Financial Peace

Well, what can I say about financial peace? We've never had it, I can say that. I look back at my childhood and see how blessed I was then. Money was never something I had to worry about. It wasn't until I meant my husband (he was living in an apartment in Norman) that I knew you even had to pay for water and electricity. I learned that quickly when he had the cut-off notice on his apartment door! Also, I just assumed everyone had a Texaco card like me........(that my parents paid the bill for! )

Anyways, we got married at very young ages. I was 19 and my husband was barely 21. We instantly went out and got in as much debt as possible. The American Dream, right? What 19 and 21 year old shouldn't have an $84,000 mortgage and two new cars? We both had paid-for cars when we got married, but were so excited when the car dealership GAVE us a loan for a pathfinder...along with 14% interest. Weren't they sooo nice? Oh, and because they apparently had to justify the HUGE profit they were making on us, they "threw in" a warranty. Later on my husband went to work for a car dealership - we learned nobody ever just "throws in" a warranty!!!

Anyways, we have been married now 16-1/2 years and I wish I could say that we learned from those early mistakes and moved on. However, that is not the case. We have been the absolute worst money managers alive. No matter if we made a lot, or very little, it has never been enough! Now, after reading Dave Ramsey's books and going through his Financial Peace University, we are finally attempting to turn the financial tide!

A budget seems to be the most crucial key to success. Oh, wait, INCOME is probably the #1 key....then the budget. We are finally making one at the beginning of every month. This is tricky, though, because my husband is self-employed and we never know how much he will make.

We finally got our $1000 emergency fund together, too. However, satan knows our weaknesses and has caused our air conditioner to go out TWICE in the last month!!! TWICE!!! For a total of $1,100! And, because that wasn't quite enough, he also killed the fuel pump on my 2005 suburban. (this following my transmission going out a few months ago.....what? not a good ad for chevrolets, huh?) So, chalk up another $600 or so. So, our $1000 emergency fund is now LONG gone. However, as Dave Ramsey would say, "at least you had it.....that's what the emergency fund is for." Now, I am cleaning out closets and attics to have a much-hated garage sale to try and build our fund all over again. And, even though I am blogging about this, I am trying very hard not to have a bad attitude about it. I will not give satan the pleasure. (I'm also fervently praying nothing else breaks.....)

So, we have learned a lot. We no longer have any credit cards. If we don't have the cash, we don't buy it. We have a budget...... a very tight budget. We are working on the income. We are working on the emergency fund. Hopefully, God-willing, this will turn out some financial peace for us afterall.

Life with no God?

Well, yesterday my hubby and I were taking a walk, enjoying the 78 degree weather God gave us on July 5th!!! What a gift! It was just such a pleasant walk. We spotted a huge carp wading by the edge of the pond and a bullfrog whose eyes were peering up over the water. So cool. The sky was beautiful with pink, white, and purple swirls. All I could think was "God is so good". It was one of those "life is perfect" moments.

But that got me to thinking (out loud to my husband)........what would life be like if I didn't believe in God? This has been plaguing my thoughts lately because we are actually friends with some very intelligent people that don't really believe in God. They might admit to a "higher power" if really pressed, but they don't really think there is God, the Lord, the First and Last, the Beginning and the End, etc.

I just really can't fathom life without God. It seems like it would be really depressing and bleak. What would be your hope? or your moral compass? or your driving force? What would be the point of "all this" really?

It just makes me so sad to think of all the people out there that don't have a personal relationship with Christ. That don't love the Lord. That don't know the perfect love and grace of our Lord and Savior!

Well.... Summer has arrived, hence the reason it has been almost a month since my last post. Life is CRAZY! With all four kiddos home, teaching fitness classes four mornings a week, and working on my other project in the afternoon, I don't even have time to think not to mention POST a blog!

I'm currently reading Psalms and Song of Solomon (simultaneously). I just love Psalms. The more I read it, the more I love it. David is just so darned eloquent. Imagine if we went around speaking like that these days. People would think we were off our rocker! A verse I read this morning was Ps. 18:32 "It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure." I love this verse, but I was particularly excited because I knew that verse from 2 Sam. 22:33 - it says the same exact thing. I just love that I am starting to know the Bible well enough that I would recognize that! A year ago I never would've picked up on that!

Anyways, Song of Solomon is also interesting. Pretty sure if I told Chris (my hubbie) that he was "like a gazelle or young stag...leaping across the mountains...." or called him "my beloved", he would think I had officially lost it!

But, thanks to my commentary, I did learn some interesting things so far from this book (I've only read the first two chapters ).

1. Three things are crucial to a successful marriage: -protection of the wife by the husband
-intimacy between spouses
-obvious displays and expressions of love

2. Also, the point was made that a characteristic of genuine love is to be ALONE with your mate. An easy thing while you are dating, but not so easy once you have a herd of kiddos (we have 4)! But, if love is to grow, you must find time to be alone!

So, I have things to work on. Being affectionate does not come naturally to me. (And my husband really likes affection!) Also, displaying my love. This shouldn't be that hard, but I told you at the beginning of this post just how crazy-busy my life is, so it is hard. Sometimes, at the end of the day, I just don't have anything else to give. I just want to climb in my bed with my sweetarts and book and not think about anybody else's needs! And, last, making time to be alone with him. This is a hard one for us. Even if we plan a date, we are usually both so tired we just decide to stay home and order Chinese food. We gotta' make the effort!

Job #2

Okay - I just finished reading Job ch. 10 this morning. I have to say I have been a little disappointed with the last few chapters. It has been dialogue between Job and 3 of his friends who came to "console" him in his misery.

But, I had a breakthrough revelation after reading ch. 10 this morning. I wish I could credit myself with what I learned, but it really was from Philip Yancy. My Bible has these devotionals scattered throughout and today's was over ch. 10. Here are some of the points that he made that I found fascinating:

First, Job suffered a crises of FAITH not of suffering. - we have all gone thru times like these - like, for instance, a friend with a terminal illness, or the loss of a job, so we ask? "Why God?" Or "Why him?" or "Why me?"

Yancey says, "At such times we focus too easily on circumstances - illness, poverty, bad luck - as the enemy. We pray for God to change those circumstances. If only God would change these circumstances, then I could easily believe God. Job teaches, though, that we need faith most at the precise moment when it seems impossible."

Second, (still quoting Yancy) "... the view behind the curtain in chs. 1-2 reveals that Job was being exalted, not spurned. God was letting his own reputation ride on the response of a single human being. At the time when Job felt most abandoned, at that very time God was giving him personal, almost microscopic scrutiny.God seemed absent; in one sense God had never been more present.

Third - (Yancy) - "Job convinces me that God cares more about our faith than our pleasure."
I've also read where Rick Warren said, "God cares more about our character than our comfort."

So, these were all pretty interesting points I thought. Especially where he points out that Job was actually being EXALTED! It kind of turns your thought process around thinking about this. If you are going through something hard maybe satan is watching and waiting for you to fail! And maybe God is telling satan that you won't! HMMMM..........food for thought, huh?

Job

Well, I started reading Job again for the second time. I'm not sure why, but my second time reading the Bible through is just so much more fascinating. So, there are several things that really struck me about ch. 1.

First, I find it fascinating that some angels came to see God and satan just "tagged along". That alone is just weird to me. And, then, when God asks satan where he has come from , satan answers "from roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." By God's answer, we can deduct that satan was looking for people he could get to sin or turn from God, because God says "Have you considered my servant Job? .....he is blameless, upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

So secondly, God basically throws Job under the bus here! You can kinda see where this might make people today NOT want to be too righteous!!! So, then God goes on to tell satan he can do anything to Job except "lay a finger" on him. So, satan really rises to this challenge. He takes away his wealth (livestock and crops), and then kills all ten of his kiddos. Satan obviously knows how to hit hard.

Third, after all of these horrible things happen to Job, you know what his reaction was? He WORSHIPPED THE LORD! Now, I don't know many people who immediately turn to worshiping God in response to multiples tragedies.......... But, Job says "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away: may the name of the Lord be praised." Wow......

The fourth thing that really struck me was the very last line in the chapter - vs. 22: "In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." HMMMM..... how many times have we or other people said "why would God do this?" So, this verse tells me that we are sinning by charging God with doing bad things. Interestingly enough, my 7 yr. old just asked me this week what our friend "did" to get sick. I had to try and explain to him that God didn't cause this sickness, but that is a hard thing to explain to a 7 year old.

Anyways, looking forward to learning more lessons in Job!

Magic Trick

Well, Monday was a typical day in our family. My 7 yr. old woke up with a sore throat and breath that would burn your eyeballs, so I immediately called the Dr., thinking it was probably strep throat. I actually had a class to teach that morning, so it fell to my husband to take him to the Dr. After giving my husband several other questions to ask, I went off to my class.

After my class, I had to run to Wal-Mart because after TWO trips to different grocery stores on Sunday, we were OUT of several necessary items. (How did they do it back in the "little House on the Prairie " times when they only made a trip to town for groceries once a month or so? I seem to be at Wal-mart at least 3 x's per wk!) Anyways, I'm in Wal-Mart when I get this phone call from my husband: "Hey....what have you been cleaning Maddox's ears with?"

Me: "well......q-tips, of course, duh......why?"

Chris: "Well, he seems to have some sort of object stuck in his ear. The doc thinks maybe corn....no, now he thinks paper....." (He waits like I might have some earthly idea what this object might be...)

Me: "Well, I have gotten the q-tip wet on occasion to get all the brown gunk out of his ears..." (sorry, I know that is gross, but for some reason Maddox has alot of wax and it really
bugs me)

Chris: "well, hmmm. They are really working on getting it out, but every time he grabs it with his little tool, it just disintegrates....oh, by the way, he does have strep."

Me: "yes, I knew it. But what is in his ear?"

So, fast forward an hour: Me to my son: "What do you think is in your ear? Do you have any ideas?"

Him: "no...... but, wait a second. Remember when I told you I did a magic trick and got paper stuck in my ear?"

Me: "no...........well, wait....maybe I do remember something about that.....WHEN was that? Hasn't that been a long time ago?"

Him: "I don't know, but I TOLD you I got paper stuck in my ear!" (that was a very emphatic "I Told you so from a 7 yr. old")

Me: (in my head) - crap. when was that? was that 1 month ago? two months? three? very vague recollection of looking in his ear and saying, "You have NOTHING in your ear! You can't get paper stuck in your ear!")

So, I call the pediatrician's office back, and have to tell them that "ummm.... i have now remembered a day when he came home from school and told me he did a magic trick and got paper stuck in his ear.....but I have no earthly idea WHEN that was...." (This was a surprisingly embarrassing thing to admit! and makes me feel slightly crazy!)

So, a couple of hours later, we were at the ENT (Ear, nose, throat dr.) getting a rather large piece of paper extracted from his ear canal. The Dr. informed me that we were quite lucky it hadn't harmed his hearing PERMANENTLY or that it hadn't gotten INFECTED!

I told him that in 14 years of raising kiddos, THIS was a first for us! He said that life just wouldn't have been complete without one of our kids getting something stuck in his ear!

So, I guess my point in telling this story is that you should LISTEN to your kids! I will definitely be listening a lot better from now on!!!

Godsequence #2

Thanks toLori, I have titled this Godsequence #2.

So, you have to read my previous blog to get this, but here goes:

I just finished reading the book of Esther in the Old Testament. I was going to move on to Job, but then my brother emailed me his pastor's teachings on the book of Esther. So, every morning for the last 5 days or so, I have been listening to him on my computer. It has been very informative and eye-opening. I have learned WAY more from him then I did from just reading the book on my own.

So, this morning I was on ch. 6 which is where suddenly Mordecai is being honored and Haman has to honor him. Pretty funny irony! And that is where the pastor took this. He said that he thought Ester ch. 6 is the best ex. of God's Providence in the whole Bible. And there are alot of examples of God's providence in the Bible! The definition of Providence (by this pastor) is "the hand of God in the glove of human events". I love that.

Anyways, he talks about the 10 "coincidences" in this book which I don't have time to go into. However, one of these was that King Xerxes had insomnia - so he called for the book of Chronicles to read. This book was what tipped him off to the fact that Mordecai had actually saved his life 5 years ago and was never properly rewarded. The irony of this is that Haman was just on his way in to tell the king he wanted to kill Mordecai and all of the Jews. But that never happened because God led Xerxes to READ THE BOOK!

So, this pastor's point was "Can God direct someone to read a book?" The answer of course is yes, as seen by the above-mentioned story. He goes on to give other examples of people that were led to read books that changed their lives - C.S. Lewis, Augustine the Bishop, etc.

Anyways, I just find this hugely "ironic" that I would hear this message this morning right after I post last night how I feel that God was communicating with me thru His written Word. And the fasting book that led me into this whole last couple of blogs! God is good and He certainly does have a good way of getting His points across!