31Days-Day 14 : Cha-Ching!

Usually when I get into my car at night, I have to readjust all the mirrors. My best time is morning time and I'm sitting up taller in my seat. Afternoon/evenings are evil to me and all the mirrors have to be moved down.

Tonight was different. Tonight I had my final Financial Peace University class and I was energized afterwards. Even sick as a dog, I was excited! The last session was a smack to the face and an abrupt change in my thinking. 

See, all this time I've thought about how hard I work for my money. I'm worth more money. I need more money. I'll never make ends meet in this money. 

And the reality is this:It ain't my money. 

This is God's money, every penny. He has given me the responsibly to take care of his money for Him. 10% off the top for my church. Not "Christian related ministries," but for my church. Above that are offerings which are also good. 

But bigger than the 10% is the fact wasteful spending of my money is wasteful spending of God's money. 

God has a very specific plan concerning finances. This isn't a program that's taking a shot in the dark. It's very Biblical based and it's about following God's instructions. 

And it isn't about hoarding the money you have, but becoming able to give it away. I am so wanting to hit that point - to be able to better impact others lives thanks to the Lord's blessing. 

As Dave Ramsey put it, God is a giver. He gave us His only son. What could be a bigger gift than that? So we, who are made in His image, should be givers, too. 

I hope if you are in a church, you are tithing. It's a direct instruction from God. It's the first item out of the paycheck. Don't skimp on this one. 10%. 

And I hope you'll consider the Dave Ramsey class, to learn how to prioritize so you can give back some of what has been given to you. 

With much love, 

Beth

Friday's Letters!!!

B is for Bethie - My friend Paulene created this most beautiful B and I claim that it is 100% for me. Dear friends, Thanks for reading my 31 Days and for your encouraging comments.  I'll keeping it up - so far so good! Dear weekend, I'm ready for you!! Lovely autumn weather is in store - not too hot and not too cold, so maybe we can get some pics of both sweet nieces this weekend at a pumpkin patch. So hopeful. Dear decisions, I totally don't want to deal with you right now, but I think I may not have a choice. Dear coupons, how I tire of trying to keep up with you, shop with you, save money with you. But I also hate paying more than I should. *sigh*  Dear Dave Ramsey, I'm very thankful for your class, for the advice you have given and for this feeling that I may be able to control my spending and get "there" one day!! It's an actual goal that I may see happen! Granted, I've spent all my dining out money and still have a week to go unti pay day. Hmm...

Ya'll, thanks for joining me - I love hearing from you and appreicate your time. :)
Have a GREAT weekend!

Monday Muses.

Ya'll, if you haven't figured it out yet, I've lost a lot of passion for blogging since Muffin passed.  Not that she's the reason I started blogging, but it ended up being quite a bit about her. So please excuse my random lapses until I get passionate about it again.

Until this day, you have to put up with my ramblings of nonsense. Such as:

I noticed this weekend we are a disposable society.  Why fix anything? We can toss it and buy another one. Which, I think, has caused us to 1) value everything less and 2) caused much personal debt.  Now that I'm trying to live by a budget, (which isn't RESTRICTING but is definitely more liberating that I ever imagined), I'm actually taking the time to fix things in my house. Heck, with Google, you can find answers to most of the issues and fix it yourself.  Which gives you something to be very proud of and keeps a lot of money in your pocket.

This weekend we also took two cars to the Safe Kids check on the installation of sweet niece #2's car seats.  Here is my sister's car getting fitted.  Loved the tents because it kept everyone dry as it started to rain before we left. These folks attended three days of training to get up-to-speed on all the car seats and the proper way to install. It was great.  While we were there, a lady had to remove her car seat because it wasn't made for the weight of the child she had in it.  They replaced it on the spot! Love this program - it is saving kids' lives right here at home.

Ya'll know few things make me as happy as having both of my sweet nieces at home.  Here they are in all their cuteness!! Two beautiful special wonderful kids that just light up my life. *sigh* Life is good.  Have we seen some sad times and stressful times? Well, yeah, just like everyone else. But life is good - and here are two of the best parts of it.

Hope your week is beautiful, stop and notice our days are getting shorter and appreciate a sunset or a sunrise.  Hug someone and tell someone how much they mean to you. I'll catch ya'll sometime later this week. :)

Friday's Letters.

Dear week, so you've kicked my booty a little bit, but that's OK. I'm still standing and ready for round two (or three or four, whatever round we are on at this point).

We visited the office one morning... 

Dear Macy, Girl, I had NO IDEA how tough it was to keep up with a 14-month-old until this week! Work was a welcome break from chasing after you! But I cherish these days because you are so precious, innocent, loving, sweet and I won't have many other days like these to spend 10 hours with you at once. So blessed. I loved every moment (except possibly the stinky diapers!). 

Dear Praying People, please keep my uncle in your prayers. He is a dear uncle to me, my dad's brother, really funny, kind-hearted, he always asks me, "How's my girl?" when he sees me. I always get a huge hug.  I want those days back and hope he'll be recovered soon. But that day doesn't seem like today, so please pray.  Many thanks. 

image from Kohls Cares

Dear Kohls, you put Joey from "Pouch" in your Kohl's Cares line up of stuffed animals for $5.  Can I tell you how totally awesome you are for that? Macy LOVES that book and loves the stuffed Joey kangaroo I got for her.  She kisses it and loves on it, carries it all over the place and shouts, "POUCH!" whenever she sees it.  Best $5 I have ever spent. Thanks for making it SAFE and AFFORDABLE!

Dear Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University,  *sigh*  Ok, so this free spirit totally didn't want to fess up to where her money was going. So, now I have to and I don't like what I see.  Thanks for the reality check and here's to better decision making in the future. 

Ok, I'm out for the weekend. See ya'll on Monday. Hugs and Love! 

PS - my birth month begins on September 1 ... I'm just saying ...