A recent survey conducted by CreditCards.com, which included 1,378 adults, discovered that 44% of U.S. adults admit to “…hiding bank accounts or debt and spending more money than their partner is aware of.” I was astounded when I read that statistic.
Category Archives: Issues of the Day
The Bondage of an Offense and Six Healing Steps
Many years ago, I worked with someone who continually picked up offenses. With tremendous immaturity and insecurity, they made life miserable for everyone around them. We walked on eggshells when this person was present.
Seven Nonreligious Reasons to NOT Live Together Before You Say “I Do”
“In a nationwide survey conducted in 2001 by the National Marriage Project, then at Rutgers and now at the University of Virginia, nearly half of 20-somethings agreed with the statement, “You would only marry someone if he or she agreed to live together with you first, so that you could find out whether you really get along.” About two-thirds said they believed that moving in together before marriage was a good way to avoid divorce.” *
Oh, the Choices We Make
How many choices do you think you make in a day? Choices like: what time we’ll get up from our warm and cozy beds, how much coffee we’ll drink, whether or not we’ll engage in a devotional time and so on. Those examples are pretty common or simple, but there are more difficult choices we make quite frequently as well.
A Lemon Law for Your Marriage
Being a used car dealer on the side since 1996, I am familiar with the well-known Lemon Law in our country, the USA. Basically, if you have repeated issues noted by your new car dealer over a certain period of time you are able to claim Lemon Law status and turn the car back in to the dealer. It’s a bit more complicated, but you get the idea.
A Crisis of Faith
I have been encountering more and more people who are listing their top excuse for walking away from an active relationship with God as a personal “crisis of faith.” A crisis of faith typically follows a disappointment with God. In some form or fashion, God did not show up for them, or so they think.
21 Books You Don’t Have to Read
The April 19, 2018, edition of GQ magazine had an article titled: 21 Books You Don’t Have to Read. The author included books like: The Old Man and the Sea; Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and even The Lord of the Rings.
Money Issues are Ultimately Heart Issues
Someone once said that money issues are ultimately heart issues. Perhaps that is most likely true as Jesus spoke it this way, “For where you treasure is there your heart will be also.”
Consumer debt, financial mistakes and overcharging can simply be exposing a heart that is not seeking first God’s resources, God’s answers and God’s kingdom. It might be trusting me more than trusting Him. The Apostle Paul shared that he knew how to live with much and he knew how to live with little. The key was walking in contentment.
It is well known that Mother Teresa’s earthly possessions could be carried about in a five-gallon bucket, but at the same time she believed God for millions of dollars to run her organizations that existed all over the world. One could easily identify her heart when it came to money.
I once counseled someone who was $30,000 in debt created by an addiction to internet pornography. One could easily identify that heart as well.
How about you? Where is your heart when it comes to money? Who owns your bank accounts, your IRA’s and your home? Making investments for a financial return vs. creating consumer debt is wise, but making eternal deposits into the lives of others is wiser still.
Do You Have a Dream(s) for 2020?
Joseph was just a teenager of 17. He received two significant dreams that he foolishly, and in a bit of arrogance, shared with his family. Of course, if you know the story, his brothers hated him for the content of those dreams and for expressing them. (Genesis 37:1-11)
It would be another 20 or so years until those dreams became reality. During those years he experienced some really low periods, like jail time in a king’s dungeon for a false accusation. But Joseph held onto his dreams from God.
A dream is a direction that you feel led toward from your spirit, not your head. It typically incorporates your personal bent and gifts. When God sparks a dream in your heart, it’s difficult to let it go. I have experienced many dreams/visions fulfilled over my 65 years. As I look back, I am in awe of what my heavenly Father has brought about. That said, I also believe there are still many more dreams to be fulfilled. It takes a dream, a vision from the Lord to move you on.
It’s not that we’re discontent, for if we are, we’ll most likely remain where we’re presently at for some time. Dreams are from God about what’s next, what He’s preparing you for and that means you need to finish what you’re doing. We need to complete it well, with integrity and no burned bridges. There is something about completing a vision or taking it as far as God desires you to. We must find contentment in what our Father has given our hands to do. Godliness with contentment is great gain. (I Timothy 6:6)
Author Steve Addison wrote, “Discontent without vision leads to cynicism, but a dream without action is a fantasy.” 
God downloads a life-giving dream into your spirit, you begin to consciously see it and either meditate on what the Father is saying or begin excusing why the thought couldn’t be God and dismiss it. If we have our eyes on his present circumstances only, we’ll feel as though Joseph missed God or God missed Joseph. Not so. Life was happening to Joseph, but all for a reason.
God was wasting nothing. His plan was coming about. In Genesis 45 we see that Joseph’s heart was broken as his brothers knelt before him and he sobbed uncontrollably. Did he miss his brothers? Yes. Did he miss his father? Yes. But perhaps that is not why he was crying. Maybe, just maybe, he was crying because the dream he had as a child was being fulfilled, before his very own eyes. Nothing was amiss or awry. God did not mess up or forget one single detail. All those years of suffering now melted away with purpose and fulfillment. All those years of not knowing about his homeland or his family while in Egypt, are now history with the exuberance of a fulfilled dream taking place before him.
Do you have a dream? Is there something inside of you? Is there something you are passionate about to pursue? If not, ask God for a dream, a vision from Him. Give your dreams a place in your prayer life. Write down what you hear your Father speak to you and write down the answers He reveals. As Habakkuk 2:2 says – “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.” 
We have a brand-new year ahead of us – 2020. Maybe you gave up on a dream or thought it too lofty; consider re-digging those wells. Give thanks for the many fulfilled dreams in your life and expect, anticipate many more. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12 NLT)
Dream on!
Christmas, It’s More Than a “Holiday”
How frequently are we greeted with the words, “Happy Holiday.” But isn’t it much more than just a holiday?
It’s more than a date – December 25th.
It’s more than an elf on a shelf.
It’s more than a celebratory meal.
It’s more than stockings hung neatly in a row.
It’s more than gifts and more gifts.
It’s more than a tree.
It’s more than an emotional uplift.
It’s more than a story.
It’s more than carol singing.
It’s more than an allegory.
It’s more than time off work.
It’s more than cookies galore.
It’s more than bright lights.
It’s more than a star.
It’s more than becoming uptight.
And, it’ so much more than Saint Nicholas.
It’s Christ-mas!
Have a very blessed Christmas season and may Jesus, God incarnate, be your reason to rejoice!
Steve Prokopchak 