Subscribe and receive email notifications of new blog posts.
RSS Feed
GEORGE
Last Sunday when I got to church George gave me a hug, like he has pretty much every Sunday since I've known him, which is getting close to seven years now. When we left, we 
said, "See you next Sunday!", like we did pretty much every Sunday since I've known him. As it turns out, that's not going to happen, after all.
My buddy, Ron, and I were talking about it when we heard the news. "There aren't a lot of people I admire," he said, "but George was one of them." I get that.
I read his obituary this afternoon. I don't know who wrote it, but it began with the usual information one is forced, through tears, to put on a piece of paper when this day comes, followed by the "about" memories. I knew the facts the writer included and they drew a clear and happy picture of George in...
Most of us make our house payment every month without ever thinking about how we are really spending our money. The fact is, if you purchase a $200,000 house January 1, with zero down, at 5% interest, on a 30-year fixed note, you'll be making a monthly principal and interest payment (not counting PMI, property taxes, and homeowners' insurance) of about $1,073. Some $833 of that monthly payment will go toward interest, and only about $240 to your principle balance. The first year alone will cost you almost $10,000 in interest. Over the life of the loan, you will pay some $186,511 in interest – almost double the cost of the home.
THE TAX DEDUCTION MYTH
What they say: "But...
Home sellers sometimes ask me whether renting their house while we're trying to sell it is a good idea. Particularly if they have moved on to a new job and home, and are now carrying two mortgages, they can be in very real financial trouble. Sometimes divorce is the culprit, as spouses and homes are torn apart, incomes separated, with two sets of living expenses where once there was one. 
I have seen sellers have their homes repossessed in circumstances such as these, when a renter may very well have prevented foreclosure.
Renting your house while you try to sell it can be a great option financially, assuming the renters pay the rent on time and don't tear the place up, leaving the homeowner to have to facilitate repairs in order to sell the home. Some renters are wonderful, caring for a home like it were their own. They mow the yard, paint th...
The World's Best (for real!) Zucchini Bread
If you're a "country Christian," you probably already know the running summer-time joke: Don't leave your car unlocked in the church parking lot on Sunday. Nobody'll steal anything, but you'll come back to four bags of zucchini on the back seat.
It's that time of year. Early peas and lettuce have faded in the heat. June strawberries are a pleasant memory. Tomatoes are just starting to blush. And zucchini and weeds are getting out of control.
A quick trip to my garden this morning revealed zucchini a day past ridiculous. One minute, there's not a squash in site. The next minute, they're topping 18" and coming out my ears.
If you're any kind...
"You mean we're making these cookies for murderers and thieves!?!?"From the archives, this is reposted here today, Father's Day 2018, in memory of my father, Gene Neill. Race car driver, Marine, Mafia lawyer, convict, popsicle salesman, coal miner, prison minister, Christian. Dad spent more than 30 years traveling to prisons around the world sharing the love of Jesus with the forgotten, in what he called "The Church in the Shadows."
Bill Porter, Broker
(304) 612-3746
Translate
