This Little Bank of Mine . . .

I aced a lot of classes in college that didn't matter
Breezed through Botony, Psychology, and Medieval Literature
smiled at my transcripts, did all the work for group projects
I took great notes, passed the tests with flying colors
and went back to our tiny one bedroom apartment
to argue with my husband
wonder when the fairy tale ended
and cry over the checkbook.
I graduated with double honors
and fiddled with my gold chords during the ceremony
but no one ever taught me how to balance a checkbook.
Now, after ten years of marriage
and a leap of faith made simple
we finally signed up for the right class
a much overdue course correction
like two offensive lineman tackling eachother every play
but in this elastic world of small business teeter totter
it's hard to hear the whistle blow and the field gets muddy
so we're heading back to the line of scrimmage
with a common playbook to learn
thirteen weeks of Tuesdays
that will offer our little girl a new inheritence
our love a new understanding
and the financial peace we never knew
that is
until we found this place that tells us we matter to You
and isn't afraid to address the issues
that matter most

"A lot of people ask me, how can you talk about money in church? Shouldn't you be sweating?" Mark Beeson, 'The MacGyver Plan" Sermon March 8-9, 2008

"In a survey of married couples, more than half of them said that sooner or later, money is the most important concern in a marriage. Yet most couples don't talk about it until it's an issue . . . Studies have shown that parents are more likely to talk to their kids about sex than money . . . Money is a "private matter", best left to intimate (or angry) discussions between business partners, spouses, or financial institutions."
Sarah Young Fisher and Susan Shelley, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Personal Finance in your 20's and 30's

"I am positive that personal finance is 80 percent behavior and only 20 percent head knowledge . . . most folks have a good idea what to do with money but not how to do it . . . I look into the eyes of a gazillion people who have followed this plan and experienced, as we did, excitement, hope and gratitude. I am so thankful that I have not only given them a proven plan but have also inspired them to change their family tree."
Dave Ramsey, The Total Money Makeover

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38