Ahhh yes…you know the old saying — “Money makes the world go ’round” — At this point in time, that’s very true. There’s not a whole lot you can do if you don’t have money. If we lived in the Star Trek time, we wouldn’t have to worry about money. We’d just replicate anything and everything, and there would be no money to concern our bank books with.

But, that’s not the case. So, as a result, it helps to get a handle on money. But even with the phrase — “Get a handle on money” — we discover many roadblocks along the way. For many they simply bounce from program to program trying to organize funds, organize budgets, pay bills, and make ends meet. While that is a very important aspect of money management, we also need to discover what makes us tick when it comes to money.

One of the awesome aspects of my life is that I’m blessed with many opportunities to network with and chat with all kinds of different people. Recently I spoke with Eric Tyson about money. He has a great book out called “Mind Over Money” with some incredible revelations in it. You can listen to the Live Line Interview with Eric Tyson by simply clicking on those words right there. (Yes, those are the ones — the ones that say ‘Live Line Interview’ — the neat thing is, you can click on those words right now and the interview will open up in a different window and play, and then you can continue reading along here.)

For many people, money is a sore spot and the source of fights and sleepless nights. It does not have to be that way. I hope you enjoy the interivew, and if you want to get a copy of the book, you can find that at your bookstore, or amazon.com.

Don’t forget to check out some of the “Other Blogs of Interest” links. I just added a new one for Jeffrey Meshel. He’s the author of “One Phone Call Away” and has some great thoughts in his blog entries!

Keep encouraged!
Dr. Rus

I had a dream last night. I usually tell people who want to know what dreams mean, that if they wake up and actually remember the dream, it probably means something. We of course dream every night, it’s all part of the sleep routine. However, a remembered dream comes with some meaning. Sometimes it simply means we should have passed over that last piece of cold pizza before going bed. Other times, there are valuable lessons for the learning.

In my dream last night I found myself in some kind of a cave with deep tunnels going downward. Word came that the water was rising, and therefore we needed to mark some of the down tunnels with warning markers alerting people not to go too far down, because the water was rising. Someone, whom I figure must have been the in-charge person, said — “Here, you need to measure about 30 feet down and place this marker on the wall.” I responded by saying — “I don’t think so. I’ve never done that before. You need to show me how to do it.”

At that point the person in charge went down the tunnel saying, “No problem, I just wanted to see if you were ready yet. I’ll show you how it’s done.” But that’s when the problem started. He was too confident, and seemed to whistle and skim along the rock surface commenting on how he could do this in his sleep because he’d done it hundreds of times before. Then, suddenly he went into a free fall, bouncing off the rocky wall, tumbling all the way down to the bottom of the hole. I ran for help, and two of us then went down the hole to the motionless body we found below. At that point I woke up from the dream.

So, what does this mean? I believe we discover many lessons, but there are a couple moving to the forefront of my mind.

1) God is calling us to move to what I’ve been referring to as a “new normal”. He is placing before us incredible purpose and destiny and if we’ll only move forward in what He’s encouraging us to move forward in we’ll discover great blessing. Of course, moving out of the “normal” can be a scary thing, because doing something new, or moving into the “new normal” is of course, well, new and unknown territory.

2) I believe another message from the dream revolves around being too comfortable and sure of ourselves in doing things we’ve done hundreds of times before. Remember, the person in the dream said he could mark the wall with ease because he’d gone down the tunnels hundreds of times. However, in his overconfidence, he slipped and fell to the bottom of the hole.

Just a few thoughts, and I hope they do encourage you.

Dr. Rus

Many times the famous find themselves caught in a whirlwind world frantically spinning out of control. They find many things, and many people, pulling them in a multitude of directions. How is one to keep up with the demands of life, and at the same time find the quiet time one needs to remain sane.

George Harrison exemplifies someone who had it all, but also discovered “all” lacked something along the way. I recently had the opportunity to interview Joshua Greene, author of a new book called “Here Comes The Sun — The Spiritual & Musical Journey of George Harrison”. Not only did Joshua research the life of George Harrison, he also spent a lot of time ‘jamming’ with him. I hope you enjoy listening to this interview as much as I enjoyed conducting it.

These are clickable links!
1) Live Line interview with Joshua Greene
2) Joshua Greene’s “Here Comes The Sun” website

Enjoy!
Dr. Rus

We saw the movie “Eight Below” last night. It’s another Disney ‘based on a true story’ movie about explorers stationed at the frozen South Pole. In this case, after a sledding accident, the sled dogs, eight of them, are left behind. The original plan included heading back for the dogs right after the drop off of humans for medical attention. However, a storm moved in, grounding all flights in and out of the South Pole.

Suddenly the story shifts to the dogs, kind of. I saw kind of because not only are the dogs followed, but the owner of the dogs is followed as well. How does one deal with leaving behind friends, even when they’re four legged friends. The story really becomes one about survival, tenacity, and a desire to persevere. The main character perseveres in order to gather a crew together to go and save the dogs. While the dogs persevere in order to survive.

It’s also a story of teamwork. Many times when the going gets tough, teamwork seems to fall apart. After all, when the going gets tough, many people start jockeying for position. It takes a true leader, and people, or in this case, animals, who understand leadership, to really follow through, on following the leader.

It’s unfortunate that in this world of quick fixes and a desire for instant gratification, few people hold fast and hold tight through the hard times, which in turn builds character. Instead of hanging tight, many people flee.

The phrase — “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” — does not mean the tough flee the scene. No, it’s really quite the opposite. When the going gets tough, leadership and teamwork rise to the top, in order to persevere and make it through whatever the tough situation might be.

Keep encouraged!

Dr. Rus

It’s funny how in such a disjointed world where families seem tossed and split apart by many miles, the passing of a relative suddenly makes the miles seem shorter.

I have a favorite Uncle, he’s always been my fav, and he’s really more than just an Uncle, he’s a Great-Uncle. Not only is he a “great” Uncle, but he really was a “Great-Uncle”. He was my Dad’s Uncle, which made him a Great-Uncle to me. Even that is rather surprising in a world of dysfunctional and broken families. Many people stand in awe when I start telling them of the many relatives I at one time had. However, now with the passing of Uncle Jack, the number of relatives, at least in the area of Aunt’s and Uncle’s is rapidly diminishing.

Uncle Jack was around 90 at his passing yesterday. He lived a good long life, and if there’s one thing I learned from Uncle Jack, it’s the fact that no matter what the circumstances might be around us, always take time to have fun. Uncle Jack had many pains throughout his life, but no matter what, he always had fun. Whether it was slipping me a glass of wine in my younger years at a Christmas family gathering, flirting with the girls around him, or simply picking on my Mom in a loving and joking way, Uncle Jack exemplified a man of integrity, a man of passion, a man of committment, and yes, a man who looked at life and laughed, no matter what. He’s also the one who told me my wife was a “keeper”.

This week we’ll shorten the miles separating our family ties by crossing the border into Canada. Suddenly the 4 or 5 hour drive seems like nothing, so we can come together, cry together, and yes, even laugh together, as we remember the “Passing of a Friend”.

I’ll miss you Uncle Jack — my Great-Uncle in many ways.

The past few days I’ve come across some rather startling news stories. Not that the problem is new, but the people are new. I’ve been soap-boxing on this for quite some time now, but once again the whole area of “Parent’s Hosting Underage Drinking Parties” is on the rise again.

Here are three headlines from this week alone;
1) Videotape of Underage Drinking Leads To Student Punishment
2) Underage Drinking Lands Man In Jail
3) Underage Teen Transported To Pot Party

The first story involves a husband and wife who “supervised” a party for High School students. The so-called “responsible father” videotaped the whole party. Of course many of the teens got into trouble driving home, police obtained a search warrant, found the tape, went to the High School, and 50 some underage students were identified drinking.

The second story is even more disturbing! A 31 year old mother hosted a birthday party for her 13 year old daughter. She got the kids at the party drunk, and then stripped for them. Then, a 47 year old man took a bunch of the teens and pre-teens home with him when the party broke up at 4:30 in the morning. He pulled out more booze and added in some drugs and then “allegedly” had sex with a 15 year old.

And last, but not least, a 19 year old took a 17 year old to a pot party!

Now, the last one isn’t quite as bad, after all, it involved teens. But, the first two incidents are incredible. What is going on here folks! Actually, I know what’s going on — it’s an example of parents wanting to be the kids “best friends” instead of “parenting.”

Give me a break. Parenting means setting an example, not getting underage kids drunk.