Fiscal Fidelity

Weekly Thought – July 29, 2025

Fred understood the stewardship of everything he had… everything! He and Mary Alice taught their children the responsibility – and the joy – of giving. They also encouraged them to understand how God designed them and how to best use those gifts to His glory.

Fiscal Fidelity

The truth about money has been known for a long time. Aristotle called money “barren.” Not because it doesn’t bring benefits, but because the emotions it evokes are among the lowest on his the ancient philosopher’s hierarchy of values. The feelings invoked by money just don’t compare with the nobler emotions of love, patriotism, and religion. The men and women whose greatest emotional energy is reserved for money knows nothing of the higher emotional life.

Money can bring fun – even happiness – but not ultimate joy if it is only money for money’s sake. After all, it has no intrinsic ability to elevate the intellect or spirit. In fact, the pure, exclusive love of gold often blocks the love for all else that is higher and nobler. How pitiful the struggle for wealth becomes when compared to the struggle for freedom, the search for truth, the drive for fulfillment in serving each other.

However, money is one of life’s greatest necessities. To disparage money out of hand and per se is to demonstrate an ignorance of life’s fundamental rules. When people what I think about money I tell them, “I think of it like I do blood – I make blood to live, not live to make blood.” I do not live to make money, but I fully understand I must make money to live.

In my mind money has always represented option. The options that money make possible are part of its utility. It is important to understand the principle: having an abundance of choices (options) doesn’t necessarily mean that we have the ability to use them well.

Mary Alice and I tried to instill this into our children. Unlike our backgrounds, our children were raised in an affluent neighborhood. We wanted them to have a healthy view of money – and understand the responsibilities, as well. They grew up hearing me say, “Remember – money is a tool, not an idol.”

I have been poor, and I have been financially comfortable – I would be kidding if I didn’t say I preferred the latter. But having money and loving money are poles apart. Money requires discipline as do the decisions that money makes possible.

This week consider carefully: 1) What makes the difference between money as a tool, not an idol? 2) What are the appropriate uses of money for me, and my family? 3) Who models the healthy, mature use of money?

Words of Wisdom: “Money is a tool, not an idol.”

Wisdom from the Word: “For the love of money is the root of all evils.” (I Timothy 6:10 NET Bible)

Don’t Settle

Brenda’s Blog – July 29, 2025

As a kindergartener in Cincinnati, Ohio I attended Westwood Elementary School in Mrs. Preston’s class. To celebrate birthdays the teacher would take the student out of the room, returning with a crepe paper streamer which was tied in a big bow on the back of the child’s chair. Having a March birthday gave me months to anticipate “my big day!” I knew exactly what I wanted – a PINK STREAMER.

The day came; Mrs. Preston came to my chair and invited me to follow her. Out in the hall she opened a closet which held a large round cardboard container overflowing with streamers of every color. I knew what I wanted, but to my horror – I couldn’t see a pink one. I just froze. Then the life-changing words came from Mrs. Preston’s mouth: “Brenda, for goodness sake, just PICK ONE!” I reached in an pulled out a PURPLE one. IT WAS NOT PINK! I had waited for six months to sit in a chair dressed in a PINK streamer with a big bow.

The rest of the day went by and I tried hard to ignore the “offending crepe paper” wrapped around my chair.

Fast forward many years… I stopped by Dallas to visit with my parents on my way to speak in Kansas City to a women’s group. In organizing my message by talking it through with Dad this long-ago forgotten experience in Mrs. Preston’s classroom, it became clear my theme became “don’t settle.”

Quickly, decades flashed through my mind of settling because of fear, pressure, or hearing “For goodness sake, Brenda!” Serious decisions, simple choices, or life-altering actions – all affected by settling in order to please others, take the easy way out, or fail to take the time and make the necessary effort.

Back home in Des Moines, IA, I prepared to leave. The mailman delivered a large envelope. I opened it and found an entire cellophane-wrapped sheaf of crepe paper… INK CREPE PAPER! Attached was a small piece of paper with just these words “Don’t settle!”

Yes, from Dad.

The next day as I told my story and added illustrations to build out the principle I passed around the roll of crepe paper with a pair of scissors encouraging each women to cut herself a piece as a reminder.

Dad has been in heaven since 2007, but his words live on nearly 20 years later.

Responding to the Almighty

Weekly Thought – July 22, 2025

Fred held the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as the most high God. He always spoke in the most respectful language, never using flippant phrases. He taught his family to worship.

Responding to the Almighty

Someone asked me to define “joy of the Lord.” I think of it in four words: “awe, praise, thanksgiving, and obedience.”

When I sense the awe of God, I feel His reality. For example, when I read about DNA, the mind that created it evokes awe. Watson and Crick received the Nobel Prize for identifying God’s work. Think of the intellect that created all that is. When I consider He numbered and named each and every star, I am astounded.

He is worthy of our praise. When I lift up His name I am acknowledging His worthiness. When I think of His common grace, I praise Him for who He is and what He has done. When I praise I experience His presence.

Thanksgiving, to me, is more personal. It is not just giving assent to His worthiness but also giving an offering for His manifold blessings. I magnify His name for all He has done for me as an individual. Through our personal relationship, I feel His presence.

Certainly, in obedience I acknowledge His authority. In this area I truly experience His presence. When I respect the traffic laws, I recognize the presence of civil authority. In the same way, when I obey scriptural mandates I am recognizing I am in the presence of genuine authority. When I bow my knee to Him I am saying “You are sovereign and I am in your presence.”

When I think of understanding the joy of the Lord and what it means to be in His presence I go to Brother Lawrence: “There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God. Those only can comprehend it who practice it and experience it.”

This week think about: 1) How would I answer, “what is the joy of the Lord?” 2) Which of Fred’s four words has the greatest meaning for me? 3) Who needs to hear about His presence?

Words of Wisdom: “He is worthy of our praise. When I lift up His name I am acknowledging His worthiness.”

Wisdom from the Word: “The LORD strengthens and protects me; I trust in him with all my heart. I am rescued and my heart is full of joy; I will sing to him in gratitude.” (Psalm 28:7 NET Bible)

Keeping the Engine in Gear

Weekly Thought – July 15, 2025

Fred understood the gifts God gave him. He called them his “uniqueness.” He challenged others to identify and nurture their own. He firmly grasped the concept of rhythm in life and leadership writing and speaking about its effective use.

Keeping the Engine in Gear

During times when we have no great career accomplishments, it is important to have outside achievements. This is the way to re-attach our ego and grow again.

A friend came to see me after selling his company. He was experiencing the “what’s next” low. I suggested he find satisfaction through a non-career endeavor. Several months later I saw him. To my surprise, he was 40 pounds lighter and walking with a distinctly positive gait.

“Fred, I took your suggestion. Not only have I lost the 40 pounds I carried around for so long, but I am the club doubles tennis champion.” He rediscovered the joy of achievement.

Every career has its dead spots. Inevitably, there are idling times as we hit plateaus on the climb. It is critical to remember we haven’t failed – just our plans have. Rather than throwing us off track, we can redirect our productive energies in an avocational direction. For example, we can channel our drive into ministry, or community leadership. It is important to acknowledge the value of productivity.

The lull in the career won’t extinguish the proper use of ego gratification. Of course, it is key that these ancillary accomplishments don’t become an escape. Recognizing that they are part of career rhythm should always be uppermost. Running away and hiding is not the healthy use of avocation during vocational valleys.

The overriding principal: keep on experiencing a productive rhythm in life in order to contribute. Accomplishment and achievement are the mature use of our God-given uniqueness which is to be used for the good of others.

If we miss the opportunity to grow in the plateaus we end up simply going round and round without forward progress. The proper use of these times is to refocus, clarify, and strengthen in order to keep climbing.

The mature man or woman recognizes achievement breeds achievement.

This week carefully consider: 1) How do I satisfy my need for accomplishment? 2) What strategies do I use in the plateau times? 3) Where are my avocational as well as vocational growth areas?

Words of wisdom: “Running away and hiding is not the healthy use of avocation during vocational valleys.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Then they will realize this is your work, and that you, LORD, have accomplished it.” (Psalm 109:27 NET Bible)

Who Do You Look Like?

Brenda’s Blog – July 15, 2025

The elevator door opened to the large convention crowd who rushed in and immediately took a vow of silence. That is, until the door reopened and a woman stepped into the car. In the far back a voice was heard addressed to the newcomer: “You look like one of the presenters”… no response. We arrived at the lobby and the door opened. For just a moment the latecomer held the door back and said, “I do look like the presenter… Because I am her!”

It was an enjoyable moment in the middle of a highly-scheduled, people-packed conference.

I thought about it and wondered…who do I remind others of? What do they see in the way I speak, dress, walk, smile, treat others, or as my Mom would say “carry myself?”

On Father’s Day I posted my favorite photo off my Dad done on his 90th birthday by the premier photographer, David Edmondson. A friend mentioned it to me by saying, “I didn’t know your Dad but you look just like him.” I often want to say, “What of him do you see in me?” It could be our distinctive “Smith nose,” or our high foreheads, perhaps. Of course, I want it to be the eyes which reflect his wisdom, kindness, and intensity.

A Christian organization once named a building after Dad and commissioned a sculptor to do a bust of him for the foyer. I received a call from the group saying the sculptor just couldn’t get his nose right from the photographs but heard mine was just like his and would I go to his studio and sit while he finished? Accompanying my nose to the sitting was an interesting and intriguing experience.

As children of the living God we have the joy of bearing His name and identity – hallelujah. When others say, “you look like a Christian you can respond… yes, I do, because I am.” Yay, God!

Prepared By Hope

Weekly Thought – July 8, 2025

Fred grew up during the depression, the son of a Baptist pastor. The small southern churches offered very little hope beyond the faith that formed the foundation of the Smith family. This hope, grounded in the gospel provided lifelong values which formed his character.

Prepared By Hope

The three important words at the close of 1 Corinthians 13 are “faith, hope, and love.” Is Paul making a climactic statement that hope is more than faith and love is more than hope? I don’t know. But I do know hope is one of the great controlling emotions in our life. Faith is largely present, hope is largely future, and love is ultimate and everlasting. Hope is our belief in the future based on Christ, who holds it. Hope is not about the seen, but about the unseen.

As the philosopher said, “A man or woman can stand almost anything as long as there is hope.” When hope goes, desperation and despair soon follow. The Scripture says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” (Proverbs 13:12 NIV).

I have a Polish physical therapist whose job is to stretch my muscles back into usefulness after months and months in bed. I find when he counts out loud, I have hope of his quitting. When he doesn’t, I miss knowing when the end is coming. Hope energizes patience. It gives reason for tenacity. It promotes discipline in accomplishment.

The source of hope is not random hoping, but in hoping specifically in someone or something. We hope in Christ; we hope in our spiritual experience, or belief that life has a purpose even when we don’t see it. Hope requires a definable object. That hope can be eternity – “the blessed hope” or the assurance that hope gives us here on Earth pointing to everlasting life.

My wife’s favorite hymn was “Take the Name of Jesus With You.” The chorus has a phrase which aptly describes that precious name… “Hope of earth and joy of heaven.” I grew up leading singing in Dad’s churches and revivals. One of the favorites had another great line: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’s blood and righteousness.”

Our hope has substance because we are grounded in a changeless God who is the same as He was in the past, is not in the present, and will be forevermore.

This week think about: 1) In what is my hope grounded? 2) How do I daily remind myself of my hope in a changeless God? 3) What allows me to encourage others to hope?

Words of Wisdom: “Hope energizes patience.”

Wisdom from the Word: “I desperately long for your deliverance. I find hope in your word.” (Psalms 119:81 NET Bible)

Being a “Can Do” Leader

Weekly Thought – July 1, 2025

Fred never loafed. He believed in the work ethic, not the wish ethic. As he and Mary Alice raised their children a familiar phrase “when nothing but the will says ‘go.’” Its original is questioned, but the meaning of it in the Smith household was clear: “we don’t lean on our feelings, but on doing what is right and what needs to be done.”

Being a “Can Do” Leader

I was interested in a recent survey that studied the difference between successful and unsuccessful businesses. The top executives of major companies were surveyed. The one outstanding difference recognized between successful and unsuccessful executives was this: the successful says “I will.” The unsuccessful says, “I should, I expect to, I need to get around to it, or as we says in Texas, I am fixin’ to.”

Nothing happens until someone says, “I will.” That is the action of the decisive individuals. He picks up a great idea, writes it down, goes back to the office and says, “I will.” And he does it! My daughter often reminds me this principle applies to female leaders, as well. The other one (is this okay Brenda?) gets a good idea, may even write it down, and get it back to the office. But there is where the difference shows up. Their response is, ‘I will get around to this shortly.” Shortly seldom comes, so the same easy chair in the same rut is the place of choice.

The only difference between success and failure is found in that decision on taking action or delaying it. The old story tells of decision making patterns; 1) Ready, fire, aim; 2 Fire, fire, fire; 3) Ready, aim, aim, aim 4)and the wise pattern is ready, aim, fire. The line between the styles are thin, to be sure – but critical.

My friends in the insurance industry say it this way: “The successful agent does what the unsuccessful one won’t.” The high producing agent makes the call, does the prospecting, prepares the presentation through a knowledgeable process, and asks for the sale. And key is the fact that they do this over and over!

Too often the unsuccessful spends times organizing forms, reading the sales manuals, magazines, and attending industry meetings where absolutely no prospectives are. Then finished with the backroom work they wait for the ideal time to make the initial call. Too often “the perfect time” doesn’t come.

In my experience right thinking leads to right action which leads to the right results.

This week think about: 1) How can I motivate myself from “I ought to” to “I will?” 2) What good habits carry me through the rough times? 3) How do I take control of my daily activities and decision?

Words of Wisdom: “Nothing happens until someone says ‘I will.’”

Wisdom from the Word: “Now give me wisdom and discernment so I can effectively lead this nation. Otherwise no one is able to make judicial decisions for this great nation of yours.”(2 Chronicles 1:10 NET Bible)

Giving Up Control

Brenda’s Blog – July 1, 2025

“Don’t do a Sarah!” From his hospital bed Dad listened carefully to our conversation. A group of his good friends had just called me to offer help on purchasing a log cabin at Holly Lake Ranch which would be my home “after Dad’s homegoing.’ When I began the process I had a specific amount of money which would be my limit. If it weren’t accepted I would gratefully acknowledge this was not a good fit. These friends heard from Dad about the situation and told me they would make up the difference between what I had and what they were asking. These were godly, wise men.

I turned to Dad in the hospital room and told him of the conversation. Before I took the final breath and exhausted him with my detailed report of the phone call he looked at me and simply said, “Brenda, don’t do a Sarah. You have prayed about this; you have peace about the decision, so DON’T DO A SARAH!” I knew exactly what he meant. He and I read scripture together daily and the lessons learned in Genesis’s narrative of Abram and Sarai (Abraham and Sarah) still clearly came to both our minds.

She loved Yahweh. She loved her husband and wanted the promised blessings to be his. When it looked like the holy timetable had gotten off track she took it in her own hands to “fix it.” What everlasting trouble resulted from that simple act of helping God.

Dad was telling me to thank the men but to trust God. I graciously expressed my appreciation as I said no. Strangely, that very afternoon my realtor called saying, “I have put better offers than yours on the table repeatedly and been refused. They accepted yours and I will never know why. It is a mystery!” Was it really? Or was it the outcome of stepping out of the Ms. Fixer role and truly trusting God?

Dad died a few months later and I wholeheartedly believe those were his words of blessing for me. He knows I love God and he knows I too often jump ahead in my fervor and desire to see good things happen. But often I hear him say, “Brenda, don’t do a Sarah.”

If you find yourself too eagerly acting thinking “surely, this is such a good thing – it must be God’s will for me (or others)” pause a moment and consider that momentary trust can produce a lifetime of glory for God.

A Faithful Follower

Weekly Thought – June 24, 2025

Fred truly bore the label “lifelong learner.” A scholarly scientific researcher once told him, “Fred. always go to bed more ignorant than you woke up. Always be amazed at God’s world and how much you don’t know.” His faith walk was part of that challenge. He consistently gravitated toward those who taught him more about the living God.

A Faithful Follower

In our lives “faith” is both a noun and a verb. My friend Dr. Ramesh Richard is the founder and president of RREACH, an international proclamation ministry. He serves as a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary developing men and women in the tenets of the Christian faith. He introduced me to the “Five Solas” or the five alones of salvation: 1)by grace alone; 2) by faith alone; 3)by scripture alone; 4) through Christ alone; and 5) for glory alone. Faith is an outstanding noun.

Faith, as a verb, is the working out of our relationship through the application of the principles and disciplines. Scripture’s promises and directives set the ground rules for the life of faith. Scripture is the key element.

May I share a personal, though unusual, experience? Years ago I was in negotiations with the steelworkers’ union. Our attorney was convinced they were going to strike so he advised us against putting an offer on the table thinking it would be used against us in negotiations. As I left for home I did something I never did… I opened my Bible reading the first verse I saw: “Do not withhold from workers money that is due them.” (James 5:4) I was convinced of my decision. Opting against the attorney’s recommendation I made a reasonable offer. To our amazement the union workers readily accepted it. We avoided a strike. Even though I don’t support that method of scriptural leadership as the model for study and meditation, I felt firmly that day I had received divine guidance on walking in faith.

I believe in the principle that anytime I make a decision which does not conflict with scripture, and is supported by the desire to do right we are operating from faith. There is an old hymn which affirms the fact that “He Leadeth Me.” The hymnist prays, “His faithful follower I would be, for by His hand, He leadeth me.”

This week carefully consider: 1) Who is leading me this week?2) How can I apply the Five Solas?3) When have I experienced the guiding hand of God?

Words of Wisdom: “Faith, as a verb, is the working out of our relationship through the application of the principles and disciplines.”

Wisdom from the Word: “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works and I will show you my faith by my faith.” (James 2:18 NET Bible)

Reading Life’s Mile Markers

Weekly Thought – June 17, 2025

Fred often differentiated between goals and direction. In consulting and mentoring he stressed the importance of understanding the nature of direction.

Reading Life’s Mile Markers

Choosing a goal in life is not our most important decision; choosing our direction is. Chasing short-range goals can take us in the wrong direction. Mature success and satisfaction come from the direction in which we move, not in the goals we attain.

Too much goal orientation brings us the same problem Harvard Business School found in the “case study” format for instruction. Bright young students learned to solve problems rather than identifying opportunities. The real progress in life comes in the recognition of potential. Problem solving is certainly key, but it part of the process of seizing opportunities. Too much focus on goal-orientation allows us to become almost mechanical in our approach to life. The totally technological perspective on life threatens to turn us into computers. Who would want that?

I oppose setting an ultimate goal for one’s life. I do not support a specific, definable, measurable place in life. In this I mean material, educational, professional accomplishments, and certainly not character and spiritual maturity aims. When one in essence says “By 45 I will have a net worth of $X, a country club membership, a luxury car, and a notable career,” it creates a system for decision making locked in by these markers.

In my experience I have seen the futility of those who used a deterministic mindset actually achieving the goals (many times before the due date) only to recognize a huge letdown. They climbed the mountain, assuming success would create fulfillment, but when they checked off the goals they realized it was too limited.

I am not opposed to planning, but I am much more interest in making decision based on the impact they will have on who I will ultimately become if I take the path being considered. I don’t want to be so focused on goals that I get to the top of the ladder only to see it is leaning against the wrong wall. A high achieving young executive stopped by the office to tell me, “I know my direction and I also know I need to seriously review my progress and revector as needed. Just a minimal move away from the chosen direction if not corrected can create disaster eventually.”

Goals are important as mile markers to confirm we are traveling in the right direction. But, I am convinced they are not to be an end in themselves.

This week seriously consider: 1) What work have I done to establish my life direction? 2) How do I answer “Am I satisfied with who I am becoming?” 3) Who serves as a model for a healthy life style?

Words of Wisdom: “The becoming is the joy in the journey.”

Wisdom from the Word: “I hereby guide you in the way of wisdom and I lead you in upright paths.” (Proverbs 4:11 NET Bible)

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