Legacy Youth Ministry Resources

Illustration texts

How to Live Happily Ever After

?The best way to live happily ever after is to not be after too much.? (Anonymous, quoted by Dobson)

Save Regularly, Consistently

Ed Owen, dropped a 29 cent stamp on the ground. A friend of his said, ?It?s hardly worth picking up, as it won?t be worth much in a few years when inflation eats into it.? But Ed picked it up and proceeded to figure out how much money he could accumulate by saving 29 cents per day for 65 years, investing his savings at 10 % interest. The result? Nearly $430,000. So, like the ant, save regularly, systematically for the future.

Your Checkbook and Jesus

?Does your checkbook reflect that Jesus is enough??

I'll Show You How to Live Without It

A devout Quaker was leaning on his fence, watching a new neighbor move in next door. After all kinds of modern appliances, electronic gadgets, plush furniture, and costly wall hangings had been carried in, the onlooker called over, "If you find you?re lacking anything, neighbor, let me know, and I?ll show you how to live without it.?? ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Oseola McCarty: Content With What She Has

How many of you have heard of Oseola McCarty? I assumed that few of you would have. You see, our history texts and encyclopedias wouldn?t be interested in her because she was neither part of a royal lineage, nor distinguished as a political leader, business entrepreneur, or great athlete. Oseola grew up in a simple house with her grandmother, mother, and an aunt. As an eight-year-old she would wash clothes after school to help make ends meet. Her school education at age 12, when she dropped out to care for her sick aunt and work full time at washing. She washed the old-fashioned way, building a fire under her wash pot, then soaking, washing, and boiling a bundle of clothes. Rub. Wrench. Rub again. Starch. Hang out to dry. She worked Monday through Saturday, from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM, for 75 years, until arthritis forced her into retirement at age 86. She never married, never got to finish school, never had a car, and owned few possessions. Her TV received only one station. But that didn?t bother her, because she never watched it very much anyway. I can almost hear some of you thinking, ?Get a life, woman!? But, you see, Oseola did have a life, a great life. She didn?t desire travel or possessions. She loved her God, her family and her work, sometimes staying up till 2:00 or 3:00 AM to finish her ironing. Singing and storytelling filled her days of work with joy and laughter. And since she didn?t need money for possessions or travel, she saved it, a little each month, so that by July 1995 she had saved, get this, $280,000, and gave away over half of it, $150,000, to establish a college scholarship for needy students, to offer others the education she never had. Until recently, she referred to herself as a ?poor little old colored woman who walked everywhere.? No one paid her much attention when she was out. But when the word leaked out about her donation, the world took notice. She has since received numerous awards, been interviewed on ABC, CNN, NBC, BET and MTV. She?s been featured in Newsweek, The New York Times, People, Life, Ebony, Essence, and Jet. But all the recognition never changed her simple life. For you see, she didn?t need all the recognition. In her own words, ?I think my secret was contentment. I was happy with what I had.? (Simple Wisdom for Rich Living, Oseola McCarty, Longstreet Press, Atlanta, GA, 1996. Also from Southern Living, ?The Amazing Grace of Miss McCarty,? by Nancy Dorman-Hickson, Feb., 1998, pp. 33, 34.) Words of wisdom from Oseola: ?The secret of building a fortune is compounding interest. It?s not the ones who make big money, but the ones who know how to save who get ahead. You?ve got to leave your investment alone long enough for it to increase.? (Simple Wisdom, p. 18) Also, she doesn?t allow herself to pay interest. ?I save my money till I can buy something outright.? (p. 25) ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Wisdom From Millionaires

Thomas J. Stanley researched the lives of those who had accumulated (not just earned) a million dollars or more in their lifetime, to see who they were and how they did it. Among his findings: ?The wealthy got that way mostly by being frugal, but they are suckers for any offer, however costly, to help them plan finances better.? Although they can be stingy, they lavish money on high quality education, estate planners, and accountants/lawyers who specialize in guarding property and wealth. About half of them avoided ?high-priced, stylish neighborhoods.? In fact, he found many were so discreet and quiet about their finances that not even their children knew of their wealth until after their death. (Atlanta Journal, ?Million Dollar Secrets to Success,? March 3, ?97, p. E5, by Ernest Holsendolph, reviewing the book, The Millionaire Next Door, by Tomas J. Stanley, Longstreet Press.) Stanley describes the typical American millionaire as ?married once, and still married, he lives in a middle-class neighborhood, next to people with a fraction of his wealth. He?s a compusive saver and investor. And he?s made his money on his own: 80 percent of America?s millionaires are first-generation rich.? According to Stanley, four of the most important rules that millionaires follow are 1- ?Live below your means.? They want to avoid a luxury house, and the luxury life-style to accompanies it. Many drive old, unpretentious sedans. 2 ? ?Emphasize net worth; de-emphasize income.? 3 ? ?Cultivate good advice.? 4 ? Develop a plan. (Reader?s Digest, January, 1993, pp., 57-59, condensed from Medical Economics, by Thomas J. Stanley)? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Problem With Materialism

?When people fail to discipline their desires, they compound stress in their children. An environment where the best is always in the future breeds an attitude that makes the present look cheap. When people fail to discipline their desires, they accommodate the powers within the world system that desire to control them. A heart that finds it hard to accept its position in life is putty in the hands of the Powers of Darkness.? (Little House on the Freeway, by Tim Kimmel) ?Coveting is material inebriation. It?s an addiction to things that don?t last and a craving for things that don?t really matter. It forces us to depend on tomorrow to bring us the happiness that today couldn?t supply.? (Little House on the Freeway, by Tim Kimmel)

John Wesley and Money

?John Wesley was a great 17th century preacher who ultimately founded Methodism. While teaching at Oxford University he earned about 30 pounds per year. One cold winter day he noticed a poor chambermaid shivering because she had nothing to wear but a thin linen dress. Wesley wanted to buy her a coat, but he had already spent most of his salary on luxury items for himself. As a result of that incident, Wesley began to limit his expenses so that he would have more money to give the poor. He records that the next year out of his income of 30 pounds he was able to give away 2 pounds. The following year his income doubled, but he still managed to live on 28 pounds, so that he had 32 pounds to give to the poor. The third year his income jumped to 90 pounds. In stead of letting his expenses rise with his income, he kept them the same and gave away 62 pounds. In the fourth year, he received 120 pounds. His giving rose to 92 pounds. Wesley felt that the Christian should not merely tithe, but give away all extra income, once his family was taken care of. He believed that with increasing income, what should rise is not the Christian?s standard of livig, but his standard of giving. This practice, begun at Oxford, continued throughout his life. Even when his income rose into the thousands of pounds, he lived simply, and gave away his surplus money. One year his income was a little over 1400 pounds. He lived on 30 pounds and gave away nearly 1370 pounds. So great was his generosity that in 1776 the English tax commissioners inspected his return and wrote him a letter questioning how a man in his station of life could give away so much money. He responded with these words, ?Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven?for where your treasure is there will your heart be also.? (Mt. 6:19-21) (Heard from Rev. Jim Burgess) ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Songs to Use on Materialism

Songs to use: ?Happy Man,? by Pat Terry, also recorded by B.J. Thomas. This song relates the story of a man who lived a simple life, but knew a wealth and beauty that others couldn?t find. ?Pieces of Eight,? recorded by Styx, warns you to not allow ?the search for the money tree? to ?turn your hearts to stone.?

Cigarettes or $700,000.00?

?Get your kids to develop a saving habit instead of a smoking habit. Forget health, tell them: Think about the money! Not buying a pack a day and investing that money at 10% means they?ll be healthy at 65 with an extra $700,000. Or they can be broke with lung cancer.? (USA Today)

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