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A Plea for Sanity! OH - OH - The Money woes!

By
Education & Training with REALTOR & CEO The 3B Method Seminars

Warning: A tough blog to swallow:

Please! I write this to you. A plea especially to mothers and fathers, self employed, broke to the bone fellow friends and family!

PLEASE... PLEASE... PLEASE take this to heart.

I am so blessed with two children 10 and 13. In the last two weeks they have both been to school to learn of classmates parents taking their life because of depression. This economy is robbing so many people of joy because we are allowing it to!  I personally have a skinny Christmas tree this year because it will be a skinny Christmas BUT I WILL NOT lose my joy, my love for my children, for myself or by any means lose my life!

 

Do not let money steal your joy. Do not let money determine your happiness. Do not let money determine your mood. Do not let money make you or break you. Do not let money become you. Do not let money shape you. Do not lose your marriage over money problems. Do not let money take your family away from you. Do not let money take your life.

We are all under fire in this economy and if your business is blessing you I am so happy for you. If your business is just getting you by I feel your pain, if your business is taking you under...well, I have walked in those shoes as well!

 

The one thing that I have learned in life and honestly I learned this one early... The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:10 American King James Version "For the love of money is the root of all evil:"

 You HAVE to put a stop to allowing it to determine the outcome of each day nad your life!

Here is my mission statement about money, I ask you to print it and post it and read it everyday!

"I love life. I love my family. I may be rich and I may be poor. Money is of no value to me anymore.

With lots or with little I am happy with who I am and my only wish is that I am walking in the will of God each day - every moment of every step because I know that is the safest place that I can be and where I am today and where I will be tomorrow is only up to him."

There are three phases of prayer in your life: WHY ME, SEARCH ME, LEAD ME!

I guess you can see I am in the LEAD ME stage and I hope that by sharing this you will open your mind to how our children are hearing us, watching us and learning from us and please do not let money problems allow you to be another parent we hear about...

 Elizabeth Ward Small, National Motivational Speaker and founder of The 3 B Method: Living Life Busy - Balanced and Blessed! www.The3BMethod.com -

 

Comments (22)

Elizabeth Ward Small
REALTOR & CEO The 3B Method Seminars - Burlington, NC

Ron: Thanks for sharing. I am so glad you are not feeling the pinch. I love it - I STILL LIVE! Yes - it is way sad. Thanks again!

Dec 15, 2008 02:10 AM
Elizabeth Ward Small
REALTOR & CEO The 3B Method Seminars - Burlington, NC

Steve and Christy: Proper prospective is what we all need! Thanks for stopping by!

 

Dec 15, 2008 02:10 AM
Rebecca Gaujot, RealtorĀ®
Lewisburg, WV
Lewisburg WV, the go to agent for all real estate

Amen! Moeny is the root of all evil  I'm going to make your mission statement ""I love life. I love my family. I may be rich and I may be poor. Money is of no value to me anymore...MY mission statement.  Also, I'm forwarding to all my six sisters.  Thans so much for sharing.  May God Bless you and your family.

Dec 15, 2008 02:14 AM
Loren Johnson
White Bear Lake, MN
CMPS

Thanks for another reminder of what we SHOULD be thinking about this season. I've heard some stories also of folks who TRIED to end their lives this time of year......we need to remember WHY we even have a CHRISTmas to celebrate! Good luck to you this week!

Dec 15, 2008 02:23 AM
Laura Karambelas
Baird & Warner Downers Grove - Downers Grove, IL
Realtor - Downers Grove

Liz-

I haven't heard of this around here and I hope I won't anytime in the near future...very sad.  I agree that I STILL LIVE and Thank God every day that I am still here!

Thanks for posting!

Dec 15, 2008 02:25 AM
Elizabeth Ward Small
REALTOR & CEO The 3B Method Seminars - Burlington, NC

Rebecca: WOW - SIX Sisters! That sounds wild and fun! Thank for sharing!

Dec 15, 2008 02:28 AM
Elizabeth Ward Small
REALTOR & CEO The 3B Method Seminars - Burlington, NC

Loren: Oh - I just cringe and know that blogging about something so sad is not really what we all want to read about but I hope that we can all be real as well and know that maybe this network of business associates can be what someone needs to pull them through a hard time! Cheers to all!

 

Dec 15, 2008 02:30 AM
Elizabeth Ward Small
REALTOR & CEO The 3B Method Seminars - Burlington, NC

Laura: Keep working and keep plugging! Merry Christmas to you and thanks for reading!

Dec 15, 2008 02:31 AM
Eleanor Thorne
Equity Resources - Cary, NC
Advantage Lending 919-649-5058

Liz - you need to post to 5 groups to get the exposure this post needs.  A Builder "passed away unexpectedly" at their home over the weekend... we all need to be careful!

Dec 15, 2008 04:00 AM
Elizabeth Ward Small
REALTOR & CEO The 3B Method Seminars - Burlington, NC

Eleanor: Based on your suggestion I will - Feel free to reblog as well! I was hesitant to even post it as I try to make all blogs motivational and uplifting...This one is deep and personal and is really just the sad reality of what I fear we are seeing far too much of! Thanks for your encouragment to share!

Dec 15, 2008 04:40 AM
Ryan Shaughnessy
PREA Signature Realty - www.preasignaturerealty.com - Saint Louis, MO
Broker/Attorney - Your Lafayette Square Real Estate Partner

Depression, alcoholism and substance abuse and suicides are all on the rise nationwide.  It is hitting people hard.  It seems that a day doesn't go by without some news story about another round of corporate layoffs.  I couldn't imagine a worse time for the news - 2 weeks before Christmas.

Dec 15, 2008 08:49 AM
Fran Gatti
RE/MAX Integrity - Medford, OR
Managing Principal Broker - RE/MAX Integrity

Liz,

Your post has a sad component, but it isn't a downer.  I just talked to a close friend today who is facing losing her home and she said she wishes she had the guts to jump off a bridge.  I think she has guts hanging in there and not leaving a legacy of suicide to her children.  Please keep my friend in your prayers.  God knows her name.

Thank you,

Dec 15, 2008 01:42 PM
Elizabeth Ward Small
REALTOR & CEO The 3B Method Seminars - Burlington, NC

Ryan: It is hitting people hard and we have to all keep our focus on realizing that we can and will get through this. America is about unity and we have to all come together North, South, East and West and do all we can for each other. If you have more, give more, if you have less ask for help! Thank you for sharing!

Dec 15, 2008 04:16 PM
Elizabeth Ward Small
REALTOR & CEO The 3B Method Seminars - Burlington, NC

Fran:She has guts hanging in there and please tell her to hang in there. There are solutions all around her and losing a home is one thing. Losing your life is another. The unfortunate situation in our school was because she was embarrassed and felt she had let others down by not keeping her business alive. It went under, she went under and is no longer with us...leaving a 13 and 9 year old...My prayers are with you and your friend! Stay in touch with her and if you can share an address in private I will send her encouragement cards. Liz@the3Bmethod.com - By the way - I am glad to know this is not a downer...I really had reservations on posting but if you ever hear me speak you will know I speak it REAL and sadly - this is REAL right now and we all have to deal with it together to help one another!

Dec 15, 2008 04:22 PM
Tim Ludemann
Ochopee, FL

Liz- Thanks so much for giving everyone a stop take a deep breath and remember what is truely important...I hope this becomes a feature so all the rainers can't reevaluate the important things in there life!

Dec 15, 2008 10:38 PM
Marty Remo
RE/MAX Benchmark- Marty Remo-CDPE, E-Pro - Monroe, NY
HV Home Team

I will post this one right above my desk. I completely agree with you.

Dec 15, 2008 11:50 PM
Elizabeth Ward Small
REALTOR & CEO The 3B Method Seminars - Burlington, NC

Post it and share it! The more that read this the more seeds planted for LIVING LIFE!

Dec 16, 2008 12:48 AM
Susan Neal
RE/MAX Gold, Fair Oaks - Fair Oaks, CA
Fair Oaks CA & Sacramento Area Real Estate Broker

Hi Liz, It is so sad when people become so overwhelmed that they see no future.  Once depression takes hold, it is extremely difficult to swim out of it, and we can't just tell clinically depressed people to snap out of it..  But before someone slips down very far, at the first sign of distress, we can assure them that they can't control all of those things tearing at their world, but they can control how they react to them.  We can be the masters of our own attitude - it's the one thing that no one ever has the right to take away from us.  Somehow, there is nearly always a solution to our problems, but we must be clear-headed enough to find it.

Dec 31, 2008 09:38 AM
Terry Rasner-Yacenda
Broker,Owner - Dreams Realty - Reno, NV
"Dreams Realty"

Hi Liz -- I just caught this post, and I wanted to share the truth of the tragic side of money, and the hope of the scriptural gifting of money.  Many years ago my husband coached an "Odessey of the Mind" team of 6th graders.  It's a great activity to feed the creative problem-solving side of children.  One of the boys on the team for two years bragged and bragged about his father's creative and financial genius (and there was a lot to be said about it - he was brilliant).  One day the price of a precious metal plummeted, and so did his business.  Three weeks later, the boy's father was found down by the river, a gun in his hand and part of his skull blown off.  He loved money for the wrong reason, and because he had trampled people to achieve his wealth, there were few who cared to memorialize him.  The family took years to recover from the trauma and the notes he had left behind.

On the other hand, we believe fully the Word treats money as the root of all evil not because the money itself is bad, but because wishing to be rich is the evil that leads to the bitterness root that weakens one and makes evil more enticing and acceptable.  We love money, because the more we have of it, the more our church receives for ministries, the more we can do to help families and programs, and the more we can participate in supporting Christian radio, envangelism, and charities of our choosing.  You see, we have made the love of money the "joy of money" -- and God's handprints are all over it.  The more we believe this, the more we are blessed.  But again, we see our blessing as only an extension of God being lifted up, honored, and glorified.

God bless you this 2009!

Jan 02, 2009 12:47 PM
Elizabeth Ward Small
REALTOR & CEO The 3B Method Seminars - Burlington, NC

Susan - forgive the delay! I thank you for sharing and yes we have to take control of this and not be drawn to the sadness!

 

Terry - WOW - your story was really touching and I love everything you have shared in this. I also pray for Gods hand prints to be all over you and all of us here in the rain! Thank you for sharing and I do apologize for this delay! I have been writing a lot since the 1st of the year and will be back in the rain this week catching up!

 

 

Feb 28, 2009 05:06 PM