Tip -- Thinking like a business

All right, so we all know that 100 million dollar bonuses are not handed out to CEO's because they hand out free DVD players the day after Thanksgiving. Any reasonable person can step back and realize the gimmick. So you save $30 on one item to then make it up 10 fold on other items. The bait and switch technic of being a low cost leader. Come on, we are smarter than that - are we not? Ever walk a kid through a store, once they are there they awaken to 1000 wants...are we any different? Yes, we carry the credit card.

So here's a simple tip. Don't run from the store but change your attitude towards the store. For example, with groceries almost every store has a low cost leader strategy to get you in. So find the one that works best for you and go after it - but walk right out of the store once you have seized the low cost items.

Here's an example. Albertsons. On the surface a good shopper knows that their prices are higher than many other stores. Yet look a bit deeper (this weeks deals). The preferred card offers the first break. The second break comes from the weekly coupon on total purchase amount ($5 off on $50). The third and BEST price break is the 10 for 10. That's right. Every week there is publication in the Sunday paper or that comes in the mail promoting 10 for 10 items. So here's how it works.

By shopping the low cost only, $110 worth of groceries cost us $53. Let's say for instance that the average family saves $30 a week by shopping low cost leads...that is $1,560 a year just on your weekly grocery budget! Now include the eating out reduction and the amount of savings is even bigger. Best yet, by taking a small amount of time to plan your life, the fruit of community and order will emerge as part of something we do every single day - Eat!

I am not endorsing Albertsons, simply using it as one illustration. Evaluating multiple stores is key as strategies can updated several times a year by these stores. Do you have any examples of how you are saving money?

FOOD on PURPOSE!

The Power of Order

Have you ever awakened to chaos? You don't know quite when it happened but you lost your edge of control? For our family it happened somewhere in the midst of moving to an urban area, having our second and third child, moving across country twice and starting churches. Now like you we all can look back and in hindsight think, why wasn't I thinking?

The Good News is that where there is pain there is opportunity to grow. For Kel and me we tackled the issue head on! Our natural talent has allowed us to survive our detail deficiency. I am far from and accountant and on a recent test scored in the bottom 30% in the areas of details. So before you think you must be a detail freak or an accountant there is good news...know one said you have to micro manage your life to bring order and better yet we all must run the first mile before we run the second. So here were the areas that we have addressed to begin:

Self Evaluation
Communication
Planning
Time Management
Money Management
Food Management
Discipline (personal and children)

We are far from being "how to authors" but we are fellow citizens of this realm of life. We pray that what follows might inspire you and invite you to comment on ideas for the journey. We are now a year into pursuing order and beginning to see the fruit of peace bearing in our family. Winter is gone, spring is arriving. The best of all is that we are not re emerging as "who" we were but as who we are "becoming".

Becoming Citizens of the World

I can remember when I was a little boy the emotions felt when we landed in Brazil for the first time. What a shock to be surrounded by a new language and a new culture. Today, that language and that people are the language and people of my heart.

Today I live in America and two things are a fact. International travel is the way of life for many as technology and the global economy has brought us close together. Secondly the world lives at my doorstep and yours. Unless you live in a small town or in the interior of the US, you realize that all around you are neighbors representative of almost every continent.

So here’s the idea. What if we live life on purpose when it comes to the world? No you don’t have to spend $1000s to travel the world (yet ;-)) but you do need to look around your circle of friends and consider the places they come from. Pick a friend, pick their homeland, head of to the library and work the Internet. Invite the over for dinner and let them know your plan – to learn about their country, their culture and their home. Consider having a potluck asking them to bring a few dishes while you give a dish a try yourself. During dinner ask questions, listen and learn about their country and culture. Take the time to learn more about them.

What if 100s of followers of Jesus took the time to learn about the world that God so loves? What if by doing so we broke bread with a neighbor. Listened and learned about their life and their reality, all the while becoming a world class citizen!

Life on Purpose!

Scion

It has been said the automobile is a double edged sword. The car has brought us great progress yet also contributed towards the breakdown in community and neighborhoods. No matter where you stand on the conversation (some not having it all) we should consider this...the automobile is here to stay. But what if we, followers of Jesus, took a new approach towards our automobiles. Gas efficiency. What if you could save $1,000 a year on gas? Imagine 500 others doing the same? Are we talking $500,000 of immediate income to put towards mission? No increase in income simply stewardship. Auto repairs. With a new strategy we can also reduce auto repair bills with extended warranties. Auto sharing. What a shame to think that those of us with the message of hope in Jesus have not developed such programs for sharing, stewardship, conservation and communal life. Check out City Car Share at http://www.citycarshare.org/as one example of some thinking along these lines. Imagine the savings on gas, insurance and repairs? Imagine the leverage for the work Jesus called us to? Imagine the conservation? Imagine the fruit of working together. What if just 1 million of the 16 Million people who purchased the Purpose Driven Life Book simply took this step...my calculations if correct assume that @ $1,000 each per year could apply purpose with 1 Billion dollars a year...when we think of the rich young ruler where would we stand? Walking away sad or as part of Jesus words around the Kingdom? Obviously this scenario is not one size fits all. Of course one could feel guilty and call this legalism. Neither are the goal. However stewardship and possibilities are the goal. What if? Our family drove a suburban for almost 4 years. On the hills of San Francisco burning 3 times the gas of our 30 miles a Gallon Scion. The Scion seats 5 comfortably and is under $15K. Half the cost of a suburban, affording us an extended warranty for reduced repairs. We also are choosing to be a one car family since Kel is a "home engineer".
If not this, how can we think with God in mind when we consume? What resources do we have that can be leveraged by small groups of people in a church? Imagine and share other ways to be about the future!