Tim Vest’s Post

Independence Season is Here! 🎉 Embrace the spirit of freedom by diving into your nation’s rich history and honoring the sacrifices made for independence. 📖✨ This is the perfect time to celebrate unity and pride. Here’s a tip to help you prepare for this special season: Get involved! 💪🌍 Organize community events, volunteer with local organizations, or support small businesses that reflect your nation’s identity. 🛍️🤝 It's all about coming together and spreading positivity. You can also decorate your home or workspace with national symbols and colors to showcase your pride. 🎨🕊️ Plan to participate in cultural activities, parades, or flag-raising ceremonies that highlight the diversity and strength of your country. 🎊🇮🇳 Remember, Independence Day is more than a celebration—it's a reflection of our shared heritage and collective future. Let’s make this season one filled with unity, remembrance, and pride! 💫🙌 . . . .. #FinanceFocus #Compliance #BusinessSolutions #BusinessGrowth #StayCompliant #PaperworkManagement #RegulatoryCompliance #FilingServices #FeePayments #GoodStanding #StGeorge #Dominica #Businessrelations #Business #Savingstips #Savinggoals #Schoolsavings #Budget #importantnotice #actnow #ENtrepreneursDominica #SaintGeorge #FinancialDominica #Financialcoach

It’s never easy to leave one’s home country in search of something better, but both our fathers and now we, do it because we have to. The stories of immigration and ancestral journeys hold incredible value in understanding where we come from. These narratives highlight the sacrifices, struggles, and hopes of those who traveled across borders for a better life. Sharing these journeys with younger generations helps build pride in our heritage and culture. It fosters a deeper connection to the challenges faced by those who came before us. As we continue this journey ourselves, it’s important to document these stories so we don’t lose track of our family history. These stories teach valuable lessons about resilience and adaptation, reminding us that our family’s past is a vital part of who we are today. So, why not start today? Every little effort helps to keep our family’s journey alive. Let’s make sure these stories are never lost but passed on, reminding future generations of the strength and courage that brought us to where we are now.

Sun, Aug 4, 2024 is American Family Day! Celebrating American Families: A Mindful Reflection - In the hustle and bustle of daily life, it’s essential to take a moment to appreciate the beauty and strength of American families. Here’s to the unique bonds that connect us and the love that holds us together. Take a moment today to reflect on what makes your family special. Cherish the moments, celebrate the love, and remember that every family, in its own unique way, contributes to the beautiful mosaic of American life. Estate planning is a vital process for every American family. Here’s why: 🔹 Peace of Mind: Having a clear plan in place ensures your wishes are known and respected, reducing uncertainty and stress for your loved ones. 🔹 Financial Security: Proper estate planning can help minimize taxes and fees, preserving more of your hard-earned assets for your family. 🔹 Protecting Loved Ones: Ensure your children and dependents are cared for according to your wishes, and appoint guardians to provide the care you want for them. #FamilyFirst #MindfulMoments #AmericanFamilies #LoveAndUnity

Nearly wherever you live in the US (and Canada) is likely the former home of some group of indigenous peoples. Through a series of events and histories that you personally likely had no role in, most of them are no longer represented in the care of that land, area, or society. Since every struggle and challenge is unique, and oppression isn't a competition, I don't want to say, "so, the experience of this group is akin to that of some other". To that point, we may not know the stories of others, the trials they (and their predecessors) had to overcome, or often even who represents the peoples who would be telling those stories. Too many histories were erased, whether through forced relocation, disease, "re-education" (a thing both the US and Canada did for far too long) or outright extermination. I live in the lands of the Calosa, the Seminole (which is a modern grouping of many earlier tribes), Miccosukee, Tequestas, and possibly numerous others. I've always tried to celebrate all of our history, and my dining area features photos and paintings from friends and our historical society. One photo from the 1920s has a group of Native Americans (tribe not known to me) with their canoe along the New River, in what is now Ft. Lauderdale and the primary retail space of Las Olas. To their recognition, I wish you a meaningful #IndigenousPeoplesDay. And because I can't resist making everything *also* a #creditunion lesson, this is that storytelling our movement needs to continue improving so much. How can you use holidays like these to help share the stories of those peoples? Image credit: From WLRN Public Radio & Television program (same photo in my home, but reflections make taking a picture not workable).

Can we hold both to be true? Many of us are sad or disappointed in the country today. Many of us are happy and satisfied for the results of the election. Many of us are tired. Many of us want the best for ourselves, our neighbors, our communities, our friends. We all have different identities, passions, values, perspectives: And what is true in finding our way as a balanced country: Being curious about each other, Supporting each other: even in the times of “divided” politics, Neighbor to neighbor: Person to person. Acknowledge where you are. Be OK with sharing and supporting the emotions that you feel. Find support with those that you can trust. Continue the work for excellence. And give to each other the gift of curiosity. Perhaps this time around can we craft opportunities together. Grateful for the opportunities for discourse. And grateful for friends & colleagues who support each other. “How you do anything is how you do everything.”-Martha Beck

🇵🇬🇵🇬 Independence Eve Reflections 🇵🇬🇵🇬 🌟🎊 Approaching 49 years of Independence fills our hearts with a mix of emotions - pride, nostalgia, hope, and perhaps a tinge of defeat. 💡⏰️ It's a time to reflect on our journey as a nation and as individuals. 💪 🙏🏾Let's acknowledge our pwn personal roles in shaping the future. ⚠️🌐 From saving and investing wisely to securing a home for our families, each action contributes to a brighter tomorrow. 🏡 Owning a home isn't just about shelter; it's about providing a stronghold where our loved ones can thrive without fear of eviction. 💭 Take a moment to ponder: What can you do now to pave the way for a more prosperous 50th Independence Day celebration? Let's strive for a united, inclusive, and thriving future! 💡🇵🇬🚀 #IndependenceEve #49YearsStrong #FutureForward #FamilyFirst #DreamBig #OwnYourFuture 🏆

@Council for World Mission 3RD DAY OF CARIBBEAN REGIONAL PREASSEMBLY "A vision of flourishing communities and the common good grows out of our calling to follow Jesus, believing in his promise of life in fullness for all. This promise is woven with the pursuit of justice and is a call to engage in a radical love that seeks the dignity and well-being of all, especially the marginalized and oppressed. This is not a passive love but a love that disrupts systems of injustice and inequality, a love that embodies the prophetic spirit of Jesus. To live a flourishing life is to embark on a courageous journey of self-discovery and communal transformation, which rejects systems that diminish the dignity of the human spirit. Communal transformation requires an Ubuntu approach and a concerted effort to forge a new dream, a new spirit and a new way of organizing life. It requires a deep and sustained commitment by all, leaders and members. It is a commitment and dedication to the relentless pursuit of justice and an affirmation of the intrinsic worth of every person. For communities to flourish, they require values such as human dignity, justice in the economy and the earth, recognizing the sacredness of the earth and advocating for responsible stewardship, community solidarity, upholding and respecting the dignity of each person, regardless of factors such as race, gender, age, socioeconomic status or geographical location. It requires missional imperatives, compelling us to position ourselves to radically transform the chaotic reality of the world to flourishing communities, which are exemplary witnesses to a harmonious coexistence, deeply connected with the vulnerable and marginalized." Rev. Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth, CEO, X aribbean Family Planning Affiliation, Minister, Guyana Presbyterian Church

“Some folks think the best way to travel is by private jet. Or yacht. My choice: by foot. Some think that the best thing about America is its wealth, technology and modernity. But I’m with the writer Wallace Stegner that America’s “best idea” is our spectacular inheritance of public lands — purple mountain majesties — amounting to about 40 percent of our nation. I attend the cathedral of the wilderness, for among wildflowers in an alpine meadow we can all connect to something grander than ourselves. The 17th-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza argued that God and nature were the same, and perhaps in an age of declining religious practice some can find in nature another kind of higher power to be inspired by. Like religion, wild spaces teach us humility and patience (certainly mosquitoes do). Wilderness puts us in our place, calms us, soothes our souls. Like prayer or meditation, walking through the wild gives us an opportunity to detach, to reflect, to self-correct. As we walk, we ponder. What I’m pondering is how lucky we are that our forebears more than a century ago — prophetic leaders like Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot — fought industrial interests and succeeded in preserving wild spaces for our public use in 2024, and our great-great-grandchildren’s use in 2124. The original model for America was to privatize nearly all land, so by one analysis only about 15 percent of New York State is now publicly owned. But over time in newer states, with champions like Roosevelt, national parks and forests were created and more state and city lands set aside as well. Today a majority of the land in states like Oregon, California, Idaho and Nevada is held by the public. About 85 percent of Alaska is set aside for the common good. In many ways, America is a class society. Rich and poor live in different neighborhoods, shop at different stores, send kids to different schools and inhabit different worlds. But one place of true democracy is on our public lands. Thank God for America’s best idea.” #hike #publicland

Lessons from Every City #72 Nogales, Arizona--- A significant aspect of my work is grounded in the understanding that it could easily have been my own situation. Where we're born and the circumstances of our birthplace are beyond our control, leading to varied life journeys; some may be arduous, while others are more accessible. The nature of these journeys can range from challenging to effortless, largely influenced by the aspirations we have been led to believe in. I did see somewhere, not sure of its accuracy, most people never travel farther from or die more than 18 to 30 miles from the place they were born. I consider myself fortunate that the aspiration I have pursued has been within my immediate reach. I recognize that there may be other dreams located far across the globe, yet I have not been presented with such an opportunity. In my role as a border patrol agent in the busiest sector of our nation, I have observed the extraordinary measures individuals undertake to achieve the dreams they have envisioned. From digging tunnels to navigating through sewers, immigrants strive for a better existence than the circumstances into which they were born. Several years ago, I embarked on a journey into our nation's problem plagued communities. With each passing day, as I absorbed the realities of their situations, I was struck by the thought, "this could have been my life." It proved to be an incredibly humbling and empathetic experience, far beyond what I could have anticipated. Upon examining this photograph of the border wall, I realize that I was never promised an ideal existence beyond it. While there may indeed be a more favorable reality in the broader world, I remain unaware of it. Where you're born matters, but your pursuit of chasing a dream matters more.

Discover the Surprising Benefits of a Living Legacy This month, our guide explores the many unexpected ways choosing a living legacy can benefit your loved ones – creating meaningful connections and lasting impacts during your lifetime. Ready to learn more? Take a look at our guide and see how you can make a difference today. 📩 https://buff.ly/40ZxDIm #FinancialPlanning #LivingLegacy #LegacyPlanning #JaneSmithFinancialPlanning