Hello Patriots,
As you all know, we are less than a month away from one of the most important elections this country has ever seen. This day in November could very well go down as the day that America was won or lost.
Hello Patriots,
As you all know, we are less than a month away from one of the most important elections this country has ever seen. This day in November could very well go down as the day that America was won or lost.
A Pennsylvania based ministry that "Connects Kids With Gods Love Through Motocross"
By: Jim Bull
The original logo created in 2007
Have you ever spent a week with 100 other like minded individuals in the presence of "Gods Love" while leaving behind the news, your cell phone and the generally hectic pace that life throughs at us while doing something you truly love doing?
I imagine its a feeling that can be found in many other places but certainly a feeling you will experience while attending a "Motocross for Christ Camp".
Oh what a blessing that I have been fortunate enough to be a part of since almost the very beginning.
I recently received a call from new Camp Director Scott Passerini asking me if I could put together a history of this wonderful camp that he and a Christ loving group of volunteers has been so greatly blessed with the task of pressing forward with.
The mission or vision has always been the same.
It was the summer of 2008 and I received a call from a gentleman asking me to come to a local motocross race track to check out this new ministry that he had started. We didn't know each other at the time and Steve as I'll call him here didn't have any inkling as to my beliefs, but he knew that I owned a local motocross racing publication and he was looking for some promotion.
He was super excited about what he had going on and the track they were at was a client of mine so I was all in. What Steve didn't know was that I was a Jesus freak myself and was also super excited to learn about what he had going on.
This was the second year of camp as I would later learn and Steve was a racer that had a calling to "connect kids with Gods love through motocross". That the year prior, he and another racer friend held their first camp in a back yard in Schuylkill county with seven kids in attendance and it was a big hit.
Back to year two, Steve and his wife had spent months contacting track owners, sponsors, trainers and potential attendees. When I arrived at camp it was day three of three and things were in full swing. If I remember correctly there were around 30 kids in attendance plus volunteers and trainers. The riders were broken down by age and skill level and three groups were created to rotate through different stations of Faith based learning and riding instruction. The groups were labeled, Faith, Hope and Love.
This Photo is from year five at Wicomico Motocross Park in Southern MD.
Needless to say, I fell in love with what was going on that day and I knew I wanted to be a part of it. Steve and I had many conversations in the coming months and I did my best to help the cause. We turned on the promotion machine and by the following year with the help of so many individual volunteers, dealers and sponsors we found ourselves at a track in Breezewood, Pa and we had over 100 kids attend a single three day camp.
Wow and thank you Lord was about all we could say. God was at work but everyone realized that 100 was too many to manage for one camp.
Meanwhile, Steve was doing trackside ministry at the races and he started recruiting other individuals that were doing smaller ministries at different tracks and it wasn't long before there were quite a few tracks tied into the Motocross for Christ banner and doing Saturday and Sunday ministries at local tracks. No rider training was provided but God surely was at work.
Year four saw the need to do two camps to handle the amount of interest the camp was receiving. It's ironic because in the beginning many track owners and trainers were reluctant to get involved, maybe because of their belief systems or possible schedule conflicts. Whatever the reason I don't think they were quite aware of how many individuals and families were looking for ways to not only feed their need to participate in a sport that they loved, but to feed their souls with Gods love.
1000's of riders participate in Motocross racing each year in the PA region alone.
At this point in time the ministry was still very small but growing faster than the resources available. The two times a year camp concept was working but I remember a few camps at this point where Steve was calling and saying, we don't have enough money to cover costs. What are you going to do I'd ask and he'd say, I don't know but God does. All the time more and more people were getting involved and guess what. God took care of the bills - Amen.
Then I remember one early Saturday morning while still laying in bed, my cell phone rang. My wife and I were awake so I looked at the phone and saw it was Steve's wife calling (his name wasn't really Steve and we are getting to that part). I thought it odd she would be calling so early on a Saturday morning.
She said, Jim I don't know how to tell you this but Steve is missing, he's slid back into his addiction again and he took some money from the ministry account and was last seen at a local bar. It was another "wow" moment for me as I guess you can imagine. My first response was that I didn't know he had a past history and what do you mean by "again"? Well it turns out that this was the second time this had happened since camps had started but she was really worried this time.
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
So please remember Paul's words to the Romans from above as we continue. I myself had a long history of addiction and jail time in my past and had given my testimony many times at camp. It was beginning to become clear why Steve would never give his. I had asked him many times to but he always said he was just too busy running camp and wanted to give others a chance to speak.
Eventually he surfaced and tried to convince us all that it was just a weekend binge, something that he had to get out of his system and that he would be fine moving forward. A group of us spent the next year trying to work through that and finally came to the conclusion that he had to get some professional help before continuing to be a part of the ministry. Again, Please remember the below:
Happy New Year Everyone, I pray that you all have the most prosperous of times ahead.
With that comes the thoughts of, what will this new year bring? For many its a time to set goals and make those New Years resolutions that everyone talks about all the time.
How about you, are you looking for a new beginning as this 2024 year rolls around? Are you a goal setter or a resolution maker?
Myself, I am a business owner, so I spend the last weeks of the year, planning and setting business goals so the new year can be a successful one. Unfortunately many times I forget about what's really important to me and the sheer fact that God already has my road map laid out if I'm willing to follow his will.
25 Encouraging Bible Scriptures on Starting Over sourced from: Connect Us
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely,
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The
old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,
“plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for
whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards
those who seek him.
Galatians 5:1
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore,
and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus.
2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves,
and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear
from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is
not your own doing; it is the gift of God.
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who
live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live
by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Isaiah 41:10
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your
God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand.”
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do
you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the
desert.”
James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one
another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great
power as it is working.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
John 1:12
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he
gave the right to become children of God.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 6:37
“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever
comes to me I will never cast out.”
Joshua 1:9
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not
be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you
wherever you go.”
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a
lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
Revelation 21:4
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death
shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain
anymore, for the former things have passed away.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you
obey its passions.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I know that's my resolution for 2024.
Chaplains Corner - By: Jim Bull
I don’t know about you, but many times I find myself looking for that “massive miracle” that is going to change my life forever. I think that no matter what your heavenly beliefs are that most people are always looking for the next big thing, especially this time of the year.
Whether it’s a job or relationship change, some kind of fortune that is going to fall into your life and then there is the most popular, if only I could hit the lottery !!
Even as believers in
Christ and in knowing the miracles that God has granted over the years, aren’t
we always hoping and praying for God to intervene and just fix everything in
our lives?
Let’s look at just a few of Gods Miracles:
Matthew 9 (NIV) - Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man
9:1 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” And the man was healed.
Matthew 14:13-21 (NIV) - Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
18 “Bring them here to
me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking
the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and
broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave
them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples
picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number
of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
But God raised him from
the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for
death to keep its hold on him. (speaking of Jesus)
Here’s my challenge to you this coming year:
How about instead of looking for the huge miracle in our lives, we become thankful every day for the “baby miracles” in our lives. Like the fact that we wake each morning, or that we have food to eat in a world that’s starving or that God protects our friends and families each time they walk out that door.
I know they are easy to
take for granted, but I urge you to look for the “baby miracles” that happen to
you constantly as you go through life and to be thankful to the Lord above for
making them happen.
That's what I believe, how about you.
I know with the current culture in our country and around the world, that can sometimes be hard to fathom, but just like the image above, it all comes down to what your concentrating on. Notice how the branches that are right in front of you are crystal clear but the moon in the background is not in focus.
Does life ever seem that way to you too?
Right now we look around and the prices of everything are through the roof, every time you turn on the news theirs nothing but gloom and doom and if you don't fit in with the latest trend there's something wrong with you.
Is it Wise to Invest in Real Estate
in today’s HOT MARKET?
FREE REPORT
How to turn $30,000 into $100,000 in
10 years by
Investing in Real Estate.
Myth: Cap
Rates determine values in investment real estate.
Question: Do
you mean todays cap rate, or the cap rate 10 years from now?
Answer: The goal is to get started in investment real estate to realize big returns over time.
Yes, even
though today’s prices do not seem like it’s the right time to buy, my years of
real estate experience have showed me two things…
1. Prices do
not ever go down; they have stabilized but never drop.
2. You cannot find a safer or better return for
your money than real estate.
Data shows that home prices over the
last 25 years have increased on average 5%
per year and more in recent years.
The average price of a home in the
United States 50 years ago was $24,000 and today it is $278,000 nationally and
$240,000 in Lancaster county.
Average rental income on a two-bedroom
unit in Lancaster: $1091 per month.
What looks like a low return today
can turn into a huge profit in just 10 years.
If you are you looking for a safe way
to invest your money,
then please see the examples below:
Two-bedroom
house on the market for $90,000 with a rental income of $750 month.
At first
glance this may not seem like a great investment offering only a 6% cap rate,
but after a closer look over a 10-year return, things may look different.
Cost to
purchase:
Home Price: $89995.00
25 % down
payment: $22500.00
Closing Cost
(approximate): $ 5000.00
20-year
mortgage at 4% interest for 20 year term: $409.00
per month
20-year
mortgage at 3% interest for 20 year term: $375.00
per month
(Lets be
conservative and use the 4% interest rate):
Cost to
own:
RE taxes $2313.00
per year $193.00 per month
Property
Insurance (est) $ 650.00 per year $ 60.00 per month
Management
fee 8% $ 720.00 per year $ 60.00 per month
Tenant pays
$750.00 per month rent and all utilities – lease ends 5/2021. Current rent is
under market value.
Summary:
Monthly
Income from tenant: $750.00
per month
Monthly cost
to own: $722.00
per month
Positive
cash flow: $336.00 per year or $ 28.00 per month
At first glance
this deal really makes no sense and this is why most never realize the benefit
of owning investment real estate – but please read on.
Here is why this property is a great
deal – even with only a $28.00 per month positive cash flow in its first year.
There are many factors that can get
overlooked by even the most seasoned investor.
As we mentioned earlier, the average
rental income for a two-bedroom unit in Lancaster county is $1091.00 per month.
Remember also that home prices
increase on average 5% or more per year.
Taking those two factors into
consideration – lets take a look at a 10 year plan for owning this property
with a current $28.00 per month positive cash flow and how you can turn your
$30,000 into $100,000 profit owning just one property.
Image if you could do this just once
every year for the next 10 or even 20 years.
Let us
first look at conservative rent increases over the next 10 years.
Current year
1 $750 x 12 =
$9000.00 or $28 x 12 = $336.00
Year 2 $850 x 12 = $10200.00 or $128 x 12 = $1536.00
Year 3 $900 x 12 =
$10800.00 or $178 x 12 = $2136.00
Year 4 $925 x 12 =
$11100.00 or $203 x 12 = $2436.00
Year 5 $950 x 12 =
$11400.00 or $228 x 12 = $2736.00
Year 6 $975 x 12 =
$11700.00 or $253 x 12 = $3036.00
Year 7 $1000 x 12 =
$12000.00 or $278 x 12 = $3336.00
Year 8 $1025 x 12 =
$12300.00 or $303 x 12 = $3636.00
Year 9 $1050 x 12 =
$12600.00 or $328 x 12 = $3936.00
Year 10 $1100 x 12 =
$13200.00 or $378 x 12 = $4536.00
Total positive
cash flow over 10 years while your tenant pays the bills: $27660.00
Granted
some costs will increase slightly and you may incur some maintenance along the
way but at nowhere near the rate of rent increases.
Plus, you
will realize the appreciation of the home and profits from the sale – see more below:
Current
Home Value: $90,000.00
We will look
at a conservative 5% a year increase in value, the average for our nation:
2020 $90,000.00
2021 plus
$4500 $94,500.00
2022 plus $4725 $99,225.00
2023 plus
$4961 $104,186.00
2024 plus
$5209 $109,395.00
2025 plus
$5469 $114,864.00
2026 plus
$5743 $120,607.00
2027 plus
$6030 $126,637.00
2028 plus
$6331 $132,968.00
2029 plus
$6648 $139,616.00
2030 plus
$6980 $146,596.00
Mortgage payoff in 2030 if you only
pay the original mortgage payment of
$409.00 per month = $43,094.00
Let’s now look at the facts
Original
investment $30,000.00
Positive
cash flow over 10 years $27,660.00
Equity in
home after selling in 2030: $146,596 - $43,094 = $103,502.00
**Your
positive cash flow covers your original investment and the sale of the home
nets you $100,000.00 in real cash profits.
This
assuming a very conservative increase in value and a still under market monthly
rent.
Versus
earning 1-2 % bank interest on your original $30,000 might equal $6000 total
return.
**Your
actual results may vary and are not guaranteed.
Yes, there are many variables in Real Estate investing:
1. Location
2. Condition
3. Property
management
4. Knowledge
of the industry
5. Finding
good tenants, etc.
One thing is
certain however, hands down real estate has been the number one wealth producer
over time and there are professionals that are willing to help you along the
way.
If any of
the above information seems of interest or value to you, or if you just have
questions, feel free to call me anytime. I can help you through the process and
help you find the right property for your needs and budget.
Call or text
today, I would love to help open the world of real estate investing to you.
Jim Bull
– Realtor
Lancaster
office: 717.553.2500
Cell
phone: 717.951.5620
Home
office: 717.584.3296
Call or text 717.951.5620 |