Financial Peace University

It's a funny thing that I have become passionate about finances in the last few years.  I did not grow up with money and I am a lousy math student but I love talking about money.  Most Americans are drowning in debt and live with so much stress in their lives that is just unnecessary.  Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University course has helped many people to get out of debt and get their financial house in order.  For a while I had the desire to teach the class at my church but there was never an opportunity.  When I found out that Pastor Sam, who taught the class last fall, decided not to do it again, I volunteered to take over.  The class will start on September 15 at the Minneapolis branch of Bethel Christian Fellowship and run each Wednesday from 6:00 to 7:30 pm.  The address is 2727 Central Ave in NE Mpls.  There is a meal provided beforehand and childcare as well.  If you are married or single, in good financial shape or poor, come to the class.  All are welcome.  Leave a comment or get in touch with me directly if you have any questions.  I'd love to see you there.

Pictures of Jackson

What is cuter than a super cute little boy?  A super cute little boy in a cape.

Jackson is playing with his cousins, Chase (right) and Carver (left).

Jackson loves his mama.

We sure love our little guy.

Eviction

We moved back from White Bear Lake (WBL) on Saturday.  Neither of us had spent much time in WBL and we found it to be a charming town/suburb.  It feels like a small town but is close to downtown St. Paul, making it a unique place in the Twin Cities.  On our last night in WBL we invited our friends, Brad and Karyn Carlson and their children, to walk around the downtown area and visit the Cup and Cone for some ice cream.  The C & C is a fantastic little ice cream shop and a must visit in WBL.  The prices cannot be beat.  We will be back.

In June we learned from our property management company that the tenants in the upstairs unit of our duplex had not paid their rent.  They were put on a payment plan for July but still did not have the money, so we had to evict them.  We felt terrible about it, but there was not much choice.  They were finally out on August 9, and we set about getting the place ready for new tenants.  Fortunately they left the place in good shape, so there was not a ton of work.  My father in law helped me paint a room and do some touch ups and my buddy Jeremy helped me with some cleaning.  I still need to return one more time to paint a stair railing that needed replacement but the place is ready for new occupants.  We spent some time last night praying over the property and part of that time was spent praying for the family we had to evict.  Our prayer was that the Lord would show them favor and give them a new place to live.  The financial hit that we are taking by this is not small and we are trusting the Lord to provide for us.  We are asking people to pray for new tenants and a way to refinance our payment down.  If the Lord decides to provide for us in another way, that is good, too.  We hope to get some good news about refinancing soon and we'll keep our blog readers posted.  God is good and we are still in a good place of trust.