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The three biggest pressures facing us and our families in today’s world are, not enough time, not enough money, and not being able to balance work and family time.

So what’s new? As each generation has had to overcome these obstacles we too have our opportunity.
 
It was not God’s idea that in the last days the most prescribed medication in America would be one that treats depression or that one of the most watched TV programs would be Survivor. Depressing survival, now there is a life for you.
 
Jesus said, "I come to bring you not just life, but life more abundant." Paul wrote to the church at Ephesians, "God wants to do exceeding, abundantly, above all you ask or think." Now that’s more like it. Abundant life sounds better than a depressing survival of life.
 
How do we get to this abundant life?  By getting in the Word and applying it to our lives.
 
Three Essentials to Life Management
(How to beat the pressures of life)
Any enterprise (life, family, business, etc.) is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts.
(Prov. 24:3-4 TLB)
 1. Wise Planning. (Getting a Vision)
 Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? or if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish. (Luke 14:28-30 NIV)
It is said we spend more time planning our wedding than we do our life. It is biblical to plan, to dream, and to envision our future. Proverbs 29:18 says, where there is no vision the people perish. In Habakkuk 2:2 we read, write the vision and make it plain.
 
Write Down Your Goals
Hall of Fame Football coach, Lou Holtz, once said: “I am a great believer that you should be a participant in life, not just a spectator. The worst thing in the world is to go along and watch life happen. Without goals, we lose complete motivation.”

Holtz had just hit rock bottom back in 1967.

Just one season after moving to Columbia, South Carolina to be assistant coach at USC, the entire staff was fired. Holtz found himself unemployed and questioning whether he was in the right profession. He had no money in the bank, had just bought a home, and his wife Beth was expecting their third child. Holtz was full of despair.

In an effort to lift his spirits, Beth gave him a motivational book on setting goals. Holtz sat down at the dining room table, let his imagination go, and before he knew it, had drawn up a list of 107 goals he wanted to achieve in his life. Beth looked over the list and suggested one more – find a job.

Of the 107 goals he listed back in 1967 at the lowest point in his life, Holtz has achieved 102, including skydiving, landing on an aircraft carrier, eating dinner at the White House, being named head coach at Notre Dame in 1986, and being named coach of the year in 1988 by the Football Writers Association of America.
The plans of the diligent lead to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surly lead to poverty. (Prov. 21:5)

2. Common Sense (Make Godly Friends)
Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
(Prov. 27:17 KJV)
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. (Prov. 13:20 KJV)

Common Sense comes from hanging out with common sense people. Godly people. Wise people. Quality fellowship and friendship is one of the greatest needs in life. But before you can have a friend, you must first learn how to be one.
A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. (Prov. 18:24 KJV)
Social skills are not something we are born with; it is something we must develop. Things like how to start a conversation, carry on a conversation, and how to end a conversation. Without these basic skills we will struggle in our social life and friends will be few. And, without real friends, who will have the courage to speak truth into our life in order for us to get better?
 
3. Keep abreast of the facts. (Get a Budget)
Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.
(Prov. 27:23-24 NIV)
Ninety-seven percent of all Americans have no budget. That may explain why we have some of the highest amounts of personal debt. Math and money are the same.

We profit wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts. It is impossible to have faith without facts. Faith without works is dead. An example of the devastating effects of not having a budget is shown in the last government census. For every 100 people the government tracks, by age 65: 34 have died, 56 are living totally off either family or government support; 5 are working because they have to; 4 are well off; and 1 is wealthy. That means in the richest nation on the face of the earth, only 5 out of every 100 have planned their life well enough to be able to live well at retirement.
 
A budget is not an accounting system; it is a spending plan. It doesn’t take money out of your pocket; it puts money in your pocket. Once you know how much you own, how much you owe, how much you earn, and where it goes, you can begin to pray for something instead of always praying against something.

Faith works wonderfully when it has some facts.

Taking Action
So to prevent the daily pressures of life from overwhelming us to the point where we want to give up, remember to practice the 3 essentials of life:
 
1) Write that vision.
2) Make and maintain great godly friends.
3) Get and work a budget.

We do the natural and God will do the supernatural. Each day is an adventure in faith walking out God's plan for our lives — let's enjoy the adventure!

Copyright © Joe McGee Ministries
All rights reserved.

Author Biography

Joe McGee
Web site: Joe McGee Ministries
 
Joe McGee, author, national conference speaker, father, and former school administrator, is the founder and director of Joe McGee Ministries, Inc. and Faith For Families Ministries.
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