Moving!

No, not that kind of moving yet....but my husband helped me convert to Wordpress which he said has better photo storage, less SPAM and an easier commenting system.

I hope you'll join me there from now on!

www.faithwithmycoffee.wordpress.com

New Year Goals

I have found so many great resources online for my 2011 goals. I cannot tell you how excited I am to get the new year rolling. So far these are the online resources that I have utilized:

• Money Saving Mom.com I love Crystal! She has so many great resources that are free and lots of great advice. I downloaded several of her household management forms for my homemaking binder.
• My Total Money Makeover.com from Dave Ramsey. I'm waiting for my order from his sale to get here this week but in the meantime I signed up for the online tools and spent yesterday afternoon getting my January budget ready and making my cash envelopes. I am off to a good start with all of the gift cards that I received for Christmas because I use the money I budgeted or will budget for clothing and household items, books and music (entertainment envelope) toward funding my BS1 which is the $1,000 emergency fund.

The other thing that I am excited about is the fact that we may be moving to smaller place in February to get rid (sell, donate) excess "stuff" and save money by living with less.

What are your goals?

Merry Christmas!

I have been blessed beyond measure today with gifts, food, family and the true meaning of Christmas! 

A very Merry Christmas! 

A Very Special Christmas

I cannot describe in words the peace that I have felt in the last few weeks as I have been faithfully reading Scripture every day and praying harder than I have before. I am truly amazed. The most important birth of all time is about to be celebrated and I am so, so thankful for His birth and His life He lived for me and for us. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Away in a manger,
No crib for His bed
The little Lord Jesus
Laid down His sweet head

The stars in the bright sky
Looked down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay.....

Frugal Living

One of our short term goals (I say this loosely because we don't have an exact time frame yet) is to get into our own home in a peaceful area and live a bit more self-sufficiently. In order to achieve this goal we have to gain control of our finances and work hard. We're determined but we need the tools, prayer and guidance.

Both of us have read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover (I more than once) and we own it. Today while Dave Ramsey has a big sale on his website, I ordered this Designer Envelope System

and another book by Dave.

I also plan on starting Dave's Financial Peace University at a local Church this winter to help even more. I really am inspired by Dave, his philosophy, his Christian heart and the fact that you can't purchase anything of his with a credit card! It has to be a debit card or a sweep from your checking account. Smart man. 

Coincidence?

I am a worrier. I have anxiety about many things. Where will I be a year from now? Will I be healthy? Will I be happy? Will we work our way out of debt and into our own home? It's been on my mind a lot lately and something that I have been praying hard about it.

Yesterday, I randomly opened to the Book of Luke and staring at me was Luke 12:25:

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?  Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?" 

Wow. I guess He heard my prayers and wanted me to see this. I have been saying it over and over again today and even wrote it on a sticky note and placed it on my desk. While He gave me free will, He also set his path for me and by worrying, I am not adding a single minute let alone hour to my life here until I go home to Him. 

I truly feel a connection that I haven't felt in quite some time. It brings peace to this Christmas week. 

A True Calling

Is it possible in today's day and age for this wife who works full-time to manage her home as if she were a full-time homemaker?  I don't know. I want to try. We have so much changing in our lives in the up coming months but I need for our home to be a haven. I need to be healthy in my mind and body with more time with the Lord, more time spent on home cooked meals for my husband and I and more time feeling organized and focused.

I truly believe that my true calling is that of a wife, daughter, sister and aunt. I want to focus more on my family and our home (wherever that may be).  How does one accomplish such a task?  I hope to find encouragement, advice and experiences from your blogs.

He Shows You

This morning I didn't wake early enough to say my prayers or read a Bible passage. I thought that this would make me have an unproductive and faithless morning.

Once again, He showed me that I was incorrect.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." 

Jeremiah 29:11

This morning one of my volunteer projects was to assemble and deliver Christmas baskets of food and encouragement to those who are less fortunate in these troubled times. I was touched by one family in particular who greeted us with open arms, who Blessed us and thanked God for us and thanked us for the handmade teddy bear that someone had lovingly made that their grandson could now enjoy. How thankful they were for the turkey and trimmings, the daily necessities that they were given. How they told us of their son who was coming home from Afghanistan where he was working with the military Clergy. 

I was humbled. I Blessed them as well, wished them a Merry Christmas and asked them to thank their son for his service to our country. I realized that today, though I have not yet prayed or talked to Him, he has showed me how lucky and blessed I am for the people, faith and things that I have. 

He is in control.