Remain in me
I will provide.
These are the words I hear God whispering to me. We are living on a budget that is tight, like so many others I know. We have plenty of money to eat, pay bills, and some left over for miscellaneous things, including entertainment. After balancing our budget, we have a narrow margin of ten dollars each month I cannot go over. As someone who can tend to be a little OCD anyway, this could make me hold my breath each day. Some days I catch myself doing just that.
I will provide. Breathe.
I hear it over and over, as I grocery shop and wonder if I'm spending the right amount. We use mostly cash, dividing our money into envelopes and I know there is plenty in the grocery amount allotted for the week. But I still want to worry.
I think about our miscellaneous fund. Entertainment comes out of that. It means maybe a movie in a theater a month, or going out to eat somewhere else than fast food. If someone gets poison ivy, or a sinus infection, like Syd and Steve did, it means no entertainment for the month, outside of Netflix. We live in a culture where fun is equal to spending money. At least for me. For me it means going out, getting my nails done, buying new things at Target.
It's been good to be weaned of that. Fun to be weaned? Not really. I'm trying to find enjoyment in just looking at a sunset. In walking under a tree whose leaves are changing. In kissing my boys on the top of their heads and smelling their hair. Which they would think is gross, by the way.
I cook more because we can't eat out as much. At first this meant quick, easy things because I had a grudge-filled heart. But now I'm spending time in the kitchen, making dinners that take longer to make than it takes my family to eat them.
I hear of how others are going to spend their Christmases, even their Christmas budgets. I want to compare it to our own, and let that be a place of pity. That our kids won't get enough presents, or our family. We all know Christmas isn't about gifts, but living it out is a different matter for me.
I want to worry that when our car hits the 100,000 mile mark, because the money is not there to do the maintenance on it. As if God isn't big enough to keep our lone car going until we can do it.
I will provide.
I'm glad I hear the voice of God. I'm glad I can ask him throughout the day how to spend my time, our money, his input on our life decisions. I don't always like the answer, but I'm glad I can ask him and he will answer.
"Remain in me, and I will remain in you," Jesus said. John 15:4
These are the words I hear God whispering to me. We are living on a budget that is tight, like so many others I know. We have plenty of money to eat, pay bills, and some left over for miscellaneous things, including entertainment. After balancing our budget, we have a narrow margin of ten dollars each month I cannot go over. As someone who can tend to be a little OCD anyway, this could make me hold my breath each day. Some days I catch myself doing just that.
I will provide. Breathe.
I hear it over and over, as I grocery shop and wonder if I'm spending the right amount. We use mostly cash, dividing our money into envelopes and I know there is plenty in the grocery amount allotted for the week. But I still want to worry.
I think about our miscellaneous fund. Entertainment comes out of that. It means maybe a movie in a theater a month, or going out to eat somewhere else than fast food. If someone gets poison ivy, or a sinus infection, like Syd and Steve did, it means no entertainment for the month, outside of Netflix. We live in a culture where fun is equal to spending money. At least for me. For me it means going out, getting my nails done, buying new things at Target.
It's been good to be weaned of that. Fun to be weaned? Not really. I'm trying to find enjoyment in just looking at a sunset. In walking under a tree whose leaves are changing. In kissing my boys on the top of their heads and smelling their hair. Which they would think is gross, by the way.
I cook more because we can't eat out as much. At first this meant quick, easy things because I had a grudge-filled heart. But now I'm spending time in the kitchen, making dinners that take longer to make than it takes my family to eat them.
I hear of how others are going to spend their Christmases, even their Christmas budgets. I want to compare it to our own, and let that be a place of pity. That our kids won't get enough presents, or our family. We all know Christmas isn't about gifts, but living it out is a different matter for me.
I want to worry that when our car hits the 100,000 mile mark, because the money is not there to do the maintenance on it. As if God isn't big enough to keep our lone car going until we can do it.
I will provide.
I'm glad I hear the voice of God. I'm glad I can ask him throughout the day how to spend my time, our money, his input on our life decisions. I don't always like the answer, but I'm glad I can ask him and he will answer.
"Remain in me, and I will remain in you," Jesus said. John 15:4