We renovated the house for six months straight. God gave us strength to labor over the home every weekend and every weeknight, with many nights into the wee hours of the morning. Burnout was experienced and I still feel the effects.
In February the Holy Spirit led me to ask my church if there is someone needing a free place to stay until they get back on their feet. That is when I was introduced to a woman named Teresa and her dog who stayed with me for a couple months. We looked over her finances, helped cut out expenses, and waited for her to save money to move into her own apartment. Food, shelter, and a bed was provided for her and she left in April.
The spring and summer was filled with garden fun. I grew vegetables, flowers, and raised two chickens! That was a neat learning experience and I felt empowered to realize the simplicity of nature's ability to provide food for us. Ben's sister, Sarah got married in May to James. Ben lost his job in May too. I also got licensed as a CPA in May.
In September I purchased my coworker's 2002 PT cruiser for Ben. After expenses it came out closer to $3700. His jeep kept having issues for years, and the brakes kept going out. He was so happy when I told him, that he stared at the envelope with his finger rubbing against his name for along time.
The fall flew by with only one trip to the Cider Mill this year. On October 19th, Ben asked me to marry him. We have dated for the past 5.5 years. He got me a sparkly diamond just under .74 carats. I love staring at it in low light or in the car. Ashley provided Ben with hourly work in construction earning $12/hr. In November Ben got a part time job as a paralegal for $13/hr. He is still considering law school if he can get in somewhere close to free. 2013 will be telling of whether that is still something to pursue.
November brought us tons of time spent with family. December brought 6 parties! It was a whirlwind season.
My struggles this year consisted of difficulty getting up in the mornings, bad attitude about work, and loss of motivation and drive. No physical issues this year which I am grateful for. No OCD flare ups this year which I am also very grateful for. I also got really out of shape while renovating, and had to start watching my diet at the end of the year.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Happy New Year!
If 2013 was your last year on this earth, how would you live it?
What activities would you fill your days with, what would you prioritize?
Now compare those thoughts with your New Year's resolutions. Any tweaking necessary?
Don't put off people for another day...you may not get that someday.
How stupidly busy some of our resolutions seem when compared to spending time with someone, caring for someone, helping those in need. Would you mend a relationship? Would you travel to visit a relative? Be Jesus to those who need His healing in their hearts? I wish I could live more fearlessly.
When I think about having a year left to live, things that flash through my mind are to:
Visit my uncle in CA
Visit friends around the states
Hug my family, hug my distant relatives
Be a little more extravagant for wedding stuff
Go find a bunch of hurting and homeless people to volunteer for
Give my money away until there's nothing left
Start an initiative at church to connect people to house guests temporarily
Offend people by speaking to them about the love of Christ and the transformation of the heart they can experience when they put their trust in Jesus. Care more about their eternity than about whether they will stop talking to me.
Travel
Have conversations
Wear my heart on my sleeve and tell people what I think about them.
Be out there serving others
What activities would you fill your days with, what would you prioritize?
Now compare those thoughts with your New Year's resolutions. Any tweaking necessary?
Don't put off people for another day...you may not get that someday.
How stupidly busy some of our resolutions seem when compared to spending time with someone, caring for someone, helping those in need. Would you mend a relationship? Would you travel to visit a relative? Be Jesus to those who need His healing in their hearts? I wish I could live more fearlessly.
When I think about having a year left to live, things that flash through my mind are to:
Visit my uncle in CA
Visit friends around the states
Hug my family, hug my distant relatives
Be a little more extravagant for wedding stuff
Go find a bunch of hurting and homeless people to volunteer for
Give my money away until there's nothing left
Start an initiative at church to connect people to house guests temporarily
Offend people by speaking to them about the love of Christ and the transformation of the heart they can experience when they put their trust in Jesus. Care more about their eternity than about whether they will stop talking to me.
Travel
Have conversations
Wear my heart on my sleeve and tell people what I think about them.
Be out there serving others
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
wedding bells and more debt
Getting married soon means my man's debt is soon to be my own. When I last asked how much he has, it was 40K. It's been at 40K for a year now so I'm not sure what's going on and haven't been privy to finding out what the real balance is. It's going to feel so defeating to have debt again after I tried so hard the first three and a half years after graduating to get rid of mine. I guess it's back to the drawing board. Here are some things I had to do when paying off my debt:
In order to conquer this giant I have to come to terms with some important principles. Everything we have is a gift from God including our skills, talents, and past experiences. If we give God the glory, we don't have to be upset with where someone is in life. The conversations I was a part of, the school I enrolled in, my natural subjects of interest are all examples of what makes the foundation that helped me to do what I did. If I were raised by someone else's parents, or had a whole new personality, I may not have the will to create my personal jail in order to get out of debt. If I keep this mentality, then I don't have to get upset or frustrated at my future husband for where he is at today being the same age as me. God help me to remind myself of this fact and to have humility to never think that what I have done is of myself but only by the grace of God and the intangible gifts God gave me. And may he help us pay the next 40K off.
- Not get a smartphone despite how backwards that is for someone in professional services
- Not get cable
- Not buy or own a TV
- Didn't eat lunch out with coworkers
- Lived with my parents in my high school bedroom from age 22-26 (NOT an option when married)
- Bought a house for 26K
In order to conquer this giant I have to come to terms with some important principles. Everything we have is a gift from God including our skills, talents, and past experiences. If we give God the glory, we don't have to be upset with where someone is in life. The conversations I was a part of, the school I enrolled in, my natural subjects of interest are all examples of what makes the foundation that helped me to do what I did. If I were raised by someone else's parents, or had a whole new personality, I may not have the will to create my personal jail in order to get out of debt. If I keep this mentality, then I don't have to get upset or frustrated at my future husband for where he is at today being the same age as me. God help me to remind myself of this fact and to have humility to never think that what I have done is of myself but only by the grace of God and the intangible gifts God gave me. And may he help us pay the next 40K off.
Devo - Currently Reading
Currently reading Beth Moore's "Breaking Free." It could be that I'm reading two books/Bible studies from the same author, but I keep reading about themes like prayer and idolatry lately. We'll see what Jesus has to speak to me about this season. I sometimes wonder what life would be like if I lived completely immersed and pursuing God's word. Instead of studying up on the next license you can get for work or making sure your spending is in order, what if you just devour as much as you can about God and grow close to him in reading and prayer? How much more fulfilling would life be if we went to the source of our peace and strength as much as we can and pursued it as hard as we pursue everything else in life?
5 Days Til Christmas
December is going by so fast. I've been really busy at work, so that's been contributing to feeling like I haven't prepared for Christmas. Two more days in the work week and I will be off for a week! I haven't gotten to do anything to get into the holiday spirit yet - like baking cookies, wrapping up gifts, doling out treats while listening to Christmas music.
Planning a wedding can get stressful if you think too much about everything left to do. There's a lot of random details that have to get taken care of and that's the most annoying part for me. I covered all the big to-do's in the first month and now I have to start tackling the small things. There are a lot of random costs popping up that weren't budgeted for. There might be some time during my week off to cross some other things off the list.
The dress: I get measured for the wedding dress on January 5th. After that, I can't eat anymore fattening food for a few months! For the first night of the wedding the plan is to pig out and eat pizza.
The shoes: Bought my something blue!!! Lulu Townsend Corabel in Navy blue satin.
Working out: I'm actually making it to the gym once a week now. Sad to say that is actually progress in 2012. I fell off the work out wheel after renovating the house.
Christmas parties: I've gone to three Christmas parties so far, and three more to go Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. That will probably make it feel more like Christmas!
Planning a wedding can get stressful if you think too much about everything left to do. There's a lot of random details that have to get taken care of and that's the most annoying part for me. I covered all the big to-do's in the first month and now I have to start tackling the small things. There are a lot of random costs popping up that weren't budgeted for. There might be some time during my week off to cross some other things off the list.
The dress: I get measured for the wedding dress on January 5th. After that, I can't eat anymore fattening food for a few months! For the first night of the wedding the plan is to pig out and eat pizza.
The shoes: Bought my something blue!!! Lulu Townsend Corabel in Navy blue satin.
Working out: I'm actually making it to the gym once a week now. Sad to say that is actually progress in 2012. I fell off the work out wheel after renovating the house.
Christmas parties: I've gone to three Christmas parties so far, and three more to go Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. That will probably make it feel more like Christmas!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Let the Holiday Parties Begin
Tomorrow will be the first of several Christmas parties this year. We are supposed to bring 5 $1 gifts for a fun gift exchange. I don't know how this game is going to work, but it was definitely fun. I bought a box of candy canes, a lottery ticket, reindeer socks, carmex cherry lip balm, and a black and white nature calendar. How did I do?
The day after that will be my work holiday party at the owner's house. It will be interesting having a Christmas party without so many people who have left since I have started working there. There's only one manager left at the firm now. Last year, I passed out at the Christmas party and went to the hospital after drinking half a glass of wine. I think this year, I will just "pass" on the wine. My blood pressure is too low to drink or run for very long (without swollen, tingly, red feet).
The Christmas tree is up in the house :) It was a 9 dollar tree from Wal-Mart that I bought after Christmas in 2010. I figured I might need one some day. It is a little sparse and there aren't a lot of greens on it, so you can totally see through all the gaps of the tree. This is perfect for a single gal though. I already have presents wrapped up under it for the various parties I am going to.
This year I get to enjoy the holidays with joy and optimism. I've slowly been learning to enjoy life and have fun. Allow yourself to get excited about things, and you will start seeing so much more joy in things you could have dismissed while being a humbug. So far I can make every Christmas party that I usually like to go to since they are all on different days. Thank you, Jesus :)
2012 will be my last Christmas as an unmarried woman. That is an interesting thought. What are some things I need to be sure to do in order to relish this Christmas? Am I forgetting things that I do now that I take for granted, that I won't be doing anymore?
What's on your Christmas list this year? My Christmas List?
-Washing machine
-Dryer
-TV
Funny how much more practical our wants become. Yes, I have lived without a TV. Yes, I have saved money by not having cable. I also don't have a washer or a dryer. Maybe Santa will come by next year! In all honesty, clothes, shoes, furniture would be so much more fun. In all honesty, I'm just happy to see friends and family get together, people loving others, and seeing everybody get warm fuzzies.
Jesus gave Himself as a gift to us. A gift is free. Unlike the gifts we may give or receive, His gift isn't earned by our behavior. It isn't earned at all. It's there for us to accept it just as we are, covered in sin. There's no such thing as becoming a better person before accepting this gift from God. In fact, it's just the beginning of a journey with Christ to transform your heart into His likeness through His power, not yours. When you accept Christ as your Savior, you accept that Jesus already died on the cross for your sins, and that since God accepts Him, you are now accepted because of Him. It's like a stamp. He stamps you as His, and you obtain the benefit of what He did on your behalf. We are sinners, but because Jesus was sinless, God will see us as sinless when we go to meet Him. This should remove all judgmental attitude because it is not what we do that attains our salvation. It is the mercy and grace of God and when we are gifted something we could never achieve, all we can do is have gratitude. After receiving such a wonderful gift, how can our hearts not overflow with love for others? Let God fill your heart and let your heart overflow in His goodness that never runs out.
The day after that will be my work holiday party at the owner's house. It will be interesting having a Christmas party without so many people who have left since I have started working there. There's only one manager left at the firm now. Last year, I passed out at the Christmas party and went to the hospital after drinking half a glass of wine. I think this year, I will just "pass" on the wine. My blood pressure is too low to drink or run for very long (without swollen, tingly, red feet).
The Christmas tree is up in the house :) It was a 9 dollar tree from Wal-Mart that I bought after Christmas in 2010. I figured I might need one some day. It is a little sparse and there aren't a lot of greens on it, so you can totally see through all the gaps of the tree. This is perfect for a single gal though. I already have presents wrapped up under it for the various parties I am going to.
This year I get to enjoy the holidays with joy and optimism. I've slowly been learning to enjoy life and have fun. Allow yourself to get excited about things, and you will start seeing so much more joy in things you could have dismissed while being a humbug. So far I can make every Christmas party that I usually like to go to since they are all on different days. Thank you, Jesus :)
2012 will be my last Christmas as an unmarried woman. That is an interesting thought. What are some things I need to be sure to do in order to relish this Christmas? Am I forgetting things that I do now that I take for granted, that I won't be doing anymore?
What's on your Christmas list this year? My Christmas List?
-Washing machine
-Dryer
-TV
Funny how much more practical our wants become. Yes, I have lived without a TV. Yes, I have saved money by not having cable. I also don't have a washer or a dryer. Maybe Santa will come by next year! In all honesty, clothes, shoes, furniture would be so much more fun. In all honesty, I'm just happy to see friends and family get together, people loving others, and seeing everybody get warm fuzzies.
Jesus gave Himself as a gift to us. A gift is free. Unlike the gifts we may give or receive, His gift isn't earned by our behavior. It isn't earned at all. It's there for us to accept it just as we are, covered in sin. There's no such thing as becoming a better person before accepting this gift from God. In fact, it's just the beginning of a journey with Christ to transform your heart into His likeness through His power, not yours. When you accept Christ as your Savior, you accept that Jesus already died on the cross for your sins, and that since God accepts Him, you are now accepted because of Him. It's like a stamp. He stamps you as His, and you obtain the benefit of what He did on your behalf. We are sinners, but because Jesus was sinless, God will see us as sinless when we go to meet Him. This should remove all judgmental attitude because it is not what we do that attains our salvation. It is the mercy and grace of God and when we are gifted something we could never achieve, all we can do is have gratitude. After receiving such a wonderful gift, how can our hearts not overflow with love for others? Let God fill your heart and let your heart overflow in His goodness that never runs out.
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