Autumn, 2004
Greetings and Blessings!
It’s
been more than two months now since Dave Ramsey came to Pittsburgh for
the third time. Thousands of people attended the “Total Money
Makeover Live!” event in Pittsburgh’s Oakland
neighborhood. If you were there, we hope you enjoyed hearing Dave
and his daughter Rachel as much as we did.
Just prior to
Dave’s arrival, we launched a new website at www.HISconsulting.BIZ (see image at right). You do not have to
capitalize “HIS” and “BIZ” like we do, but it
helps US remember that HIS Consulting is always “HIS BIZ”
(business, that is). We have even established new email
addresses: steve@HISconsulting.BIZ and marie@HISconsulting.BIZ.
This website is an
ongoing project, but you can go there now and print or download budget
forms, plus pictures of Marie and me with various grandchildren.
The picture on the home page was taken at August’s event, with Dave
and Rachel Ramsey. Marie and I were wearing our new personalized
hospital scrubs with “Plastic Surgeon” under our names.
Other
pages will tell you more about Marie and me, about our family tree, and
other activities we have. The “Integrated Leadership
Project” I wrote as the last part of my Master’s Degree in
Organizational Leadership is there. Information about two of the
musical groups I play with (a brass quintet called “Sounds of
Brass” and a Christian jazz combo called “Koinonia
Combo”) is being developed, and an offer to assist with Resume
Development. This last includes development of a list of personal
strengths and professional accomplishments to be presented to prospective
employers, plus enhancement and practice of interview skills to help you
nail the job after your resume gets you invited for an interview.
A new service I hope to
provide is currently called “Leadership Coaching.” This
will include developing personal leadership skills as well as consulting
with organizations on leadership development. This is an area that
has been the most enjoyable part of several of my past jobs, and the
ministry to which I believe God has called me. There is more
information about my motivation on the website by clicking here (Chapter
8 of the Integrated Leadership Project from my graduate program).
One of the main things we
wanted to tell you about with this inaugural edition of HISnotes is our
prayer diary. We maintain a list of current and former clients with
notes about specific prayer needs. Each client has different needs
beyond “financial peace” and we know some of the details
because of conversations we’ve had. In some cases we have
been asked to pray for specific needs. By the way, this is a
private list, and nobody has the info but Marie and Steve.
We want to hear from
you! As you work on “financial peace” (whatever that
means to you), keep us informed and we will include your need in our
prayers. This invitation is ongoing; it is not limited to
“current” clients, or even “clients” at
all. Send your notes to steve@HISconsulting.BIZ and we will add you to the prayer list.
As I write this, there are 68
shopping days left until Christmas. That’s 9 weeks from
Saturday! Did you include an amount for Christmas Gifts in your
budget? Our budget includes a line item called “Gifts”
which includes birthday gifts and gifts for miscellaneous occasions as
well as Christmas gifts. What has not been spent in any month goes
into our “Sinking Fund” as savings toward gift-related
expenditures for Christmas. It is that savings that we will spend
over the next 68 days. There will be no credit card bills in our
mailbox reminding us of our debt-funded generosity.
January 6th is the
day many churches celebrate the arrival of the Wise Men at Jesus’
birthplace. It’s the first day after “the 12 days of
Christmas.” Will you getting an “Epiphany card”
from American Excess? Will your “epiphany” be a time to
Discover Bondage? Or will you be able to celebrate your use of
managed cash? In years past we have received bills from the bank,
but this year we will be able to think of “MasterCard” as a
love note from the Lord.
If
you need help adjusting your budget in order to have the same blessing
next January, let’s talk. “Personal Finance” is
not just a matter of managing your money for THIS MONTH, it’s also
a way to plan for regular occurrences which do not happen every
month. Ask us about setting up your own “Sinking Fund”
– it’s a good way to extend your “financial
peace” all year round, and to look forward to the coming of the
Prince of Peace – even His birthday, with all the commercialism and
enticements to overspend that come every year at this time.
Since we are getting close to
the season of caroling that retailers sometimes call “Sparkle
Season” I want to take this moment to remind you of one of
Dave’s best quotes. He ends every radio program the same
way:
Remember, there’s ultimately
only one way to financial peace,
and that’s to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus!
Thanks for your support of
HISconsulting!
Yours in
Him,
Steve
Marie
Steven E. Hubbard, M.S.,
C.F.C. Marie
L. Hubbard, M.A., C.F.C.
P.S. Dave is scheduled to
appear on CBS’ “60 Minutes” early in November
(tentatively scheduled for the 7th, but they keep
postponing). I have set my VCR to tape it every Sunday until I see
him (yes, I know how to make the lights stop blinking, but I’m
actually using my DVR – a digital video recorder –
‘cause it’s easier to use).
