Taking the Weekend Off

Yes, it’s true, I am writing this weekend! My goal is to refine chapter one and start working on chapter two! Big goals when we are having a family time weekend 🙂 I hope your weekend is filled with all of the things that you love. I’ll be back on Monday with a fresh new blog. I am going to be doing a series of blogs on giving soon. I don’t know if it will be Monday, but it’s coming up. Anyway, God bless and have a wonderful weekend.

A Seatbelt for Your Wallet

Have you ever been stolen from? I had my purse stolen about two years ago and it was just a nightmare to get all of my information changed, and dealing with that whole situation. Honestly, the best thing about it is that I knew exactly what was in my wallet. I had all of my information organized so that I could find it. When we went to the bank to cancel our bank account and inform them of the robbery (which was immediately), I knew every check that I had written, every account that automatically debited from my account, and …

Scared of the Cat

I wanted to share with you something my lovely friend Scarlet shared the other night at the Bible study group I attended. It is such a powerful picture, and it has just continued to resonate in my heart ever since. It’s not budgeting, but it’s good 🙂 When her daughter was little, she reached that stage between walking and crawling, but just refused to walk. She knew how to walk, but just preferred to crawl because she could get there faster. One day Scarlet was watching her daughter crawl in the grass down the side of their house. Well, coming …

‘Til Tomorrow

Last night I had the opportunity to go to a women’s biblestudy which means two things: my spirit feels so refreshed today, and I didn’t blog last night. My dear friend Scarlet leads the Bible study and it has just been such a source of life. Anyway, no blog for today, but try to have a wonderful day anyway 🙂 I’ll see you tomorrow.

Getting Started

I spent the evening last night helping a friend with their budget. It was definitely an evening well spent, but I didn’t get to do my “30 minute plan” for blogging. So this morning I thought I would give you an update on the progress on my book. I believe I have finished my first chapter! I still need to do a little more editing, but I feel like I have climbed a huge personal mountain. It was a little harder than I thought, but a large part of that was deciding how to begin the book. It is amazing …

Spreading Your Money Too Thin

There is a line from JRR Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” which I keep thinking of in reference to today’s blog. Little old Bilbo Baggins has just had his “eleventy-first” (111th)birthday and he turns to his friend Gandalf and says, “I’m old, Gandalf. I know I don’t look it, but I begin to feel it. I feel stretched and thin, like butter scraped over too much bread.” Tolkien was such a master with story and words, and I think we all relate to that “stretched and thin” feeling, especially when we relate it to our finances. As you know …

Hard Labor (or Hard Labour for my SA friends)

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the concept of hard labor. I have always been a hard worker. I love the feeling of accomplishment from completing a project and I don’t shirk hard work. I think the hardest work I have ever done is being a Mom. My feet seem to ache at the end of everyday, because the only time I sit down is when I am driving somewhere. And yes, I wish so badly that this picture was a picture of my feet. My Mom actually bought me special shoes with support because she was so …

Generating Additional Income

My husband Matt has held the same job for the past nine years, and yet he has never only done that job. Every year of our marriage we have earned above our salary in what I call “side” income. But through that time I have come to believe that everyone should have some type of “side” income, business, or entrepreneurial adventure in addition to their regular job. Whenever I hear people complaining about not having enough for their budgets (and sometimes there really isn’t enough), I always question… what else has God put into your hand to do that you …

Showing Up for the Race

So I wrote a fun new section for my first chapter that I thought I would share. It’s not life changing in itself, but it made me laugh while I was writing it, so I hope it will make you laugh too. For those of you that have been following all along, it is going to the beginning, but maybe it will remind you how far you have come… I ran track in high school, and it still can cause me to break out in a cold sweat when I think of the moments right before a race. I was …

But With God…

I know I said I was going to focus on writing, but I AM writing and I just had to share this with you today. It’s funny because I wrote that blog yesterday, and I have had like a hundred ideas for blogs today! It’s funny how when you get out from obligation, creativity is released. It also feels like when you get your heart in a place of obedience, God just smiles all over you and its like standing under a fountain of life. Anyway, I have turned my focus toward my book, but this thought has been blessing …