In our high school program entitled "A Change of Heart", the standard equipment we bring are:

1) Three plastic heavy duty travel containers for golf clubs. Each container contains a frame, a black backdrop cloth, a set of screws, clips and clamps for the backdrop which doubles as a cover for the back stage.

2) Three heavy duty plastic containers. Each container has a designated content. The first container contains all the martial arts uniforms (five our sets), wooden boards, and program guides. The second container has all the live cartoon (Captain Plus) costumes, costumes for the two dramas (King of Hearts and the Redeemer). In the third container are all the comment cards, flyers and Oreo cookies which we all use during the classroom workshops.

3) Public address system. We use two speakers, two speaker stands, two speaker and two microphone cables, an amplifier and a mixer.

With all these equipment, I have been thinking about getting a used car loan to get a vehicle to transport all these equipment. But hopefully, when we become established, we wouldn’t have to do that. We hope that there will be donors who will contribute to eventually enable us to purchase our own truck or van to transport Breaking Point Foundation Philippines’ program equipment.

Those suffering from drug dependence sometimes use their own money, but when they run out, resort to getting an easy cash advance at the beginning of their addiction. Others who feel that they can still manage their addiction, especially those with regular income, resort to payday loans and try to hide the transactions so their loved ones won’t be able to trace their deals. Some sell items at home and also stuff around their house that are not necessarily theirs, just so they could support their habit. Either they get into too much debt or start to steal from others.

Those in the family or those around can sometimes become co-dependents, too. They don’t necessarily have to or usually approve of the habit, but many times they don’t do anything significant enough to effect change. They may feel that the addiction is still manageable and try to take steps to manage their problem.

But the best way to deal with addiction at home is to seek help. Admitting there is a problem is the first step to recovery. There are churches, professionals and support groups that these drug dependents and co-dependents can contact to assist them in their time of crisis. All they need to do first is ask help.

Step 4: Make amends for the errors, sins, wrong choices you have made.

After you have identified the wrongs you’ve done, make them right. You may have to do this to particular persons, like your family, friends and loved ones, or to a group of people, a company or institution. If you’ve made bad on your credit, refinance mortgage or slowly pay off those debts. If there it is something that you can’t change, then ask forgiveness and try to find ways to make it right – ask the person or group concerned what action steps you can take to make things right.

Step 5: Learn to live your new life with a new code of behavior – the Bible.

Attend church regularly and listen to the word of God. Read the Bible for yourself. Study God’s word. Memorize scripture verses. Psalm 119:9 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your word.” Verse 11 of the same chapter says, ”I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” Someone once said, “either the Bible will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from the Bible.”

Step 6: Help others who are addicted to the same addiction you had recover.

Reach out to others who share the same struggles that you had. It wasn’t an accident that you recovered from your addiction. God will use you to touch the lives of others and change this society for the better. Get involved.

Step 1: I must admit that I am powerless over the addiction.

Whether its substance abuse (drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, etc.) or other forms of abuse or addiction (addictive use of credit cards, evil pleasure, etc.) the first step is admitting that what you have is a problem and has become unmanageable. Many times, those needing recovery deny that there is a problem. While those who admit that there is a problem, think that they can still manage the problem. People who get to this first step often have to go through the painful process of getting broken by the consequences of their choices. Whatever leads to this step, this is very important in starting the recovery process.

Step 2: Recognize that there is a greater power (God) that can restore you or your situation and commit yourself to Him.

The Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we “can do all things through Christ who strengthens” us. We are powerless over addiction or any sin. It is only through Christ that we become victorious over sin, and not even because of anything we do but because of what He did on the cross. Confess your being powerless over sin and ask Him to forgive you.

Step 3: Make a moral inventory of yourself and examine past errors with the help of a more mature accountability partner.

This is the act of confessing to another person who is more mature and trustworthy, after having made the confession to God. The best accountability partner is someone who has “been there, done that” so you can be better understood and can relate well to each other.

The Bible does not say that money is the root of all evil. It says in 1 Timothy 6:10 that “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. If you are not able to control money, it will control you. It is a necessity but once left unmanaged, it can be abused. It can be abused to the point that it could be addictive, which is called materialism. Sometimes, even without money, once you become too materialistic, you may get into the habit of borrowing and become buried in debt.

If you are needing debt help, here are some tips and a resource to help you out. First, let me suggest to list down the expenses you incur. Make it a habit to keep the receipts of everything you buy and list them down. Make a financial journal. Next, you must plan what you spend. This is simply telling your money where it should go. Make a budget. If you plan to consolidate your debts and pay them all off, include the payments in your budget. After doing that, you must start saving. Let me suggest living on 80% of your income. Save 10%. The other 10%? Give it back to God. Be generous. Then live on what is left.

(This post is a continuation of the previous posts based on the topic “How to Avoid Financial Tension” from Breaking Point Foundation Philippines parenting seminar.)

I have mentioned in the previous posts that the best way to avoid financial tension is through saving money. One way to save money is by employing the services of a company or an individual to force one to save. An example shown was employing the service of a car insurance company to help save for major car repairs such as accidents and such.

An insurance is one of the best ways to force one to save for financial emergencies. There are many types of insurance that anyone can avail. There is life insurance, auto or vehicle insurance, home insurance, health insurance and many others. Getting one or several of these in one’s budget can be a benefit in the long run. And there are many companies that offer these forms of investment. It is important that one choose an established insurance company to avail of an insurance. InsuranceRate.com is one source of insurance online. In this web site, one can compare multiple quotes from top insurance agencies and the quotes are absolutely free with no obligation to buy. Visit this site for a free quote now.

(This post is based on the Parenting Seminar we conduct for parents in the high schools we have been to. The topic is entitled “Avoiding Financial Tension”)

I have mentioned in the previous posts that saving money is the best way to prepare for financial emergencies. And since saving can be really difficult, it helps when we employ services of companies and individuals to help us into the habit of saving regularly.

However, most people do not practice this habit. They naturally choose getting a credit card, quick payday loans and such. Not that this is totally wrong, but getting into the habit of borrowing, taking on more loans than you are able to handle not being able to manage making regular payments sometimes becomes pattern for many people who get into loans. This pattern or habit can enslave anyone who is not careful with the way he or she handles finances. There are people who borrow to pay off existing debts. Again, this isn’t totally wrong, especially when the plan is to end the borrowing cycle. But one’s resolve to do so must be very strong or again, being accountable to someone or a group of individuals can help one overcome the borrowing habit.

(This is a follow up on my previous post about saving money)

As previously posted, saving money is the best way to face financial emergencies. However, a lot of time, saving money can be difficult. It takes a lot of discipline to do so. You can start out by writing down expenses and making a budget. Then, you can include the amount of money you will save into your weekly or monthly budget. And again, this takes discipline.

One way to help ourselves save is by employing services of companies individuals to force us to save. For example, saving for major car repairs (like whole body repairs an area is scratched of when it is partially wrecked because of a non-fatal accident) can be done by contacting a car insurance company and getting a quote on your car insurance. Companies like this can provide different payment methods (monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual) and choosing the payment scheme that you can include in your budget will help you to make forced-savings.

An online source for car insurance quotes is CarInsuranceRates.com. They can provide free quotes for any vehicle, anywhere and can give you a variety of policies so you can choose one that best fits your lifestyle.

Financial emergencies can happen anytime. And even with a stable job or a steady and regular income, experiencing financial strain is inevitable. That is why it is very important to be ready for these. The best way to prepare is by saving up some money, a better alternative even to the best payday loan available.

In the Philippines, this habit is seldom practiced. In many of the seminars on avoiding financial tension we have conducted among parents of high school students, it is normal to see only less than five hands go up in a crowd of about sixty parents when we ask how many of them save. Many of them are surprised and amazed to find out how beneficial it is to save when we start to show basic computations of how much they can save when they do consistently it on a weekly basis. A lot of them find it difficult to save because of the so many needs to be met in their families. But many of them admit that they just did not get used to doing it and have considered doing so through the seminar we conducted. Saving money really is the best answer to financial emergencies.

At the beginning of this week, our senior pastor forwarded this document to me. It is our tentative schedule for the missions trip to Palawan which includes the schools we and the church we will be working with. We still do intend to reduce the number of programs from eight to four because doing the former in two days is too hectic and, if the population of the schools are too large, that would be impossible to do.

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