Archive for October 2012

Got Oxen? – Part 06

This is a series of posts containing excerpts from my latest book, Oxen, which releases on Tuesday, October 30, 2012!  Pre-order your copy today and receive 20% off!

With new revelation and life-revolutionizing understanding, I embarked on a journey to find and acquire oxen. I talked to anyone who would listen and several who would not. I pondered it day and night. In fact, I talked so much about Proverbs 14:4 that my mother even wrote it down on a small dry erase board she keeps on the refrigerator. It has remained written there for over ten years. Every time I visit my parents, it is a constant reminder that this teaching must be shared with others.

There is a choice each person must make. In pursuit of financial abundance, you can choose to rely on yourself and your own abilities, or you can acquire oxen to help you. Don’t miss my wording here. It is a choice, whether a conscious one or not, that each one of us will make as we journey through life.

I have chosen to acquire oxen, and have found Proverbs 14:4 to be absolutely true. While my family’s oxen acquisition journey has been adventurous, frightening, incredible, and exciting, I have discovered that the strength of oxen has indeed led to an abundant harvest. The same can be true for you. All you need is some good oxen.

Now I have one question for you:

Got oxen?

 

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Got Oxen? – Part 04


This is a series of posts containing excerpts from my latest book, Oxen, which releases on Tuesday, October 30, 2012! Pre-order your copy today and receive 20% off!

I could live with an empty manger or with an abundance. It made so much sense. I am confident my upbringing on a farm helped me gain this understanding. You see, it is immediately obvious to a farmer that he must have oxen to produce an abundant harvest. A farmer would never attempt to do his work without oxen – whether they are real oxen like the Amish still use or modern-day oxen like John Deere tractors.

Imagine a farmer who was responsible for farming a full section of 640 acres, which is one square mile of land. Imagine if he decided to “do it all on his own” and attempt to plow all the ground without oxen. It doesn’t matter how strong and energetic the farmer is, it would be an impossible task. For me, just hoeing a small garden in my back yard wears me out! The farmer might be able to do enough work to produce food for the family to eat, but the potential for an abundant harvest would be impossible.

Don’t miss the point here because it is vital to understanding oxen ownership. A farmer knows it is impossible to reap an abundant harvest without oxen. The same is true for all of us even if we aren’t farmers.

If I continued managing my money without the help of financial oxen, the opportunity for an abundant harvest would be greatly limited. After all, there was only so much I could accomplish on my own. Like most people, I was working a “Work, get paid. Don’t work, don’t get paid.” job. Even if I worked twelve hours every day, there was a limit to how much I could earn on my own. My earnings would allow me to feed my family, but without a serious change to the way we managed our money, the income would probably only be enough to maintain our household. We would continue to be stuck in the “empty manger” cycle cleaning out the manger each month and then standing around waiting for the next paycheck to arrive. The worst realization of all was knowing that even if I worked for fifty years of my life, my income would cease the moment I chose to retire. It became imminently clear that I needed oxen in order for my family to experience abundance.

QUESTION: Are YOU experiencing an abundant harvest?

Oxen will help you achieve an abundant harvest. Pre-order your copy today!

Read the entire series (available after October 30, 2012)

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Got Oxen? – Part 03

This is a series of posts containing excerpts from my latest book, Oxen, which releases on Tuesday, October 30, 2012! Pre-order your copy today and receive 20% off!

If you were given the choice of an “empty manger” or an “abundant harvest,” which outcome would you choose? I may never have the privilege of personally meeting you, but I do know one thing about you: If given the choice, you would select an “abundant harvest” over “empty manger” every single time.

An empty manger is barren. It represents hunger and potential famine. The manger once held food, but now it is cleaned out. It has nothing left over. To more fully comprehend this, imagine that your entire house is void of food – the pantry, cupboards, and refrigerator are completely empty.

An abundant harvest is presented as an alternative outcome. I liked the sound of this much better than an empty manger. An abundant harvest suggests that we have a full manger – all of the time. Dictionary.com defines “abundant” as “present in great quantity; more than adequate; oversufficient.”

As I pondered these two potential outcomes. I sensed a life-changing moment approaching. I knew if I could truly grasp the wisdom contained within this verse, my life would be radically changed. As I read Proverbs 14:4 again, I saw what made the difference between an empty manger and an abundant harvest: oxen.

Proverbs 14:4  Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest. (NIV:1984)

Read the verse again. What leads to an empty manger? No oxen!

Look at the verse again. What leads to an abundant harvest? Oxen!

The DIFFERENCE is Oxen.

QUESTION: Do YOU have oxen?  PRE-ORDER your copy of Oxen today!

Read the entire series (available after October 30, 2012)

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Got Oxen? – Part 02

This is a series of posts containing excerpts from my latest book, Oxen, which releases on Tuesday, October 30, 2012! Pre-order your copy today and receive 20% off!

As I describe in my book I Was Broke. Now I’m Not., I was the youngest of six boys, but I was the first to graduate from college with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University. Because of an amazing employer that had a college tuition reimbursement program, I was able to further my formal education and obtained a master’s degree in business administration from Clemson University. My career had moved rapidly upward and so had my salary, but even with all of these tremendous blessings, I was broke. Every single dollar I earned was deposited into our bank account, but all of it was delivered to one of our many debts or to pay bills by the end of that very same day.

My manger was empty.

I don’t know if you have ever watched cattle eat from their mangers, but they will stand eating at a manger until all of the food is gone, and then they will lick the manger clean just to ensure all remaining scraps are consumed. This described my financial situation. I could scrape together enough money to pay the bills, but beyond that there was absolutely nothing left over. Every single spare dime we gained inevitably departed our presence – never to be seen again. Our version of “licking the manger” was running out of money and then physically turning our piggy bank over to find enough coins to buy food off the dollar menu.

The same scenario played out every single month. We made money, and then we consumed every last dollar. Just like the oxen, we would be faced with an empty manger and were forced to stand around waiting for the next paycheck to refill it. It seemed like there was never enough for the moment, let alone storing up for the future.

On the day I encountered Proverbs 14:4, I realized that the writer shares two potential outcomes: an “empty manger” and an “abundant harvest”.

Two Potential Outcomes – Proverbs 14:4

  1. An empty manger
  2. An abundant harvest

QUESTION: If you were given the choice of an “empty manger” or an “abundant harvest,” which outcome would you choose?

Read the entire series (available after October 30, 2012)

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