Time, Money, Health (Part 5)

If you missed the other posts in this series, you can read part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, and part 4 here.

This isn't the right time to tell you everything we learned from The Total Money Makeover, but I will tell you about one change that we made.  We decided to make the switch to a cash budget.  We weren't really sure it would do much good because we were always so careful about how we spent our money.  Plus, when we put everything on a credit card, we earned points that could be redeemed for cash when they had been built up enough.

But, I had seen several people online talking about how well it worked for them, and there were a number of real-life examples in the book as well.  We decided it couldn't hurt anything to give it a try.

When I first made the switch off of coupons, I was spending about the same amount of money by shopping at ALDI; I just did not have a pantry fully stocked with the newest products anymore.  I was actually spending less money if you factor in the gas and time that I spent shopping at multiple stores with my coupons.

When we switched to the cash budget, the grocery bill dropped even lower.    It was a challenge to me to see how much leftover cash I could have at the end of the month, and I began to menu plan every week, making sure I was only buying what was absolutely necessary for the meals I had planned.  I  ruthlessly scrutinized each item that went into the cart, trying to determine if there was any way we could make do without it.  Every dollar's worth that I put back on the shelf added up surprisingly at the end of the month, and I would sometimes have a hundred dollars left over!  (Have you tried a cash budget yet?  You might be surprised what it will do for you even if you're already very disciplined with your money!)

Things were going extremely well.  Due to the lack of free-with-coupon convenience foods, we were eating healthier meals.  Our grocery budget was lower than it had been in a long time.  I was ready to settle into this well-balanced plan for the long haul.

Then, we hit another bump in the road…

I’ll be sharing the next step in our journey in the next post in this series.  Be sure to subscribe to email updates or follow me on Facebook so you won’t miss it!

Christmas J-O-Y

Have you ever heard the song that goes, Jesus and others and you – What a wonderful way to spell JOY! ?

That is the theme for our family this Christmas.  My oldest is five, so my kids are still learning what Christmas is all about.  I wanted to do something that would help impress on the minds of our kids that Christmas is not all about getting presents.  Christmas is focusing on the fact Christ came to give his life for us.

He “came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

I've seen a lot of activities posted around the internet that are designed to help families focus on Christ at Christmas and I appreciate the bloggers and website owners who make those ideas available.

The problem was that I could not find something that was simple.

Around here, if it's not simple, it's stressful.  Stressful is not the mood I'm going for during the Christmas season.

So, I ended up making up my own idea, and it's perfect for my young children.

We are making a paper chain out of Christmas scrapbook paper and adding two links to it every night before bed (one for each child who understands what is going on.)

We have talked about how Christ came to serve others, and we are thinking of ways that we can be like Christ and serve others.

I am letting them choose their own ideas by themselves so that their acts of service will come from their hearts.

So far our paper chain contains things like “sharing my toys with my brother/sister” and “helping Mommy clean with a happy heart.”  I'm sure there will be some bigger things that we decide to do like visiting someone in the nursing home or baking something for the neighbors, but it's really nice not to have the stress of trying to do something time-consuming every day for a month.

I am loving this!  It's just what our family needed.  It only takes about 5 minutes every evening, yet we are reminded all throughout the day to follow Christ's example by serving others.  I have been hearing the kids catch themselves and each other in the act of service.  “Oh, Mommy!  I just swept the floor for you without complaining!  That was serving others!”  It is such a blessing to me to hear them get excited about serving others.  They spend time planning out what they're going to put on their link of the paper chain each night, and they have been trying to practice those things throughout the day.

What is your family doing to keep your focus on Christ this Christmas season?  I'd love to hear your ideas!

Relishing the Ordinary

It was an ordinary evening.  I was unloading the dishwasher while dinner was heating up on the stove.  My 15-month-old was “helping” me, while my 5-year-old ran around the kitchen like a wild Indian, playing with his new ball.  My husband was in the other room spending time with our 3-year-old daughter.

I stopped to take it all in, and I realized I was having the time of my life!

It wasn't a special holiday.  Everything that was going on was very ordinary, but I was enjoying myself immensely!

I could have this much joy every day if I would only choose to.

I don't need to wait for something special to happen to enjoy  life.  I can choose to enjoy every moment.

When I'm cooking an “ordinary” supper, I can stop and thank the Lord that I have food to prepare for my family and a stove on which to prepare it.

When I'm doing an “ordinary” dishwasher unloading, I can be thankful I have the luxury of owning a dishwasher.

When I'm changing an “ordinary” diaper I can be thankful for these little ones God has entrusted to me.

If I stop and think about the blessings God has given me, the ordinary things seem so much more special.

Just since that evening a few days ago, I have tried to stop and think throughout the day about God's blessings and to make a conscious choice to enjoy what He has given me – not just on the special days.

What will you enjoy today, my friend?  The smell of a Christmas candle?  The sound of Christmas music on the radio?  The love of your family on this ordinary day?  The pretty things God has given you to decorate your home?

Stop.  Look.  Listen.  Enjoy.

Everything we have is a gift from God.  He loves us, and has given us “richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17).

So let's enjoy what He's given.

Free Time Management E-book (Highly Recommended!)

Update:  The price is now up to $2.99, but still very worth it in my opinion!

Tell Your Time by Amy Lynn Andrews is currently free on Amazon.  If you've never read this e-book, I highly recommend you do so.   This is one of the most helpful books I've ever read on the subject of time management.

If you don't have a Kindle, you can still get the e-book for free, then download one of these apps to read it on your computer or another device that you own.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend as you meditate on the goodness of God.

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.  Psalm 34:8

To The Point of Exhaustion

Last night we finished up Missions Conference at my church.

Having grown up all my life in good churches as well as attending Bible College, I've been involved with approximately 32 Missions Conferences.

If I haven't surrendered my life to the Lord's work by now, I'm a pretty sad case.  The truth is, I've given my life to God a long time ago – to go wherever He wants me to go and do whatever He wants me to do.

Every time I attend a Missions Conference, my heart is burdened for all the people around the world who do not know Jesus, and who do not have someone to tell them about Him.  My heart is stirred to work harder towards telling those I already know about His love.

This year was no different, and I thought, “Lord, what would you have me to do?”  many times throughout the services.

God answered in one specific way long after the final service had ended last night.  We were home and getting ready for bed.  We were all worn out, and naturally I wanted to get into bed as soon as possible.

But my husband and I could sense that the children needed some attention from Mommy and Daddy.  They had been rushed through the days of this past week to make sure everything was ready for church on time.  Daddy came in the door from work at the last minute every night, and we would all hurry out the door.  We enjoyed some fellowship with the missionaries after the services every night and then we would hurry back and make a mad dash for bed to get as much sleep as possible before another busy day arrived.

Last night we really felt that, as tired as we were, we should take the time to play with them, give them some tickles and cuddles, sing some songs, and just re-charge their “love batteries”.

Then it was off to bed.  My oldest, who always seems to be high need when it comes to how much attention he gets, asked me to sing him a song.  Thinking of how exhausted I was and how I had already “paid my dues” by playing with him, I started to say “Not tonight.”

But that's when the Holy Spirit spoke to me.  “You go to Missions Conference and tell me that you'll do whatever I ask you to do.  You sing the song that says you'll “spend and spare not” when it comes to how much you'll invest in people.  You've said that you're willing to minister to people even when it's exhausting.  Well, here's your chance.  Here's a little soul that needs your ministry, and even though you're exhausted, you need to keep going.  You can't give up just because you're tired.”

Wow!  My heart was challenged to give my everything to this ministry of being a “keeper at home”.  That is truly the primary thing God has called me to do.

It might seem more glamorous to work to the point of exhaustion when it's something “important” like being in a “real” ministry.  But if we were to ask someone in the ministry, I would imagine they'd say it's not exactly more fun to be called in the middle of the night by a drug addict threatening to kill you than it is to sing a song to your kid before bed.

I have been giving up way too easily.  I have been so concerned about the souls in my community and around the world to whom I'd like to minister that I've failed to see just how important these little souls are.

This one

And this one

And this one

No longer am I going to base my decision to sing or not to sing a song before bed on how tired I am.  I'm not going to give up on the housework just because I want to go to bed.  I'm not going to tune out the little voices asking me to read a book just because I have a list of things that I'm trying to get done.

These little ones are just too important!

So what if I'm tired?  If I tell myself I wouldn't let something as simple as exhaustion stop me from ministering to the heathen, I should never let it stop me at home!

I can claim the verse “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” for the big things, and I can claim it in my little space at home.

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