Be Real!

Ecclesiastes 5: 18-20 (The Message Translation)

After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life.  And that’s about it.  That’s the human lot.  Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work.  It’s God’s gift!  God deals out joy in the present, the now.  It’s uselss to brood over how long we might live.

Just the good ole’ boys!  Never meanin no harm. . . . . . .

 

When I read this Bible passage, I immediately thought of the “good ole boy” terminology.  Not the drunk, fist -fighting kind but the blue collar, old pick up truck, blue jeans and friends over on Saturday and blue jeans and a Bible on Sunday morning.   There is always something comfortable and welcoming about hanging around a good ole boy.  They do the best with what they have, they have a good time, and the typically work the same ole’  job for years.  Their yard is messy, theirs dirty dishes in the sink, they are a payment late on their mortgage, the kids have dirty knees and a tore up yard to drive their ATV in.  Most notably, they are Happy!!  They are comfortable in their own skin.  They don’t put on “aires” about who they are or are not.  These good ole’ boys (and girls) have delighted in God’s gift!  They don’t look back with regret, they are happy with where they are in life!

 

My brother, Tim, was a good ole boy- through and through. 

 

Dear Heavenly Father-   Thank you for showing me a glimpse of what you hopefully meant by Solomon’s wisdom in Ecclesiastes 5: 18-20.  It’s nice to know that it’s okay to settle for who I am and not be expected to be someone I’m not.  Help me to not look back but to look at today and be thankful for your gift of hard work, food in my belly, clothes on my back, and most importantly the gift of joy that I have because of it. Thank you Jesus.  In your name, Amen

The greatest joy in life

I looked up the word “garden” in the concordance of my Bible to see what God had to say about my garden that I plan to go work in here in a little bit.  He sent me to Ecclesiastes 2.  Funny, it really didn’t have much to do with gardening but it was really interesting and I read Chap 2 and 3 before reminding myself that I could read more tomorrow! 

 

Anyway, the story goes the Solomon decided to do a scientific experiment of sorts.  He decided to give himself the “good life”.  Everything that he thought would make him happy he acquired.  He even got drunk and did some stupid things that he thought the average person would believe made them happy. He built a huge home, huge garden (hmm, must be where the concordance meant), slaves, concubines, money, animals, activities directors (entertainers).  Anything his heart desired, he got it for himself.  Throughout this time he remained clear headed (so he says- lol) so he could evaluate his experiment. 

 

After doing this, he decided that it all was really quite meaningless.  He also concluded that being wise was better than “the good life” but he couldn’t figure out why it was because both kinds of people just die in the end anyway.  He then got quite frustrated as he thought about what would happen to all his hard work in the end.  In 2:18+ he said, “I am disgusted that I must leave the fruits of my hard work to others.  Who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish?  Yet they will control everything. . . .” 

 

He then went into a depression trying to figure out what the point was in all the hard work if it really was for nothing.  He drug himself out of his depression by concluding that pleasure is from the hand of God and there is no better pleasure than that of  enjoying food and drink that you earn through the satisfaction of hard work.  God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please Him!

 

How interesting it is. . . . I find myself thinking of  people I know who are in that sort of depression.  The  depression Solomon speaks of where people do nothing to make their lives better or pleasing to God because it’s all for nothing- meaningless.  I often hear  similar statements like “what’s the point”.  Thinking about myself and how this relates, I often finding myself wanting it all but being unwilling to get off my butt and go get it.  That makes no sense really because I know as well as anyone else that enjoying the fruits of my labor truly is the greatest joy in life! 

 

Dear Heavenly Father,   Thank you for writing down the wisdom of Solomon.  Thank you for the “poke” reminder that my life will not be a joy if I don’t work to make it so!  I want to please You.  You made joy and pleasure and happiness and it truly only makes sense that the only way to have those for myself is to do what You want me to do.  Remind me throughout the week and be with my friends and help them to do the same.  In your name, amen

Daily Devotions

Some girlfriends and I have been doing a little “motivation” club through daily emails.  S gives us a decluttering mission of tossing two things every day.  Some examples are: toss two magazines that you know you won’t have time to read anyway or find two socks that have not had mates in some time and toss them.  A gives us a decluttering mission of using up something we have every day.  These are things like: look in your fridge at those fresh veggies going limp and make soup today or find some notecards that you’ve been meaning to send out “someday” and send a note to a friend or loved one.   B gives us ways to show love to ourselves or others each day- things like put a note in your husbands lunch that tells him how much you love him or get out the fancy dinner candles and have dinner by candle light with the kids tonight.  And my job is to provide a daily devotion!

In my quest to make sure I get that done each day, I’ve been neglecting my blog!  So, I’m going to try to do my devotions on here and then my girlfriends get my promise kept that I made and all of you get to share in it!!!  Now, it may not be every day and it most likely will not happen on Sundays unless I have some awesome realization while I’m at church but welcome to our club!!

I have saved our devotions from the past few weeks and so I will be adding them a few at a time as well as my new ones that have not been created yet.  So, if you get notice of multiple blog entries, just pick one!

Let me know what you think!!  If you would like me to do a devotion on something specific, pass that on to me as well and I’ll do my best!

Have a great day!

Happiness. . . .

Happiness is not a destination to arrive at but a mode of travel. . .. .(author unknown)

Travel through life happily!!!

The importance of an emergency fund

I heard on the news the other day that a very large number of Americans (forgive me for not jotting down the numbers) could not financially survive any longer than a month if they lost their jobs.   Living in the 2nd highest unemployment rated county in my state and living in a state that ranks right up there with many of the highest unemployment rates of states, I felt the need to address this.  It concerns me, not only for others but for me too! 

Our family does have a meager savings account but not one that would last very long.  I set out to figure out a way to pump that up a little.  A friend had started using the cash envelope system to help her get a better handle on her spending so I started that.  (you can learn about this style of budgetting on www.daveramsey.com or www.crown.org )  I figured out what I needed each week in order to pay for weekly expenses like groceries and my church giving.  I divided my monthly expenses like utility bills  by 4 so I would know what had to go into the checking account each week in order to have enough money in there to pay the bills at the end of the month.  A couple things I had not taken into account when trying to budget before was Christmas/Birthday spending, vacation money, and emergency fund .  I decided what I wanted to have available for gifts, estimated how much our vacation would cost, figured out what my goal for the emergency fund for a years time would be and added them all together.  I then divided that by 52 (weeks/year) to figure out what I should deposit into savings each week.  A good savings goal to start with if you have nothing saved for an emergency fund would be $1000.00. 

Don’t forget to include more than the minimum on your credit cards bills and make it a goal to get them paid off ASAP.  Paying the minimum only pays part of the interest on those accounts and you end up owing the credit card companies sometimes double what you charged to them in the first place.

Here’s the trick:  The total of that jibberish above cannot be more than your weekly paycheck!!!  If it is, look into your spending habits and see where you can trim until your bills are less than or equal to your income. 

We are self-employed.  I have a blog article on self-employed budget making- here it is:  http://ruralmomof3.wordpress.com/2008/01/10/self-employed-budget-making/

An emergency fund can be (should be) more than a money emergency fund.   There are other ways that you can prepare for a time of no income or a time of natural disaster type emergencies.  I live in rural America and have access to a generator, have food growing in my back yard, etc.  However, anyone, living anywhere can prepare for emergencies of any kind.  Here’s some ideas.

1. Store extra food.  You don’t have to go “survivalist” but it is smart to store extra food.  Start out by buying one or two extra things per week.  If you don’t have access to a generator, you will want to store extra food that does not require heat or electricity in order to eat it.  Dry fruits and nuts, canned meat, canned vegetables, etc. 
2. Store extra water.  Spring water in gallon containers (store brand) is only 70 cents a gallon.
3. Store extra first aid supplies.
4. Store extra toiletry items.
5. If you have kids, store a few items of clothing in the next size up.  If your kids have a growth spurt and you don’t have a job, you’ll have a few things to help them get by until things improve.

The excuse of “I don’t have any place to store stuff” is not a good reason to fail to prepare for an emergency of any kind.  Under the bed is a perfect place to stash things.  What about the very back of your closet where stuff gets lost anyway?  Get creative!

Lastly, don’t forget to use what you store.  When you run out of something in the main house, example bandaids- go to the store and pick some new ones up.  But when you get home, replace the ones in your emergency stores with the new ones and use the emergency ones.  This will help keep our emergency stuff fresh and within expiration date.

We need to plan for financial hardship and then pray that it never comes.   If you don’t plan for it, it will show up for sure when you least expect it and when it will be the most difficult to make it through.

The Purpose of Administrative Board meetings and other such things

The purpose of being on a board, be it church or work or a non-profit group or club, is to not simply go through the formalities of a meeting to say you had one.  The meeting is for making decisions,  discussing solutions to problems, and deciding as a group how to implement things for the betterment of the organization.  The president or group leader is “technically” in charge but they are not to be dictators. 

Sometimes they are forced into being dictators because the rest of the group doesn’t show up or because the rest of the group does not participate fully in the meeting.

My point is this:  Don’t go to a meeting and sit quietly throughout the whole thing only to turn around and critique the decisions or express concerns after the meeting has been adjourned.   Meetings are for expressing your feelings about decisions and to have the whole group help you with any concerns you may have. 

If you refuse to speak up during the meeting, you have then forfeited your ability to have the group work with you or help you or bring to the forefront any excellent ideas or concerns you may have.

Remember: Privacy = Pride

With all the unemployment going on in and around America, I wanted to remind everyone to help those in need keep their pride. 

If you help with a charity at your church or community group, remember to keep things private.  Many of the people you might help are people who, in other circumstances, would be on the giving end and not the receiving end of your donations.   Some families are ashamed that they even have to ask for help but literally have no other option in order to survive. 

Some tips that might help your group meet people where they are instead of where they were or could be:

1. Your volunteers/ staff should be made aware that the utmost privacy must be upheld.  Remind them that this could be them and to think about how they would feel if they were reduced to begging for handouts. 
2. Many people who need help will not ask for help.  Pay attention to those around you, make notice if they lose their job or have other hardships.  Offer to help, don’t wait for them to come to you.
3. Appointments to receive help, at best, would be held one on one with some time in between each time slot for one family to leave before the other one’s come.  If this is not possible,  remind folks who come that their privacy is important and ask them to keep the same privacy for others who are in line too.  They are all there for the same reason.
4. Do not judge those who come to your agency for help.  If they meet the criteria you have set up (and yes, you need to have criteria or certain ways to qualify), graciously provide what you can and smile.
5. Be ready and able to point out other agencies that might be able to help them with needs you cannot meet.  Have brochures or contact lists available at all times.
6. If at all possible, have someone there to help with small children.  Have an attended play room or something for the kids so mom and dad can concentrate on paperwork.  If you don’t have the ability to have a play room and an attendant, keep a few toys and books out and available.  Also, offer to hold the baby so they can fill out forms or have a special surprise in your desk for the toddler who doesn’t want to be there.
7. If you live in an area that is multi-cultural, do your best to have someone from each culture in your staff.  Not only will language no longer be an issue, but the family in need will feel more comfortable knowing/seeing someone like them there.  Have multi-lingual forms available too!
8. Offer a bulletin board where those in need of work can post their skills and employers can post job openings- or something similar.
9. Sometimes, you might have a very reluctant family.  They really need help but don’t want a handout.  Find out what their skills are and see if you can barter with them (hire them).  They can volunteer at your agency in exchange for your donations.
10. To me the most important thing is to pray for these families.  If you are part of a Christian agency, I encourage you to make this part of your work day.  If this is not the case, pray for the families as you drive home or when you sit down at the dinner table.  Pray that God will provide for them.

God is. . . .

We’re stressed about money, they’re stressed about money, everybody’s stressed about money. Friday night I watched 20/20 “living on the edge”. It was story after story of how the economic crisis has changed lives for the worse. One family lived in a multi-100’s of thousands dollar home and had an emergency plan of “the economy was our emergency plan. If we needed more $$, I picked up extra work”. They are now on food stamps after 2 short years. Another family- dad laid off, mom is teachers aid- moved into an apt. to save money but mom’s wages are not enough. Their freezer is empty, their fridge has jelly and ketchup in it and their oldest son (HS) is glad to go to school so he can eat.

Be thankful. . . . however we decide to judge these families or have pity on them. The end result is still the same. They are having a really difficult time. We are not starving, we have our basics taken care of, our husbands all are doing what they believe with all their hearts is the right thing. may God bless them (and us) for it. . . . .

Go for a walk today. Look at the beauty. Look at what God is. . . . he is little purple flowers that pop up in the woods as a symbol of spring. He is little water bugs skating in the ditch. He is kids whacking sticks against dead tree trunks to see what happens and to hear the echo in the woods. He is . . . . . . . .

God has a purpose for even weeds

There is Beauty All Around Us!

Pay it Forward

My husband and I were at our kid’s school this morning for a meeting.  After the meeting, I spoke with the school counselor.  Our church is adopting a couple families in need from the school district and I was checking in with that as I am the coordinator for church.  Anyway, my husband asked her if there were other needs and if the need is greater this year.  She replied that the requests for Christmas help have doubled this year from last year!!!

Our elementary and middle school does the We Care program.  The kids bring in non-perishable food items that are then distributed to needy families in the community.  The school counselor also contacts families in need and coordinates their needs (anonymously) with churches, agencies, and individuals who then adopt them for Christmas!  There is a non-profit group in the county my parents live in called Santa’s Helpers- this group collects money and gifts for people in need and distributes Christmas gifts to all who qualify.  Our local Clothes and Food Basket (which is open all year) coordinates with churches and agencies to bring in specific things at Christmas for those in need.  

I have heard on the news that many of these Food Pantry places are experiencing greater need this year.  Partly because people are donating less and partly because of increased need.

I implore all of my readers to Pay it Forward or Back!  Many of us have experienced hard times and many of us will experience them in our lifetimes.  Socks and stretchy Gloves cost about $1pair.  Cereal on sale costs $2 a box.  Canned meat costs between $1 and $6 a can.  A canned ham might cost $10.  Fleece blankets are on sale in most department stores for $3- $5.  Helping out is not expensive.  If every single one of us donated one item, the help received would be amazing!  Imagine if each of us donated one grocery bag full of stuff!??!!!

I challenge each of you to leave the lunchables and the ice cream in the store this week.  Use the money you would have spent on those “extra” items instead for non-perishable food items or socks, gloves, stocking caps.  If you do not have a place to donate them to, contact a local church (larger churches often have ongoing pantries or special programs), your local WIC office or Department of Family and Children.  They will direct you to where to take your donations.

Thank you in advance!!!