The time, effort & cost of developing and expanding this educational forum, and connecting it with a growing group of listeners, is being underwritten by myself personally and my 501(c)(3) Charitable Non-Profit: Mark of Matthew, Inc.
If you have been touched, and perhaps illuminated and encouraged by the Great Questions Group, you might want to consider helping to support this unique endeavor. It is a very cost-effective operation with a rather extensive and broadening scope of influence.
Another easy way to get some support to the Group is through an online bill pay service. Simply add Mark of Matthew, Inc as a payee and you will have a little reminder and a simple way to send in some support when you do your monthly bills.
I know, because it is what I do…for some of the other good causes, I still support! 🙂
Mark of Matthew, Inc.
12322 Cannonball Rd.
Fairfax, VA 22030-6532
Thank you!
To verify that MMI is a valid nonprofit in good standing with the IRS, please visit:
In the “Select Database” field, choose “Form 990-N (e-Postcard)”
In the “Search By” field, choose “Organization Name”
In the “Search Term” field, type “Mark of Matthew Inc”
Type Fairfax and Virginia, in the City and State fields, and then hit search.
Something Interesting I Have Learned About Money…
Allow me to share a few thoughts with you regarding one of the many things I have learned about money over the years…a topic I plan to expand on at a later date.
Another significant law which operates in plain view of us in this world in which we live, is the Law of Sowing and Reaping. It is actually a corollary to the Law of Cause and Effect which I have referred to extensively in a number of the audios I have produced up to this point.
We see this law at work most visibly in the plant world and particularly, in farming.
A farmer has to take some of the seed from each of his harvests and set it a side, so he has the means to plant a new crop. This is not an option for him. He either has to set it aside or buy more seed, for he cannot grow a new crop without seed.
He doesn’t have to set aside all his seed–rather, just a small portion. Furthermore, he doesn’t just choose any seed–he usually picks the best, so that he can ensure the best possible crop.
Interestingly, he plants only that small portion of seed next season, and yet reaps a far greater harvest–great enough in fact to feed his family, his animals and to sell…and probably all of the above.
Yet, before he does any of this, he once again carefully chooses a small portion of the best seed and sets it aside–so that he can plant it (sow) and harvest (reap) another bountiful crop.
I shared all that to say this: As strange as it may sound, what I have learned over the years, from some truly prosperous people that were mentors of mine, is that this same Law of Sowing and Reaping, also applies to the way we use our money.
I used to think that the deal with money was trying to get as much as I could, and keeping it all for myself.
They taught me, however, that if I really wanted to be truly prosperous…and happy and content, then I needed to think a little more like a farmer.
I needed take a small portion of my income, my “harvest”–my “seed”– “right off the top” and give it away–“sow” it into some worthwhile cause.
They told me that if I’d do that, I’d be putting this same powerful cosmic Law into effect with my finances in the way the farmer does with his seed.
And although I might not understand it, or really know how it actually works, that law would begin to take effect in my life and I would begin to see returns and benefits that I never would have been able to otherwise.
They told me that it may not make you rich–and it hasn’t–but in ways it is often hard to explain, you will always seem to have enough is the lean times, and often you will have an abundance.
But more importantly, they explained that I would gain a peace and gladness of mind and a sense of contentment that would be a far greater return than just having lots of money, anyway.
I remember them encouraging me to try it out–to “put it to the test” for myself.
They assured me that if I was willing to give it an honest chance, to even start small, but keep going for a while, then I’d see the same results in my life that they had in theirs, for remember they said, it is a Law–it has never been known not to work!
So folks, I took it on faith and tried it when I was in my middle 20’s. For the first time in my life, I took (initially, a wee little) portion of my income, right off the top and started giving it to help something or someone else.
And I must say, in the beginning, it was probably one of the most difficult things I had ever done–and I had to force myself to continue to do it.
Furthermore, there were no immediate, over-night changes. I mean, I did win the lottery (which was not surprising, since I don’t even play! 🙂 ) and I didn’t get a surprise call from a rich relative, either.
But as I continued on, slowly, gradually, things did seem to change and the benefits they had told me about began to show up in my life, too.
Before long, they had become so apparent, that it actually became a little easier to sow and to gradually sow a little more, as I continued to receive those multidimensional returns as my harvest.
Putting this Law of Sowing and Reaping into practice in my personal finances, totally revolutionized the way I thought about money and giving, and I have made it a guiding principle of my life ever since.
Folks, if you’ve never tried it, I would commend it to you in the same way those mentors of mine did to me. You might want to put it to the same test I did and see what happens. If you’ll give it a chance, this Law will work for you, too.
It is a strange and often over-looked key to true prosperity and happiness.
Finally, one other important note those mentors of mine shared with me was, at the highest level, the best causes to “sow” into are those that educate and empower people by changing and elevating the way they think.
While it is often noble and honorable to “give a man a fish”, it is far more effective and empowering to “teach a man how to fish” –for it is in doing this, we are teaching people how to properly think, which is greatest service to our society and our fellow man.
That is why I would commend this Great Questions Group to you, as an effective endeavor in which to sow some of your seed.
For empowering people with an accurate understanding of the core aspects of this existence, is perhaps the greatest service of all, as it ultimately positively affects every other dimension of life.