It's Dexter first day of school! I think I'm more nervous than he is. He happily walled into class then called out, loudly, "mommy, I have something to tell you! Sadie here!!"
Have a great day my big boy!
Click here for the full post after the jump…We are loving the cool weather this spring! We have been outside as much as possible soakingit up before the long, hot summer hits.
"How many deserts, even today, do human beings need to cross! Above all, the desert within, when we have no love for God or neighbor, when we fail to realize that we are guardians of all that the creator has given us and continues to give us," he said.
"Peace in the whole world, still divided by greed looking for easy gain, wounded by the selfishness which threatens human life and the family, selfishness that continues in human trafficking, the most extensive form of slavery in this 21st century.
"Peace to the whole world, torn apart by violence linked to drug trafficking and by the iniquitous exploitation of natural resources! Peace to this our Earth! May the risen Jesus bring comfort to the victims of natural disasters and make us responsible guardians of creation."
It has been a crazy spring and I just realized that I haven't been blogging like I used to.
Lots of fun things have been going on around Houston, one of which is the opening of a Trader Joe's closer to our house. They have the tiniest carts imaginable, so thankfully I had Sander with me this trip and we were able to split the kids between two.
(oh, and I got a new hair cut...bangs!!)
We've been chatting about budgeting the last few posts. It all got kick-started when a friend told me that for her budgeting isn't really about saying "no" to things, it is really about what you are saying "yes" to with your money.
Love it!
The more I thought about it, the more I agreed with her. Paradigm shift!
How we spend our money shows the world what we really value. Money talks!
And girls, can I just say I am excited that money talks?
When we band together, our purchases can send a pretty powerful message!
We hear that the majority of the world lives on less than $2/day, we hear of oppression, we hear of abuse. So often it just seems too much, too big.
So, now for decorating your home on a budget.
Remember, it isn't about saying no to items, its about saying yes to what really matters to you. Do you have what you are saying yes to yet?
Getting ready for this post, I went around my house trying to snap a few pictures of things I have thrifted or gotten for free or from Craigslist. I had to stop because pretty much my entire house is decorated with these things!
Here are a few favs:
So, by now you have your budget all set so it reflects what really matters to you.
Keep thinking about that thing that really matters to you. Do you have it yet? Have you told it to a friend?
Once you have that THING in mind, here is a question for you -- does spending your money on what really matters mean you can't spend it on the things that matter less to you? Do you now need to live on 7 pieces of clothing for the rest of your life? No, but you probably don't need as many pieces as you have now.
Now, I am a girl who loves beauty. I love pretty things in my home and I love pretty things on my body. I think all of us women share that desire. And guess what? All men want to look at pretty women.
I think we can get too serious sometimes and overlook this fundamental aspect of how we're designed -- don't tell me God doesn't love beauty too! Have you looked a nature recently? Or read the account in 1 Chronicles 22 about building the first Temple? God went all out in making sure what was created and built to honor Him was decked out in pretty things!
But, all things in moderation! I don't want anyone to look at how I spend my treasure and have them say the most important thing to me was "pretty things", and thankfully there are lots of options for looking fabulous without spending all our $$ on clothes.
So, first step:
Get in your closet and clean that baby out! See what you have and what you need. Call a friend to come over and help, sometimes we all need a little perspective. Plus, it will be more fun.
All the extra stuff that you "might" wear or you think you paid too much to toss it now --it is just cluttering up your life. Donate it to a friend/ministry/thrift store or sell at a garage sale. You won't regret it! If you have a few pieces you just can't decide about, pack them in a box and store in the attic/spare closet for a few months. If you miss it, go get it -- if you don't, give it away.
Ok, now that you're all cleaned out, what should you do?
So, budgets.
Define budget and you get: An estimate of income and expenditure for a set period of time.
And girls, I am so motivated to budget again! Why? Because there are so many amazing ways to spend our money and it is so easy to miss out on these opportunities if we don't plan (aka: budget). For me, I can walk into HEB and drop huge amounts of money on food I really didn't want or need. If you ask me if groceries are my biggest aim in life, I'd of course tell you no, but how I spend my money says the opposite.
Matthew 6:21 says: Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
When I step back and look at where my money goes this year, I want to feel good about how much and what % went where. To do that, I first have to have a budget (or an app...I'll list some favorites below) to even see where my money went, secondly I have to know where I want my money to go to set a realistic budget.
It may be a great idea to do a little goal setting first. Think about these questions:
These past 4 months have been some of the busiest of my life. I didn't watch season 3 of Downton Abbey via tunnel bear, which alone tells you just how crazy busy it has been!
In early November, at the peak of the craziness, I began dreaming of taking a week away from technology: going somewhere with no internet, no tvs, and yes...no kids. On previous get-aways Sander and I have always chosen adventures over leisure. Skiing or travelling to visit friends doing relief and development work in the Republic of Georgia for example.
But this year, I was really, really...really tired. So we chose the beach.
Why here? Well a friend recommended the island and it was the only beach location United Airlines had available using frequent flier miles for the dates we wanted to go. It was meant to be!
We headed to Ambergris Caye (pronounced "key") in Belize, and guys, this is like a diamond in the rough! We stayed at Ak'bol, a yoga retreat center. I did yoga two mornings on their studio on the pier, but if you stay here you don't have to if that isn't your thing. The food is amazing (handmade and Mayan), our private bungalow had beach views (under $140/night!), and the weather is 80-85 the whole year long.
© Blogger template The Professional Template II by Ourblogtemplates.com 2009
Back to TOP
