Our Provider

One year. It has been one year since I worked from a desk in an office full time. God provided a beautiful exit for me from the standard 9-5 job where I was increasingly unhappy and then blessed us with our little bébé and cleared a path for me to be a stay at home mom. The disappearance of some of our regular income, the addition of a another mouth to feed (or more accurately a bottom to diaper) and a few dramatic car repairs in recent weeks have left us in a weird situation financially. And by weird I mean broke.

I'm not overly involved in our finances, but I know the belt is going to need to tighten for a bit due to these changes. I had a moment this afternoon where panic started to take over. I felt this crippling feeling and a worried plea-prayer escaped my heart "oh my God, what are we going to do? Are we going to be OK?" 

Then I realized I needed to actually pray. Rather than let worry and fear be the atmosphere of my heart, I sat before the throne and let His peace wash over me. I let the Lord assure me that He was Jehova Jireh and all would be well. And I pressed into his presence and spoke out loud the promises of the Bible. 

God you are good. 

God you will provide. 

Jesus you will work this situation into something beautiful. 

With tears in my eyes and trust in my heart I felt a certainty. A certainty that the blessings he has already poured on us in 2013 (which include a beautiful baby boy!) will only increase from here. It is going to be more than OK. It's going to be great.

Speaking of beautiful baby boys...look at this kid! I die!

On Saving

Growing up as the 2nd of 4 girls, I know a little bit about hand-me-downs. My older sister is only 2 years my senior and we were about the same size all our life, so I would constantly be wearing the items she cast off or grew out of. I rocked out some old baggy t-shirts, worn-in tennis shoes, and gently used barbies as a child.

Only having the occasional birthday money and special allowance for mowing the lawn from time to time, I had no idea what it meant to have more than $20 on a regular basis. So, when I got my first job at Bob Evans as a server at age 16, Charlotte Russe and Forever 21 were never the same again, nor was my wardrobe.  Money flowed through my pockets like f-bombs in an uncensored Eminem song and I cycled through my new clothes in 1-2 wears and then booted them to the curb.

Now, as an adult with bills, a mortgage, and what seems like a lifetime of student loans, I know the importance of a buck and buying quality vs. quantity as well as the need to plan for larger expenses.

So, over the last year(ish) I've been saving fairly diligently for a Canon 50D and I'm happy to report that I'm about 80% to the amount I need for this camera. It really has been a long process, but i'm really proud of myself! I've only squeezed my hand into the piggy bank a couple of times for other shopping, but for the most part all my extra spending money is going straight to this fund. Looking forward to a day sometime in the near future where I can start snapping quality pics instead of the standard iPhone pictures i've gotten so used to.