what do i know?

I grew up in a household where financial stability was never strongly present and the normal way of living was paycheck-to-paycheck with little to no money left over. I was fortunate to learn from this by seeing it as a negative example (how not to do things) instead of making the all-too-common opposite mistake of believing that it is a vicious inescapable cycle. Just because it was the norm does not mean it always has to be the norm. I now work as a financial services officer and frequently see this same cycle happening to families and individuals. Speaking from experience and observation, I can say that this is a sad and difficult situation to be a part of. I know that for a lot of people, this is a crushing burden that leads to hopelessness, despair, negativity, and anxiety. I am fully aware that there actually are some people who really don't make enough money to save after obligations are met, but I also know that this is a sad exception and not the actual case for the ove...

I made a statement to a friend today that my son seems to be developing a weakness that I have. Maybe he inherited it from me. What is this simple thing that fills me with excitement when I know it's within reach? Chocolate milk. I few minutes later I was having a 'd esert island top five ' moment in my mind? You know the classic question: If you were stuck on a desert island and could only have five things with you, what would you chose? I simplified it a little bit, and thought to myself, what are five things that I really love? I wasn't trying to think of the top five things that I can't live without. Rather, I just took a few minutes to think of five things that I really enjoy. Not as dire or pressured as the desert island scenario. Not necessarily my top  five. Just my five. It was kind of fun. So here is the list that I came up with in a few minutes. All but one came in about thirty seconds, honestly. These are in no particular order. Chocolate milk...

Even though I realized for the first time that we were poor, my late elementary years for me were awesome. I hit all sides of the youth social triumvirate: I was intelligent, good at sports, and had girlfriends. Between the ages of 10 and 12 was honestly what I'd consider the most confident time of my life. I felt admired and felt like I could do anything. There was, however, a main exception to my appearance of self-confidence. One day in fourth grade I was called out of class by a school staff member and was told I would start going to speech class for a few minutes each week. There were two other boys in there with me, and neither of them could make the ' r ' sound correctly. They pronounced it like a ' w ,' similar to the way small children do. I always knew those two boys had a speech problem. I never knew that I did though . My problem was much different. My pronunciation issues were with the ' ch ,' ' sh ,' and ' tr ' sounds. The ...

It's not uncommon that I hear it expressed that 'America needs to get back to its roots as a Christian nation' or some similar sentiment, usually in response to a Leftist political view. This seems to be a desire to return to some former glory days of the past, but to which time I'm not so sure. The reason I don't believe this is a correct or healthy expression is because, no, I don't believe we are a Christian nation. I also don't believe that we ever were, nor were ever intended to be one. I am an individual who identifies as a conservative evangelical Christian, which happens to be the most likely demographic of those who hold to the belief I am offering a kind refute to. Although I self-identify in this way, I must also acknowledge that I am much less politically staunch than many of my comrades. Even in light of this, I don't believe my thoughts here are politically or emotionally driven, but are actually grounded in facts. What is a Christia...