’ve never seen so many wild animals at such a close range! Elephants, rhinos, hippo, lion, hyena and various bucks and other animals made for an unforgettable game experience in the bush. O ja, the company was great, too! Some pics from the weekend here:
          

  Bakubung Des 2007

My fourth edition in the resources section of this blog is packed with cool stuff for you to research, learn, implement and, well… let’s be serious – buy!

• If you still feel Facebook poses a serious privacy risk, sign on with Lifelock – online identity theft insurance. Also check out this post about Lifelock over at Tim Sanders’ blog;
• A lot of people have been misunderstanding and miscommunicating the new direction of ministry over at Willow Creek Community Church. Tony Morgan helped to set things straight over at his blog;
• The new book unChristian is taking the world by storm, rising fast on the New York Times bestseller list. Also check out the interviews with the writers and contributors;
• Interested in church communication and online / media ministry? The guys over at Church Marketing Sucks are currently doing a series on Lessons In Not Sucking. We must all stop sucking sometime…
• Take advantage of some 20+ years in ministry and church planting with these Tips On Surviving In Ministry from Perry Noble, lead pastor at NewSpring Church.

I hope this will keep you clicking for some time!

More later.