Post-Thanksgiving & Christmas Preparations
This week we enjoyed Thanksgiving. It was so nice to be with family again. Before family arrived, I had an impression that I should spend some time whittling. Part of my time on Thanksgiving day I whittled a little Santa. I spent time eating, visiting, and whittling. This time, I didn’t visit as much with the family as I typically do. Most of the visiting I did was with the children who were drawn to my whittling... it was actually very fun.
After Thanksgiving, Ken came to visit. He spent Thanksgiving with his wife, children, and grandchildren, then felt he should come spend some time with Mom and Dad. He and I stayed up visiting until it was after 3 AM. I really enjoyed the time talking with him. One of the things we discussed was finances. One of our old neighbors, and a friend of the family, David Cottrell has been a financial planner for decades. He is known for being very good.
WARNING: THIS IS A BORING PARAGRAPH!!! YOU'RE WELCOME TO SKIP IT:
David has helped Dad, Mom, Ken, and others with their finances. As I dug deeper into this, I learned that David has set them up very much the same way that my finances are organized. Not to bore you with the details, but they have an IRA, a life insurance savings plan, and a life insurance annuity. David charges substantial fees for setting up and managing each of them. It was comforting for me to know that I have essentially the same system for myself. Instead of an IRA, I am involved in my work’s 401(k) plan. When my work changes and I no longer have that option, I'll probably switch to an IRA with an S&P 500 index fund. I have several life insurance savings plans and although neither of them are fully set up as an annuity, I can make that happen anytime I choose. This was a very exciting conversation for me, although I’m sure it’s boring to read 😳. I was especially excited because the fees for mine have been way less than what they would have been if I had gone through a professional financial advisor.
On Saturday night, Ken and I also visited. This time, we discussed his gymnastics business. He recently attended a conference for gym owners. The conference was run by gym owners and specifically designed for gym owners to increase their financial stability and grow their business.
The people running the conference have done amazing things with their businesses. Ken had many ideas that he wanted to start, but he didn’t know how he was going to start them, or how he would organize his system. It was fun for me to discuss this with him and help him create a plan. He was very excited about the discussion.
On Sunday, I only had my regular church meetings and choir. Three hours of church and work was quite a relief from a typical Sunday where I often have 3 to 6 more hours of driving and meetings. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, I tried to spend as much time at home as possible, taking care of the children, so Noell could do the things she wanted to do: shopping, baking, cooking, taking care of her calling, etc.
Last night, I did work on several things for the open house at the Candy Jar Art Gallery. Things began to fall into place and I believe we will be ready for the open house on Friday.
I also carved a second copy of the Stumpy Santa and started a third. Another thing that Ken and I discussed one night was that the Lord wants us to use the talents that we have been given to bless others. I felt impressed that I should carve several Santas for family, friends, and neighbors who could be blessed by them this Christmas holiday.
I struggled with the thought of giving a Santa instead of something more representative of Christ at the Christmas season. I thought about this quite a bit and one morning felt impressed to continue to carve the Santas and distribute them. I should also add to the Santa this little statement:
Looking Up
Each year millions of children sit on Santa’s lap, looking up into his eyes, and sharing their greatest desires. Santa is truly a great gift giver. Children are trying their best to be good because of this great gift giver.
There are some children who seem to see more. Their eyes seem to be raised to a higher level—beyond Santa to the Greatest Gift Giver.
This unique hand-carved Santa is always looking up. As we gaze upon this Stumpy Santa, may our sights be lifted. May we all be constantly looking up... looking beyond Santa, trying our best to be good all year long, trying to become like Christ and our Father in Heaven — the Greatest Gift Givers.
Merry CHRISTmas!
.
After Thanksgiving, Ken came to visit. He spent Thanksgiving with his wife, children, and grandchildren, then felt he should come spend some time with Mom and Dad. He and I stayed up visiting until it was after 3 AM. I really enjoyed the time talking with him. One of the things we discussed was finances. One of our old neighbors, and a friend of the family, David Cottrell has been a financial planner for decades. He is known for being very good.
WARNING: THIS IS A BORING PARAGRAPH!!! YOU'RE WELCOME TO SKIP IT:
David has helped Dad, Mom, Ken, and others with their finances. As I dug deeper into this, I learned that David has set them up very much the same way that my finances are organized. Not to bore you with the details, but they have an IRA, a life insurance savings plan, and a life insurance annuity. David charges substantial fees for setting up and managing each of them. It was comforting for me to know that I have essentially the same system for myself. Instead of an IRA, I am involved in my work’s 401(k) plan. When my work changes and I no longer have that option, I'll probably switch to an IRA with an S&P 500 index fund. I have several life insurance savings plans and although neither of them are fully set up as an annuity, I can make that happen anytime I choose. This was a very exciting conversation for me, although I’m sure it’s boring to read 😳. I was especially excited because the fees for mine have been way less than what they would have been if I had gone through a professional financial advisor.
On Saturday night, Ken and I also visited. This time, we discussed his gymnastics business. He recently attended a conference for gym owners. The conference was run by gym owners and specifically designed for gym owners to increase their financial stability and grow their business.
The people running the conference have done amazing things with their businesses. Ken had many ideas that he wanted to start, but he didn’t know how he was going to start them, or how he would organize his system. It was fun for me to discuss this with him and help him create a plan. He was very excited about the discussion.
On Sunday, I only had my regular church meetings and choir. Three hours of church and work was quite a relief from a typical Sunday where I often have 3 to 6 more hours of driving and meetings. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, I tried to spend as much time at home as possible, taking care of the children, so Noell could do the things she wanted to do: shopping, baking, cooking, taking care of her calling, etc.
Last night, I did work on several things for the open house at the Candy Jar Art Gallery. Things began to fall into place and I believe we will be ready for the open house on Friday.
I also carved a second copy of the Stumpy Santa and started a third. Another thing that Ken and I discussed one night was that the Lord wants us to use the talents that we have been given to bless others. I felt impressed that I should carve several Santas for family, friends, and neighbors who could be blessed by them this Christmas holiday.
I struggled with the thought of giving a Santa instead of something more representative of Christ at the Christmas season. I thought about this quite a bit and one morning felt impressed to continue to carve the Santas and distribute them. I should also add to the Santa this little statement:
Looking UpEach year millions of children sit on Santa’s lap, looking up into his eyes, and sharing their greatest desires. Santa is truly a great gift giver. Children are trying their best to be good because of this great gift giver.
There are some children who seem to see more. Their eyes seem to be raised to a higher level—beyond Santa to the Greatest Gift Giver.
This unique hand-carved Santa is always looking up. As we gaze upon this Stumpy Santa, may our sights be lifted. May we all be constantly looking up... looking beyond Santa, trying our best to be good all year long, trying to become like Christ and our Father in Heaven — the Greatest Gift Givers.
Merry CHRISTmas!
.
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