TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2021 TUESDAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING

 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2021 TUESDAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING

Yesterday I wrote about gratitude - what are you grateful for? I suggested that being grateful for things isn’t necessarily the right choice.  Things get broken, lose their luster, and over time become less valuable.

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And, I haven’t had much humor lately - so time for a joke.  

A family had two twin girls.  One was always a pessimist, and one was always an optimist.  The parents had one stall in their barn with a pony.  They said to the pessimist “This pony is for you”. The pessimist saw the pony and started to cry.  The parents asked her why she was crying -her answer was that someday the pony will be old and would die.

The second stall in their barn was full of manure.  The parents said to the optimistic girl “this stall is for you”.  The girl jumped up and down with joy and enthusiasm.  “THANK YOU, THANK YOU”, she said.  The parents asked why she was so excited, and the girl answered “Because, with all this manure, there had to be a pony in there!”.

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MONEY

We all like money.  We take jobs - sometimes more for the money than for anything else.  Money buys us housing, food, clothes, cars, and all the things of life.  Biblically, 1 Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil”.  Money is a necessity - but it is greed - the LOVE of money that can corrupt people.  Scrooge in A Christmas Carol lost his perspective on life - and found that he wanted money, more money - until the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future visited him.  

How much is enough in terms of money?  “Just a little more”.  If you could have a million dollars would you be happy?  If you had ten million would that be better?  A billion?

There is the story that you never see a hearse on the way to the cemetery pulling a U-Haul trailer full of stuff.  “You can’t take it with you.”  

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I like the concept of Andrew Carnegie - steel magnate. 

“After retiring in 1901 at the age of 66 as the world's richest man, Andrew Carnegie wanted to become a philanthropist, a person who gives money to good causes. He believed in the "Gospel of Wealth," which meant that wealthy people were morally obligated to give their money back to others in society. Carnegie had made some charitable donations before 1901, but after that time, giving his money away became his new occupation.”

He did give away his money after retirement.  Here are a few Carnegie quotes:

“The man who dies rich dies disgraced.”

“No man becomes rich unless he enriches others.”

“There is little success where there is little laughter.”

“A sunny disposition is worth more than fortune. Young people should know that it can be cultivated; that the mind, like the body, can be moved from the shade into sunshine.”

I intend to die with very little left in my bank accounts - and then with directions to give what is left to my favorite charities.  

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Yes, I set aside money for retirement (and the government made me do so as well).  (I guess the government didn’t want all the old people begging on street corners).  I don’t know my ending date.  If I run out of money and I still am of good health and a good mind, I will trust God to provide my needs (Philippines 4:19).  (Note - God provides my needs, not my wants)

Our money says “In God we Trust” - but do we really? 

In approaching Thanksgiving, yes, we can be grateful for sufficient funds for our needs.  Success is a mindset; happiness is a mindset.  

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Let us be grateful for the blessings in our lives!!!

LOVE WINS

Karen