A Simple Blessing, A Great God

I had a concern, something that was bothering me, just a little bit.

You see, my husband and I agreed that a certain purchase needed to be made, but he hadn't yet given me the "green light" to go ahead and make the purchase.

My husband is a man of his word, so I knew he would give me the green light, but I didn't know when.



Well, a bit of impatience began to creep up. I would think to myself, making the purchase now would benefit me in these ways. . . and I would ramble out a long list of why now was better. So when talking to myself wasn't enough (don't laugh, you know you do it, too!! LOL), I began to "motivate" my husband. You know, little comments here and there, just in case he forgot--translation: I was beginning to get on his nerves! (Never a good idea, Ladies!!)



So, I had a different conversation with myself. Stacie, just because Husband isn't "reacting" to the delay in the purchase, doesn't mean that he doesn't understand the importance of it. Stacie, have you gone to God to help you be patient in the time of waiting???



Well, I went to God and told Him all of what I was feeling. . .several times. . .especially when I wanted to "remind" my husband about the purchase. Well guess what??? Not only did my Heavenly Father give me patience, but He also reminded me that there was work on my part that needed to be done: Stacie, have you finalized the items to be purchased? If your husband asks you right now what the final cost would be, would you be able to give him an answer?



Mmm. In other words, before I go around reminding others what needs to be done, I need to be about my own business first! So, I set to work on doing my part. I still had moments when I wanted to remind my husband, but quickly remembered that before I opened my mouth, I should continue my work and continue to pray.



Well, what do you know! In a random conversation today, Husband gave me the green light!!! But the part that's even more amazing than that is the way God blessed my efforts. You see, I am not perfect. I didn't even get all of "my part" completed. But, I got a good chunk of it finished and because of the Holy Spirit's power, I managed not to nag my husband.



God blessed my efforts! I tried to do it His way and He finished the rest, which reminds me of the Scripture: ". . .being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;" (Philipians1:6) 



What a loving Father, Who gives me good things even when I don't deserve it, Who works in my favor in exchange for all of my worries. What a model for parenting. . . blessing my children for their faithful efforts, for giving it a try.

READ MORE - A Simple Blessing, A Great God

Frugal: Foundations and Future

Okay, let's get something straight right off the bat, my husband is WAAAAYYYYY better at handling the finances than I am. Budgeting was an unknown word until I met him. I was just glad to be able to meet monthly bills--life seemed great!! He, on the other hand, had more vision, more forward thinking. "Stacie," sweet Husband says to me, "we should work on paying our bills off, not just meeting the monthly payments. We also want to save up and budget what we will spend." Say what?!?!?!



I must say that 11 years ago, at the beginning of our marriage, that did NOT sit well with me at all, considering the financial hardships I encountered as a young girl. After all my childhood experiences, life was good in my book if you could pay your bills on time and then go and buy whatever you wanted with the money left over. At any rate, I did not fully submit to the vision, the purpose, the cause, my husband's wishes. . .whatever you want to call it. I didn't "get it" and I fought. . .HARD.



Now, I didn't make any "crazy" purchases, I didn't go get into any debt, I didn't go and buy something without my husband's approval. But in my heart--I was so not on board!! I didn't spend my money wisely all the time and I learned many, many tough lessons.



Fast forward through many tears, through the Lord growing me up, through the Lord opening my eyes to understand my husband's vision, through my husband's words, his example, his teaching me. . .fast forward and I'm beginning to see God's hand in it all.



If I had not learned to live modestly when we were a 2-income household, how much harder it would be when I stopped working to stay at home. If I had not learned to live modestly when it was just my husband and me, how much harder it would have been to raise 4 children on one income. Why did I fight so much? Sometimes I wish I could rewind and do it again.



But God is so good and kind and gracious. He's shown me what obedience to Him, by submitting to my husband, can do. The Lord has shown me how to trust in Him when He gives my husband a vision that I don't understand. The Lord is showing me the legacy that will be left to our children: one that says spending lavishly does NOT denote love or one's worth; one that says from the heart is better than any pricey gift there ever is; one that says earthly treasures can never measure up to the eternal treasure that awaits us.



God has given me strength and resolve to resist temptation to spend outside of our means and I am so pleased to be able to honor my husband in this way. {I don't think I could have uttered even half of this sentence years ago!!}



I apologize for the rambling of thoughts. This was just on my heart!





Linked with:

READ MORE - Frugal: Foundations and Future

Budget, Budget, Budget

I really think that BUDGET is Husband's favorite word. *sigh*



"Babe, did you budget for that?" "Stacie, how much of your budget goes to gas?" "Honey, I think I'm going to add more to the grocery budget." "How much of the kids budget goes toward doctor's appointments?"



See? He's a man with our family's budget on his mind. *sigh*



CONFESSION:

In all fairness to him, I am not the best at budgeting, by any means. Sometimes, I fail horribly at it. Truth be told, if were up to me, our family would have no budget.



What my Husband has taught me is a valuable lesson that I AM STILL LEARNING:

Paying bills on time and budgeting your money are two very different things.

(Let that sink in for a moment.)

Here's some background information. I came from a family where there was a lack of budgeting, not too much planning on what to do with money once it came in. Many times, the money was already "spoken for," a robbing-Peter-to-pay-Paul situation, gone as quickly as it came. Often, bills were overdue and there were some very hard times.

With that said, my mentality was, "When I become an adult, I will make sure all of my bills are paid on time!" Boy, was I emphatic about this. If I owed something, then I paid it right away and that was it. However, budgeting was not in my vocabulary. There was no saving for a rainy day, there was no allotting a certain amount of money for certain things. It simply was once my bills were paid, the rest was available for me to SPEND, SPEND, SPEND!

Paying bills on time and budgeting your money are two very different things.

So, fast-forward to me marrying a man who budgets money very well and even does budgeting for a living. Imagine my shock, my struggles, my denial, my ISSUES! Which brings us to the other day. Husband gave me a little more money to spend budget each month. I thought "YES!" until he called me from work and asked that I have a budget all planned out so we could go over it when he came home.

(Hopes deflated--dreams deferred! LOL)

What he asked is that I really think about the needs of our home, our family, and what I find myself spending extra on each month. So, I sat down and created a very simple chart of how the lump sum would be broken down each month. I had to have an amount that I save, no matter what. And whatever was solely "mine" to spend, had to be a smaller amount than the other categories. Husband explained that in order for it to be a "budget" I must stick to my plans, period. So these are the areas where the new "extra" money will go:

• 
  Savings: simply putting money aside without any "labels" attached.
  
  


• 
  Home: whatever items I need for organization, home decor, and bigger cleaning purchases (like a new vacuum--hint, hint!). Things that will help me make the house a home.
  
  


• 
  Gas: I know this may be a "strange" category, but with gas prices being what they are, and swim lessons 4 times a week, taking the kids back and forth to school--I need to have this money set aside.
  
  


• 
  Personal: I get to choose.
  
  

I would have never thought to budget "extra" money. You know my thinking, "I'm already budgeting in other areas. This is extra! Time to find a sale!!!" While this is a struggle for me, I can say that I am able to find freedom in practicing this discipline. It is also a very good way for me to practice stewardship over the blessings God has given to me and my family.

Thanks, Husband.



The post is linked here

READ MORE - Budget, Budget, Budget