Saturday, October 25, 2008

Money thoughts

I was talking to a friend the other day and she was discussing some financial issues that she's having. I'm sure that's a rarity today, right?

Anyway, it made me thankful for a financial class that Tricia and I took about 9 years ago, Financial Peace University. It's a thirteen session class meeting once a week in a small-group setting, developed by a guy named Dave Ramsey. I can't say enough good things about it, and now it's well known enough that it's usually pretty easy to find a nearby class that's starting soon.If you've ever wished you had more money, knew what to do with the money you have, or just wished that you and your spouse could agree on money, FPU is for you. It's also great if you're married, getting married, never planning to marry or if you're single, single again or at times wishing you were single.

Check it out at daveramsey.com You'll never regret it.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Successful Surgery

My son, Will had to have a bit of surgery yesterday (10/23). Not much fun watching your kids put to sleep, but everything went as well as it could have and he should have no more issues. Thanks for all of the prayers! It means a lot to Tricia and I that so many of you remembered us and lifted Will up to God for protection. And if you didn't know, don't feel bad...we didn't really advertise that it was happening.



But he did great. Here's a phone pic I snapped as he lay recovering afterward. That's popsicle number 2.







He'll just be laying around for a few days, so I'm looking forward to some extended Star Wars Lego action.

I'm so thankful to God for his protection.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Pumpkin Thoughts






It's obviously Pumpkin Time around the Reeves house...




And as the weather gets colder, I'm praying that our family will draw closer. My new job is a great opportunity for me to be able to have an impact on some lives that are desperate for it. But it has a very serious drawback. My most common shift is from 3p - 11:30p...not the best shift to draw when your kids are in school and your wife works days.

So what do you do? Since I no longer get the quantity that I'm used to, I have to make the most of every moment I have. Here's what that looks like...

  • It's generally my job to wake the kids up about 6:30a. Now that routine often involves crawling into bed with them for some "snugglin" before I give piggy-back rides down to breakfast.
  • I love to play xbox and blog/read blogs. I don't do either of those when my kids are home (or watch TV) unless I'm playing or watching with them.
  • I take special pains to remain calm and have fun with them, even while getting ready for school (often very hectic time) because now there are no "throw-away moments." Every minute I spend with them, whether I'm making breakfast or they're brushing their teeth, is a big percentage of the time I get to spend with them daily. There is no time to waste.
  • An afternoon off is something to celebrate. Yesterday, my son came home from kindergarten singing some "restaurant song" that mentioned Red Lobster. So where did the Reeves family spontaneously go for dinner?
  • An evening at home is something to treasure. I don't often get to see my kids off to bed anymore, so where we used to just "say our prayers," now I take it as a special privilege to really pray over my kids. More than ever I need God's power shielding them, revealing Himself to them, and giving me strength to stay focused on the things mentioned in these four other bullets.
I don't look to continue this work schedule forever, but while I'm in it, I'm going to let it drive me to focus on making the most with the time that I have where I'm needed the most: at home.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Best Quote Ever!

"Better to have your enemies inside the tent, pissing out, than outside the tent, pissing in."
--Lyndon B. Johnson

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Running For President

Well, I can honestly say, I never expected it to go this far, but since I've received so much support, (and since it can't be as hard as what I'm doing now) I've decided to rise to the occasion and officially accept my status as a write-in candidate for the Presidency of the United States.

Click here to watch the latest national media coverage, including how it all began.



My name is Corbett Reeves... and I approved this message!

Friday, October 10, 2008

My daughter, the Diva

So, I knew that my daughter was a bit of a diva, but now she's recruiting background vocalists.



BTW, they're singing along with a song from Disney's Camp Rock performed by the actress from the movie along with Beaker from the Muppets.

New job and other stuff

Back in August I posted about some of the new things my family would be exploring -- namely new job and new church.

Well both of those have been figured out, for the time being, at least.

We've been attending the Orchard Church Community in Aurora since the beginning of August. It's always hard to really start feeling at home and plugged in to a new church, but that's really starting to happen.

This Monday, I began my new job, serving as a Behavioral Health Specialist at Timberline Knolls in Lemont. It's a whole new world for me, but it's opened up avenues of ministry that I could never have experienced as a church staff member. Very challenging...very rewarding.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Whose Fault is this Banking Crisis?

The following post is copied entirely from Tim Stevens blog - Leading Smart. Very interesting info for right now... check out Tim's blog...very good stuff!

Corbett

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Everyone wants to pin blame for the huge banking crisis--and thus economic slowdown--that we are experiencing right now. Whose fault is it?

I have no idea. I'm not smart enough to understand all the issues.

But I did find this article very interesting. It was printed in the New York Times nine years ago. Portions below, read the original article here. Emphasis by me.

Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending

By STEVEN A. HOLMES
Published: September 30, 1999

In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.

The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.

''Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990's by reducing down payment requirements,'' said Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive officer. ''Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market.''

Demographic information on these borrowers is sketchy. But at least one study indicates that 18 percent of the loans in the subprime market went to black borrowers, compared to 5 per cent of loans in the conventional loan market.

In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.

''From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.''

(Continue reading here...)

It's possible Peter Wallison was a prophet. Or, perhaps, just a smart economist who knew that if you loan money to a bunch of people who can't afford to pay you back--it might just come back to bite you some day.

It's okay, though, because there are no consequences. We, the taxpayers of these United States, will bail out the lenders and the borrowers. In fact, we'll bail out anyone. Even the Red Cross continues to spend money it doesn't have, and this week asked the government for a $150 million bail out.

Again, I'm not smart enough to figure it all out. But I've decided I'll continue to only spend money that I have. And I'll save a little, cause when the government raises my taxes to pay for this mess, I'll need to be ready.

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Amen, brutha!