Picture any funeral you have ever attended. Think about the pictures that are near the casket and imagine the things people said about the deceased person. Now, imagine the PowerPoint picture presentation at the reception along with the sweet, gentle music that plays in the background.

Got the image?

What you’ll never see at a funeral is a picture of their car, house, bank account, boat, etc. When the family and friends stand up to share about their life, they don’t hold up a picture and say, “this is a picture of his car and the car cost x,” or “this is the list of the stocks he owned at the time of his death and this was his net worth”

Why?

Because after you have died, all those things don’t mean anything. The only thing that is discussed is your life, your family, and what you stood for when you were alive.

In your life now, while you still can, it would be good to remember what people will be talking about at your funeral because it will give you some perspective on what is important and what is not. KT

Come on now, it is time to wear the great dress and best suit and eat off of the special china. Stop saving the best for someone else!

As you know, I love old cars. It amazes me when a seller of a great car will say it only has 800 miles on it. The translation of that is the goober that bought the car new never enjoyed it; he saved all the good stuff for the next owner. I saw a guy one time that had a mid ’90s Porsche 911, and he was so proud that car only had a few thousand miles on. To me, that is plain foolishness. Why not enjoy it yourself?

Years ago, I bought a new Chevy Tahoe. My Tahoe had every option available, and I was in love with the vehicle. I bought some big rubber mats to cover the floors and also the cargo area to protect it from wear. After about a year, I was washing it one day and I looked at the carpet under the mats and saw that everything still looked new. I realized I was saving the carpet for the next owner and not enjoying it for myself. That day I threw the rubber mats out and started getting the carpet dirty myself instead of saving it for someone else to enjoy. I kept that Tahoe for 8 years, and when I traded it in, it was worn completely out and limping like a hurt dog. No one could say that I had not enjoyed my vehicle.

That is how we subconsciously act with nice things in our life. We will say silly things: “I won’t wear that today because I am saving it for something special,” “We can’t eat on the good china except for special occasions,” or “I can’t take a nap on the couch because it will make the cushions sag.”

My advice is to live life large and full on. Raise your head, poke out your chest, and choose to go be full of joy. Be honest and put God first place in your life. Be the gentleman/lady in you, but by all means, live boldly and use the good stuff while you can. One day, what is left of the good stuff will be handed down in your estate after you have gone on to be with the Lord.

Choose today and choose now. Go get it! KT

Most people don’t get serious until it is too late. They don’t get serious about health, God, their marriage, or their finances until reality hits.

A funny example of not getting serious until it is too late is the story of the skinny guy who is at the beach with his beautiful girlfriend when a big muscular guy comes by and steals his girlfriend. Got that picture in your mind? Imagine the skinny guy after he loses his girlfriend going to the trunk of his car getting out his barbell set to start working out. Ha. While it is never too late to start, for this guy in the story, it is probably too late to keep from losing that girlfriend.

That is how most people treat God, their health, their finances, etc. I have heard many people in hard times say, “God let me get all the way down here so he could teach me.” Well, not every time and every situation are the same, but mostly WE let ourselves get down there before we call on God to help. Sometimes, we only called on God when it is the last option. Listen to me, God wants to be involved in the everyday, simple decisions we make and not just the big whoppers. He takes delight in his children coming to him in prayer and asking “Lord, how I should handle that” or “Lord, please give me the wisdom in this situation.” The Bible says those are sweet fragrances to God.

It’s like the story about the prodigal son in the Bible. There are many facts and points to that story. The main fact to me is that the Bible says when the father saw his son from far away, he ran to meet him. The only way the father could see him from far away is because he was looking a long way off wanting to see the image of his boy coming home. That is the way God is. He will not force himself on you, but he will be there looking your way when you get ready to turn around and come home.

Waiting until the reality hits before you make a change is probably not the best course of action. In most situations of life, a simple, minor, and easy change today can make a huge impact later in life. KT

I love cars and old hot rods. If Elaine would let me, I would have 20. I change from week to week on which ones I love the most, but old Mustangs are what I like. I cannot tell you how much I love old Shelbys and Boss Mustangs. Maybe one day I will have some.

Let me tell you about the biggest, badest boy that has ever backed out of a garage. It is the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Super Snake. They are very, very rare. A Super Snake is basically a new Shelby GT 500 that you buy and then you ship the new car to Shelby America and then spend another 40k to have them transform the Shelby 500 to a Shelby Super Snake. The finished Snake is unlike any other car on the road. Depending on the year, they have between 725 and 1000 horsepower.

Go to Google and put in “Super Snake,” and click on the images button and you will see what I am talking about.

You have heard many people say that when they were young they wished they had bought a new Chevy Super Sport, Boss Mustang, Shelby Hemi Cuda, etc., because they could buy them for 4,000- 5,000 when they were brand new. That is true, but all things are relative because in 1969 new cars cost about one half of the average annual income. So today, it is almost the same situation in that on average a nice car cost ½ – ¾ of a person’s annual salary.

So, the Shelby Super Snake will most likely be a valuable and collectable car in 40 years. All that aside, if you ever pull up beside one, trust me when I tell you that you do not want to challenge it in whatever fast car you may think you are driving. The Super Snake will spank you and make you look like you are driving a lawn mower.

One day, maybe I will post a picture of the Super Snake I buy. Ha. KT