Several months ago a woman, who is not my wife, came to my house and falsely claimed that we had an intimate relationship.

The lady came by my house and dropped off a gift and a card. When I saw the package, I just put it on the ground and went back to pruning the shrubs. My wife came by and asked about the package. I told her who it was from and that I wasn’t going opening it.

(The woman who dropped off the letter had been attending our church for a few years, but was mentally unstable).

My wife opened the card.

“You’d better look at this,” she said with an upside-down smile.

In the letter, she falsely described an encounter between the two of us.

As a missionary leader at our church, I knew there was no point in trying to hide the content of the letter. Not knowing any better course of action, I took the letter and gave it to some of the leaders at the church. They told me they’d meet with her and take care of the situation.

It wasn’t until days later that I realized how well everything turned out.

• My wife didn’t ask if it was true.
• The members at church didn’t ask if it was true.

Everyone just instinctively knew that the accusation was false.

In this case, it could easily be said that the woman’s lack of morality and character was the reason why the accusation was not taken seriously. However, it did make me realize how potentially damaging an accusation can be.

What if she was a person with a little more credibility?

It’s hard to know what to say when you’re falsely accused. There’s not much to say other than, “I didn’t do it.”

Ultimately, the lesson I learned is that integrity matters. In times of unfair accusations and false rumors, integrity can often be your only witness.

How to Develop Integrity in Leadership

1. Realize every action counts. No one will say it, but everyone is watching. How you acted 10 years ago could instantly be brought to light. Integrity is a trust account that is slowly built over a long period of time. There is no quick way to build integrity.
2. Act in light of God’s Presence. If you ever find yourself looking over your shoulder before doing something, it probably means you shouldn’t do it. Instead, look up. If God is present, then do what is right in His sight.
3. Avoid situations where misunderstanding is possible. When I was in youth ministry, I had a policy that I wouldn’t drive alone in a car with a teenage girl. It was a terrible inconvenience at times, but I’m glad I made that choice. It helped build a solid history of accountability.
4. Embrace forms of accountability. Freedom is not the ability to act without answering to anyone. It is choosing the right ways to be open. That may be a window on an office door. It may be requiring a financial audit. Open the door to accountability for your own protection.
5. Surround yourself with Godly mentors. Integrity is lost when the soul wants to take a short cut. Supportive mentors will help keep us focused on doing what is right before God.

In a moment, without notice, your integrity and morality can go on trial. You won’t have time to prepare a reasonable defense. Your defense will have been crafted by how you have been living.

Integrity matters. Protect it.

To leave a comment or easily share the article with your Facebook or Twitter friends click here -> One Reason Why You Should Live with Integrity

Want to simplify your living and give more? Get a copy of my book:

Transforming Your Financial Diet: 7 Steps to Simple Living and Generous Giving. To get your copy click here.

It’s been a long time since I’ve written a post here at Money Help for Christians.  I almost feel like I should introduce myself.

My name is Craig Ford and I’m guy behind the blog MH4C.

So, what have I done in the last five weeks?

• I went through the stress of selling a house in PNG.  The sale of our house didn’t finish before we left the country.  We had several tense days as we tried to manage everything from Malaysia.  Fortunately, God was faithful and the sale of the house was completed!  Thus, we are now officially nomads.  My two-year-old daughter has been calling our hotels ‘hometells’.
• In addition to selling the house, we also paid off our mortgage.  I’ve hinted at the fact that we didn’t owe much on the house, but for several reasons, I’ve never publicly disclosed much about it.  Anyway, last week I wrote a check and paid off our house.  That means we’re in a position to buy our next home with cash.  That will be fun, and I’ll be sure to tell you about it.
• I’m no longer a full time missionary.  I’m now a missional entrepreneur.  What that means is that I’m using the income I’m earning online to follow God’s call and direction for our family.  We’re not sure where this journey will lead us, but we’re excited to see what God has in store for us.
• We’ve purchased a car (cash, of course).  My in-laws had a hail damaged PT Cruiser that was the right price.  I think the car highlights our philosophy about frugality and simplicity.
• Shopping at second hand stores.  I love ‘em.  We sold most everything we owned when we left PNG, so we’ll be buying all ‘new’ clothes and household goods.  Lord willing, most of those things will be purchased second hand.
• We’ve travelled from PNG to Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, USA, Canada, and Hungary.  It seems almost surreal that as long as I have my computer with me I can do all my work.  What a blessing!  Since we don’t own a home and I collect frequent flyer miles for free flights and hotels, the cost of travel actually isn’t much more that it cost to maintain a home.

I guess you could say a lot has happened in the last five weeks!

To leave a comment or easily share the article with your Facebook or Twitter friends click here -> Wow! How to Pack a Lifetime of Activity in a Short 5 Weeks

Want to simplify your living and give more? Get a copy of my book:

Transforming Your Financial Diet: 7 Steps to Simple Living and Generous Giving. To get your copy click here.

Be sure to take time to Facebook Share, Tweet, or Google + your favorite article from the MH4C Writers Challenge.

Next week  I’ll be totaling up the social media love and declaring a winner.  May 14th is your last day to vote.  Remember, there are cash prizes for all the writers, so I’m sure they would appreciate your support.

How do you vote?

That’s simple.  Just click on the link to your favorite article (below).  The page will show up with three buttons to the right of the title.  Every FB Share, Tweet, or Google + will be considered a vote.

Here’s an easy-to-access list of the articles posted as part of the writers challenge:

1. Finding Blessings in Unexpected Places
2. How We Save 50-80% on our Grocery Budget Each Month
3. The Money Diet
4. Barn Building and the Challenge of Too Much
5. Lessons Learned from Reducing a House Full of Items to 6 Suitcases
6. Time, Talents, and Treasure – Does God Own it All?
7. How to Make Money by Adopting a Highway
8. What to do When You’re Afraid to Give
9. What am I Teaching My Kids About Money?
10. Why Going into Debt for an Adoption is the Right Thing to Do

To leave a comment or easily share the article with your Facebook or Twitter friends click here -> Vote for Your Favorite MH4C Writers Challenge Article

Want to simplify your living and give more? Get a copy of my book:

Transforming Your Financial Diet: 7 Steps to Simple Living and Generous Giving. To get your copy click here.

This article is part of the MH4C Writers Challenge. Since I’m taking a little break over the next few weeks, I’ve chosen ten guest articles to feature on this blog. I’d like to see which articles you like the most. If you like an article, please take a moment to ‘Like’ it on Facebook, ‘Tweet’ it, or give it a ‘Plus One’ on Google +. (To the right of the title, you’ll see each of those buttons so it should make your job easier.) The winner of the MH4C Writers Challenge is the article that has the most social media shares.

The following entry is by Carrie Wood.  She blogs at Amazing Grace and a Safe Haven.

For about the last 10 years, my husband and I have been debt free except for our home mortgage. We had decent jobs, no kids. We had a small nest egg in savings and retirement funds in the works. We drove older cars that were both paid off. We had basic cable, but no premium channels. We were not overly frugal people, but not crazy spenders either.

Then one day after 18 years of marriage my husband’s biological clock started ticking and we decided to adopt a child from China. For those not familiar with the world of adoption, it’s expensive. But then again, in the great scheme of things, not really that expensive. The adoption of our daughter from China was approximately $25,000; about the price of a new car. However, the process took just over 2 years to complete and the various fees were spread out over many months. In the end our first adoption was not a financial burden. We spent less, we saved more, we added to our nest egg and we still managed to be debt free when our beautiful daughter Grace finally came home in January of 2008.

Right away we wanted to adopt again. However, our financial circumstances were dramatically different this time around. We made the decision after Grace had been home a few months that my husband would stay at home and I would continue to work. Becoming a one income family meant tightening our budget. We made small changes like dropping cable altogether and sticking with our older cars for a few more years and we still managed to emerge from it all debt free.

A few months after bringing home our son, Haven from the Democratic Republic of Congo, that still small voice whispered to us that needed to adopt again. No, God does not typically whisper instructions in my ear, but this time around that is almost how it felt. And in fact this time we believed very strongly that we were to adopt twins. We had no money saved up; we had no more cuts we could make to our budget. We had never planned to have more than two kids. But we have never felt more at peace with any decision we’ve ever made. God spoke to our hearts, so it must be ok. We cashed out my husband’s retirement funds, wiped out our savings and brought home Immanuel and Josias, two amazing baby boys, in April of 2010. Things were tight and the economy had everyone very nervous, but we had four kids under four years old roaming around our house. We had other things to worry about, like hundreds and hundreds of diapers!

Much to our surprise, God wasn’t done with us yet. In 2011 we again were called to adopt, again two children, again from DRCongo. But this time we had no funds to start with. We were getting by, but it seemed we had made all the cuts in our budget that were possible. We couldn’t possibly save up enough to adopt again. But when God calls you can’t just hang up.

So this time out we have done lots of fundraising. We’ve held garage sales, sold handmade items, sold t-shirts, and asked for donations from friends and family. We’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity of those closest to our family and of strangers from all over the county. Unfortunately, our trip to DRCongo is looming before us and we don’t have enough saved to cover the cost. This time around we will have to go into debt and put all of our remaining expenses on our credit cards. We are taking lots of deep breaths and saying lots of prayers. We are leaning on God to take us through this journey, but we are not certain how that will happen.

What we are certain of is that adopting each and every one of our children was the right, responsible, biblical thing to do. Our children are each gifts from God. He did not want them to grow up without parents. He did not want them to live out their lives in conditions of squalor and poverty. He did not want them to turn into broken teenagers who would be cast out onto the streets to fend for themselves and do anything they had to for survival. He wanted more for my children MORE life, MORE hope, MORE love. And so he called us, and thankfully debt or no debt, we listened. Someday I may have to explain to my kids why we can’t pay for college, but I’ll never have to explain why they were left behind in an orphanage.

To leave a comment or easily share the article with your Facebook or Twitter friends click here -> Why Going Into Debt for Adoption is the Right Thing to Do

Want to simplify your living and give more? Get a copy of my book:

Transforming Your Financial Diet: 7 Steps to Simple Living and Generous Giving. To get your copy click here.

This article is part of the MH4C Writers Challenge. Since I’m taking a little break over the next few weeks, I’ve chosen ten guest articles to feature on this blog. I’d like to see which articles you like the most. If you like an article, please take a moment to ‘Like’ it on Facebook, ‘Tweet’ it, or give it a ‘Plus One’ on Google +. (To the right of the title, you’ll see each of those buttons so it should make your job easier.) The winner of the MH4C Writers Challenge is the article that has the most social media shares.

The following entry is by Wes Smith. Wes lives in Houston with his wife and two sons (ages 15 and 11).

We recently gave our 11 year old son $60 for his birthday (instead of the iPod he asked for). We decided to give him cash and let him save his allowance and combine with other cash gifts to get the iPod of his choice. He then requested permission to search eBay for a used iPod. With our supervision, he searched eBay, found a used one with a very small crack in the display, and bid on it. He won it for $47.

This is just his latest act of surprising us with his knowledge of money and finances. He has always very quickly grasped money, savings accounts, and interest payments and understands that one must work in order to earn money. Hearing this, you may think we have done a good job of teaching him about money. But that is not all we want to teach our children about money, and we do need to teach them as children. We also want to teach the right attitude about money.

Deuteronomy 6:7 tells us to “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” This verse is referring to God’s commands and includes how to handle our finances. When we have a doubt about what to do with our children, we frequently refer to Deuteronomy 6:7. How can we teach them all the time?

When my son was 3 years old, we went to see one of the Toy Story Movies. The lady at the ticket counter asked me how old he was and I answered truthfully that he was 3 years old. She asked me again and reminded me children 2 and under are free, I repeated he was 3 years old. We still follow the same principle at the buffet line when they ask their ages. We are attempting to teach our sons the principles in Matthew 5:37 to be truthful in all of our dealings.

Genesis 2:15 tells us, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Work has always been part of life. As our children have grown, we have to remind ourselves to include them in work. Sometimes it is easier to put away the dishes ourselves, than to go through teaching the kids how to do it (why is the measuring cup in the silverware drawer?). Our oldest son does a great job mowing the yard but it took several tries for him to learn.

While it is important to teach children to work for money, it is also important to teach them there are other reasons to work hard. We have always wrestled with the concept of allowance. Is it to pay them for their work or to share with them the resources of the family? Their chores are their responsibilities as members of our family and by working together, our family can get all the chores accomplished. As a member of our family, part of their share of the resources is an allowance.

In Acts 3 we learn of how the believers shared their possessions and took care of each other. We want to teach our children the same. Several years ago I had knee surgery and needed help mowing my yard (my sons were too young). A friend brought his teenage sons to our home and mowed the yard; he would not allow me to pay the boys. He was teaching his sons to care for others and part of this care can involve hard work.

By taking our kids to places that need work as service, we are following the advice in Deuteronomy (teaching our children) and serving the way God desires. There are many opportunities for kids to work and serve; we just have to be patient enough to teach them.

Giving is key part of any teaching for children. They can give part of their allowance to the contribution on Sunday or special contributions. When we give away clothes or toys the boys have outgrown, we discuss with them this is not sacrificial giving. It is good to do but it is not a sacrifice to give away a toy that you have outgrown. Sacrifice is giving something up, our time, money, or items we still want, to others in need.

While my sons have shown a strong grasp of financial principles, these are merely tools they can use to glorify God. We strive to teach them to work hard, be honest, to give sacrificially, and honor God first in all they do.

To leave a comment or easily share the article with your Facebook or Twitter friends click here -> What Am I Teaching My Kids About Money?

Want to simplify your living and give more? Get a copy of my book:

Transforming Your Financial Diet: 7 Steps to Simple Living and Generous Giving. To get your copy click here.

This article is part of the MH4C Writers Challenge. Since I’m taking a little break over the next few weeks, I’ve chosen ten guest articles to feature on this blog. I’d like to see which articles you like the most. If you like an article, please take a moment to ‘Like’ it on Facebook, ‘Tweet’ it, or give it a ‘Plus One’ on Google +. (To the right of the title, you’ll see each of those buttons so it should make your job easier.) The winner of the MH4C Writers Challenge is the article that has the most social media shares.

The following entry is by Jason Jacobs.  He spends most of his time writing about his adventures with fitness on the slow-carb and paleo diets at his blog, FindingMyFitness.com. If you’re interested in grain-free living and recipes, you should check it out.

Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me. – Matthew 25:40

Have you driven through a city or town and seen someone with a sign asking for money? How often do you oblige? Are you more likely to wish the light would change before you got there? It’s a common dilemma. It isn’t that you don’t want to help; it’s that you don’t want the money you give to be misused. There’s no question that as Christians we are called to be generous, and there’s really no question that we want to be generous. The question we struggle with the most is how to be generous. How can we tear down the walls in our minds so that we can open our hearts more?

An experiment in poverty

In the book Under The Overpass, Mike Yankoski and Sam Purvis describe how they set out to see how the Church responds to homelessness. Shockingly, often when they would go to churches they would be turned away. Once they were told that the church had gathered for worship, and Mike and Sam (who hadn’t eaten in a day and a half) were out of place asking for handouts before the service. A different time, two believers took sack lunches to a local park and then invited the folks to the evening service. When Mike and Sam went to the service, one of the believers took them to his car where he gave them two grocery bags full of food and enough money for bus fare to the next city. Which one would Jesus have been?

Should we be afraid to give generously?

When we begin to think about giving to the homeless, almost immediately we set up walls that inhibit our generosity. We decide who they are before even saying hi; making eye contact is an invitation to panhandle. We have good intentions, though, and we just don’t want to waste God’s money. But here’s the kicker: when God calls you to do something, He’s not asking you to put conditions on it. The truth is we can’t possibly imagine their pain. He’s the only one who can.

Then what do we do about it?

My answer is simple: we get creative. Bruce Wilkinson, in his book The God Pocket, suggests praying about being more generous. Let God lay on your heart an amount, and then let Him do with that amount what he pleases. Set it aside, literally, and ask God what He wants you to do with it. Then you won’t feel the conflict when you see someone in need.

Bringing it together

Being the owner of a fitness blog, another question I’ve pondered is how can I give nutritious options to homeless people?

The bottom line: take the money you’ve dedicated to God’s service and buy some type of gift certificate to places where homeless folks can get healthy, nourishing meals without you wondering how they’ll use the money you’ve given. A local grocery is a good option, but if you really want to keep the cigarettes and alcohol away, try places like:

• Subway
• Tropical Smoothie
• Jersey Mike’s
• Chipotle
• Local sandwich shop

Getting more creative

Mike said sometimes he and Sam had to walk miles to find a cup of water. That got me thinking about several other ways we can use God’s money to bless others:

• Buy cases of bottled water and keep them in your car. Hand them out instead of cash.
• Put together care packages of healthy non-perishables like nuts, dried fruit, and jerkey. Keep several in your car so you’re ready to give without notice.
• Buy some water bottles wholesale. You can even find places that will put some writing on it, so you could add a scripture that will bless the life of the reader.
• Get your church involved! Organize a drive for things like soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and other hygiene products. Tell each person to take 5 and work on giving them out during the week.
• Hold a coat or backpack drive. Both of these things are coveted items on the streets.

We were created to be a blessing

God blesses us specifically so we can bless others. There are too many people that don’t have even the basic "necessities" we take for granted, and while sometimes it’s due to their own choices, that’s not always the whole reason. If you want to be more generous in your Christian walk, pray about these things and ask God to show you how He wants you to help. When you do it, you’ll be astounded at how fulfilled you feel.

How has God challenged your generosity, and how have you grown because of it?

To leave a comment or easily share the article with your Facebook or Twitter friends click here -> What to Do When You’re Afraid to Give

Want to simplify your living and give more? Get a copy of my book:

Transforming Your Financial Diet: 7 Steps to Simple Living and Generous Giving. To get your copy click here.

This article is part of the MH4C Writers Challenge. Since I’m taking a little break over the next few weeks, I’ve chosen ten guest articles to feature on this blog. I’d like to see which articles you like the most. If you like an article, please take a moment to ‘Like’ it on Facebook, ‘Tweet’ it, or give it a ‘Plus One’ on Google +. (To the right of the title, you’ll see each of those buttons so it should make your job easier.) The winner of the MH4C Writers Challenge is the article that has the most social media shares.

The following entry is by Edward Antrobus. Edward has spent most of his married life as a house-husband which has provided him with a unique view on personal finance and domestic life. He writes at http://edwardantrobus.co.cc.

There are a lot of ways to make extra money on the side. There are a lot of ways to help the environment and be a good steward to the planet. What there are not a lot of, however, is opportunities to do both. Adopting a highway is a great way to clean the planet and make extra money doing so.

Adopt-A-Highway is a program where individuals or organizations sign up to pick up litter from the side of the road. The idea came from a Texas Department of Transportation engineer who witnessed trash blowing out of a truck on the road and realized that the state didn’t have sufficient resources to clean up such incidents. Instead, he organized local groups to volunteer for the job in exchange for public recognition in the form of a sign.

I work in road construction. While I was aware that litter is a big problem, when I first started I was amazed by how much trash people throw out the window of their cars. Coffee cups, plastic bags, and soda cans have become a part of our national vista. Adopt-A-Highway is a great start, but more miles of road are not adopted than are.

How Adopting a Highway Can Make You Money

Those soda cans I talked about in the last paragraph? Recycling centers will pay as much as 80 cents per pound, depending on the area and the current going scrap prices. It takes 32 aluminum cans to make a pound. Depending on how bad the stretch of road is, nabbing 1000 cans in a couple hours is not inconceivable.

On larger roads, you will find a lot more than just cans. Broken equipment, car parts, pipes… I once even saw a kitchen sink. If it’s metal, a scrap buyer will take it. Even if it’s not metal, anything that is still in good shape can be sold on eBay.

Sometimes, you will even find cash. The majority of money you find on the side of the road will be coins. Don’t ever underestimate the cumulative value of saving spare change. But, on occasion, there will also be paper currency. One of the contractors I work with found a $100 bill in November. A $100! Sure that will be a very rare find, but if you’re not looking, you will never find it.

All told, I make about $100 in a month from a dozen or so hours of work. Maybe not as lucrative as my other income streams, but those other income streams aren’t actively working to help the environment. By adopting a highway, I’m earning extra money to pay down my debts while protecting the environment. WIN-WIN.

And for a closing thought, an idea I wish I had thought of sooner. If you have your own business, adopt the road in the company’s name. That way, instead of travelers seeing that Edward Antrobus cares enough to volunteer his time to pick up litter, they would see that SEAM Publishing cares enough to volunteer. Free advertising. WIN-WIN just became WIN-WIN-WIN!

To leave a comment or easily share the article with your Facebook or Twitter friends click here -> How to Make Money By Adopting a Highway

Want to simplify your living and give more? Get a copy of my book:

Transforming Your Financial Diet: 7 Steps to Simple Living and Generous Giving. To get your copy click here.

This article is part of the MH4C Writers Challenge. Since I’m taking a little break over the next few weeks, I’ve chosen ten guest articles to feature on this blog. I’d like to see which articles you like the most. If you like an article, please take a moment to ‘Like’ it on Facebook, ‘Tweet’ it, or give it a ‘Plus One’ on Google +. (To the right of the title, you’ll see each of those buttons so it should make your job easier.) The winner of the MH4C Writers Challenge is the article that has the most social media shares.

The following entry is by Jocelin Boutet.  Jocelin Boutet is a homeschool graduate who grew up learning finances from a young age and now passionately has her own ministry – Standing in YHVH’s Hand Ministries.  As well as being a Financial Coach and Trainer, previously serving with Crown Financial Ministries, and Certificate in Biblical Studies, her personal practical experience as well as involvement on a daily basis in Christian finances gives her a unique perspective. Visit Jocelin’s  blog, or you can also follow her on Twitter.

We are often quick to say that God owns it all. Many of us can quote Psalm 50:10 from heart – “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.” As well as Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” But do we really live like that let alone truly believe in our heart? That is a question, I would like to explore today.

I believe that our lives can be divided up into three primary areas – time, talents, and treasure.

Time

We each have a limited amount of time in our lives. Psalm 139:16b tells us “all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” It is hard for me when I am young to think of the fact that one day I will grow old and die…or I may die before I reach old age…only God knows that. But am I living each day to its fullest? Am I living each day for the glory of God? Am I living each day for His Kingdom? Am I keeping my priorities straight? All questions we should each ponder on a regular basis and make sure that our lives are reflecting where we say our hearts are – to be in God’s perfect will and surrendered to Him.

Talents

We are each given various talents. Those talents are unique to us in that they are given in a unique set with a unique temperament, character, and purpose. God has entrusted those talents to us for His purpose. I can choose to use those talents to gain money and prestige or I can use them to glorify them. I’m not saying that my talents should not gain me money as we all have to live in this world and money is a needed part of that; however, my main goal should not be to gain money (to understand this more, read my article on the purpose of Money) and prestige.

Treasure

This is where we all put this money and rightly so in many aspects; however, I believe before money should be our family and fellow believers as “treasure.” If I could be poor in the worldly sense, walking by faith, and yet have my family and true believers who are my friends, I would quickly choose that over wealth and no faith, family, or believing friends. Money cannot buy happiness nor can it buy true treasure. In Matthew 19, we see the young man who had all he could have wanted in worldly wealth, yet he did not have salvation in Messiah nor was he willing to give up his wealth in order to gain salvation. Money is a tool that is given to us by God in order to provide for ourselves and our families and to spread His Kingdom. If my heart is surrendered to God, then I will put my treasure where my heart is. Matthew 6:19-20 gives us the challenge of “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”

So I will leave you with this question – What are you using your time, talents, and treasure for? Are you glorifying God with all your being?

To leave a comment or easily share the article with your Facebook or Twitter friends click here -> Time, Talents, and Treasure – Does God Own it All?

Want to simplify your living and give more? Get a copy of my book:

Transforming Your Financial Diet: 7 Steps to Simple Living and Generous Giving. To get your copy click here.

This article is part of the MH4C Writers Challenge. Since I’m taking a little break over the next few weeks, I’ve chosen ten guest articles to feature on this blog. I’d like to see which articles you like the most. If you like an article, please take a moment to ‘Like’ it on Facebook, ‘Tweet’ it, or give it a ‘Plus One’ on Google +. (To the right of the title, you’ll see each of those buttons so it should make your job easier.) The winner of the MH4C Writers Challenge is the article that has the most social media shares.

The following entry is by Jeri Ford.  She is the mother of three young children and the wife of MH4C’s Craig. She loves to take long walks with Craig, teach her children, bake, read, and travel.

There’s no denying that owning stuff ties you down.

Many of us don’t realize how much we actually own until we decide to move. It’s so easy to accumulate things, especially after living in one place for a number of years. But when it’s time to pack up and go, all of those things add up quickly.

Since we’re just weeks away from our international move, we’ve had a lot of decisions to make – big and small. In fact, I’d like it if I could have a break from decision making for a while.

One of the most important decisions we made was to get rid of most of our belongings.

We’re in the process of deciding exactly what is most important for us to keep. We hope to only take a few suitcases with us when we leave PNG.

Craig used his mathematical calculations to determine which of our books we’d be better off keeping by researching how much they would cost to re-buy as opposed to ship. There are very few books we’re keeping, thanks to Amazon Kindle. Of course, we’re keeping things that are more difficult to replace like scrapbooks and PNG artifacts. And, I suppose we should all have some clothes to cover our backs.

We’ve learned that most of our possessions aren’t worth much to us anymore and are easily replaceable. Between some wear and tear and lots of mildew, we’ve learned that things on earth just don’t last.

We have become less attached to our stuff over the last few years. That detachment makes this decision much easier.

Getting rid of most of our belongings has actually been a very liberating activity. We started purging about a year ago. We had a sale consisting of things mostly in our storage room. It was actually embarrassing to me to see how much stuff we were storing – for absolutely no reason at all.

Then, about three months ago, we walked around the house looking in drawers and cabinets to find things we never use or were ready to part with. All of those things comprised enough for another sale. We decided to take that sale on the road. We took a truck load of stuff to some of the smaller village churches outside of town and sold the items for cheap so the locals could easily afford them. That was a blessing to them and us.

Within the last month, we’ve been gently encouraging our children to give up more of their toys and books since they’ll only get to take about one suitcase full with them. Last week we took a basketful of books to the pediatric ward at the hospital to start a small library of sorts for the patients.

Now the kids are catching the vision and thinking of schools and other kids to whom they want to donate books. This whole purging thing is becoming a family affair.

It’s fun to watch our children experience the joy of giving.

Now we’re on the home stretch. We will be dwindling our possessions down to four to six suitcases (hopefully). In two weeks, we’ll have our final sale and get rid of everything else.

Then, voila!, we’re free! It really is liberating.

When we get to the States and start to settle, we will gradually buy new possessions – second hand if we can. The idea of starting over is kind of exciting to me. Craig is always up for the challenge of doing something as inexpensively as possible, so it’s exciting for him as well. I plan to be very intentional when I decide what we ought to own.

Do you feel like you need to conduct a ‘stuff purge’ in your home? Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

5 Simple Steps for Purging Your Stuff

1. If you haven’t used it in the past 6 months, get rid of it.
2. When you get something new, give away something old. This works especially well for clothing.
3. If it’s broke and you still haven’t gotten around to fixing it, throw it out or see if someone else could use it.
4. Challenge yourself to give to someone in need, whether it be time, money, clothing, or books. Encourage your children to do it, too.
5. Before buying something new, check to be sure you don’t already have it in your home or if there’s an easy, convenient substitution. Think reuse, reduce, recycle!

(I’ve never understood why some people have four open bottles of ketchup in their fridge.)

To leave a comment or easily share the article with your Facebook or Twitter friends click here -> Lessons Learned from Reducing a House Full of Items to 6 Suitcases

Want to simplify your living and give more? Get a copy of my book:

Transforming Your Financial Diet: 7 Steps to Simple Living and Generous Giving. To get your copy click here.

This article is part of the MH4C Writers Challenge. Since I’m taking a little break over the next few weeks, I’ve chosen ten guest articles to feature on this blog. I’d like to see which articles you like the most. If you like an article, please take a moment to ‘Like’ it on Facebook, ‘Tweet’ it, or give it a ‘Plus One’ on Google +. (To the right of the title, you’ll see each of those buttons so it should make your job easier.) The winner of the MH4C Writers Challenge is the article that has the most social media shares.

The following entry is by Riata Brown.  You can visit her blog here.

I am, by nature, a barn builder. Not a barn builder in the sense of wielding a hammer and nails with any particular agility, but a barn builder in the sense that I save money in anticipation of the disasters that tomorrow might bring. Unfortunately for my hammer and I, this is not as Biblical a notion as I first thought.

The Bible discusses the idea of harboring wealth in a parable about a man who built barns to house his great amount of crops (see Luke 12:13-21). He kept his crops selfishly to himself, eagerly anticipating the day on which he would have the privilege of enjoying their leisure. On the eve of his enjoyment, he passed away, leaving behind a life’s work that benefited no one.

To be clear, the parable isn’t indicating that saving for retirement or college or a child’s wedding is a poor idea. Rather it highlights that saving for saving’s sake isn’t a worthwhile goal. The man in the parable was not saving for preparedness, he was saving for leisure, forsaking charity, God, and personal relationships in the process.

If I had to guess, I would say that the man in the parable traded his happiness in for a price, promising himself that he would have time to enjoy and worship and serve after he had saved all he wanted. He allowed himself to acquired spiritual debt rather than financial debt, and eventually robbed himself of both his financial and spiritual potential.

At first glance, I wrote this man off as a fool; a case that doesn’t occur with the modern financial crisis at our doorsteps. “Too much saving?” I asked myself, curious about how there could be such a thing. When I read over the parable again, I started noticing all of the important pieces of the man’s life that weren’t being tended to, and I found a parallel that I missed.

I am the rich young fool.

I worked a job that I disliked, was slowly sapping the life from my marriage, had overtaken my spiritual life, and caused me to interact with friends and strangers in a distinctly cynical and negative way. I blamed many factors, without ever putting my finger on the one that was actually causing the problem. I was so enthralled with the idea of saving for the future while I still had the chance that I neglected to remember that there are other debts that need to be paid as well. My marriage needed a deposit, my relationship with God needed my time in order to flourish. In the midst of building barns, I neglected the life that I had in order to prepare for the one that I could see in the distance. I treated each day as a stepping stone toward the greater goal, rather than the precious gift that it was.

Recently, I quit my respectable and well paying full time job, to chase a career that I had always been passionate for. I started paying the debts I had accrued in other areas; I made time for my husband, I found a peer group at church, I became a better friend. The simple act of focusing on living rather than solely on saving allowed me to find peace and balance.

Time is a commodity far more precious than money, and those around us crave our time much more than our financial offerings. While money can be earned, time is something that there never seems to be enough of. Don’t let your desire for financial security squelch your desire to live the life that God gave you, to the fullness of every passing second.

To leave a comment or easily share the article with your Facebook or Twitter friends click here -> Barn Building and the Challenge of Too Much

Want to simplify your living and give more? Get a copy of my book:

Transforming Your Financial Diet: 7 Steps to Simple Living and Generous Giving. To get your copy click here.