Credit Cards

Credit cards are a symbol of instant gratification to me. When I was in college I had one with a $500 limit and it took me more years than I want to think to pay it off. When I wanted something I bought it. I didn't think that in a month I would have to pay for it.
Things changed when I got married, but we have still had our own struggles with credit cards.
What really has made my think of this is how many times do I prevent God from blessing me because I was in too much of a hurry to get something.
When things are going good I can put it on my visa and not think another thing about it.
I want it, so I buy it. How selfish is that?
There have been times in my life that I had no extra money and I learned to do without. I learned not having everything I wanted would not kill me.
Recently God has blessed my family and we are getting out of debt and financially have a little bit of breathing room for the first time in our married life.
The problem with that is I can go to the store and get what I need and in most cases what I want, I don't need to pray and ask God to help me out.
I have been getting convicted on that so I just quit buying anything except groceries and essentials and just asking God for my other needs and mostly wants.
Can I just say God has shown up in a mighty way. It is so restful not trying to figure it all out on my own. If I need it he will provide a way.
There have been a few instances that have blown my mind so I wanted to share.

Ethan puts a hole in almost every pair of pants he owns. He is also very particular about what kind of pants and shirts he wears. They need to fit a certain way and he has a thing about lots of pockets on pants and striped shirts. Well anyway I usually by end of season clearance for the boys in clothes and save a lot of money. I hadn't been able to find any for him. I knew he was running out of pants , but I just didn't want spend $25 on a pair of pants. At church someone gave me a whole bag of clothes for the boys. Inside were two pairs of pants exactly like what he loves, and striped shirts, he was so excited. God even knows what kind of pants my six year old loves to wear!

Last week Randy and I were shopping with the boys. we were looking at weight sets, but I refused to pay $200-$300 for one. So we went to another store, there we ran into my brother and his father-in-law. We talked and it came up what we were looking for. Gary said "Hey I have a really nice weight set at my church you can just have." My brother called me yesterday and will deliver it to our house on Thursday. We don't even have to pick it up. Wow!! I could name instance after instance where God showed up when I was patient and waited on Him. He has given us a car when we needed one, a dryer, clothes, food, money , the list goes on and on of how He provides when I sit and wait and don't try to solve it myself.

Here is where God is really speaking to me. Wait on Him and He will provide and this is the big one: I HAVE to be willing to let go of all of my possessions as well. I need to obey Him and be willing to bless others and not always want to receive. I need to be able to say I own nothing! God is in control of everything and I will freely give as He says.

My Boys

Randy & I decided to buy the boys an X-Box for Christmas. Can I just say that they have a time limit because my sanity holds out for only so long and they would live on it if I would let them. That being said something cool happened and I thought I would share.

They have a Star Wars game that has a split screen and they can pick a character and battle each other. They were playing and yelled for me to come watch. I ran in and they said to me "Look mom, we can make ObiWan praise God!' Sure enough there was Obi with his hands raised to heaven and my boys were so proud of themselves.

I don't really think there is anything profound in that,I just thought it was neat they were thinking of God even while playing a game.

The Hitchhiker

I saw a man on the side of the road, hitch hiking, the other day. It was a cold winter day. The wind was cold and was whipping through his hair. He had no hat or gloves. He was blowing warm air on his bare hands to warm them. I did nothing. I thought, if he is there when I drive back through I can give him some food. He was gone, I will probably never see him again, that breaks my heart. God has been speaking a few things to me since that day.

I have been told by my husband and others that I am never, ever, ever, ever to pick up a hitch hiker and I have promised I won't, but my heart still goes out to them and I want to help in some way. The first thing I think of is that I am so blessed because I have such a support system that I have never been down on my luck. Even if I would do things to loose every material thing I own I would still have such a group of people around me to get me back on my feet. If my car broke down I probably have ten people I could call to bail me out, If I lost my home I would have numerous people to take me in. I don't ever want to take that kind of support system for granted.

When I see someone on the side of the road, I wonder what happened in their life that brought them to this spot. It doesn't matter what brought them there, the fact is they are there. Now what can I do take make it a little bit better. Sometimes I think we do that to new people who have just accepted Jesus. We wonder about their sin and how they got their life in mess. It doesn't really matter how, as much as it matters now what can we do about it to help them get on the right path.

Another question I have been pondering since that day is this: If we could just help one person at a time, bring them in our home, love them, give them essential life skills, SHOW them the love of Jesus, help them on their way and then start all over again with someone else God brings our way. What a difference that would make in this world. I know, it is probably way too idealistic, but it is a thought that is running around in my head.

I just wish I had bought him some warm dinner. Maybe next time..............