Bible Reflections of a Recently Renewed Faith

I don't consider myself a very religious person.  Well, none of the people who know me will say that they know me to be a religious person.  Sure, I've been Catholic all my life; I studied in catholic schools for fifteen years of my life.  I go to mass -- at times. Almost regularly when I was younger then sometimes when I was getting older and then rarely until never.  Frankly before yesterday, I can't remember the last time.  But since joining the Truly Rich Club by Bro. Bo Sanchez, my faith has blossomed anew.

This post was originally published in The Truly Rich SAHM.

BIBLE REFLECTIONS FOR TODAY

I’m a member of the Kerygma Family which is an online community of people for prayer and spiritual support.  Part of my blessing as a member is to receive Daily Bible Reflections (all for free!) which has three parts: first is the Didache which contains personal sharing and stories which are related to the readings of the day. Second is the Companion, which contains all the Mass readings of the day (First Reading, Second Reading, Psalm and the Gospel) with brief explanations. Third is the Sabbath which contains reflections of a priest about the Gospel. It’s actually like listening to a homily.

  

I joined Kerygma 5 days ago and have already received five Daily Bible Reflections. But because of the Gospel yesterday about the Parable of the Sower made me realize that it’s not enough that I read these, I need to reflect on them too.

Today’s 1st Reading from Isaiah 1:10-17 made me realize that it doesn’t really matter if we do religious things for God if we are not able to do anything to correct injustices in our own backyard, especially if we are responsible for or take part in those injustices. even if we worship God every week or even everyday, if we are spiteful of the people around us, if we shout to a service crew at a fast-food place, if we know of a relative who’s in need but do nothing about it, if we have a house helper but treat them as someone inferior, if we mismanage our subordinates, if we prefer to throw food away rather than feed a hungry kid because he looks dangerous…everything else doesn’t matter.  It doesn’t sound easy but it makes total sense. 

If anyone else would want to receive the Daily Bible Reflections too, with the Didache, Companion and the Sabbath, I’m inviting you to be part of the Kerygma family. It is ABSOLUTELY FREE to join and its purpose is to let everyone know that wherever you are in the world, you have a whole family or support system to help you through anything.  You have access to counselors anytime of the day from wherever you are.  You’d know that wherever you are, there are people praying for you too. You can check their website here. 

FINANCIAL PLANNING and GOAL SETTING WORKSHOP at the WEALTH ACADEMY

Series 2 of the training series at the Wealth Academy is the "Financial Planning and Goal Setting Workshop." I was finally able to attend it yesterday at the IMG office in Chino Roces Ave. in Makati.

This training series focuses on having a financial "check up."  First, the speaker will guide you in assessing your assets and liabilities to find your net worth.  After that, you will also evaluate your monthly expenses against your monthly income to come up with your cash flow value.  If you have a positive net worth and positive cash flow, then hats off to you! You're doing great! However, still try to find ways to make sure that you will be able to continue managing your finances and not overspending.  Make sure you know how to make that last all throughout your retirement.  If you do not have yet a retirement fund, start researching about how much money you need for this and how to go about setting it up.

If you have a negative net worth and positive cash flow, it means you lack investments and you have not prepared for the long term.  It's not too late, though! Since you have a positive cash flow, it means you have some money to put into investments.  Look for ways on how you can start investing and minimize risks by increasing your financial IQ.  However, be careful when investing because it is very important to have a solid financial foundation.

If you have a positive net worth but negative cash flow, it goes to show that you are living withing your means.  You need to reevaluate your spending habits because sooner or later, you will be needing to tap into your assets just to provide for your monthly needs. And if this continues on, there is a possibility of ending up with a negative net worth as well.  Also, find some ways of increasing your cash flow by getting another source of income.  You can get freelance jobs or better yet, start your own business.

However, if you have negative net worth as well as a negative cash flow, then it's high time you make some drastic changes.  The first thing you have to do is to cur down on your expenses.  Analyze how you spend your income and from there, learn to prioritize. It will also be a good idea to look for additional means of income to increase your cash flow and avoid debt.

These things can definitely be challenging.  But if we increase our financial IQ and study about financial planning and management, we can get on track sooner and more efficiently.

The training and seminars at the Wealth Academy can address all these concerns by educating people about the importance of financial literacy, as well as providing platforms to apply what you have learned.

If you want to know more about the Wealth Academy, you can check these links:

Increase your financial IQ at the Wealth Academy! 

INVITATION FOR "PRACTICAL MONEY MANAGEMENT AND INVESTMENT STRATEGIES" TRAINING.

A Blessed Sunday at THE FEAST PICC

It was our family's first time to attend The Feast at the PICC today.  The Feast is a weekly Catholic prayer gathering of the Light of Jesus Family founded by Bro. Bo Sanchez.  Being a relatively new member of the Truly Rich Club and the Kerygma Family as well, my desire to be able to attend The Feast has grown until going was no longer a question.

The truth is, I haven't been to mass for a long, and I mean, a looong time.  It's not that I have lost faith; I still pray several times a day; but for the longest time I've made myself believe that, that was enough.  Going to The Feast today with my family made me admit to myself that what I was doing before wasn't enough; that there were some thirsts that needed to be quenched.  And I'm very happy that I was there with my whole family.  Just upon entering the PICC, seeing the number of people leaving (from the earlier sessions) and the people coming in for the 10:30am session, you can already feel the atmosphere that is The Feast's claim: the happiest place on earth.  It was more of a party atmosphere and it electrifies you.

Also, it was my first time to listen to Bro. Bo preach live in person.  Sure, I've read some of his books, read his newsletters, articles and magazines, watched videos of him.  But listening to him live, right there in front of you was something else.  I have realized that it is really beneficial to have someone to look up to and listen to; someone to guide you in your faith and in all the aspects of your life.  I'm glad that it is Bro. Bo for us because he encourages people to grow in all aspects of their lives: spiritual, emotional, physical, mental and even financial.  He wants everybody to achieve their goals and finds way to teach us how to do all of those.

Today, he preached about the TWO KILLER MOVES to make you win in life: first is to KNOW WHO YOU WANT TO BECOME; and second, KNOW HOW TO GET TO WHO YOU WANT TO BECOME.  Everything was so simple yet so perfect in their simplicity.  Truly, The Feast will not only bring you closer to Jesus, but closer to your inner self as well.  I got teary-eyed several times the whole session for the fire that was burning in me the whole time.  I also didn't pass up the chance to shake Bro. Bo's hand and get his autograph.  Also I told him, "Thanks, Bro. Bo, for the Truly Rich Club!" And he said to me, "Great! Keep on investing!"

 It was really an amazing experience and I can't wait to be back next Sunday!

FREE FINANCIAL LITERACY TRAINING

Here in the Philippines, financial literacy is definitely not a priority of the common Filipino.  It is not in our culture to think about the future.  We are used to taking each day as it is.  While some cultures say that having this "positive" outlook is one of our strengths, we fail to realize one important thing: we are not prepared for the challenges of retirement.

We are so scared to think about retirement like you are willing bad things to happen. We don't want to talk about insurance or healthcare or investments. Usually we think all these are a waste of time and money.  Besides, we are earning well now anyway. But what we don't realize is that high income does not equate to wealth.  Having a high income is not a guarantee that all our financial needs will be met.  A question we should ask ourselves is that, "If I lose my job today, how long can I live without having to look for a source of income?"

There are two scenarios in life that we don't really think about but is actually disturbing: dying too soon and living too long. Why?

If I die too soon, who is going to take care of my family?  Can they survive?
If I live too long, who is going to take care of me?  Can I survive?

If our answer is doubtful, then we can do something about it to make it crystal clear.  We can educate ourselves to secure our future and our family's future.  There are a lot of programs around that can help us analyze our financial goals and give us a solid plan to achieve them.

The Wealth Academy of the International Marketing Group is one of those programs. Their aim is to educate people about financial literacy and them build a solid financial plan.  They hold a series of training and seminars that tackle different topics about financial management.  By educating ourselves, we can be our own financial experts.

If you want to be your own financial expert and secure your future, you can register for one of the training sessions here:

IMG WEALTH ACADEMY PRACTICAL MONEY MANAGEMENT and INVESTMENT STRATEGIES TRAINING.