Ok, if you have made it this far in the series, you are doing great. But this one is where the rubber meets the road. This is where we see how bad you want to be out of debt.
The sacrifice is only temporary!
The most important thing to remember as you are reading this is that it is ONLY TEMPORARY. By making a sacrifice you are not condemning yourself to that for the rest of your life. You just need to make up for all the overspending that has taken place in the past
If you have done some of the things mentioned in the last few articles, you are on a better financial footing than you were. But, if you expenses are still greater than your income, then we are going to have to take a few more steps.
Sacrifice your stuff and sell it!
Like we mentioned before, your balance sheet is the true indication of whether or not you are progressing financially. But, if your expenses are greater than your income, it is highly unlikely that you are increasing your net worth. So, in order to move forward you either have to cut expenses or increase income.
So far we have mostly been focusing on the less painful ways of cutting expenses in order to increase our net worth. Depending on how deep in debt you are, you may need to take drastic measures to get yourself back on solid ground.
What do you have that you owe money on?
Take out a piece of paper and write them down. Do you have loans on your house, car, boat, living room set, or anything else? The goal is to minimize our expenses, so what better way than getting rid of some of the stuff we owe on? Don’t worry, you will be able to get it again later, but now your goal is to break free from the bondage of debt!
Remember when I said you have to open your mind to things that you might not have wanted to do. This is probably one of them.
Cars are terrible investments!
We pay a lot of money for them and they basically only go down in value until they to car heaven. In my opinion cars get people into financial trouble more than anything else. Most people don’t spend tens of thousands of dollars on something that knowingly goes down in value.
The way to defeat this of course is to drive older cars (older cars have already suffered much of the depreciation and therefore lose a whole lot less in value each year).
What is good about this is that if you have a car that you paid $25,000 for and it is now worth $17,000 you can sell it, take the $17,000 and use $6,000 to buy an old car and use the remaining $11,000 to pay down your debt. Just think about this for a second. You can knock out $11,000 of debt just by making one sacrifice: driving an older car.
Now I know not everyone is in that situation, but the principle still applies. So, if you have a boat that you owe thousands on still, or a couple cars, it doesn’t really matter. If you are making payments on it, you should consider getting rid of it.
And come to think of it, if you do own it and it is still worth a decent amount, you can sell that too!
But if I get an older car, it will be expensive to maintain.
Not necessarily. Go to Consumer Reports and give them $5.95 for one month of access to their website. They have, hands down, the best and most useful information for buying a used car. The rate just about every car in the book for all kinds of criteria. Not the least of which is reliability.
What you will find is that Honda and Toyota (on average) make the most reliable cars. If you were looking for the single best old car that is reliable, I would say it would probably be a Civic. But, do your own homework at Consumer Reports.
Sacrifice your time and get to work! Again.
Yep, if everything up to this point isn’t getting you into the black, then you may need to think about getting a second job. The good news is that second jobs aren’t what they used to be. I remember when I was younger I would put in a hard day’s work at the grocery store and then make my way to the restaurant for the completion of about 12-16 hours on my feet.
Needless to say those days were very tiring, but it doesn’t have to been that way. There are many work-from-home opportunities that you could get involved in as you work to knock out the debt.
Work Overtime
Ask your boss if he/she has anything extra you can work on to pick up some extra hours. This will likely be the best paying additional income you could find.
Sell on Ebay
This is probably the most popular method these days for people looking to supplement their income. The greatest part about it is that you can start with stuff laying around your house. If you have not sold on Ebay before, I highly recommend it as a way to generate some extra income. For more info you can read an article I wrote for beginners called 7 Steps to selling on Ebay.
Freelance Work
Do you have a skill that you could make some money on the side with? If so you can post an ad in Craigslist for free. You can check out elance.com or one of the millions of Freelance job sites out there. Google “Freelance work” to get a small sampling of what is available.
Next, we will take a look at the steps to pay off those remaining bills and balances with the Debt Snowball.
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Plug the holes
If you were in a boat in the middle of the ocean and you noticed that water was coming in through a hole, would you spend your time scooping the water out over the side of the boat, or would you plug the hole?
Getting out of debt works with the same principle. Our spending is like the water coming into the boat, and the way to fix it is to QUIT SPENDING!
Yes, it is obvious, but it needs to be repeated because for some reason our brains can realize that it is true, but not do anything about it. So our goal in this lesson is to plug the hole, stop the bleeding, whatever you want to call it: quit spending.
Spend less money than you make
Getting out of debt, creating wealth, living financially free, retiring with cash in hand can all be achieved by following one simple rule:
Spend less than you earn.
If you do everything else wrong, but get this correct you will still be okay. But, the scary truth is that if you do everything else right, but get this wrong you will be in bad shape.
It is very simple, but it is not easy. But it is the only way to stay debt free. It is the only way to have any lasting wealth. It doesn’t matter if get $10 million from lottery winnings, if you can’t follow this simple rule you will be back to where you started in no time (and often even worse.)
It doesn’t matter how much you make. Everyone (I used to do this too) thinks that when they make more money they will be able to spend less than they earn. This just is very rarely true.
We all know someone who no matter what time something starts you can count on them being 15 minutes late. It doesn’t matter if they have the entire day free, they will still be late. It isn’t a matter of the time available as much as it is a matter of discipline. So it is with our spending.
If you can’t spend less than you earn with what you have now, you will not be able to when you get more. Parkinson’s law states that “expenses rise to meet income.” So without a deliberate and intentional effort each increase in income that you get will quickly be used up by new expenses.
This is frustrating part about getting a raise. As much as I loved getting them, they never seemed to make bill paying any easier. Have you ever felt this way?
So I know I need to spend less than I earn, but how?
Make a budget
A budget is absolutely one of the best tools that you will find to help you spend less than you make. I have written extensively about how to budget, but I suggest you start with this post - how to make a budget. It will walk you through all the steps you need to get started on an effective budget. If you are really serious about getting out of debt, don’t skip this step.
Everyone who does not budget spends more money than those who do. It is as simple as that. It doesn’t have to be painful and can even be fun.
Eliminate the temptation to spend.
It is not a bad idea at all to cut up the credit cards. Romans 13:14 says to,”make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” I did this by not going to the mall and not going out to eat. These were my two problem areas where I spent way too much money. Find out what your temptations are and run from them and set yourself up to succeed. Alcoholics shouldn’t hang out in bars and over-spenders shouldn’t go to the mall!
Next we are going to look at ways to free up more cash by cutting your expenses so we can pay down those debts!
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Our greatest battles as Christians are in our minds.
I have noticed in my life that whenever I face a challenging situation (aka opportunity for growth) I almost always have to go through the same three steps…
- I have to open my mind to a new way of thinking or doing something
- I have to make a decision to do it
- Then I can take action
I have found that when I am challenged by something, I either open my mind to the possibility of it or I don’t. If I do open my mind to it, then I have to count the cost to decide if I want to do it. If so, the last and often easiest step is to just do it.
For example: Before I started walking with God and even a couple years after, if I thought about sharing the Gospel with someone, I would not have opened my mind to it, because that was something that, “I would not do.” My mind was completely closed to the possibility of it and I would not even entertain thoughts about it.
As I grew in my walk, God helped me open my mind to the possibility. I was still convinced that it was something I would hopefully never have to do, but if God really, really needed my to, I would.
Well, guess what? It wasn’t much longer before I was faced with the opportunity. Now I had to decide. My mind was telling me 50 reasons why I should not as I argued with myself trying to come to a decision. It was a very fierce battle, but the decision was made and it was all down hill from there. Actually taking action (talking to the person) was easy. None of the stuff I was afraid of happened (got mocked, spit on, etc.), The hardest part was actually DECIDING to do it.
It has been very difficult opening my mind to things that were different. It is easy to do things like you always have, but opening your mind to change is difficult. It can be a painful experience to realize that maybe you have been wrong about something all your life or that there was a better way that you didn’t know about. But what option do you have? We can either bury our head in the sand, or humble ourselves and open up to the possibility of changing.
The Parable of the Rich Young Ruler
This story provides a good example of someone who was not willing open his mind to changing his ways.
Matthew 19:16-22
And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Then he said to Him, “Which ones?”
And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
He probably had all of his identity tied up in his wealth, which is why when Jesus challenged his thinking by telling him to give his stuff away and follow him he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t open his mind to the possibility of not having all his wealth. He had been given specific instruction on what he needed to do to go to Heaven - yet his closed mind prevented him from following through.
He might have been thinking a lot of the same things we think when faced with the decision of whether or not to get out of debt. Like:
- Am I still going to be able to go buy new clothes once a week?
- Am I going to be able to go out to eat as much as I would like?
- Am I going to have to do things that don’t feel good?
For the Rich Young Ruler, the challenge was opening his mind to the possibility of not doing things the way he always had. He was probably raised having everything He wanted and couldn’t imagine the thought of giving it all up. It wasn’t the act of giving the money away that was the challenge, it was the fact that he couldn’t even open his mind to the possibility of not having his wealth.
He could have obeyed Jesus and used his wealth to greatly benefit the lives of others. His problem was that he was unwilling to open his mind to the possibility of giving it away. Without opening his mind to the possibility of it, he obviously would never be able to DECIDE to give it, so would also never be able to give it.
I have found that the greatest breakthroughs in my life came as a result of opening my mind to a new way of thinking. It requires humility to admit that something you have always done or always thought is not necessarily the only way or correct at all. These mindset changes can be very difficult, but they are absolutely essential to follow God and accomplish anything worth accomplishing in life.
Getting out of debt is not a one-time decision
I wish getting out of debt, losing weight, and exercising were one-time decisions, but they are not. They need to be decided over and over again. Every time you get tempted to buy something you don’t need, or have a potluck at work, or just feel like sitting on the couch - you have a decision to make. Are you going to do what you should do, or what you FEEL like doing?
You probably know what most people do most of the time - what they FEEL like doing. You are obviously different. You wouldn’t be reading this if you were like most people.
So, you may have “decided” to get out of debt, but as we go through the rest of this series you will probably be faced with some ideas that are challenging. You first need to open your mind to them, then if they are right for you, decide to do them and then of course, take action.
In Part 3 we are going to look at the reasons for creating a balance sheet…
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Sometimes when someone gives you a piece of advice, it just resonates and almost creates an imprint in your mind. I know I have gotten some advice that even though I didn’t want to hear or believe, I just couldn’t shake it because deep down I knew it was true.
The recent issue of Money has a great article with over 30 well known people contributing their best pieces of advice they’ve received. I really agree with a whole bunch that were listed. And these are my favorites….
The best advice
1. Live within your means.
The simple basic rule of personal finance: spend less than you earn. As Dave Ramsey says, “it isn’t rocket science.” It is such a simple thing, but yet so few people successfully pull it off. If you have successfully done this, you know the freedom that it brings. If you haven’t you are probably aware (or you will eventually become aware) of the struggle that results from it.
2. Be frugal, but not stingy.
John Wesley said, “Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” Practice developing your generosity.
3. Do what you love.
This is one that took me a little while to learn, but is worth learning. For everyone who trades hours for dollars in a job they don’t enjoy - you know how painful it can be going to work each day just to get a paycheck. There is more to life than money, I would take a job that pays less over one that paid more that I didn’t like any day. How about you?
4. Money doesn’t make you happy.
If your career is tied to what you love to do rather than how much you can make at it, you are probably a lot more likely to make more money at it. Ironic, isn’t it. I know that isn’t always the case, but life is too short to spend most of it doing something you do not enjoy!
5. To excel at something, immerse yourself.
Dabbling in somethings doesn’t make you an expert. In order to become truly great at something, you have to live, breath, think, and dream it. Find every book you can read about the subject, start doing what they say, and teach others about it. You retain the highest percentage of what you learn when you share it with others.
6. Don’t get too good at the wrong stuff.
I have done a lot of reading about people who have accomplished great things. This seems to be a common thread that runs in all of them. They focus. There are so many distractions, so many good things that you can do. Those who accomplish great things do not focus on the menial things that can suck up all their time, but they focus most of their time and energy on that which will produce the most and best results.
7. Take risks when you can.
Take calculated risks. Do everything reasonable you can to minimize the risk, but don’t be afraid to take a risk. It is okay to make mistakes. Human beings are designed for this. Life is just too dang boring without them.
8. Tap the power of compounding.
Albert Einstein said that compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe. This is a perfect reason to get started investing today and put it to work for you!
9. Don’t save too much.
Life is about balance. God gives us our daily bread and Joseph was instructed to save for the 7 years of famine. Saving should be part of your financial plan, but you shouldn’t put off all your living until you retire.
10. Don’t follow the herd.
I used to think that there was some safety in doing what everyone else was doing. The more I learn, the more I find areas that I want to do the opposite of what the herd is doing.
11. Develop a healthy skepticism.
This has worked hand-in-hand with the previous piece of advice. You should never let your skepticism keep you from opening your mind to new possibilities, but you also should not be naive.
“The naive believes everything, but the prudent man considers his steps.” Proverbs 14:15
12. Ignore short-term market swings.
The stock market, housing market, U.S. dollar, economy all goes up and down. Each time people are saying, “but this time it is different.” It’s not different. It might have a different mask, but it is the same underlying pattern. Just close your ears and wait and as you ride out the storm, you will be sitting pretty when it is all done.
This article was included in the carnival of personal finance
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Why get out of debt?
God didn’t create us so that we could seek our own satisfaction.
I believe that God put each person down here for a reason and that reason is to bless others. In doing so, we will be blessed.
I have found in my own life that my most joyful moments often revolved around me helping or doing something to benefit another person. This was the reason for starting Free Stuff Friday. Meanwhile, my most painful, sorrowful, and sad moments were taking place when I was thinking about myself. Often times one of the quickest remedies to a struggle that we are having is to get our minds off ourselves and go do something for someone else.
So what does this have to do with getting out of debt? A whole lot actually. Your motivation for wanting to get out of debt should go beyond yourself. Sure, it will be awesome when you get to break out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and when you can buy that car with cash, but that is just part of it. God wants to use you to financially bless others! This is a very good thing because:
- Giving is one of the most fun and self-fulfilling activities you can be a part of.
- You are storing up treasure in Heaven for eternity, rather than down here for a few more years (Matthew 6:20).
- Giving is a great way to burn selfishness out of your life.
- When you give, it will be given back to you in abundance (Luke 6:38)!
You must have something to give!
If you are like most Christians I have met, you want to be able to give more. You have a good heart and wish you could give more. You really want to be able to bless people and give more to your church. But again, if you are like most that I have met, you are thinking, “it is hard enough just to pay the bills each month, let alone give to others the way I would like to.”
This is exactly why you need to get out of debt!
Imagine how much easier it would be to give if you didn’t have any credit card payments, or car payments, or even (dare I say it) a mortgage payment—this has been my motivation over the last few years! This is where you and I are headed!
It is not actually our money
Our money is really not our own. We are merely stewards of what we have been given by God (read the Parable of the Talents for a refresher.) Even if you insist on saying that you worked hard to earn it, who gave you your brain, the hands you used, and even the air you put in your lungs?
We came into the world with nothing, we will leave with nothing. It is all God’s (Psalm 89:11). We have the priveledge of being stewards. When we are slack or wasteful with our money, it is not our money we are wasting, but Gods. It is not only ourselves that we hinder but others as well.
Yes the thought of being out of debt is fun to think about, but the main purpose for our getting out of debt is to benefit the Kingdom of God.
God didn’t set this thing up so that we just sit back as spectators, and it also isn’t just about what we can do with our strength. We have a part to play and so does God. The Bible says that we are co-laborers with Him (1 Corinthians 3:9). We need to be giving to fund and finance the Kingdom of God - how much more effective are we going to be if we are out of debt?
Psalm 67:7
“God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him.”
In the Getting out of Debt series, there are going to be 6 more articles that will walk you through what you need to do to get out of debt. These are the things I am actually doing myself and found them to be the most helpful. Let me warn you upfront, working to be debt free is NOT easy. It requires sacrifices. It requires a fight. But anything in life that is worth having is going to require a fight. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you!! Don’t grow weary in well doing!!
If you ever have any questions or need encouragement - shoot me an email and we can talk.
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This is a guest post by Cory Edwards. Cory is a professional song writer and the Music Director for a church in St. Louis.
If we’re doing our job as Christians, we die to ourselves every day. We kill greed, jealousy, and selfishness so we can become better servants of Christ. And if we’ve done our part, I believe God has a very specific question for us. It comes from James 1:6-8 NIV:
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord: he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
So here is the question I believe God is asking us: What do you want?
“Want”, despite its appearance, is not a four-letter word. There is nothing wrong with wanting something, and wanting it badly. In fact, it seems that wanting something badly is almost a pre-requisite to asking God for anything. God is looking for a single-minded man or woman who will not accept anything but God’s best.
In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus tells the story of a woman who pleaded with a judge to grant her justice against her adversary. She wanted justice enough to be persistent. The judge refused for a while, but because of the woman’s persistence, granted her request. Jesus then asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8b NASB)
In the New Age movement, there is a lot of talk of synchronicity, that when a person makes a decision to do something the “universe” moves to bring it about. While I do not believe in a universe that grants requests, I absolutely believe that if we decide to do something, if we want something, if we set our mind, will, and emotions toward it, and if we have deliberately made sure it is God’s will and not our own, God will move if we pray.
This does not mean if a person desires a paid-off car, better job, or large retirement account that God requires nothing but a simple “I want.” But I am saying that God will help, and that He will move heaven and earth for the single-minded person who asks for it.
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It is kind of like becoming a tree
I was staring at a tree the other day just day-dreaming and kind of worrying about how long it was taking to get answers to prayer for a few issues in my life. I was reminded of…
Psalm 1:1-3
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.
In my case I have been diligently trying not to “walk in the counsel of the wicked,” and it seems to be making my answers to prayer take even longer. I have been earnestly trying to do things the right way, knowing full well that by cutting a few corners or compromising my values I could make the answers appear faster. The major difference being that I can get mediocre answers doing it my way or the fruit God promises by doing it His way.
The pre-requisite for our fruit bearing from Psalm 1 is that we:
- Do things God’s way
- Stay in the Word
If we do these two things we have the promise that whatever we do will prosper and that we WILL bear fruit IN OUR SEASON.
Trees grow slowly
As I was staring at this tree I began to realize that trees grow slowly. You plant a seed for a tree and it takes a while to sprout and takes a while to grow to a decent size.
Grass and even plants, on the other hand, grow a lot faster. They sprout up quickly and sometimes you can even notice growth one day to the next. I have been enjoying watching this rapid growth with all of the plants in my vegetable garden.
Grass grows fast
Then it kind of hit me that God wants to make me “like a tree.” He isn’t interested in seeing rapid growth that will not make it to the next season and is ultimately unsustainable. A tree, though it grows slowly, becomes a lot more sturdy and is able to withstand challenges that grass and plants can’t.
I am reminded of a storm we recently had that snapped my tomato plant right in half. The plant had grown to about 2.5 feet in a matter of months and was not strong enough to survive when the winds came. God wants to make us strong and sturdy to withstand the storms in our lives.
Psalm 92:7
“That when the wicked sprouted up like grass and all who did iniquity flourished, it was only that they might be destroyed forevermore.”
Psalm 92:12
“The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.”
Trees yield more fruit
I am excited about the tomatoes that my plants will produce this summer, but even the best tomato plant would be lucky to produce 40 lbs of tomatoes in a season. But older mature trees can produce over 1000 lbs in a season.
The downside, of course, is that trees don’t bear fruit 3 months after you plant them like many vegetable plants will. Some trees will take a few years or even longer to bear fruit. I remember the frustration I had with this when I wanted apples from a new tree and learned that I may have to wait a while.
Patience seems to be a rare virtue in our society these days, but it is one that we ought to develop. God seems to like taking the long road with a lot of things and as I begin to see the reason behind it, it causes me to say, “huh, God really is smarter than I am.” 
Trying to be a tree
It’s tough watching the grass sprout up all around you and seeing others bearing fruit when you have been faithfully doing what is right, but we must not be short-sighted. We need to try to look at these things the way God sees them.
Though the tomato plants around us may be popping out some fruit, while we seem to wonder what is taking so long, our day will come. God is doing a work and creating something in us that will be around long after the grass has come and gone.
Galatians 6:9 (AMP)
“And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.”
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A friend of mine shared this quote with me the other day and I really like it…
“Your path to fulfillment is astonishingly simple: Follow your
preferences, and they will lead you to your path. Find what brings you
joy and satisfaction, and trust that it will also bring you
prosperity…find what matters to you, and trust that it is the signpost
you have been looking for.”-Cherie Carter-Scott
I have always (and still do believe) that God’s will for our lives will line up with our desires. He often calls people to do things that they may not think they are capable of and along everyone’s journeys there will be moments of pain and discomfort. But, following our passion is often a good first step in finding God’s plan for our lives.
Most fathers want to bless their kids. God is a lot better than earthly fathers, so why wouldn’t he line our desires up with our calling?
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The power of saying NO
Learning to say NO to ourselves is one of the most beneficial habits we can develop. I call it a habit because it is truly is. People who never tell themselves NO have a difficult time doing it. On the other hand, people who regularly tell themselves NO find that although it may not be easy, it becomes less difficult the more you do it.
Your success is based on your ability to say NO
It is difficult to find a person who has had success in any area of their lives who didn’t become good at saying NO…
- If you want to lose weight, you have to say NO to your body when it tells you that it is going to die if it doesn’t get a Krispy Kreme doughnut.
- If you want your marriage to last you have to tell yourself NO when you really, really want to say something that you probably shouldn’t.
- If you want to succeed in your career you have to say NO to your body’s desire to be lazy and work hard and smart (even when no one is looking).
- If you want to get out of debt, you have to say NO to the iPhone (or other fun indulgences) even when everyone else around you has one.
The list goes on and on, but the point remains the same: Get good at saying NO.
“Do something you hate every day, just for the practice.”
-John Maxwell
The point John was making in this quote was that in order to succeed you have to do things you do not want to do. People who achieve their dreams have to pass up a whole lot to reach their destination.
Saying NO to couch-potato living
I am writing to myself with this, but I have found it to be true that a regular habit of exercise (saying NO to our body’s desire to become a couch potato) makes everyday challenges easier to handle.
It’s because exercise is more than just conditioning the body - it conditions and disciplines the mind. As we say NO to ourselves and overcome the temptation not to exercise, we become just a little bit better at saying NO and are better equipped to do it in other areas of our lives.
As I think about areas of my life where I have been able to implement this in small steps, the corresponding rewards have been great. My walk with God, my finances, and my relationships have all seen great progress as a result of saying NO in seemingly insignificant moments.
this post was featured in the Carnival of personal finance
Has anyone else noticed this in their own life?
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When is the last time you tried something for the first time?
God put me on this earth and I have the strongest desire to squeeze every ounce of life I can out of these 100 years or so I get to be down here. If you are bored, try something new!
There is so much in this world to be discovered. There are so many things to learn about, skills to develop, places to see, people to talk to, hobbies to enjoy, etc… I want to do it all!
I don’t remember where I heard this, but I just recently heard a quote something along the lines of:
“They should just tell us all that we are dying when we are born, so that we actually live our lives.”
A friend of mine is a cancer survivor and you can tell within 2 minutes of talking to him that he doesn’t take a single breath for granted. He is so excited and passionate about life and living and he enjoys everything he does.
I want to be more like him.
It shouldn’t take a near-death experience to get us to understand the brevity of life. It’s short. We all know it is, let’s take advantage of everything that God has for us.
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