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The good news for one Texas man near the massive wildfires is that his home was merely singed, and his family escaped uninjured. The bad news was what the fire took instead — some 175 classic cars, including a Shelby Cobra and about a dozen Corvettes.

John Chapman, 70, was shuffling through the ash-covered remains of his collection spread through a garage and several pole barns shorty after the fire moved through, pushing burning embers off what had been left behind. Other vehicles lost included several mid-'50s Chevys, a 1947 Studebaker pickup and a 1966 Pontiac GTO.

"You can either laugh or you can cry," Chapman told the Houston Chronicle. "You might as well laugh."

Photo: AP/Eric Gay

(Hat tip to Sam I - Texalopnik Ambassador!)

Words cannot express the travesty

by Tim on November 22, 2010 ·

From FaithAndFinance.com:

I love the book of Proverbs and always wanted to dissect the book and pull out the verses that talk about money.  After I sorted through each chapter, I made note of each verse that I felt referenced an aspect of money.  To my surprise, I pulled out 101 verses that could be categorized into 10 groups:
Wealth in Wisdom and Knowledge, Hard Work, Rich and Poor, Greed, Provision, Giving, Wealth, Debt and Lending, Stewardship and Investments, Righteous Living.

If you’re interested in the PDF file, you can find it here or click resources. These verses are taken from the New Living Translation.

Wealth in Wisdom and Knowledge

Proverbs 2:3-4
Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.

Proverbs 3:13, 14
Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold.

Proverbs 8:10, 11
Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it.

Proverbs 9:10
Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.

Proverbs 15:16
Better to have little, with fear for the Lord, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil.

Proverbs 16:8
Better to have little, with godliness, than to be rich and dishonest.

Proverbs 16:16
How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver!

Proverbs 17:16
It is senseless to pay tuition to educate a fool, since he has no heart for learning.

Proverbs 20:15
Wise words are more valuable than much gold and many rubies

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Hard Work

Proverbs 6:6-8
Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.

Proverbs 6:10, 11
A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

Proverbs 10:4
Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich.

Proverbs 10:5
A wise youth harvests in the summer, but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace.

Proverbs 12:11
A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies has no sense.

Proverbs 13:4
Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.

Proverbs 13:11
Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time.

Proverbs 14:23
Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty!

Proverbs 20:13
If you love sleep, you will end in poverty. Keep your eyes open, and there will be plenty to eat!

Proverbs 21:5
Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.

Proverbs 24:33, 34
A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

Proverbs 28:19
A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies ends up in poverty.

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Rich and Poor

Proverbs 10:15
The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of the poor is their destruction.

Proverbs 13:7
Some who are poor pretend to be rich; others who are rich pretend to be poor.

Proverbs 13:8
The rich can pay a ransom for their lives, but the poor won’t even get threatened.

Proverbs 13:23
A poor person’s farm may produce much food, but injustice sweeps it all away.

Proverbs 14:20
The poor are despised even by their neighbors, while the rich have many “friends.”

Proverbs 17:5
Those who mock the poor insult their Maker; those who rejoice at the misfortune of others will be punished.

Proverbs 18:11
The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety.

Proverbs 18:23
The poor plead for mercy; the rich answer with insults.

Proverbs 19:7
The relatives of the poor despise them; how much more will their friends avoid them! Though the poor plead with them, their friends are gone.

Proverbs 21:17
Those who love pleasure become poor; those who love wine and luxury will never be rich.

Proverbs 22:2
The rich and poor have this in common: The Lord made them both.

Proverbs 28:3
A poor person who oppresses the poor is like a pounding rain that destroys the crops.

Proverbs 28:6
Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and rich.

Proverbs 28:11
Rich people may think they are wise, but a poor person with discernment can see right through them.

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Greed

Proverbs 1:19
Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life.

Proverbs 15:27
Greed brings grief to the whole family, but those who hate bribes will live.

Proverbs 22:16
A person who gets ahead by oppressing the poor or by showering gifts on the rich will end in poverty.

Proverbs 22:22-23
Don’t rob the poor just because you can, or exploit the needy in court. For the Lord is their defender.  He will ruin anyone who ruins them.

Proverbs 23:4
Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit.

Proverbs 28:8
Income from charging high interest rates will end up in the pocket of someone who is kind to the poor.

Proverbs 28:20
The trustworthy person will get a rich reward, but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble.

Proverbs 28:22
Greedy people try to get rich quick but don’t realize they’re headed for poverty.

Proverbs 28:25
Greed causes fighting; trusting the Lord leads to prosperity.

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Provision

Proverbs 3:5, 6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 11:26
People curse those who hoard their grain, but they bless the one who sells in time of need.

Proverbs 11:28
Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.

Proverbs 19:14
Fathers can give their sons an inheritance of houses and wealth, but only the Lord can give an understanding wife.

Proverbs 30:7-9
O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die.  First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

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Giving

Proverbs 3:27
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.

Proverbs 11:24
Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.

Proverbs 11:25
The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

Proverbs 14:21
It is a sin to belittle one’s neighbor; blessed are those who help the poor.

Proverbs 14:31
Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but helping the poor honors him.

Proverbs 19:17
If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— and he will repay you!

Proverbs 22:9
Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.

Proverbs 28:27
Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed.

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Wealth

Proverbs 3:9, 10
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.

Proverbs 8:18-21
I [wisdom] have riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice. My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver! I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice. Those who love me inherit wealth. I will fill their treasuries.

Proverbs 10:22
The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

Proverbs 14:24
Wealth is a crown for the wise; the effort of fools yields only foolishness.

Proverbs 19:4
Wealth makes many “friends”; poverty drives them all away.

Proverbs 21:6
Wealth created by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist and a deadly trap.

Proverbs 22:4
True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life.

Proverbs 23:5
In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.

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Debt and Lending

Proverbs 11:15
There’s danger in putting up security for a stranger’s debt; it’s safer not to guarantee another person’s debt.

Proverbs 17:18
It’s poor judgment to guarantee another person’s debt or put up security for a friend.

Proverbs 22:7
Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender.

Proverbs 22:26, 27
Don’t agree to guarantee another person’s debt or put up security for someone else. If you can’t pay it,
even your bed will be snatched from under you.

Proverbs 27:13
Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt. Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners.

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Stewardship and Investments

Proverbs 10:16
The earnings of the godly enhance their lives, but evil people squander their money on sin.

Proverbs 13:22
Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth passes to the godly.

Proverbs 20:21
An inheritance obtained too early in life is not a blessing in the end.

Proverbs 27:23, 24
Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.

Proverbs 31:16
She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard.

Proverbs 31:20
She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy.

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Righteous Living

Proverbs 10:2
Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life.

Proverbs 11:4
Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death.

Proverbs 11:18
Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last.

Proverbs 13:21
Trouble chases sinners, while blessings reward the righteous.

Proverbs 15:6
There is treasure in the house of the godly, but the earnings of the wicked bring trouble.

Proverbs 17:3
Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart.

Proverbs 19:1
Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and a fool.

Proverbs 22:1
Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold.

What are life skills? Will a higher education teach your children all the lessons of life and prepare them for adulthood? Of course not, for there is no college program that could ever do that. Life skills are described by Wikipedia as “a set of human skills acquired via teaching or direct experience that are used to handle problems and questions commonly encountered in daily human life.” Time, experience and a good dose of parenting provide the bulk of each life lesson learned. There is no college prep course to provide your child the common sense, self-discipline and confidence they will need to thrive during their college education and beyond. As we are raising our children all we can do is try to give them every bit of chance to succeed in this world. This includes teaching them the things they will not learn from a professor. Here are 10 to get you thinking and it’s certain you have many more to share as well.

Strong Morals and Common Decency

Cheating is rampant in schools across America. Bullying is being taken to new levels, reaching so deep into the cyber world Congress had to enact new laws to protect victims. We all sit back and say, “That’s not my child doing that,” yet somebody’s children are doing it and in massive numbers.  It is imperative to our future that we give our children the most basic instincts of right and wrong. That we apply the Golden Rule to our own lives and instill it in our children as well.

Perseverance and Stamina

One of the most difficult things to teach a young person is that disappointment is not the end of the road. Being that they have such limited experience, it is hard for them to understand that something new and amazing they never dreamed of is most likely right around the corner. Troubles will always come and go. Perseverance to stick with the plan and stamina to never give up sees us through the most difficult times. We have lost many over time because they did not have the ability to see their way through the darkness. There always has been and always will be a light at the end of the tunnel. Teach them how to find it.

Developing Self-Confidence

Everyone has insecurities. They could be in our bodies or personalities, our upbringings or social status. There is not a person alive that is not insecure about something. If we allow these feelings to dominate our lives, it leads to destructive behavior and failure in most cases. Confidence arises when we understand our limitations, yet also determine and develop what our strengths are. Even our weaknesses can become strengths when we are able to see them clearly. If we can develop strong inner-confidence in our children, the results will cascade positively throughout all aspects of their lives. Confidence comes when a person feels competent, plain and simple. Psychologists will tell you that mothers and fathers have the most profound influence on how a child feels about his/her self. Make sure your child feels competent and worthy and confidence will follow.

Money Management

Absolutely essential to your child’s future is the ability to manage their budget. The simplest way to teach this is having them learn the true value of their dollars. Put them on a budget and force them to live within it. If we constantly throw money their way to fund whatever whim, there is no way they will ever grasp the concept of money management. A “tough love” method is the way to go here. Without a true appreciation of how difficult it is to earn and keep wealth, they will wind up in debt and in service to others their whole lives. Each individual parent should decide the best way to go about this for their own circumstances, but the formula should be hard work + prudent decision making = financial reward.

Making and Keeping Friends

A person will have many acquaintances in life, but only a handful of true friends. Friends support us, comfort us, challenge us, better us and most of all, they make life fun to live. Choosing the right friends is a skill that needs to be taught. The most important part is to always be exactly who you are and expect the same from your chosen friend. If you are not being accepted for who you are, or vice versa, then the friendship is based on something entirely else and is not real. They are an acquaintance. Friends come in all sizes, shapes and colors. An open mind is required to find them and a loving heart is required to keep them.

Developing Self-Discipline

When your child gets to college will they wake up for that 9 AM economics class after having stayed up late at a mixer? Later in life, will your son/daughter have the ability to say no under pressure because it’s the right thing to do? Eventually, each person becomes solely responsible for their own actions, successes and failures. Self-discipline and the ability to apply it will largely determine how well it all goes. As is usually the case, leading by example as a parent will set the tone for your child.

Courage and Faith

Most times, the easiest way out will be the wrong path. Morally and spiritually we are constantly challenged. As it is written, the path to desolation is wide and crowded. The right way is usually a lonely dark bumpy road that leaves us unsure and afraid at first sight. Courage and faith allow us to place our feet on that narrow path nonetheless, and only then to do we realize that we took the right road. Teaching a child to be courageous, to be faithful, is a long process of example, discussion and experience. Begin that journey immediately.

Generosity and Loyalty

Are greed and self-centeredness more prevalent in society than generosity and loyalty? Asbolutely. If the desire is to teach your child greed and to think only of his/her self, then all that is required is to sit back and let culture do the work.  However, if we are raising the bar and seeking a better existence, then it will be necessary and vital to go out of our way to teach the opposite. Generosity is the ability to sacrifice for the happiness or benefit of another. As for loyalty, it is summed up well in a quote from Rensis Likert, “The greater the loyalty of a group towards the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals.” Loyalty is huge in life to get stuff done.

Unique Identity

From the earliest stages we are taught to conform. We are instructed to get in line, to recite in unison, to obey and to adhere to a societal norm. These are basic structures of a functional society and important. Yet, rarely are we taught to be display uniqueness and free thought. If not for unique, free thinking individuals throughout history, we would have never moved past the cave. We all have gifts bestowed upon us that are special and to be used for the betterment of our species. Discovering those talents and developing them are essential not only to individual happiness but for society as a whole.

Finding and Keeping a Spouse

Considering the divorce rate, maybe this should be a required freshman year course. The problem is few would be qualified to teach it. Love is tricky business. But there certainly are ways to go about it that highly increase the odds of success. Take a look at a couple that has made it to their golden (50^th) anniversary. Can you imagine everything they have gone through together to make it as a couple for that length of time? What was the main ingredient for their success? It is a personal experience that respect plays an extremely important role in a successful marriage. Respect for each other, respect for the marriage, respect for their Creator and respect for those watching them. Teach your children to choose a man/woman that they of course not only love, but they respect as a human being. Someone of common values and mindset and that they truly enjoy spending time with because it enhances their lives. With respect on their side as well as love, there is a very good chance they will weather the storms of life together.

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