Friday, December 31, 2010

Welcoming 2011{My Own Hope in Change}

Another year has come and gone. That would be 40?? for me and none of them the same. As always, there were incredible days where I enjoyed the blessings of God and the fruit of His Spirit. Other days, not so much. I know the reason was me and not Him and that there are things that I and my family can do to keep the closeness that He desires.

One of those things is in the area of finances. {just being transparent here} I can’t tell you how many horror stories I have heard and continue to hear about people putting themselves (their family, their marriage, their friendships, their careers) at risk by how they manage the money God has given to them.

God has blessed our family with two great careers. My husband is a Senior Environmental Engineer with an Oil & Gas Company. And, of course, I have Lucy Doo! However, we both feel that we need to be better stewards of God’s provision in our life. So…

…we have committed to living on as small a budget as we possibly can. For us that is $700 every 2 weeks. That includes gas, groceries, out to eat, clothes, movies, Starbucks (Lord, help me!), Orange Leaf (a local yogurt shop), home decor “treats”, etc.

There are 4 reasons for doing this:

1) Life simplification – we need to slow down, have more family dinners at the dinner table and not after we pass the drive through.

2) Debt reduction – we have too much debt. No more! Its not worth the eventual pain and sorrow that always follows the euphoria of the immediate.

3) Memories – Living on a strict budget doesn’t mean we won’t enjoy a luxury item every now and then. But we will delay gratification until we can afford it {as Dave Ramsey says, “Live like no one else now so we can live like no one else later!”}. We’re treating Saving as a bill that must be paid every month.

4) Giving ourselves away – There are people that are hurting that we can help if we’ll be a little unselfish (actually a lot unselfish!). Check back soon for more about how Lucy Doo will go the “extra mile” in 2011.

I’m looking forward to seeing what 2011 holds for our family. Check back often as we testify to God’s goodness and faithfulness in our lives.

Expecting God’s absolute BEST,



2 comments:

  1. Sandra, How I love you and your sweet transparent heart! You have been my special blessing for 5 years now (wow....where has the time gone!). I look forward to many more years of memories! I am excited to see where God is leading your famiy and Lucy Doo!
    Jen

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  2. Thanks for stopping by my blog! I have the same goals for 2011 and I look forward to hearing about your journey. :)

    - Megan

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