One year ago I had a house for sale (with no pending offers), was leaving a secure job to help start a new church and had a total of $1700 pledged in support for our income for a year! Our monthly budget this past year has been literally at the national poverty level. The church is now not happening, I have no ministry job, and the only other job I’ve had in the past year has been a temporary one for 2 months. Yet, two months ago I bought a house and yesterday bought a car. How does this happen?
The first and biggest credit goes to God. I have been blessed with just the right things at just the right times to meet my monthly budget. A miracle healing of heart of someone I thought could never experience it, a job (even if for only 2 months) in perfect timing, and opportunities that have been “too coincidental” to be a coincidence!
As crazy as it sounds, all the “crap” I’ve lived through has made me a survivor. Growing up abused regularly, with threats of being kicked out of the house, and never knowing what “they” were going to do next forced me to learn resilience and a “I don’t care what it takes, they won’t win” attitude. Though I’ve had to learn to not be quite so independent and there were many days where I was ready to give up, the “It doesn’t matter what it takes, I can do it” attitude is the one that really stuck.
But there’s a “practical” side to all of this too. It takes effort, planning and discipline! How has this played out for us? How can you still take vacations, pay your bills, not worry about feeding your family, and still minimize or eliminate debt, regardless of your income? Unless you’ve experienced a catastrophic situation or are in an extreme position right now, you can!! I’m going to be breaking down some of the ways I’ve been able to do all of this over a few upcoming posts. I’m no expert…which basically means I’m just sharing what has worked for us, but I hope you’ll be able to connect with some of the ideas.
My guys & I were sitting around a couple of months ago and I asked them this question…”For years I had a decent income and now we have very little coming in…what has changed?” Their response was a compliment that hit my heart…”Really, nothing has changed”. I’ll take that over all the “stuff” any day!!!
What can you do right now?
- sign up to receive emails of this blog right into your inbox–click on the link that says “subscribe to Experiencing the Journey…”
- bookmark this site
- check out these great “experts” for more ideas, advice, and resources:
I’m always looking for more great ideas, so please share what’s working for you!!!
Filed under: Abuse, Debt, Faith, Money | Tagged: Debt, Faith, Money
Rindy, I don’t know if I’ve told you, but I think you’re amazing. You’re such an inspiration (whether you believe that or not – you are!)
I really enjoy our LGO time, and really look forward to the wealth and depth of knowledge and experience you have to share, all the time remaining with such a sweet spirit.
I love it.
But there’s a “practical” side to all of this too. It takes effort, planning and discipline! -Yeah but it’s all worth it. Great post!
Hello from Wisconsin!
Some very interesting stuff here. I was just reading some of Proverbs last night. Although Solomon likes to repeat himself a lot, he does make some good points. One being, “He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it.” Basically, what we keep in mind we create. So true.
Glad you are doing well & connected to spirit! AND overcoming past slights that really had nothing to do with you, but were directed at you.
Peace my friend,
Joey
http://www.daddybrain.wordpress.com
[...] Who needs money? Feeding the family Posted on July 11, 2009 by Rindy Teenage boys eat a lot of food. Forget that…kids eat a lot of food. So how do you feed a family yet not go broke? Here are a few things I do to help us (this is a follow-up to the post ‘Who needs money?’): [...]