Five Dollar Fridays

On the morning of February 9th while running stationary on my treadmill, I watched President Obama speak live from Elkhart Indiana where the unemployment rate is now over 15%. That evening I again saw the President live. This time he was addressing the nation about the need for his stimulus package. Later, propped up in my bed, this news junkie watched a show that compared the Great Depression to what is happening in our economy today.

The one thing that struck me, the one continually trumpeted common thread running through it all, was the urgent need to restore consumer confidence. In the great depression, people lost confidence in the banks and began to stuff their mattresses with any remaining cash and hoard it. With everyone hanging on to their money, businesses began to suffer and had to lay people off. As the unemployment rate increased more and more, people sat more firmly on their cash-stuffed mattresses and the vicious cycle continued. In the end, thirteen million people ended up unemployed. According to Wikipedia, that meant that 34 million people were members of families with no wage earner. Even though today’s unemployment figures do not compare with the greater than 25% unemployment rate of the Great Depression, where will we end up if consumer confidence is not restored?

President Obama said that a further erosion of confidence could lead us into deeper economic trouble and the stats testify to this truth. With every passing month, the number of people spending decreases and the amount of layoffs announced increases. Everyone knows that this stimulus package must restore consumer confidence because there just isn’t enough money to turn the economy around without it.

Franklin D. Roosevelt became President of the United States in the midst of the Great Depression and expressed the same thoughts in his famous inaugural speech, “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear… is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory.”

I fell asleep with my mind awash with news flashes and facts but three hours later I was staring at the ceiling with my mind more focused on what was bothering me; the math! There’s almost 400 million people living in the United States and Canada. If 700 billion is injected into the US economy, that represents about $1,750.00 per person. If the government wrote checks to every man, woman and child for that amount, would it turn the economy around? More than likely not. Why? Because we’d put it in our proverbial mattresses until our confidence returned.

As I lay wide awake thinking, in the wee hours of the morning, another famous line from an inaugural speech pulled my thoughts in another direction. Nearing the end of his short, but legendary inaugural address, John F. Kennedy said, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country.”

President Obama said that the only organization with enough resources to avert financial disaster is the government of the United States and that brought to my mind even more weighty and historic words, “We the people…” Less than $2,000.00 a person will not guarantee recovery but we the people can if we’re willing to pull together and ask what we can do for our economy and our children’s future.

Laying there, restless and wishing I could sleep, the words ‘Five Dollar Fridays’ repeated themselves over and over until they were etched in my brain and I quietly got up to write this post. What I’m about to propose is simple logic and even simpler math. However, I’m convinced that if enough people catch the vision, we the people, truly the only organization with enough resources, can avert disaster.

Why $5 bills? Because of several amazing coincidences that tie the $5 dollar bill to what we’re talking about.

In 1933, as an emergency response to the Great Depression, tons of money was printed and pumped into the American economy. A special $5 bill was introduced for the task.

The most recent version of the $5 bill began circulating on March 13, 2008 right around the time that this current recession reportedly started.

The President who appears stoic and unmoved on both of these versions of the $5 bill is Abraham Lincoln. A president who some would say led the people of the United States through the greatest internal struggle of it’s history, and most would say played a huge part in preparing the way for Barak Obama to be able to become President of the United States.

February 12th 2009, is the commemoration of Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday.

For all of the reasons stated above, I believe that we the people should step up, not relying on what the government can do for us, but what we can do for the country and flood the economy ourselves with this new $5 bill in celebration of President Lincoln’s birthday and use his bill to again fight the internal crisis we face.

If on this Friday and every successive Friday, every individual and family (in the US and Canada) heads out to the market place and spends just $5 (a symbol of the movement) per person, more than what they would have otherwise spent, 2 billion dollars will be injected into the economy in one day. We must not go into debt to do this, that’s a big part of how we got into this mess. Some won’t be able to afford even this, but in the spirit of community, those of us who can afford to spend more, could give more and also give to those around us who can’t so they can get involved.

If those who can afford to spend many $5 bills do spend more, we’ll easily quadruple our one day goal and 8 billion dollars will be injected directly into the blood stream of our economy.

What if businesses small and large were to get involved and help motivate everyone with $5 specials on ‘Five Dollar Fridays?’ We could inject even more cash and more consumer confidence. As an added bonus, Fridays would become a community day-out with everyone having fun while we’re all solving our crisis together.

No one knows how long it will take the economy to turn around and many doubt that trickling down $2,000 per person will help speed recovery in a huge way. However, everyone agrees that restored consumer confidence is what we need. If we celebrate a year of ‘Five Dollar Fridays’, as the excitement and ripple effect spreads, over 500 billion dollars will have been shot right into our local and national economies with probably a far greater economic impact than the 700 billion provided from the government, and all without incurring any further debt.

In President Barak Obama’s inaugural address he said, “For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.”

In Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address he said this, “Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this favored land are still competent to adjust in the best way all our present difficulty.”

This Friday, after a good night’s sleep, I’m going out with my family and a bunch of $5 bills and I’m going to do my part. Will you join me for the recovery party?

Yes WE can do this!

For help with teaching your children about their Faith, check out Teaching Your Child to Pray.

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(RICK OSBORNE / Christian Author, Speaker & Dad)

Is it unfair for Christian parents to teach their children about christianity when they are young and impressionable?

This is part 2 of the video of Richard Dawkins, an avowed atheist speaking about why he thinks children should not be indoctrinated in religion. I would love to read your comments on the videos and blogs.

The atheists accuse Christians of keeping their children cloistered away from other views and indoctrinating these young and impressionable minds as opposed to presenting them with a range of choices. Which they say is unfair to the children.

According to dictionary.com, the word ‘indoctrination’ means to instruct in a doctrine, principle, ideology etc. especially to imbue with a specific partisan or biased belief or point of view. It goes on to say that indoctrination involves teaching someone to accept doctrine uncritically and that a synonym for the word is brainwashing.

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Are Christians making the world a more hostile place by raising their children as Christians?

The attached video is of Richard Dawkins, an avowed atheist speaking about why he thinks children should not be indoctrinated in religion. I would love to read your comments on the videos and blogs. Part two will be attached to my next blog.

Recently, there has been a rash of books written by atheists vilifying religion and blaming it for the woes of this world. One best-selling book generated a wave of controversy because it suggested that efforts be made to eradicate religion. The author also takes aim at parents who teach their children religion, calling it a form of child abuse.

Here’s the logic (as far as I can see it); there is no God, humankind invented God and created religion. Religion is destructive in that it polarizes people and therefore causes wars and all sorts of atrocities. The reason religion continues to thrive is that religious parents indoctrinate their children. Therefore, stop allowing the indoctrination of children and the world will become atheistic and wonderfully peaceful.

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Are Christian’s Brainwashing Their Children?

I recently started a FaceBook group called 1,000,000 ‘Christian Parents Raising Disciples For Christ.’

I was pleasantly surprised when young pre-parent people started to join the group. A few have joined because they wanted to voice their objection to being raised as a Christian. Needless to say, this has livened up the discussion area. One of the well-meaning, sincere questions posted, asked if raising our children as Christians is a type of brainwashing. My below blog is what I posted in reply to this question.

I agree with you that no one should ‘force’ his or her ideas or opinions on another person. Having said that, I have to ask you, did your parents force you to brush your teeth, go to bed at a certain time, go to school or eat your dinner?

A parent/child relationship is different than a friendship. Here’s Wikipedia’s summary definition of parenting; “Parenting is the process of raising and educating a child from birth, or before, until adulthood.” The article goes on to break down the responsibilities of parents into categories. Here’s what it states under the heading, ‘Providing intellectual development.’

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Study Shows That A Child’s Spirituality Is The Number One Factor In their Happiness

Dr. Mark Holder, a psychology professor at The University of British Columbia, led a study to determine what factors have the greatest influence on a child’s happiness. He and his team surveyed more than 300 children ages 9 to 12. The researchers also asked the parents and teachers of the children to rate their happiness.

The result? In Dr. Holder’s own words, “The more spiritual the children were, the happier they were.”

Perhaps you’re thinking, “That’s great. We take our children to church and read Bible stories to them”. Yes, that is helpful but it’s not what the survey was focused on. In fact, the Doctor said that religious activities such as going to church didn’t seem to make a difference in a child’s happiness level.

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Isn’t It The Churches Job To Teach Our Children about God and the Bible?

Simply put, NO. There is nowhere in the Bible that says that it is the churches responsibility to disciple our children.

The Bible, starting with what God spoke to Abraham (Genesis 18:19) carrying on through God’s instructions to the Israelites (Deut. 6) and moving right up to Paul’s directions to Christian parents (Eph. 6:4), unwaveringly gives the task of raising godly children to parents.

If you think about it logically, parents are the ONLY ones positioned to do the job successfully. There are three legs on the stool we call discipleship. Every Christian, in order to grow in their salvation, must grow in three areas. They must grow in their personal relationship with God (daily pray and reliance on God). They need to grow in their knowledge of God (instruction in God’s word) and they need to grow in living it out.

The spiritual growth program for children is no different; they must be growing in all three of these areas daily. (“Bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Eph. 6:4)

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What is Christian Parenting? (Part 2)

Here is where we begin to deal with what I call ‘side of fries’ Christian Parenting.

In the opening comment of part one of this blog I talked about what most parents believe Christian Parenting to be. I sum that up as believing that we are to raise our children like everyone else aiming at them one day being healthy, well adjusted successful adults but with a side of Christianity. Bible stories, Sunday School, bedtime prayers etc. need to be added, so that hopefully, they will know Jesus, attend church and even read their Bible when they grow up.

Let’s examine what Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to see if the ‘do you want fries with that?’ idea holds up.

Ephesians 6: 4 “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (NIV)

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