Retirement from the BCM

The school year has started out great. We admitted about nearly 4700 freshmen for the fall to ECU and it was an awful summer of busyness. AWFUL! The slow summer I was used to are gone. Things are finally calming down and I am looking foward to getting back on the road to NJ, PA, VA, and of course NC. Seeing all of the students returning to the BCM has been awesome and well as meeting new students. I have been given a proposal by a student group to be their orgaization advisor. Chi Alpha Omega, a christian fraternity on campus. Small group a guys I have met at the BCM and they are some really great solid students. It will be interesting to be their advisor so we will see if it comes through this year. I have already met some interesting freshmen this fall. Making friends with freshmen again I supposed. I have already selected some of my favorites but I will never mentioned their names. I truly love everyone. I love watching myself and how I have come such a long way from the Great Depression Era to seeing what times would have been like if I was different in the New Era with BCM. The fresh friendships I have made through this time has been rewarding and will continue no doubt to be even more rewarding as I continue to grow. However, I know myself well and I know the immediate plans of the life God has set out for me. I am truly welcomed in the BCM and the roll that I play there is different and mature. But I know when it is time to move forward and press on. There is nothing wrong with making friends with younger people. When I was a freshmen, my first close friend in college was Carolyn. A non-traditional student who was over forty years old. We are still friends to this day. In fact I bought my car from her this past summer like I said I always would in my undergrad. I have used the BCM for the growth necessary that I have missed out in my past due to depression and to be given a second chance at experiences that I have missed out in my undergrad due to depression. I have come a long, long, way. But I know when the clock in winding down in a phase in my life. Just like it did with Intervarsity. The BCM was too special to past up for the past year and a half. And this new academic year I will still enjoy my time. But this will be the last year I am a part of the BCM in this capacity. No this does not mean I will not be involved in student activities or that I will not allow myself to build solid relationships with new students. This means that I have claimed VICTORY!!! True victory over the sins that Depression has caused in my past due to fellowship and social situations. It is time to move on. Where? I am not certain. It is easy to say, well of course the next step is to get more involved in the church. But ECU and the students are still a big part of my life. I have a wealth of knowledge to give back to the students about college success. I also still have a lot of personal plans and goals that I must refocus on again. The next level is up to God. But I announce this to you now. This will be my last academic year with the BCM in the roll I am currently serving. I am retiring and moving forward to the next level. Humbling Forward in a New Era of Faith in 2008!!!

A New School Year Approaches

Well it has been a summer since we spoke journal. I haven't done a very good job of keeping up with you. But I intend to do better. I hearby write this journal before me and my friend Jared Webb go out jogging in a little bit of rain and I just got through eating out with white Marcus and his family. I have been accepted to Graduate School for English this summer but that was the hard part. Taking that useless GRE. I am already halfway through the program because of all the Non-Degree credits I have taken. I have decided to push my acceptance date back to this spring for convienence purposes. I have travel season coming up for work and it would be best if I postpone for just one more semester. I am looking forward to the new academic year. I must admit that I have missed the students on campus. It is a little dead during the summer but I have had a great summer no doubt. There are still a lot of good friends in town. I especially missed the Baptist Campus Ministry crew. Don't tell them I said that though. I won't stretch this journal but I do plan on not neglecting you from this point on. But don't really hold to that committment. Still Humbling Forward in a New Era of Faith in 2008! Bowen Out!

2008 Summer Mission: NOW IT IS TIME TO JUST DO IT!

I hearby write this journal after jogging with my close friend white Marcus. Guys it is really hot out there. It is like a heat wave is moving through this summer. We barely made it through and we ran around 8:00pm. Well it has been over a week since I got my wheels. I haven't really done much lately with my car. I haven't even been out of town yet with it. With the cost of gas, I might as well still feel like I don't have a car because I can't go anywhere without considering the cost. I plan to leave town on the 19th to go back home for a wedding. This will give the chance for Momma to take a ride in her baby's new ride. I did manage to give it an oil change and filled her up with her first tank of gas which cost me over fifty dollars. This is one of the reasons I must get rich. Because it is not going to get any cheaper from here. Something will have to be done for all of us. Recently this past week I received a revelation for a prophetic dream I had over a year ago in the month of January. I know when I have a spiritual dream when I receive them. I keep a personal journal in which is was documented then. I probably receive a spiritual dream once every two to four years these days. Usually it is prophetic about something that is about to happen. The events from this dream fulfilled itself out over the course the past year and a half and the message I received from it was "SO DO IT!" which relates to my personal God given assignments. Now I didn't know then exactly what I was suppose to do, and have been racking my brain over the past year trying to figure it out. I have been doing a lot of things. I didn't know what the spiritual dream was referring to specifically. This summer as I battled with knowing that whatever I was suppose to be doing the time is now since the last event from the dream finally took place in the beginning of May. The message was telling me that there is really a lot of loose ends I must clear up before I finally see my major purpose. A great deal of issues I have been avoiding and I need a great deal of order and discipline in my life in order to move forward. Sure I still have a lot of personal issues to uproot from my past but the dream was telling me that I must move forward regardless of how I feel and start putting order in my life. So I have no choice but to Just Do It!!!

Well I Bought a Car.

This past week on a very rainy and miserable looking day. It was made official as of this date Wednesday, May 28, 2008 that LeeFredrick Bowen finally bought a car. It took me about a good ten years to get around to it but better late than never. I know that buying a car for those who are around my age and my peers isn't a big deal at this point. I have friends that are my age who are getting married, buying houses, graduating with Masters Degrees, in Ph.D programs and MD programs, and even having children. All great and wonderful things to tell folks at their ten-year high school reunion in which mine is coming up next year around this time. Getting a car is a big thing at probably sixteen through 21 whether bought or given used and new so what's the big deal with it now at age 26 and will be 27 years by this July. Well if you know me from back home, then you are pretty familiar with some circumstances of my past. If you know me well, then you are familiar with the great deal of struggle it really took to get here and do a lot of these things on my own. All of my life I have been playing catch up. I struggled in school until I finally manage to catch up academically in middle school. I coudn't get a driver's license without insurance and I had no parents who drove to put me on any insurance. I wasn't expected to make it through college, I wasn't expected to find a descent job after college, I manage to find an apartment in walking distance to ECU. I manage to get a driver's license while working my first full time job through ECU doing clerical work. I went through a driving school and learned just enough to pass the driving test. Then the next day I was given keys to a state vehicle and became familiar with the rest on the streets of G-Ville. To everyone's great supprise no tickets, no car accidents. I didn't tell my supervisor at the time until about a year later that when she gave me the keys to bring the van around to pick her up so that we could do inventory at the warehouse that I nearly hit the fire hydrant on my way out the parking lot. And I was thinking in my mind, "Thank God, she is not around to see that." But I managed to do ok and was given a few assignments outside of G-Ville to work on a promotion since travel is required for Admissions recruiting. I still remember my first drive outside of G-Ville which was to Raleigh. I was nervous but excited at the same time. I came dangerously close to learning the lesson harshly that the yellow underneath a green sign that you are passing under means that you are in an exit lane. It was dark and if I didn't see the taillights of a car in front of me turning right then I probably wouldn't have slammed my breaks to slow down from 70 miles/hour to just enough speed in order to not lose control of the vehicle as it flys down a sharp curve off the exit going towards Zebulon I believe. I pulled in a parking lot and breath for a bit before getting back on forty. There were a few close calls but God was with me. One of the concerns in my interview for a promotion was all the travel we have to do and they knew I just had my licenses for about a year. And I said, "Oh, I'll be find. I'm excited." In which was true, but I understood their concerns because I had them too. So they took a chance on me, I got my promotion and I assume that I would get a chance to get my feet wet in Virginia, then Maryland and work my way up. But no, my first full week of travel is straight to northern NJ. I guess I was being tested. If I can drive there, I could drive anywhere. Many of my co-workers were scared to death for me. But I was still excited despite their concerns and my concerns. I drove in northern NJ and to Long Island and all over CT like a pro. I don't know where it came from but God was with me. After a month of travel everyone was pleased I got back safely. I have always had God's favor and I thank God that almost three years of getting my license in the first place and earning the promotion allowed me to be able to afford my first car. Bought and paid for because at this time I don't believe in car payments. It's nothing fancy but I believe God blessed me with a good car for my current needs. I feel like that this is the last official hurdle I had to overcome that stems from the cirrcumstances of my past. Sure I still have a few internal issues to heal from mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. And I don't have as much as many of my other peers so but I feel like I am finally on the same playing field as everyone else. The really hard parts of catching up in life are over. At this time I thank God for a great full time professional job that allows me to take graduate classes for free at ECU, and learn a great deal about working in a professional environment, no bad debt, I still pay my tithes and offering, a great church, great friends in the area, and a great family who has helped me cope with a lot (my Mom and my siblings). I had about a day, maybe two to sit back and relax at what all has been accomplish before I focus on the next task. I am Humbling Forward in a New Era of Faith in 2008! What's Next?

LFB Financial Summit "Your FICO score"

Financial Lesson: Know your FICO score

Who should ignore: The filthy stinking rich because you can pay cash on everything

Who should pay attention: If you sometimes barely have enough to buy yourself and ice cream cone. Then you may need a car loan, student loan, house loan, etc. Also if you get a little impatient to save for 30 years and pay for your first house in cash.

Why is it important? In a nut shell this is how important this score is to the credit world, the higher the score the more money you save, the lower the score then the more money you will have to pay. Suze Orman basically compares it to the SATs of the financial world.

How is this created? If you have any type of credit history of any kind, then it reported to the three major credit bureaus and remember that each of them has their own FICO score. You should purchase your score from them once a year, especially around the time you are planning on taking out a loan (it will not show up on the annual free credit report)

How does this relate to my money? Companies may use any one of the three or all three to determine the lowest interest they are willing to give you on a loan. You may not understand how interest works but most people at least understand the higher it is the more money it stands for coming in or going out. For loans, the more money taken out of your pocket.

Where can I go for further information? Go To the link below. Be sure to click on About FICO @ scores to see how FICO scores are calculated therefore you can see how you can improve it and it's not complicated

http://www.myfico.com/

Extra Info You Just Might Care About: FICO stands for Fair Isaac Corporation created by Engineer Bill Fair and Mathematician Earl Isaac in 1956

LFB Financial Summer Summits

Introduction of Purpose

Hello everyone,
During this time of the year I usually reevaluate my financial progress over the past year in order to see how well I have been doing and in what areas I would like to see improve upon and stretch myself to do much better financially for my new fiscal year. I usually implement a new budget plan by the beginning of September. During this time I usually read a few more books on numerous financial authors I have come to respect and appreciate their advice. So far I do read Suze Orman, Robert Kiyosaki, and Donald Trump. I will probably look into Dave Ramsey next. My goal is not to get rich quick, although I won't stop myself from pursuing wealth. My goal is to simply increase my financial literacy in which I think is helpful and necessary to anyone earning an income. I would like to share what I have learn in small educational increments that I feel is most important and set a strong educational foundation for financial literacy. I see too many people that really need to increase their financial education. Too many are really missing out or will suffer harsh and avoidable consequences from poor financial decisions throughout their early years and will still be hindered by the effects as they approach retirement. I am not a financial expert. In fact I am terrible with math which is why I studied English. But I understand that even though I am not a financial manager, I have a responsibility to still learn all that I can to improve my financial literacy if I expect to succeed in it. So if I can learn this stuff, so can you which is why I want to share what I learn as I learn it or re-familiarize myself with it. If you already know a great deal of this stuff, feel free to share some tips or future authors with me. Let's get started! Bowen Out!

Looking Back on Friday, Sept 5, 2003

Below is a typed version of my journal I wrote almost five years ago. Taken from my private collection. I would just like to share it.


Friday, Sept. 05, 2003
Journal
Washington, D.C.

I hearby write this journal at work at the Rosetta Stone booth in Union Station. I write to you journal to let you know that I applied for another job on-line but guess where this time. E...C....U in Greenville, NC. I can't believe I did this. I was online yesterday emailing ECU faculty trying to get advice on my job search on a college campus, especially Maryland State University and while I was searching for other contacts I decided to click the employment section to see what qualifications ECU would have since it is a University I am familiar with on an idea of getting insight on other Universities. There was a position open in their Admissions office that got me thinking and excited and I don't know what compelled me to do it but I applied for the position. I couldn't believe it. After I got off the computer I had to talk to God and asked what have I done? What is going on with me? Why did I do what I did? And the only answer that came to me was IT JUST MAKES SENSE!!! I'm only working for a year, I want to work on a college campus. I'm lonely, I'm homesick, I'm miserable here in D.C. without my friends. Basically at ECU I can have my cake and eat it too. It's the most practical solution to my predicament. I had it all at the very place I couldn't wait to leave out of. I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner, how could I have been SO STUPID!!! I should have looked into that while I was there. What could I have thought was going to happen after I graduated. George Bush was going to throw me a graduation party at the White House while I escort Hailey Barry and become interviewed by Oprah Winfrey. I leave a place with friends, opportunities, community, resources, and expeirence to be a fish out of water in Washington, D.C. and build from next to nothing and I 'm not saying that it can't be done but these things take time, presistence, patience, and faith. Of course it will happen but not in one-year what takes four years to build. Yes it is tough for me right now, very tough but it doesn't have to be that way right now. God gave me exactly what I asked for, and now I ask for something new. I'm glad I did experience all of this here in D.C. Jobs, people, place, and great guidance from Mike. I've seen Mike in a new light that I have never seen him before. I would call Mike up for advice and feel comfortable around him. I can appreciate Greenville people and events more so now in two months than any other time in my life. Man, there's so much to learn. My plans now are simple. I can't be sure if they are right but they feel right and I obtained guidance from Mike and Sonya (my older brother and his wife) and hopefully other people as well. I'm making plans to go back to ECU. I need things to happen. I need a job #1, I need a place to live #2. I need this place to be a convienent area or situation for me to get to and from work. I need to make good and more money. I need to be able to find joy and need to continue to have faith.

Prayer Request: "God if it is his will and he approves, to make this journey back to ECU a successful one, and for it to just start happening so I could have hope. Good Job, Good Place to live, I want it to happen soon. I don't expect spotlights or a red carpet but I would like ECU to welcome me back with open arms. I want to come home again like the protocol son. "