I graduated a couple months ago, and I'm starting my post-college life in the red.  Though I do not have as much debt as many of my peers, it is a little overwhelming as I look toward marriage and realize that there is very little chance that I can pay it off even using my entire paycheck, every pay period, by the end of the year.  Maybe I'm being a little ambitious, but the idea of paying interest on loans doesn't appeal to me.

Since I'm now receiving a steady income, I have taken a greater interest in finances.  I buy mostly generic brands now (except for ice cream...spending an extra $2 on Breyer's is worth it to me), and I've started thinking about saving money.

As you probably already know, I am a big Ron Paul fan.  During the time leading up to the primaries and throughout primary season, he talked a lot about the monetary policy of the United States and how it is robbing lower and middle class Americans through inflation.  I agreed with him then, but I didn't really notice it first hand.  In a meet-up group, one man in particular said Americans wouldn't wake up until they walked into the grocery store and milk was $20.  At the time, however, food prices seemed just imperceptibly higher, didn't they?  Or have I just become more conscientious about money?

Sometimes I wonder if people would have payed more attention to Ron Paul if our economy was what is now back in mid-2007 when debates were just starting.  Commentators and other candidates smirked and nearly laughed when Ron Paul was talking about paper money and its implications.  Would they still do that today, with the dollar declining so obviously now?

A cleaning lady at my office told me the other day about her three jobs and lamented that her wages stay the same while all the prices go up.  A few months ago, I had ten dollars in my pocket that bought two blocks of cheese with a couple dollars left over.  Now, I make the same amount of money, and one block of cheese is $6.50. 

Why is this theft ok?  Why did Christians turn a blind eye during primaries to inflation and the immorality of the Federal Reserve?  Even if Christians didn't like Ron Paul for other reasons, shouldn't they demand this be an issue for their politicians? 

In her book Stepping Up: A Journey through the Psalms of Ascent, Beth Moore describes her reaction to hearing of a South African prostitute converted during her study Breaking Free.

Cinderella?  Let's take a look at what Ephesians 2:1-3 says about us.

Before Christ, this passage makes clear that we have no beauty in ourselves.  Nowhere in this passage is there a fairy tale image of a rough-around-the-edges princess just waiting to be recognized.  She's dead, a daughter of disobedience, a child of wrath. 

The passage continues by giving us children of wrath hope.  Despite our sin and deadness, God "being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, made us alive together with Christ" (v. 4-5). 

God loves us because of His mercy, not because of our beauty.  And this truth is what sets captives free, not a man-centered notion that we are somehow worthy of God's love apart from Christ.

I graduated from college on Friday and got engaged on Saturday!

I frequently reference the Seinfeld episode in which George fails to think of a witty response when a coworker insults him during a meeting.  Later in the the show, he is seen in his car when a light bulb apparently goes off in his head, and he turns the car around to go back and deliver the comeback.

Perhaps I like this episode so much because George's reaction is very familiarto me. When a person (in my mind) wrongs me, I get angry.  And it's justified since they haven't apologized, right?  I begin imagining the next time I will see this person, the types of things they will say to me, and my own snide replies to whatever they say.

So when Nancy Wilson wrote in her recent post about forgiveness, "We cannot think up snappy comebacks if we have forgiven them," it struck a nerve.   She offers some good advice on dealing with bitterness and forgiving others when they aren't asking for it:

Read the rest of "Finding Forgiveness" here.

I subscribed to Voice of the Martyrs' free monthly newsletter a few weeks ago, and yesterday I received some information.  One pamphlet describes Bible smuggling and answers Christians who believe Bible smuggling shouldn't be done because of Romans 13 and similar verses.  To demonstrate the ridiculousness of these concerns, the author describes the following hypothetical situations.

"When the mother of Moses was lovingly hiding her baby in the basket (Exodus 2), one of her church officials knocked on her door and convinced her that her act was "illegal."  Realizing her sin, she surrendered Moses to the authorities.  He was killed and the Jews remained in slavery.

"When Joseph and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were sneaking Him out of Bethlehem at night (Matthew 2), their friends, representing various religious institutions, reminded them that King Herod would be displeased by their illegal act.  They surrendered Jesus.  He was murdered with the rest of the children.  The angel who had warned and instructed them was informed upon by some irate seminary professors and was tried in abstentia and given a five-year prison sentence.

"The first few centuries of Christians were very embarrassed that they were called atheists for not worshipping Caesar.  They listened to some theological experts who unrestrictedly embraced a few Bible passages about government authority.  They turned in their lists of members, gave up their secret (scroll copying) print shops, revealed the addresses of their catacomb meetings and stopped smuggling Bible texts out of respect to the emperor who claimed to be God.  In a few months, Christianity ceased to exist.

"During two jailbreaks set up by God (Acts 5 and 12), the apostle Peter told surprised angels that he must respect the authorities and return to jail.  The Christians praying with Rhoda never learned of his miraculous release.

"When Paul was being lowered in the basket over the wall (Acts 9), one of the men above had second thoughts and grabbing the rope said, "Wait a minute fellas, are you sure this is legal?  Didn't Paul want us to give the authorities our spiritual rights, too?"  Paul didn't get a chance to answer.  When the basket jerked to a stop, he had fallen out and broken his neck.

"When the jailer took the apostle Paul into his home after the earthquake (Acts 16), Paul told him that God had made a mistake and they must return to the jailhouse."