I have observed that books related to financial principles focus on the current task of managing ones money today. Russs book Your LifeWell Spent takes the LONGER-TERM PERSPECTIVE of looking at plans for a persons career and giving. This book HELPED CHANGE MY LIFE with proper financial and life goals. D ONT MISS IT .
J OEL M ANBY, CEO, H ERSCHEND F AMILY E NTERTAINMENT
I have had the privilege of working alongside Russ with multiple families, and I VE OBSERVED FIRSTHAND THESE PRINCIPLES put into practice. The focus on a HEALTHY GENERATIONAL TRANSFER OF WISDOM is one that will ENRICH YOUR FAMILY and PRESERVE YOUR LEGACY .
D R . R ON L. B RAUND , F AMILY B USINESS T RANSITIONS
Provides a COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT MONEY AND YOUR LIFE a NECESSARY INVESTMENT for anyone who wants to think correctly about how to earn, spend, [and] donate. money.
H OWARD G. H ENDRICKS, DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR EMERITUS,
L EADERSHIP AND C HRISTIAN E DUCATION ,
D ALLAS T HEOLOGICAL S EMINARY
Without the information in this book, your budget may be balanced but unwise, your bookkeeping may be timely, but reflect only temporal values. This is the BOOK TO READ FIRST , before any others, for the RENEWING OF YOUR FINANCIAL MIND .
B RUCE W ILKINSON, AUTHOR , P RAYER OF J ABEZ AND Y OU W ERE B ORN FOR T HIS
I appreciate the BIBLICAL MIND-SET backed by PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE that goes into Russs work. Once again Russ has gone BEYOND THE NUTS AND BOLTS to focus the readers attention on lifes big picture.
A USTIN P RYOR, PUBLISHER , S OUND M IND I NVESTING.COM
A REMARKABLY WRITTEN REMINDER that the BOTTOM LINE OF LOVING FAMILIES isnt about money, its a LIFE WELL SPENT .
T IM K IMMEL, AUTHOR, SPEAKER, FAMILY COUNSELOR,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR , F AMILY M ATTERS
E YE-OPENING READING about marriage, parenting, training children, balancing life, and financial planning, written like Ive never read before. I WAS HOOKED FROM THE FIRST CHAPTER .
G EORGE F OOSHE, FINANCIAL COUNSELOR, AUTHOR
Ours is a nation of families who are exhausted from haste. But, life is not a 100-yard dash, its a marathon. Pace is more important than haste. R USS C ROSSON offers a PERSPECTIVE OF REMARKABLE CLARITY AND SIMPLICITY that will give your family pace for your race.
S TEVE F ARRAR, AUTHOR, FOUNDER/CHAIRMAN,
M ENS L EADERSHIP M INISTRIES
This book will CHALLENGE YOUR THINKING . It makes a SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION toward understanding the BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE OF MONEY AND POSSESSIONS . I pray it will stimulate you to become financially faithful.
H OWARD D AYTON, FOUNDER , C OMPASS-FINANCES G ODS WAY
This book is a MUCH-NEEDED ANTIDOTE to unbiblical thinking regarding finances. Russ Crossons emphasis on posterity rather than prosperity and eternal rather than temporal investments, if applied, will make you eternally grateful.
W ALTER A. H ENRICHSEN, AUTHOR
This book captures KEY BIBLICAL INSIGHTS in the area of our prosperity. And it comes from a man who walks the talk. Russ Crosson meets the challenge of FAIR-MINDEDNESS and READINESS mentioned in Acts 17:11. Here is a book for us to learn from.
G AYLE M. J ACKSON, FORMER PRESIDENT,
CAD S YSTEMS , I NC., AUTHOR
Although this book offers a WEALTH OF PRACTICAL FINANCIAL ADVICE , it takes a SIGNIFICANT STEP beyond the how tos of money management to answer the MORE VITAL WHY QUESTIONS . I have seen Russ Crosson consistently model these truths in his own life and have witnessed their impact in the lives of others, including me!
T IM K ALLAM, PASTOR
Russ Crosson always keeps the big picture in mind when it comes to money. He reminds us to LOOK AT MONEY FROM AN ETERNAL, LIFELONG PERSPECTIVE . Thats why this book is a KEY to YOUR LIFE WELL SPENT .
B RYANT W RIGHT , S R., PASTOR ,
J OHNSON F ERRY B APTIST C HURCH ,
A TLANTA , GA
Russ Crosson does an EXCELLENT job of taking us BACK TO THE BASICS , not only of finance, but how to integrate IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES into our total life system.
C OLONEL N IMROD M C N AIR, PRESIDENT , M C N AIR A SSOCIATES , I NC.
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from The Amplified Bible, Old Testament. Copyright 1965, 1987, by The Zondervan Corporation or the Amplified Bible New Testament, copyright 1954, 1958, 1987, by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Quotation from Focus on the Family magazine in chapter 5 is reprinted from the June 1984 Readers Digest. Copyright 1984 by The Readers Digest Assn., Inc. Used by permission.
Harvest House Publishers has made every effort to trace the ownership of all poems and quotes. In the event of a question arising from the use of a poem or quote, we regret any error made and will be pleased to make the necessary correction in future editions of this book.
Names and minor details have been changed in the real-life stories shared in this book to protect the privacy of the individuals mentioned.
Italics in Scripture references indicate authors emphasis.
Cover design by Koechel Peterson & Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
Cover photos iStockphoto / Thinkstock; Pavel Losevsky / Fotolia
Published in association with the literary agency of Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc.
YOUR LIFE WELL SPENT
Copyright 1994 by Russ Crosson
Published 2012 by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Crosson, Russ, 1953
[Life well spent]
Your lifewell spent / Russ Crosson.
p. cm.
Originally published: A life well spent. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
ISBN 9780-73694624-7 (pbk.)
ISBN 9780-73694626-1 (eBook)
1. Finance, PersonalReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. WealthReligious aspectsChristianity. 3. Christian giving. 4. FamiliesReligious life I. Title.
HG179.C75 2012
332.024dc23
2011021676
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 / VP-NI / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Clark, Reed, and Chad, my posterity,
whom I pray will manifest the truths shared in this book
and pass them on to the generations that
come after them to the glory of God.
As with any such undertaking, this book would have been impossible without the assistance and encouragement of countless people. Most importantly, I am grateful to Julie, my wife of 32 years, who is a constant source of encouragement to me. Without her unwavering love, support, and devotion, and her continual training and teaching of our children, the concepts shared in this book would only be hollow words with no substance.