Making Life Work

By: Ronald L. Dart
   
    I used to think “pragmatic” was a bad word. I had heard it applied to this or that politician, which almost automatically gives it a bad name. I don’t know why it bothered me, unless it was because I believed (and I still do) that there is an ideal that we should all strive for and that we should not compromise that ideal. I thought pragmatism meant that you were somehow selling out.  But the definition is: “relating to matters of fact or practical affairs often to the exclusion of intellectual or artistic matters: practical as opposed to idealistic.”

The President can promise the moon, but can barely deliver green cheese.

By: Ronald L. Dart

In the world you will have tribulation;
but be of good cheer,
I have overcome the world.

    I hope I don’t shock you too much when I say that the Bible is not a particularly comforting book. I know the hope it gives is comforting. I know the relationship with God it offers is comforting. But one night, I was paging through the Bible looking for some comfort and I wasn’t finding much. I wanted to read something to make me feel better, and I wasn’t finding it.

 

By: Ronald L. Dart

    Do you take your faith for granted? Or is it like a lot of married couples. We have been together so long, we can complete sentences for one another. We can take one another for granted, and at some level, that is good. I can take it for granted that my wife will be faithful to me. I can take it for granted that she won’t bust the budget. I do not even need to check on her credit card purchases. I only look at them to be sure there is no fraud. After 51 years of marriage, there aren’t a lot of surprises, nor should there be.

By: Ronald L. Dart

    What do you think about an urban school district that, in the first three months of school, had 19 reports of weapons confiscated and 42 assaults by Kids. That’s awful, you say.

What a shame, you say. Yes it is. But that’s not the half of it: That was in kindergarten and first grade.

By: Ronald L. Dart

    When we are young, we are a little unsure about funerals. We don't like to think about death and we are uncomfortable being around people who are grieving. We don't know how to feel, and we don't know what to say. As we grow older and mature a little, we come to realize that a funeral is a response to death and that grief is an exactly the right response. And we learn that we really don't have to say very much to a person who is bereaved. Just "I am so sorry," and "I love you." That, along with being there is usually quite enough.

By: Ronald L. Dart 

    In the aftermath of the World Trade Center bombing, there was one question raised that no one really stopped to answer. Is it wrong for the United States to seek vengeance for the murder of the 5000 innocent people who died on September 11? Should we, as a country, turn the other cheek? There were those who thought the criminals who did this act should be brought to justice, but that it was wrong to merely seek revenge on Osama Bin Laden and the Al Qaeda organization.

By: Linda G. Gallia

    I received a prayer message from a friend the other day. It was one of those sweet emails meant to give encouragement and make people feel good. It said: "GOD OUR FATHER, WALK THROUGH MY HOUSE AND TAKE AWAY ALL MY WORRIES AND ILLNESSES; AND PLEASE WATCH OVER AND HEAL MY FAMILY. IN JESUS’ NAME. AMEN. This prayer is so powerful. Pass this prayer to 12 people including me."

    I sat for a few moments, gathering my thoughts about why this particular little prayer disturbed me. My concern is that prayers such as these might cause us to believe things about God that could actually hurt us. When people ask God to take away all their worries, illnesses, and trials, and it doesn’t happen, they often lose faith in God. I realized...

By: Lenny Cacchio

    I have been a financial planner for a long time, working with affluent and high net worth people.  When I first got into the business, I was surprised to learn that "high income" does not necessarily translate into "high net worth".  One of the first clients I worked with was making more than ten times what I was making, the equivalent of over half million dollars per year in 2008 dollars.  Yet in doing his financial plan I discovered that I had more money in the bank, and not to mention less debt, than he did!

    I pondered how this could be.  Many reasons can account for a sick financial statement, but certainly one reason is inability to know the difference between needs and wants. 

    A few months ago I stood...

By: Lenny Cacchio

    When God first rained manna from heaven onto the children of Israel, he told them they had to eat it all in one day.  That is a curious thing to tell someone, akin to telling them not to plan ahead, and to be honest I find it a bit troublesome.

    Everything in my training and everything in my bones tells me to take charge of my own future.  My generation and those behind us know from the simple demographics of the matter that we will not get our shot at the passel of government safety nets that graced the generations before us.  We must save and invest for our own well-being.  Eat your manna today and let tomorrow take care of itself?  I don’t think so.

I can even find scriptural support my position.

“A...

By: Lenny Cacchio

    Puritanism, according to H.L. Mencken is “the haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy.”  The old boy had a point, I’m afraid, and lately we seem to have entered the era of the New Puritans, though not the religious kind.

    In every newspaper I read I find dire warnings about everything I enjoy in life, and I have concluded that if it appeals to me, it can’t be good for me.  One day I read that coffee is filled with antioxidants, and the next that coffee can kill you.

    A juicy filet will give me heart disease, but tofu and bean sprouts are proper penance paid to the goddess of the earth.

    Comfortable cars are destroying the planet, and dirty, dingy buses are the recommended mode of transportation...

By: Lenny Cacchio

    Having recently moved from an employer of a dozen people to one of 55,000, I had the normal reservations associated with changes in the corporate culture.  One never knows certain things about a new job until experiencing it, so I was most interested in attending my first major company event, where one of the Heavy Hitters was brought to town to address the area employees. Somewhat expecting a rah-rah stir ‘em up and inspire the salesman presentation, I was surprised to hear such things as: 1.  The people who live under the same roof as you are more important than your job. 2.  Forty nine per cent of Americans do not use all their vacation time.  Don’t be one of them.  Take all the time off that the company gives you....

By: Lenny Cacchio

    I used to believe that following the Bible would lead to investment success. In spite of the fact that I failed miserably, I still believe the Bible holds the key to financial success. The problem is not the Bible, but in the particular prophetic scenario that I used to inform my investment decisions.

    I was absolutely sure that Western Europe would be the economic powerhouse of the future. The United States would degenerate into insignificance, beset with economic cirrhosis and social unrest. In line with conventional ecological theories of the day, China and India would suffer atrocious food shortages leading to mass starvation of millions. This would be caused partially by a new ice age that we would bring on ourselves...

By: Lenny Cacchio

    "We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna." (Num 11:5-6 NAS)     Somehow the months in the wilderness had dulled their memories. Gone was the Israelite’s recollections of the beatings, the torture, the backbreaking labor, the slavery, and the death. As they wandered in the wilderness with only manna to eat, their vision of Egypt became one of three square meals a day, the security of a place to put up one’s feet at night, and the certainty that tomorrow would bring more of the same.     But now they were free men and women, and the responsibilities of...

By: Lenny Cacchio

“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” (Proverbs 27:12 NIV) “Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.” (Ecclesiastes 11:2 NIV)

    These two admonitions have played out before us during this hurricane season. Many saw the danger and took refuge, sometimes a thousand miles away. Through the horror of the storms, countless feel-good stories have wound their way through news outlets and the internet. Stranger helping stranger. Hospitality and kindnesses. Decent people doing good things for others in need. And many people saved their lives.     “Give portions to seven, yes to eight,” the scripture says. Many...

By: Lenny Cacchio

    Lately I find myself yelling at the television set. I get angry when I see the stunts pulled by our duly elected officials, and I get angry with the garbage foisted upon us as entertainment, and I get angry at the lack of civility in public discourse.     I know that God gets angry about some things too, but I also know that God doesn’t get angry is the same way that I get angry. I get righteously indignant and want to throw my shoe at the tube. I compare myself to the other side and, like that little guy in the nursery rhyme, I boast, “What a good boy am I!” Somehow, I don’t think God expresses his anger in the same way I do, and certainly his motives are different. A few examples of Jesus’ anger illustrate the point: ...

By: Allie Dart

Dedicated to: Katie Swenson of Indiana Katherine McCommon of Texas Amanda Marsh of Texas Kyle Cofield of Alabama Robert Quinn of Georgia     If you are a 2005 graduate, you’ve probably received stacks of cards congratulating you. They’ve told you the sky’s the limit, success awaits you, and your future couldn’t look brighter. The speaker at your commencement exercise may have left you feeling that you can conquer the world. And we certainly hope you do.     Along with receiving your diploma or degree, you’ve received a lot more freedom. You’ll likely move out of your parents’ home and into a college dorm, or into your own apartment. This is what you’ve been waiting for. Isn’t it? So where do you go from...