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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

.One Month Under Our Belts.

I wrote here about starting our Total Money Makeover via Dave Ramsey last month. Little did we know that just after beginning the makeover and just after cutting up all of our credit cards and vowing to never go into ANY kind of debt again, God would ask us to step up our faith a notch farther. We learned a few days after starting this money journey that Jim's last day at camp would be January 31st, rather than this spring like we had originally been thinking. So that means Jim's last paycheck came last Wednesday. I have had moments of panic and wishful thinking regarding those silly plastic cards, but overall I am at complete peace. Thankfully because of starting the makeover last month, we were very frugal with our money for the whole month of January. We stuck with our budget plan for the month, and we were very faithful in allocating our money each week before spending it. It has worked beautifully for us. We even came under budget in a couple areas! So we start this month of February a little differently. According to Dave Ramsey's plan we should start snowballing debt this month, but we cannot do that with our current financial status. Rather we are just trying to survive the month! We sat down a few weeks ago and figured out if we could make it work to not get paychecks for February (Jim does not get voted on at our church until the last week in February), and while money will be very tight and stretched and we will need to figure out how to go without some things, we can do it! I am excited to see how God provides in a few areas, as we have already had a few expenses come up that we had not planned for - doesn't that always happen?

I just cannot get over the way God has been growing me since October when He made clear to us His desire for our family to leave the ministry at camp. I never could have imagined trying to go a month without any pay - that seems way too crazy, scary, unstable, etc. I am the person that likes everything planned to a fault. And God has taken all of my plans torn them to shreds and then asked me to trust His plan while wearing a blindfold! But here is where God has placed us, and I am surprisingly calm and dare I say - excited?! God is so good and so faithful. When we finally come out on the other side of our faith story I am going to be such a different person. God has been at work. Looking back over even these past few months, I can see that so much that has happened needed to happen to get me to this place. So with one month under us in this makeover, we step into month number two and we continue to pursue our Savior and stand in awe at His providential care!

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My sweet family. I caught Jim snuggling with our children this morning before breakfast, and I just had to preserve the memory. Cadi and Jim still have sleepy eyes, and Scotty just looks completely perplexed. Sweet though.

I am kind of excited about mornings this month. I anticipate that they will be slow and easy as Jim will not be rushing to be at camp, and I will not be rushing to get his lunch together and such. I am planning to enjoy these moments. I think God is being especially gracious to us in giving us this family time before we jump into whatever ministry He has planned for us next. We are not taking this for granted at all.

Cadi is adjusting well to her glasses. She did not care for wearing her patch this morning, but I do hope she will get used to it. I am sleeping a bit better than I had been. I feel tired during the day, and I struggle to fall asleep at night still. However, once I do fall asleep I have been able to stay asleep, that is a huge blessing. Thank you dear readers for your kind and encouraging comments and emails. I am just blown away. I was chatting with a friend today and she remarked over the number of readers my blog has attracted. I am completely perplexed, but I have truly been blessed by the kindness of strangers. And honestly some of my faithful readers are feeling less and less like strangers and more like friends. The body of Christ is such a wonderful thing. I continue to write what is on my heart and to record these cherished moments for myself. I do not want to lose focus of my reason for blogging - to remember these fleeting moments of mommyhood, but having people enjoy or be encouraged by reading my ramblings is certainly the cherry on top. Thank you.

Edit: I just realized this was my hundredth post! How fun. {grin}

10 comments:

Rhonda said...

Hi Tiffany! Thanks for stopping by. It's nice to 'meet' you. That was a great post. God will provide! Stay strong in the Lord. I have read the book and then took Financial Peace University at our church recently. During FPU we had baby step 1 done. Then Murphy attacks and had to start completely over. So, we are still at baby step one (again) but I'm holding on to the knowledge and that God will provide!

amber said...

Shayne has been reading Dave Ramsey's book and talking about going back to the envelope system round here! ;) Money is one of those love/ hate relationships I have... love it when we have it, hate it when we don't! :) Which running a home business it's pretty much hand to mouth so it's usually the latter emotion w/ that relationship... tee hee!

But I know and understanding about finances stretching and deepening your faith.. and your relationship w/ your spouse! It can get very stressful~ but throughout the years of struggle I will say that God has always been faithful to us! I look around our home and I'm AMAZED at all He's given... truly. Sometimes I wonder where it's all come from!! :)

I pray the Lord will give you guys clear direction ... and that He will meet your needs in ways you never imagined possible~

thinking of you. <3

{{hugs}}

Amanda said...

Hi Tiffany! (I tried to e-mail you, but it wasn't sending, saying your address was invalid, weird!)
Thanks for the blog comments. I have read the following books by Jodi Picoult: My Sister's Keeper, Plain Truth, The Pact, Change of Heart, The Tenth Circle, Handle with Care, and Nineteen Minutes (at least I think that is all the ones I have read). I am currently reading Keeping Faith by her (review will be up next Monday) and next I have Perfect Match by her as well. I know she has even more books than that, but that is where I am at right now.

Amanda

Chrissy said...

I will pray for your money makeover. We started with Dave's plan seriously in Sept of 2008 and should be debt free (besides the house) this summer. Stick with it! He's a smart guy! ;o)

I love your playlist!!!

Unknown said...

Hi Tiffany. Congratulations for staying strong in the face of adversity. It feels like all the tests are hitting you at once I'm sure, but thank goodness that you took the step to follow Dave Ramsey rather than end up going further in debt. God is good and all though you face tests he is surely there beside you and sometimes even caring you. It's wonderful that you and your husband are in agreement on this goal.

I will be praying for your families finances and for the miracles God provides during a trying period of unemployment.

Warm hugs and lots of encouragement....Tracy

Jenna said...

Hey--Just thought I would let you know that your e-mail address is spelled wrong in the link on your profile. That is why it didn't work for the commenter above.
We went at least one month without pay when we started at our current ministry. Our church pays at the end of the month, once a month, and we started at the beginning of the month and there was a gap between jobs. God provided for us in AMAZING ways! Hang in there!

Jena Webber said...

I hope your husband finds work soon. Transitions are hard. God will provide, but it is hard waiting. Good job with Dave Ramsey. He is hard core, which is just what most people need right now.

Jessi said...

I haven't been to your little spot on the web in a while! How exciting to be able to have your hubby home this month! Enjoy the adventures and special moments before he goes to work again. Sounds like the Dave Ramsey stuff is pretty good. I'm working on tracking our money better with Mint.com. If you aren't using it already, I would advise signing up. It's very helpful with keeping up with everything and seeing right where it goes...it's awesome! And FREE!
Blessings as you enjoy this month and trust God in new ways.

HeidiS. said...

We will definitely be praying for you guys! God will bless you for following His will and taking that "step of faith" in leaving camp. Jeremiah 29:11. Also, love the morning picture- Cadi looks so old and cute with her little glasses!! : )

Carrie said...

I, too, am praying for you! I am super excited that you may get to stay at your home church - that would be SO nice. And, wow, the blessings of being able to make it through a month with no paychecks will be amazing for you, I know you will see God provide in SO many unbelievably unexpected ways! I remember when we were changing ministries, from Scioto Hills, then up to Bethany, we had 4 months where we were waiting on God to show us where we should go, and it was a very nice break for us, kind of like a 2nd honeymoon, a vacation from full-time ministry. You don't realize how much your ministry takes out of you until you have a break like that. :) And then God equips you to jump into your new one- so enjoy your family time this month - what a blessing! :)

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