Dear Reader,
Thank you for being a part of this weekly newsletter The Three Taverns.
I’m grateful for every interaction and comment.
We are heading into a busy week. We at the Bell house are hosting our entire six children, their spouses and our 17 grandchildren at our house. 31 people will occupy these rooms on this farm and celebrate life, love and the goodness of God together.
I have asked each of my family to bring a symbol of something they are grateful for and we will lay it before the Lord and give thanks. When I mentioned it some of my grandkids walked over and already knew what they were going to bring! The uncluttered simplicity of children is always amazing.
Last night I was watching Sunday night NFL for a while. I said to Emily, “We are adrenaline junkies in this culture. Every single ad is noisy and dramatic! Everything is on 10!” I hope with all the noise and clamor of this season that in your heart and minds you can cut through it, or even shut it off, and fill your heart with worship to our amazing UNLIMITED God and His mercy.
Below is a guest column from a friend of mine Bert Sumner. I thought it was powerful in its simple reminder. Definitely worth pondering through the day.
KEYS
Keys…so many keys…They provide access to your identity for the short time that you’re here wearing this earth suit — what you drive, where you work, where you live or the home you own…Keys secure your ‘stuff’…Lose them and your world is thrown into total chaos.
In just a few days, I will mark the fourth year since my dad’s exit out of time and into eternity, and I still find myself sorting through his things — tonight, it was a can of keys.
These all mattered enough at some point for him to keep them, and as important as each of them was at one time, this collection spanning decades has virtually no value now…they have no identity and provide access to nothing…In fact, I sorted through the whole pile and only recognized one.
As we enter into a season of thankfulness this week and a celebration of our Savior’s birth in the weeks to come, give thanks for the things God has blessed you with, but dig deeper into your faith and reconnect with the things that really matter — and I can assure you, it’s not the things that you access with a key.
TUESDAY MORNING TAVERN TALKS
This group of men meeting at The Mission Cigar & Social on Tuesday mornings at 7am has turned out to be incredibly encouraging. Open, honest, unedited is our policy.
"God and man, no religion" to quote David Bowie's song.
Real faith for real men facing the world's challenges.
FORWARD THIS INVITATION ALONG TO SOMEONE ELSE AND INVITE THEM TO JOIN YOU THERE!
One of the things we do regularly is invite one of the guys to tell their story, the struggles they have overcome, how they have encountered God along the way. Sometimes tears, sometimes laughter, but always a deepening conviction, enlightenment, understanding and further commitment to Jesus and each other.
THIS WEEK: Jake Letzer. Jake is one of the workers at The Mission, but he is more than that. He is a friend, and sometimes offers a fun quick opinion about something. John Mathis Jr. coined his thoughts as "Jake's Takes". We look forward to hearing Jake's stories.
Bring your coffee, your Bible, Febreze if you go to the office after, an open mind and open heart. You can purchase a cigar as well to enjoy your first cigar of the day.
We are really grateful to Mark, Monte and Willie for opening up The Mission early each Tuesday and participating in Tavern Talks!
FIAT FOR FORTUNE
There are 200 million people dependent to some degree on U.S. government fiat money-- Medicare, social security, food stamps, etc. In a nation of 335 million people, does this seem remotely sustainable?
The U.S. has tax revenues of $4.9 trillion and current financial obligations of $7 trillion per year. How long could you sustain earning $49,000 per year and spend $70,000 per year? How many places could you borrow to make up the difference?
Can you see why the dollar is in trouble? When the rest of the world loses faith in the dollar as the reserve currency then we are screwed.
So what do you do about it? Exchange fiat for real money. Fiat means it is backed by nothing, like monopoly money. Every single dollar is now a debt instrument. It is not real money.
Gold and silver on the other hand is real money. For 5,000 + years of recorded history all currency has been measured by it’s value against gold and silver. So you should exchange fiat for fortune every chance you get.
I know people that any time they have dollars sitting in an account they trade it for metals. That way it is impossible for them to lose. If the dollar “goes up” in value, and gold and silver “go down”, then that means their dollar buys more so they aren’t losing. But if the dollar goes down in value, and gold and silver goes up (as it has gone up 40% just this year!) if they had saved their dollars they are big losers!
I am part of a network, a community of people, who have joined an exclusive membership where we get physical gold and silver for 10-20% less than anywhere else on the planet. Why would you start out paying 10-20% for gold and silver?
I’ve helped dozens get started. Are you next?
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Looking Up!,
Tod Bell
Chief Tavern Host