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 …
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 …
Discipline (Part 3): The Third Day Hump
Every few weeks I find myself in the position where it is time again to recommit to running. I actually do love to run. I love being in shape and just being able to go out for a run. However, after each pregnancy I have faced this enormous hurdle of having to get back in shape. For me at the end of every pregnancy when I am gi-normous, I don’t just dream of meeting my baby for the first time, I dream of running. I dream of gliding down the street with effortless grace and stamina… yes, it is a …
Discipline (Part 2): Matters of the Heart
Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” This verse has so often been used by preachers to tell us that we are not supposed to have wealth on this earth, but we need to give it into their ministry or their church so that we can have treasure in heaven instead. I am sorry but I don’t think this verse has anything at all do with giving to the “church”… maybe a little more to do with BEING the church. And it definitely is not talking about just giving away all of your …
Discipline (Part 1): Too Much You, Not Enough Him!
The other day a dear friend said to me, “Tracy, I really like your budget plan but it just takes so much discipline.” I honestly sat there a little speechless. I had really never thought of it that way, but as I thought about it and chewed on it a little I could really see where people might think that. There is a lot of structure to budgeting, and when you have lived without structure in your finances it can feel like it is going to take a tremendous amount of discipline to succeed. So for the next few days, …
A Cure for Deprivation
When my husband and I returned from our European adventure after having the most amazing month, we never really left the “vacation” mentality. We had pushed ourselves for so long to save what we needed for Europe, and when it was all over and we were back, we found ourselves without a purpose for our money and needing a financial rest from the pressure. But we didn’t just “rest” from extreme saving, we spent. We had been in deprivation mode for so long that, even though it had been our choice so that we could go to Europe, we felt …
Decisions…
The other day, Noah was drawing pictures at our kitchen table. “What should I draw Mommy?”, he asked me. I made some suggestions like a car, or a house, or a transformer (he loves transformers). No, none of those were right for him. Finally he looks at me and gives a great big sigh, “Mommy, I am very good at doing lots of things, but I’m not very good at making decisions.” I just burst out laughing, because Noah and I have so many things in common, and once again I was reminded that he exactly my son. In one …
The Way of Life
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 says this, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days, and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” So much of the reality that we currently live in has been determined by our choices. In fact, every …
Managing Your Credit Cards
So how do you manage your credit cards? We live in a world where it is difficult to travel, impossible to rent a car, and just extremely challenging to do a lot of things without a credit card. However, how do you protect yourself from debt, when financial hardship is never more than a few swipes of the credit card away? The problem with credit cards is you don’t have any tangible sense of what you are spending. With cash in your wallet, you know when you are reaching the end of your budget in an area. With credit cards, …
Baby Steps…
When Matt and I were first praying about having a baby, we felt very much that it was the right time to start our family, but we didn’t know what to do about insurance. Neither of us were on insurance, and for me to get on insurance meant that we would need to wait a year to get pregnant before insurance would cover any of the costs. We prayed about it a great deal and both felt complete peace that the Lord was going to provide for us and that we could go ahead and get pregnant. So, from that …