This is my final post about being Rich in Charlotte North Carolina. You can read the first two parts in the previous two posts.
Yesterday we saw that every single one of us is RICH (compared to the vast majority of the world). So that means these commands are for us.

One last time, here is God’s advice for all of us:
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

So, we need to be doing good with our wealth, not hoarding it! We need to be GENEROUS and willing to share. I think until we are willing to share and start giving away our money generously then we can’t experience true life. We are missing out on the best life when we are not generous with our wealth!

Anyway, I thought this was good advice for us all. Especially since we are still rich - even now when the economy is “bad.” My friends and I are asking ourselves what we can do to be more generous to people in need.

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Yesterday I wrote about a little advice on being rich. The advice is straight from God through a man named Paul who lived a really long time ago. Any time advice comes from God I would say it is a good idea to pay attention.

First of all, you may be reading this and thinking “I am not rich”. BUT if you are reading this you are most certainly rich! If you own a car you are RICHER than 92% of the world! That means if you have a car you are rich! So, this advice and these commands to the rich are for you and me!

In case you missed it yesterday, here is the advice for all of us rich people:
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

I talked with some friends tonight about this advice and we decided we all have to realize that everything we have - car, house, job, breath, etc… - is a GIFT from God because He “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” That changes the way we look at everything we have! Because many times we can start to think “I earned this; I worked for this; I DESERVE this.” But really, it is all a gift!

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I like to take a lot of advice from wise people. I especially like to take advice from people who are older and more experienced than me. In fact, I often like to take advice from dead people. Through what they have written of course! Well, lately I’ve been studying some advice from a dead guy that lived a LONG time ago named Paul. He was telling a guy named Timothy what he should tell rich people to do.

This advice is actually found in an awesome book called the Bible. Maybe you have heard of it? This particular piece of advice is found in Paul’s first letter to Timothy. Check out his advice concerning wealth:

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
(1 Timothy 6:17-19)

Wow. This advice seems to go against the grain of our current culture doesn’t it? Rich people shouldn’t be arrogant about that wealth. This part DOES fit in with our current times = “wealth, which is SO UNCERTAIN!”

*I get to hang out with a small group of couples every week and this week we are going to be talking about this advice together. So, maybe I will share some of our thoughts here on this blog.

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I have written on this blog before about the Charlotte Sports Center here in Charlotte North Carolina. Basically it is an awesome sports facility near Northlake Mall. It is directly off of Harris Boulevard in the North Charlotte area near the Harris intersection with Lakeview Drive.

It is an awesome facility where I have played in many soccer leagues and my wife has played in several volleyball leagues. They also have basketball leagues, roller hockey leagues, and a Peak Fitness gym right in the middle! So, if you want to get back in shape this summer or just want to have some fun playing the game you love, Charlotte Sports Center is definitely the place for you.

This Spring soccer season I actually put together my own team of guys I know and a few of their friends. Our first game was tonight at 10pm. I know it’s late… all the games in this league are between 5pm and 11pm. Each game lasts only one hour with 25 minute halves. We play with 6 field players plus a goalie. We only had one sub tonight, so I definitely got a good workout.

We ended up losing 4-2 our very first game and without our goalie. It was 3-2 most of the second half and we had tons of great chances at an equalizer and simply could not finish it. If we could have tied it up we would have had all the momentum in the final ten minutes to win it. It was also the reigning champions that we played tonight and we only had one sub, so I think we will be looking pretty good.

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Yesterday I wrote about the wildfires that were ablaze in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. Today, North Myrtle Beach officials believe that a weekend yard fire rekindled four days later, is what started this tragic wildfire that already destroyed seventy homes and was even still burning earlier today.

Tonight they said the fire was 80 percent contained but that homes were still threatened by the blaze that blazed through more than 30 square miles just off the coast a little from the main tourist areas of the Grand Strand.
THANKFULLY, no one has been hurt! Although estimated damage costs are around $16 million and are expected to get even higher!

It was also good to hear that there is a good weather forecast for this weekend, so forest officials were optimistic.

It’s amazing how these things work! Forestry officials said that this fire was caused by remnants of a weekend yard fire in Conway South Carolina that had been left burning low for days. Strong winds and low humidity teamed up to cause the fire to reignite on Wedensday and spread fast, causing the most damage in the Barefoot Resort community 10 miles to the east. This is what caused South Carolina’s worst wildfire in more than 30 years.

Again, we are still here in Myrtle Beach South Carolina only a few miles from where the fires were burning and doing the most damage! But, these officials are doing a really good job because other than seeing a little smoke on Thursday, there have not been any negative effects in our area.

And if you’re coming to Myrtle Beach this weekend from Charlotte, then come one… it’s great weather.

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Well, here we are on vacation from Charlotte North Carolina in Myrtle Beach South Carolina - as I said yesterday on this blog.

Some time yesterday afternoon during our vacation here in the great North Myrtle Beach… wild fires broke out! They started burning uncontrollably in the neighborhoods near Barefoot Landing in the commercial and tourist hot spot of North Myrtle Beach.

The last I heard, more than forty homes have burned down and were completely destroyted! The Governor declared it a state of emergency and started evacuating homes. Over 2,500 people were forced to evacuate in all.

We drove to Barefoot Landing last night to get some ice cream and it was pretty smoky in the sky. The interstate sign said that there was dense smoke ahead. Plus around yesterday afternoon a portion of the sky turned dark brown. Like a weird cloud had moved in.

When I walked outside early this morning there was smoke everywhere. It was probably the thickest smoke I have seen outside of a fire. It was almost impossible to see down to the end of the street. The smell of smoke was pretty intense as well. I looked down off the balcony and our car was covered in this white stuff. Then I saw that the driveway was totally covered in this white stuff. It was all floating around in the sky. Some of it drifted down and landed on my shirt. It turned out to be ashes EVERYWHERE!

By late morning and early afternoon everything had pretty much cleared up where we are staying (probably 3-4 miles from Barefoot Landing). Now things are looking pretty good.

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That is a trip that many MANY Charlotteans make all the time. In fact, it is quite possibly one of the most popular trips out of Charlotte! The trip from Charlotte North Carolina to Myrtle Beach South Carolina. It is such a popular trip because it is a fairly convenient trip from the Queen City (Charlotte) to the second most popular vacation/tourist spot in America (Myrtle Beach)!

Many people who live in Charlotte own beach houses or condos or time shares at Myrtle Beach. It is a fairly short trip to make. Depending on where you live in Charlotte and where you are going in Myrtle Beach, you can make the trip in three to four hours. Not too bad.

We are actually at North Myrtle Beach right now staying at a friends’ beach house. We use a different route than a lot of Charlotteans do - who mostly drive down 74 into South Carolina and get on Highway 52. We live in the north part of Charlotte so we just get on I-77 and take it all the way to I-20. It takes about the same amount of time for us and is a lot better gas mileage on the interstate.

Usually on the trip we stop in Florence South Carolina to eat at a restaurant our friends introduced us to a few years ago. They are Florence locals - born and raised. The restaurant is called Red Bone Alley and they have quite possibly the best shrimp and grits ever! My wife and I shared an order on the drive down this time. It was as good as ever.

Maybe we’ll see YOU in Myrtle Beach this weekend if you are here too?

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Some say that watching golf is like watching paint dry. Others say that it is the most beautiful game. Many pay thousands of dollars a year to play their favorite game and to watch their favorite pros play at major tournaments.

Well, a tournament here in Charlotte is attracting some of the top pros.

Phil Mickelson is the latest star to commit to the Quail Hollow Championship here in Charlotte North Carolina, but the tournament is still waiting on Tiger Woods to commit to play in it.

Mickelson and Trevor Immelman announced on Tuesday that they will compete at the Charlotte PGA Tour event (Quail Hollow) that is scheduled for next weekend - April 30 through May 3. The field now features nine of the top fourteen golfers in the world rankings. That makes this tournament pretty legitimate!

Tiger Woods has until Friday to make a decision about playing in this Charlotte tournament. It is said that Tiger traditionally waits until the last day before he makes his decision. He last competed in the Charlotte Championship in 2007 when he actually won the tournament.

There are several other big name players already commited to play in the tournament such as Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh, Camillo Villegas, Robert Karlsson, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, and defending champion Anthony Kim. Oh, and don’t forget recent Masters champion Angel Cabrera has also committed.

There are mixed thoughts on whether or not Tiger will join the field. We shall see.

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You may have seen a new AT&T commercial on television recently. I live in Charlotte North Carolina and I see it all the time.

Well, first of all, you have seen the AT&T 3G commercials right? They are promoting AT&Ts 3G network and they always end with the tag line “more bars in more places.” They are pretty big time.

Well, the newest AT&T commercial in this theme is all about TOMS Shoes and it’s founder, owner, and “chief shoe giver” Blake Mycoskie. (Blake is my friend on facebook and is an awesome guy!) Let me tell you a little bit about TOMS Shoes in case you haven’t seen the commercial yet.

Blake started TOMS Shoes just a few years ago when he was moved with a vision for a comfortable and stylish shoe AND was brokenhearted for the millions of children living in poverty who do not even own one pair of shoes! He started the company with a “one for one” policy. That means that for every pair of TOMS Shoes you buy, the company gives away a pair of shoes to a child in need! SO AWESOME!

I learned about TOMS soon after it started and my wife and I have a couple pairs. They are the only shoes I wear (pretty much). I am buying ANOTHER pair soon. They have now given away close to half a million shoes to children in poverty in South Africa, Argentina, and the United States.

The commercial is great and really displays the heart and mission of TOMS Shoes.

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The Miss USA pageant just finished this weekend - of course I didn’t even know it was happening, but I know about it now. And that is because a local girl won the competition! She is the new Miss USA!

Miss North Carolina is a girl named Kristen Dalton and she was recently crowned Miss USA 2009 on Saturday! Of course she had to beat out 50 other beauty queen winners from their respective states in the live pageant that was televised from Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas Nevada.

Kristen Dalton is a 21-year-old aspiring motivational speaker from Wilmington North Carolina and she edged out first runner-up Miss California Carrie Prejean, of San Diego California and the second runner-up Miss Arizona USA Alicia-Monique Blanco, of Phoenix.

Dalton, a senior at East Carolina University, has ties to Concord North Carolina which is in the Charlotte area. She went to Winecoff Elementary School and briefly attended Northwest Cabarrus Middle School before her family left the Concord area.

According to NBC, Dalton’s mother was Miss North Carolina USA in 1982 and her sister was Miss North Carolina Teen USA in 2008. So I guess it runs in the family.

Contestants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia competed in the Miss USA pageant that aired live on NBC. Contestants were judged by their performance in several contests and their responses to a question asked onstage; unlike the rival Miss America pageant, Miss USA contestants do not perform a talent. I never knew the difference between the two.

Pretty cool perks for the new winner = Dalton gets a year’s use of a New York City apartment, a public relations team, a two-year scholarship at the New York Film Academy and an undisclosed salary. Not bad.

She also will go to the Bahamas in August to compete in the Miss Universe pageant, where American girls haven’t done very well in that contest recently. Maybe she can bring home the Miss Universe crown to the Charlotte North Carolina area?

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