TEACHER APPLICANT

This is soooo true!

After being interviewed by the school administration, the prospective teacher said "Let me see if I've got this right.

You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning.

You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride.

You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a job. You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the final exams.

You also want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents in English, Spanish or any other language, by letter, telephone , newsletter, and report card.

You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps.

You want me to do all this and then you tell me. . . I CAN'T PRAY?"  YEAH, RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Little Help Goes A Long Way:   Recession Proof Your Job 

Being recession-proof means being prepared in case you lose your job.
What if, no matter how amazing an employee you are, you get laid-off? You must have a financial backup plan.

Have at least three months of expenses saved in case something happens. The optimal amount of savings is six months but I know many find that unrealistic. If you can do six months, however, all the better.

You need to calculate ALL of your expenses and start saving immediately.
Here is a list of items you must not forget:

1. Mortgage or rent
2. Gas and electric
3. Gas for the cars
4. Groceries
5. Health insurance (be prepared to pay double through COBRA
6. Car insurance
7. All utilities (home phone, internet, cell phone, cable, etc…)
8. Entertainment (you’ll need to cut back but you also want to have some fun)
9. Misc monthly expenses such as gym memberships, internet hosting, etc.

This is only a brief list. Create a spreadsheet and list everything. Then, add up your expenses and then multiply by three. If you have that amount saved, you’re in great shape; now try to save for six months! If you do not have that amount saved, do yourself a favor and start saving today! Every little bit helps. Just save whatever you can...even 1, 5 or 10 dollars....whatever you can ...save it. It adds up over time.

Add 120% value and promote yourself
Make sure you are adding value at work in everything you do. Always strive to fulfill 100% of what is in your job description and then do 20% more. In addition, you may want to go back to school. Earn your certification in your skill, get an undergraduate degree, your MBA, etc.. Do what needs to be done to show your employer that you are serious about your job, your performance, and the company’s bottom-line. Be genuine. 

Finally, Promote your value. Make sure your boss and your boss’s boss know that you are a 120% employee.

Be prepared to make a change
Update your resume. Create a few canned cover letters so if a position opens in a great company, you can act immediately. Tap into your network of friends, family and colleagues in other companies. In tough times, you want to make sure that if you are let go, you can find a position as fast as possible. That means preparing before the unlikely lay-off occurs.

Think long-term
Your purpose is to preserve your career, not jump around “willy-nilly”. While you are preparing for a change, that’s all you are doing; preparing. You are refreshing your network and putting out feelers. If an opportunity arises while you are in your current position, think long and hard as to whether you should take the new job. Ask yourself if the new position is a good career move. Analyze the new position as if the economy was in fantastic shape.

I’ve seen co-workers panic and start job searching right when the rumors of lay-offs begin circling the water coolers. They post their resumes everywhere and start interviewing. I had a few friends leave their jobs to go to another comapny only to get laid off by that company a year later.

If you have three to six months in savings, there is no need to think short-term. Think long-term.

Be Nice
Huh? What does this have to do with being recession-proof? If you are a 120% employee, you are doing what is necessary at a task level to stay recession-proof. There is an old adage that states, “People buy from people they like.” Guess what? People also hire and keep people they like as well! Be friendly and supportive of your co-workers. Provide a helping hand at all times. Be nice. Be professional. When you must take a stand against someone, do so in a manner that builds the other person up and does not tear them down.

Why is this important? Imagine the following scenario. Your name is Joe. Your boss is asked to lay-off ten people. She sits with her boss and tells him, “I analyzed everyone’s performance and I need to keep Joe. Not only does he perform at the highest level, he is also a real cheerleader. He helps other members of the team and he is motivating to be around. Without him, many of the other team members we keep may get demoralized. Frank has similar numbers to Joe, but he’s harsh and abrasive. He seldom helps when asked for help, and to be honest, not many people like him.”

You want to be 'Joe'.  But at all costs, preserve your integrity while you strive to be 'Joe'.

How Do I increase Money, God's Way?

First of all, God is a covenant keeper. In Malachi 3, he tells us to pay our tithes and offerings. Many people have told me the tithe is Old Testament. However, Jesus said in Matthew 23, that you should tithe but not ignore justice, mercy and faith. By tithing, you are giving back to God the first of your increase. Our offerings are over and above the tithe.

Through the tithe and offering, we move into financial covenant with God. Psalm 35:27 tells us God delights in the prosperity of his children.

The offering allows you to sow into God's kingdom. The world tells us when times are difficult to hold on tight and not give away. Psalm 11:24 "it is possible to give away and become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tight and lose everything. yes, the liberal man shall be rich."

The next step is to develop a plan to put God first in your money. God wants his children to be the lender and not the borrower. Have you ever thought what it will feel like the first morning you awake and you are debt free, including your home? It takes a plan to accomplish this.

This plan begins your move into the role of "steward." A steward is someone who takes care of someone else's possessions as if they were his own. We are all passing through life on earth towards eternal life in heaven. While we are here, we are God's stewards. We need to manage today what he has entrusted us with, to become worthy to manage more of his resources. God will meet you at your level of expectation.

Psalm 62:5 tells us my expectations are from God. Expect God to move in your finances when you tithe, give offerings and are the steward of a diligent plan.

God is not interested in getting money to you as much as he wants to get money through you. In other words, you become his steward exercising Proverbs 11:24 by giving away money liberally so he will increase you. It is not how much money you make that is paramount. It is what you do with what you make that determines your success as a steward of God.

To increase your money God's way, tithe, give offerings and have a plan for the rest of God's money. Proverbs 10:4 tells us the hands of the diligent will prosper. The answer for money increase has always been available to you; in the bible. Implementing tithing, offerings and a spending plan allows you to apply the word of God into your money. After applying these three simple steps, it will become easier for you to see a Vision of Victory in your finances.

God Loves You!

MAKE YOUR LENDER PRODUCE THE ORIGINAL NOTE
 
Who Owns Your Mortgage? "Produce The Note" Movement Helps Stall Foreclosures

Fight Foreclosure: Make ‘Em Produce The Note!

Using the “produce the note” strategy is something all homeowners facing foreclosure can do. If you believe you’ve been treated unfairly, fight back. We have created templates for a legal request, a letter to your lender and a motion to compel to help you through the process.  Read the step by step “how to” under the videos.

Special note:  In some states, a lender can foreclose on your home without going to court.  These are called non-judicial foreclosure states.  You can still use the “Produce the Note” strategy in these states, but it takes a few more steps on your part.

WHO OWNS THE NOTE?
Your goal is to make certain the institution suing you is, in fact, the owner of the note (see steps to follow below). There is only one original note for your mortgage that has your signature on it. This is the document that proves you owe the debt.

During the lending boom, most mortgages were flipped and sold to another lender or servicer or sliced up and sold to investors as securitized packages on Wall Street. In the rush to turn these over as fast as possible to make the most money, many of the new lenders did not get the proper paperwork to show they own the note and mortgage. This is the key to the produce the note strategy. Now, many lenders are moving to foreclose on homeowners, resulting in part from problems they created, and don’t have the proper paperwork to prove they have a right to foreclose.

THE HARM
If you don’t challenge your lender, the court will simply allow the foreclosure to proceed. It’s important to hold lenders accountable for their carelessness. This is the biggest asset in your life. It’s just a piece of paper to them, and one they likely either lost or destroyed.

When you get a copy of the foreclosure suit, many lenders now automatically include a count to re-establish the note. It often reads like this: “…the Mortgage note has either been lost or destroyed and the Plaintiff is unable to state the manner in which this occurred.” In other words, they are admitting they don’t have the note that proves they have a right to foreclose.

If the lender is allowed to proceed without that proof, there is a possibility another institution, which may have bought your note along the way, will also try to collect the same debt from you again.

A Tennessee borrower recently had precisely that happen to her. Her lender, Ameriquest, foreclosed on her in July of 2007. About three months later, another bank sent her a default notice for the mortgage on the house she just lost. She called to find out what was going on. After being transferred from place to place and left on hold for lengthy periods of time, no one could explain what happened. They said they would get back to her, but never did. Now, she faces the risk of having her credit continually damaged for a debt she no longer owes.

FIGHT FOR FAIRNESS
This process is not intended to help you get your house for free. The primary goal is to delay the foreclosure and put pressure on the lender to negotiate. Despite all the hype about lenders wanting to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, most borrowers know that’s not the reality.

Too many homeowners have experienced lender resistance to their efforts to work out a payment structure to keep them in their homes. Many lenders bear responsibility for these defaults, because they put borrowers into unfair loans using deceptive, hard-sell practices and then made the problem worse with predatory servicing.

Most homeowners just want these lenders to give them reasonable terms on their mortgages, many of which were predatory to begin with. With the help of judges who see through these predatory practices, lenders will feel the pressure to work with borrowers to keep them in their homes. Don’t forget lenders made incredible amounts of money by using irresponsible practices to issue and service these loans. That greed led to the foreclosure crisis we’re in today. Allowing lenders to continue foreclosing on home after home, destroying our neighborhoods and our economy hurts us all. So, make it hard for your lender to take your home. Make ‘em produce the note!

STEPS TO FOLLOW
A. If your lender has already filed suit to foreclose on your home:

Use the first form. It’s a fill-in-the-blank legal request to your lender asking that the original note be produced, before it can proceed with the foreclosure. In some jurisdictions, the courts require the original request to be filed with the clerk of court and a copy of the request to be sent to the attorney representing the lender. To find out the rules where you live, call the Clerk of Court in your jurisdiction.

If the lender’s attorney does not respond within 30 days, file a motion to compel with the court and request that the court set a hearing on your motion. That, in effect, asks the judge to order the lender to produce the documents.

The judge will issue a ruling at your hearing. Many judges around the country are becoming more sympathetic to homeowners, because of the prevalence of predatory lending and servicing. In the past, many lenders have relied upon using lost note affidavits, but in many cases, that’s no longer enough to satisfy the judge. They are holding the lender to the letter of the law, requiring them to produce evidence that they are the true owners of the note. For example:

In October 2007, Ohio Federal Court Judge Christopher Boyko dismissed 14 foreclosure cases brought by investors, ruling they failed to prove they owned the properties they were trying to seize.

B. If you are in default, but your lender has not yet filed suit against you:

Use the second form. It’s a fill-in-the-blank letter to your lender which also requests they produce the original note, before taking foreclosure action against you.

If the lender does not respond and files suit against you to foreclose, follow the steps above.

UPDATE: CNN features The Consumer Warning Network and the “Produce The Note” strategy. Borrowers are putting this plan into action and getting results! Consumer Warning Network Featured on CNN

God Has A Plan For Your Finances
 Money is a resource and gift given to us from God. Like water, wind or electricity, money can work in profitable ways when channeled properly. However, if not channeled properly, money can wreak havoc on our lives!

God has a plan for our lives concerning money and our finances. There are over 2,000 scriptures in the Bible that have to do with how we handle our money and manage it.

Proverbs 21:5 says, "Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity." Planning a financial vision and working with God guarantee a profitable return.

In the parable found in Matthew 25, there was a master who gave three of his servants each talent to manage while he went out of town. Two of them managed the talent well and were good stewards with what was given to them. Therefore, in the end, each were given more talents to manage. It is not the same story with the third servant. He hid the talent in the ground because he was afraid. His plan of ignoring his talent did not reap a profitable return; it reaped a harvest of no return.

How many of us feel like doing that today? At the beginning of implementing a financial plan, we get afraid just like this servant and wish we could burry our own situation! We might be afraid to look at the numbers, and actually see how far behind we are, or acknowledge the amount of debt we have.

But God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love, self–discipline and a sound mind. We have to face the situation in order to change the situation. Change needs to be conceived on the inside before you perceive it on the outside. You have to work with God. It all starts with the decision to change.

In the Old Testament, there was a widow who faced a severe financial situation. She was in such financial need that the creditors were after her and wanted to take her son as a slave. The prophet Elisha showed up at her house with instructions from God for her situation and it had to do with the little of her resources that she had. All she had was one jar of oil.

With one jar, and obediently gathering jars from her neighbors at the request of Elisha, she backed up her faith with actions and obedience. She followed a plan. When her miracle occurred, she not only had enough oil to fill each jar and pay off her debts, but she was well about to sell the oil and live off the rest.

Our God is a running over kind of God. You may feel like the widow with one jar of oil, and feel like digging your situation in the ground like the servant from Matthew, but be encouraged to develop a vision and plan to work with God. Start by eliminating your debt. Work with what you have now as best as you can and as faithful as you can. By staying faithful with little, He will entrust you with more.

Work with God. Establish a vision. Know where you’re heading this year. Remember, it doesn’t matter how grave your situation seems right now, if you will stay faithful and manage diligently what you have and trust God, you will achieve and experience true financial freedom.

God Loves You!

Insurance is Not a Lack of Faith

Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come? (Ecclesiastes 8:7 NIV)

Insurance would be a lack of faith if Jesus said nothing bad or unfortunate would ever happen to Christians.  However, Jesus seems to indicate that we will not fully taste the goodness of God until we are reunited in heaven. 

The common argument is that if we trust God we will not need insurance. I think this assumption is flawed because:

1. Trusting in God does not exempt us from hardship, struggle, and sickness. In fact, we should not be surprised by hardship (1 Peter 4:12).  If we are to anticipate it, surely we are to prepare for hardship.  Faith is not the ability to control the outcome of our lives, but rather the attitude necessary to submit to whatever God brings our way.
   
   
2. Trusting in God does not excuse us from living lives of wisdom. Proverbs teaches that in times of surplus we should prepare for an unknown future.  (Proverbs 6:6-8)
   
   
3. Trusting in God does not encourage us to embrace foolish decisions. There is no Bible verse that specifically addresses insurance, but I believe after reading through Proverbs not getting insurance would not be described as virtuous.
   
   

Insurance Honors God

1. Insurance allows us to protect our family and the church.  If we have a financial need, surely that burden would be placed on the church (1 Timothy 5:8).  If I am financially able to prepare for an unplanned future I should save the burden from my family and church by purchasing insurance.
2. Insurance honors the biblical principle of reimbursing with compensation those who have been wronged.  The biblical principle throughout Exodus 21:12-36 shows that people who are harmed should be compensated.  Auto insurance provides us a way to care for our neighbor in case we are at fault in an auto accident.  Health insurance ensures we have a way to pay medical bills we owe.  We might not be able to personally handle the financial obligation, but insurance will provide the needed resources.
3. In many instances insurance is required as a part of government submission (Romans 13:1).
4. Insurance can be a loving action towards a spouse or family.  Life insurance, for example, is a way for a husband to love his wife (Ephesians 5:25).  If one spouse is left behind, they and the children will have the necessary provisions.
5. Insurance helps to ensure you will have something to leave to your children (Proverbs 13:22).
6. Insurance provides us with a way to ensure our debts are paid.  Major illnesses are the number one cause of bankruptcy.  Insurance not only protects us, but also those who choose to serve us in our times of great need (Romans 4:4).