Beyond Giving Thanks, Receiving Thankfulness

During Thanksgiving we  reflect on what we are thankful for and we tell other people how much they mean to us. In order to add meaning to this Thanksgiving season be attentive to receiving thankfulness as it will give the giver of thanks a sense of elation that they have been acknowledged for their thankfulness.

Many people are great at helping others, but are to slow to receive help from others. This denies the recipcal relationship of thanksgiving. It takes two people. The giver and the receiver. Be sure this Thanksgiving, to also be a good receiver.

Being a good receiver can look like...
- Acknowledging someone else's thankfulness
- Reflecting back why that person is thankful for you
- Writing a short note back about what it meant to you to be appreciated

How else can you be a good receiver? Please leave a comment and let me know.

Feel free to give me a call to talk more, 980-275-1627.

Regards,
Ed Coambs

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What Will I Learn?

I am excited to announce that I will be attending the American Association of Christian Counselors conference in Nashville, TN next week (Sept 11 - 14, 2013). I am excited for three reasons. First, I love to travel. Second, I love to meet new people, and third and most important of all, I love to learn.

I plan to get new and exciting information to better help YOU achieve your personal and relational goals. Here is a sample of some of the classes I will be taking.

1. Catherine Hart Weber, PhD. - Flourish in Life and Relationships: Best Practices for Thriving in Health and Wellbeing.

2. Robert Emmons, PhD. - Gratitude Works: How Gratitude Heals, Energizes and Transforms

3. Margaret Nagib, Psy.D. - How to Hope Instead of Cope: A New Paradigm for Therapeutic Intervention

4. Donald Harvey, PhD. - Sometimes I Get in the Way: Discovering Your Therapy Blind Spots

5. Gary Rosberg, Ed.D. & Barb Rosberg, B.F.A. - Coaching UP! Secrets to a Lasting Love and Marriage

6. David Hawkins, Ph.D. - When Marriage Counseling Fails: Getting Better at What We Do

Well, there you have it - six amazing classes. I know I will be able to share some great nuggets from them.

What would you like me to learn while at the conference? Post a comment below.

Feel free to give me a call to talk more at 980-275-1627.

Ed Coambs

Edited by Reena Arora of Arora Media, connect on Facebook

For all your communication needs, she is all you need.

Friendly Finances

The third point on the finance triangle is Friends. This one has the most ongoing influence in our financial life decisions. If you are interested in learning how family and faith influence your money decisions, please go back and read my previous two posts.

What do our friends have to do with our finances? Much more than we realize, believe it nor not. While we are all well aware of "keeping up with the Jones [family]," do we really know how that idea is influencing us? Stop and take a minute to make a list of your last 10 major purchases (goods or services). Now, choose several of your closest friends and list the last 10 major things you remember them buying. Compare how many items overlap. Having trouble coming up with ideas? Here are a few: school items or tuition, cars, homes, vacations, birthday gifts, anniversary gifts, financial planning services, accounting services…  Still can't think of big things? Think about restaurants, gyms, hair stylists, and favorite stores. If you really want to get bold in your comparison, put down prices and frequency of purchases. This will really illuminate how similar your buying decisions are to your friends’.

When I did this exercise, one item that came up was a house. My wife and I bought a home recently, and it is remarkable how similar in size and price our home is to that of our friends who recently purchased homes as well. Many times, using our friends' buying decisions can be a significant help, because they save us time and energy in researching a great product or service. In other cases, it can have a profoundly negative impact. For example, if you buy a home that is beyond your price point, but you do it anyway because you figure if your friends can make it happen, then surely you can, too.

Why is it important for you to understand how your friends influence your money decisions? Because once you get it, then you have the power to change your situation. If you are like most of us, the way you spend money is not fully congruent with your values. Start making the changes you desire by first identifying what's holding you back.

Feel free to give me a call to talk more at 980-275-1627.

Ed Coambs

Edited by Reena Arora of Arora Media, connect on Facebook

For all your communication needs, she is all you need.

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2 Ways Faith Influence Money Decisions

Faith Moves Money Decisions

1. Your View - The way that you understand and see God can have a significant impact on your money decisions. For example, if you see God as rich and giving, then do you believe that God should provide for all of your needs and wants, or just the bare necessities? Or maybe you see God as stingy and harsh; does that make you want to hoard all the money you make and have? Reflect on how your view of God influences the way that you interact with money. Perhaps you buy certain things or spend in certain ways to please God. On the other hand, maybe you stay away from things like gambling, drinking, etc. to stay in God's good graces. Who knew your view of God could move your money decisions?

2. Your Faith Community - What has your preacher, pastor, or spiritual leader taught you about money: that you should be giving more or face Hell (a bit extreme in my book)? More likely, they have taught you to give to the church-building fund, community fund, tithing, world relief organization... and the list goes on (none of these things are inherently bad). What about your family and friends who go to church; how do they view money as it relates to God? Maybe you always go out to lunch after service... I bet you didn't think about your faith influencing your money decisions that way, did you?

Now, take a few minutes to consider this... Could it be that we don't own anything?! God has simply given us a responsibility to be good stewards of what He has provided us. If that is the case, how would you spend your money differently?

Feel free to give me a call to talk more at 980-275-1627.

Ed Coambs

Edited by Reena Arora of Arora Media, connect on Facebook

For all your communication needs, she is all you need.

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What Influences You?

      

What influences you? For most of us, it is a combination of what I like to call the three Fs: Faith, Family, and Friends. Each one of these plays a significant role in the way we relate to the world and our finances.  

In the next three posts, I will further explore how they impact the way we see ourselves and money.  

Feel free to give me a call to talk more at 980-275-1627.

Ed Coambs

Edited by Reena Arora of Arora Media, connect on Facebook

For all your communication needs, she is all you need.

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