Last week, a friend brought the latest craze in the quilting world – Proverbial Quilts – to my attention. Proverbial quilts are inspired by early “talking” quilts which were often quotes from Scripture. However, some early quilt artists used words to touch on politics and the social issues of their day. I was intrigued. I learned that the first step in creating a Proverbial Quilt is to discover a gathering of words that… Read More
The Master’s Minute – The Alignment Model (Video)
Transcript: GARRY: So Lyle, today we want to talk a little bit about maybe a new concept for some of our clients. Its a concept called the Alignment Model. And the Alignment Model is a way of thinking about the financial decisions we made and making sure that they are consistent with what’s most important to us or a particular client situation. And one of the exercises that we learned through… Read More
The Master’s Minute – Shoveling Smoke
Are you worried about any of the following? – The economy – Your loved ones’ safety – When you will hold your grandchildren again – The worldwide pandemic – What the new normal will look like A good friend compared worry to shoveling smoke. What a great comparison! When you shovel smoke, you’re using up a lot of energy and getting nothing done. But worry is our natural response when… Read More
The Master’s Minute – The Giant Pause Button
In case, with everything in lockdown mode, you forgot, this Sunday is Easter. It certainly won’t be the typical Easter Sunday with sunrise services and family dinners after church. But it’s still going to be Easter. I find the timing of this virus pandemic in the USA very fascinating. The Christian Church for centuries has observed the 46 days prior to Easter as the Lenten Season. During these days it… Read More
The Master’s Minute – What Can We Do?
It is human nature for us to crave control when we face uncertainty. Think about those extra few inches you move your car forward when sitting in standstill traffic! You aren’t changing the equation, but you are doing something, which feels better to us than not moving and having those extra inches go to waste! Anything we can do to make us feel more in control gives us a sense of security… Read More
The Master’s Minute – Challenges & Changes + Faith & Optimism = HOPE!
The past month has brought some significant challenges, and subsequent changes, for all of us. In today’s blog we’ll discuss three different levels of change: drastic changes, subtle changes, and little-to-no change. More importantly, we’ll look at our reaction to these changes. First, let’s consider two of the more drastic changes. Our lifestyles have been dramatically affected by the COVID-19 virus. The term “social-distancing” is now familiar to all of us. Beginning this… Read More
The Master’s Minute – Principles and Behavior
I grew up on a dairy farm in nearby Lebanon County. As a young boy, I’d often be outside playing by myself doing things that would make me shutter if one my kids would do the same thing today. I used to climb part way up a silo to reach the roof of the barn that I knew I wasn’t supposed to be on. I would climb a tree to get on… Read More
The Master’s Minute – Prospect Theory
The Master’s Minute – We Expect It
As you may have noticed, last week was quite the ride in the stock market. For the week, the S&P 500 returned -11.47% [1]. It was the fastest correction (defined as a -10% return) since July of 1933. Even for the normal ups and downs of the stock market, this was a volatile week. I’m sure none of us roots for the market to decline. In fact, it can be a… Read More
The Master’s Minute – Managing Wealth for a Life of PURPOSE – Part IV
This is part 4 of a 4 part series. If you missed part 1, 2 or 3 you can read them here, here & here. In 2002, Pastor Rick Warren authored the book, The Purpose Driven Life. It became one of the all-time best sellers as over 30 million copies were sold in just the first five years of its existence. Obviously, the pursuit of “Purpose” struck a deep chord in the emotions of… Read More
