Category Archives: Finance

Don’t waste what God has given you. Get, give, and govern with wisdom.

A Better Cash Back Program

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So, I’ve been doing some research on the cost of diapers and decided that I would organize my findings on blogger.  I’ve been doing this for about a month now and have found some great websites in the process of finding the best prices on diapers.  Until recently, I had been using Ebates as my preferred cash back website.  And, although I still use that website on occasion, I’ve found another cash back website that yields higher cash back (at most of the major retailers.)  This has been very beneficial considering the holiday season and the online Christmas shopping I’ve been doing.

Many of the top retailers are on this new cash back website that I use.  It’s completely free to join and completely free when you redeem your cash back.  You simply search for an online retailer, click the “Get Cashback Now” button, and it will automatically record your visit and purchase.  You will then receive a notification via e-mail with information about your cash back.  I’ve only been using it since the beginning of November and I’ve already earned $15 cash back.  It can really add up over time.

Interested in signing up?  Don’t forget, it’s completely free to join and free to redeem your cash back.  

Right now, you can get 12% cash back at Drugstore.com.  You can also get 6% cash back at Kohls, 5% back at Walmart, and 6% back at Target.  There are many many more online retailers to choose from.

In an effort to maintain full disclosure, I would like to inform you that the following banner contains my referral link and I will receive up to $10 when you sign up and you receive cash back for online purchases.  If you also love the website, you can also receive $10 for referring your friends and family.  I will not receive anything for your referrals.  This is NOT a pyramid scheme or scam of any kind.  It is a real cash back program that rewards their users with cash back when they shop online through selected online retailers.

If you would like to get cash back for your online purchases, simply click on the banner below or go to TopCashBack.com.
Online Cashback

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Save on Diapers, Entertainment, and More + Free Shipping

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I spent almost the entire day searching for the best deal on diapers.  Right now, my two youngest are in diapers.  So, we could really benefit from getting the best deal on diapers possible.  I didn’t want to find just any one-time deal.  I wanted to find the lowest price per diaper, and I wanted to get free shipping.  And, by ordering online, we will also be saving time and money on gas.

As I started my search, I found the obvious choice.  I didn’t even have to finish the chart I started!

*UPDATE 12/04/2012 – I have finished my chart and also made a few more charts!  I had so much data that I decided to start another blog devoted to saving money on diapers.  If you’d like to follow this blog, please go to www.Diapers-Check.com.

Incomplete Diaper Price Chart

In the end, I signed up for Amazon Prime with Amazon Mom.  Amazon Prime is $79/yr, which comes to about $6.50/month.  Amazon Prime includes instant video, a 5% discount on products including diapers, free shipping, and a free Kindle book each month.  So, instead of keeping our Netflix account open for about $8.50/month, we can get the same thing through Amazon Prime for $6.50.  This gives us a discount on entertainment, select products including diapers, AND we get free shipping!  Plus, signing up for Amazon Mom is totally free and gives you an additional 20% off diapers!

Once the final calculations were done on size 3 diapers, it came to 0.17/Huggies Diaper, 0.17/Pampers Diaper, and an amazing 0.13/LUVS Diaper!  Deals on Chemical Free diapers included 0.23/Seventh Generation Diaper, 0.23/Huggies Pure & Natural Diaper, and 0.24/Earth’s Best Diaper.

So, you just pick your preferred diaper brand and sign up to get a box shipped to you every month or every 2 months depending on the quantity in each box of diapers.  I was surprised how easy it was.

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A Poem About Money

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My husband wrote this poem years ago when I was going through a poetry phase.  It’s a little silly in some parts but has an overall great lesson to be learned.  I hope you enjoy it.

 

A Poem About Money

I’m looking at a penny sitting lonesome on the street

And I can’t help but think of how it reminds me

That if I were to pick it up and receive it as my own

No one would care

They may wonder why…

 

So I’d tell them a story of when I was a kid

How I lived on the street and my home had a lid

Where the sound of a car horn was my ambient noise

And I had hypodermic needles to play with for toys

 

When it rained I’d get wet, when it snowed I’d be cold

And the corner of Concord and 1st is where I thought I’d grow old

People ignored me and counted my worth

Just like the pennies which had fallen to earth

 

So I collected each one to make as a friend

And before I knew it, one became ten

As I saved that small ten, I still found more

And in just a few short years, I had ten thousand in store

 

I became quite well known to entertain a laugh or two if you threw me some change

In their arrogance they chuckled that I would scurry to obtain

Money so worthless they were glad to throw away

And just as my pennies grew in numbers so fast

So did the people who would throw change for a laugh

 

When I was a few years older, I had saved quite a bit

So I bought the small store on the corner where I would sit

I really only bought it cause I knew it so well

I didn’t have much of anything that I could sell

 

Well I rented it out for the right market cost

And I changed just like that from servant to boss

Then I learned from a paper that I found on the road

That a bank would lend me money, in lieu of the store that I owned

 

Then a man that I knew cause I saw him every day

Who owned the building that was down the street a little way

He told me of how he wanted to sell

So I said, “Sure!  I’ll buy your hotel!”

 

The street that I grew up on, I now own every store

And my purse at the bank just grows more and more

Now the very same people who found humor in my want

Now pay me rent on the first of every month

 

Although a penny by itself is rather worthless indeed

When put into a person’s hand, it’s potential is freed

 

Author:  Jesse Lee

Money Poem Image

 

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How We Made Extra Money Using Craigslist, Ebay, and Rummage Sales

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I love looking on Craigslist at what people in my area are selling or trying to barter.  It can be a great place to find stuff you need, sell stuff that you don’t need, or resell something to make extra money.  Sometimes you can even find some good stuff for free that you can sell to make extra money!  This weekend, I will be listing a bunch of our stuff on Craigslist to make extra money.  We’re hoping to get enough money to replenish our emergency fund after we cleaned it out to buy a used van (more about that later.)

I would normally blog about Frugality on Fridays, but I’ve decided to combine topics today.  Topics will include Frugality, Fitness, and Fun.  And, they will all relate to making extra money with Craigslist somehow.  So, here we go…

Frugality

  • Make extra money by listing things you don’t need anymore on Craigslist.  Easy, right?  Just look around your house, take some pictures of the things you don’t need anymore, and post it on Craigslist for free!  Then, just wait for someone to call you, pay you, and pick it up. And, if there’s no one in your area that wants it, there’s sure to be someone out there in eBay Land that wants it.  We actually tried selling a Limited Edition Harley Davidson Leather Jacket on Craigslist, had someone come take a look at it, and they passed it up for $300.  Then, we listed it on eBay with a starting bid of $0.99 with no reserve.  The winning bidder paid $600!  So, we made twice as much money by listing it on eBay.
  • Save money when you purchase things on Craigslist.  Make sure you don’t pay the asking price by offering to pay cash at a lower price.  We bought our used mini van off of Craigslist just yesterday.  We offered them cash if they would knock off $600.  They agreed and we are now the proud owners of a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country that we paid only $2800 for.  Many people are more than willing to negotiate and come down on their asking price.  Just have the courage to ask and bring cash if you can.Garage Sale
  • Have a Rummage Sale and list it on Craigslist!  Some of my family will be having a rummage sale this weekend and I was more than willing to put an ad on Craiglist for them.  Why wouldn’t you put your rummage sale on Craigslist?  It’s free advertising!  Of course you’re going to list your rummage sale on Craigslist when it’s free!  Who’s going to pass up free advertising?

Fitness

  • So, I purchased a Malibu Pilates Chair with 3 Workout DVDs from a woman off of Craigslist for only $25!  It was still in the box!  Everything was still in the packaging.  It retails for around $500!  It will give you a great workout if you have a little extra space.  Sadly, I found that we don’t have a little extra space.  At least not any usable space.  Having 4 small children doesn’t really allow for personal space other than our bedroom.  If I were to set the chair up (which I did by the way) in my living room, my kids would think I had bought a jungle gym for them to play on in the house (which they did by the way.)  My two year old especially couldn’t keep his hands off of it.  So, back in the box it will go.  I’m still debating whether I should keep it or sell it and make some money off it.  I’m leaning toward selling it to make some extra money.
  • The Malibu Pilates Chair is a great exercise tool and would be great to have if I had my own workout room.  I’ve discovered, though, that I really only need a couple of 3 pound weights and an exercise mat to get a good workout.  I’m thinking that I’ll try making a couple hundred dollars off of the Malibu Pilates Chair and put that money toward my healthy food plan.  What is my healthy food plan you ask?  It’s simply that, a plan to eat healthy.  I plan… to eat healthy!  But, healthy food costs a lot more than empty calories.  So, we just have to make it a priority to eat healthy.  Which means, any money we can spare will go toward healthy eating.  It’s a work in progress.  Just put some of that “extra money” toward buying some cook books with gluten free and sugar free recipes.  I made the gluten free/sugar free chicken fingers last night and they were AWESOME!

FUN!

  • Isn’t it fun to go to rummage sales?  I just love looking through all of the junk until something catches my eye.  My husband and I mostly go looking for things that we can purchase for less than $50 and sell for over $100.  We did make a large purchase one time, though.  My husband found a Vintage Slingerland Drum Kit and paid $300 for it.  We turned around and sold it for $800.  That was the most we’ve ever made on a resale item.  And, the whole experience of buying it and finding out how much it was really worth was a lot of FUN!  It’s such a thrill!
  • When finding things on Craigslist, at rummage sales, and at thrift stores, it’s not really about making money.  Making extra money is a nice outcome.  But, for me, it’s mostly about FUN!  It’s fun to hunt for treasure!
  • Want to read some Mindless Banter about Rummage Sales?  Check out my husband’s blog post.  You’ll either laugh until you cry or be completely dumbfounded.
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Overwhelmed By Food

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I’ve been a little overwhelmed by food lately.  It’s just that there is so much that goes into meal planning.  I’m sure I don’t need to tell the average homemaker that.

overwhelmed by food

Every week, I go through the same routine.

  1. Find recipes for the week based on our health needs and budget
    (What should my budget be?)
  2. Go through pantry, fridge, and freezer to see what needs to be restocked
  3. Make a shopping list based on the recipes and restocking needs
  4. Find any coupons I may be able to use
  5. Find time to go to the grocery store without the kids having to tag along
  6. Go to the grocery store and resist impulse buying (avoid bakery at all costs!)
  7. Try to be as frugal as possible without sacrificing the health of our family
  8. Don’t forget main ingredients!  Get EVERYTHING on your list!
  9. Get home and unload groceries (freezer items first) without getting distracted by the kids
  10. Make the next meal of the day and prepare meals ahead of time if possible

This gets to be pretty overwhelming every week.  I suppose some people have meal planning and grocery shopping down to a science.  I’m not one of those people!  I would say there are three categories of grocery shoppers that people fall into.

Category #1:  The Budget Busters

  • These grocery shoppers are the type that don’t do any planning.  They look around the kitchen a while before going to the grocery store.  Once they are there, they proceed to put whatever looks good into their grocery cart. ” Hmmmm, I think this $10 jar of almost butter looks good.  I think I’ll get that!  Oooo, and that!  And, I could do something with that!”  Before they know it, they’ve got a grocery cart full of condiments and they’ve gone way over their budget.  And, they almost always run out of meals before the week is over.

Category #2:  The Mindful Mommies

  • These grocery shopping mommies will do their best to find food that’s healthy AND on sale!  If they can get something that’s healthy AND low-cost, then they’ve “done what they came to do.”  Mission accomplished!  Planning healthy meals and staying within the monthly budget are a mindful mommy’s constant companions.  She eats, sleeps,and… well, eats her mission to have healthy, low-cost food in her home every week.

Category #3:  The Crazy Coupon Crew

  • These Coupon Crazies are Crazy about Coupons!  All they care about is spending the least amount of money possible.  No time to worry about whether or not that bag of potato chips is healthy or not. ” If there is a coupon for it and it’s a double coupon day, then I’m buying it!  After all… food is food, right?  Gotta make sure we stay UNDER budget!”  So, they spend all of their time clipping coupons instead of planning meals.  And, when the shopping is all done, they’ve got a pantry full of processed food and a rather empty fridge.

Want to know how I came up with those categories?  They’re ALL Me!  I’ve been to both extremes.  I’ve been that Budget Buster who goes down every isle and searches for anything that catches my eye.  I’ve been part of the Crazy Coupon Crew and only cared about dollars and cents.  And, now, I’m starting to settle into the middle category where I should be at this point in my life.  I’m a Mindful Mommy with 4 beautiful children and a great husband to think about.  It’s a little overwhelming at times, but I know it’s worth it.  As long as my family is eating healthy and our finances aren’t suffering, I will feel confident in saying, “Mission Complete!”

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Do We Need Two Cars?

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Crowded CarWe’re in a bit of a pickle right now.  Our second car is on its last leg… finally.  I mean, what did we expect?  It’s a 1993 Toyota Corolla and it has been in my family for years!  I think my oldest sister learned to drive in that car.  We’ll be ok though, right?  We don’t need more than one car. That is, if we don’t ever have to go anywhere as a family.  Our other car is a reliable 2004 Honda Civic that we purchased about 6 years ago in a moment of weakness.  We’re still paying for it, although not for much longer.  Everyone keeps telling us that we need a van, and I guess they’re right.  We are a family of 6 after all.  We need to be able to get to church on Sundays.  No question about that.  And, I’m definitely not going to be asking my parents to help us out every week.

So, I guess we’ll have to put our house hunting off a while longer in order to stay on track with our financial plans.  We just did some landscaping, which added a few thousand dollars onto our credit card balance.  So, we’re set to have all of our cards paid off by April of next year.  Once we have those paid off, we should be able to save for a down payment on a house.

It is very tempting, though, to just refinance and include all of our credit card debt in that.  But, we only pay 1.99% on $5000 of credit card debt at this point.  So, to refinance that balance into, let’s say, a 3.5% interest 30 yr mortgage would be stupid to say the least.  We just need to be patient and help each other stay on track.  It will all be worth it in about 5 years when we own a rental property (our current home) and have only our mortgage on our nice new home with plenty of space for our 4 children… make that 6 children in another 5 years.

Now we just have to find a van that is reliable and doesn’t cost more than $3500.  Good luck with that, right?  Maybe we can swing having just one vehicle?  Would it be worth it to sell the Honda for a few thousand dollars and get a van when my husband would have to take it to work every day?  There aren’t many fuel efficient vans out there to my knowledge.  What to do, what to do?

Option #1:  Sell the old car for $500 and buy a used van for $3500

  • Pros:  We would have two cars and a vehicle that our entire family would fit in
  • Cons:  We would have to buy the van on credit and would have to hold off on buying our second home

Option #2:  Sell both cars for $4500, buy a used van with cash, and use the bus for work

  • Pros:  We would have a larger vehicle that our entire family would fit in and we may end up with some extra cash
  • Cons:  All of that extra cash would go toward gas!  NOT fuel efficient at all.  Inconvenient to only have one vehicle.

Option #3:  Sell the old car for $500 and just keep other car

  • Pros:  We would have some extra cash and no additional debt
  • Cons:  We would not be able to go anywhere as a family and would only have one small vehicle

Are you in a similar situation?  Please share your vehicle woes and put in your two cents about the above options.  Which one will it be?  Option#1, 2, or 3?  Our fate rests in your hands!  Until we take it back into our hands of course.

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Rent Our House?

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Should we rent our house out and buy a larger home?  Or, should we stay in the house and add more rooms in the basement?  Either way, we’ll be spending money.  If we buy another house, we’ll need money for a down payment and closing costs.  Plus, we’ll have to do some touch up work on our current home before we could rent it out.  If we added rooms in the basement, it would cost us just as much and it wouldn’t add much value to our house in todays market.

Right now, we’re leaning more toward buying a larger home and renting out our current home.  With the market and mortgage rates at a new low, this would obviously be a great time to buy.  It is not a good time to sell, however.  So, that is why renting our house seems to be our best option.  Plus, we wouldn’t just be breaking even on renting it out.  We’ve estimated a rental INCOME of around $200/month.

There is a third option of course.  It’s an option I don’t really like to think about.  It involves spending another winter couped up in an 1100 sq ft house with 6 people.  I would say that our health depends on us getting into a larger space BEFORE the winter colds and the dreaded flu hits.  It is a known fact that people get sick more often when they work or live in crowded conditions.  I would also like to put in an extra vote for my sanity.  We should definitely get into a larger space BEFORE winter.

In order to do that, we must first consider our buying power.  What can we afford?  Sadly, we do not have much of a down payment.  In fact, we don’t have ANY down payment.  So, we would have to put aside our surplus for a couple of months instead of paying down our debt like we had wanted to do.  We may even have to borrow part of the down payment from a family member.  YUCK!  I don’t like thinking about that.  But, that’s what family’s for, right?  Just kidding of course.  That’s why it makes me sick just thinking about borrowing money from family.  I don’t like owing anyone anything.  I would much rather be the one lending out the money.  I suppose if someone we trust just happened to have, o let’s say, an extra $10,000 just laying around, they wouldn’t mind earning something like 3% interest on that money.

Definitely something we’ll have to pray about.  In fact, I think I’ve been praying about this every day now for about a month.  I’m not sure if the Lord is answering my prayer now, but we are supposed to go look at a house this evening.  It is a little over our budget, but it’s a short sale.  So, maybe the bank will consider a lower offer.  Like $20,000 lower than the asking price.  Hmmmm, not so sure.  But, just looking can’t hurt, right?  I guess we’ll see.

 

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We Have Grass!

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We recently had to install a new lawn after destroying it last year while waterproofing our basement.  We had to excavate around the foundation of our house, and the machines we used completely destroyed our lawn.  So, we set out to do some landscaping this spring.  And, we’re starting to see green grass!!!!

Here are some pictures of the lawn install progress…

 

Front Before

Front Corner Before

Back Before

Front in Progress

Side in Progress

Back in Progress

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Front with Grass!

Back with Grass!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More to come Next Spring!  We are planning to save up a good amount of money to put some bushes, plants, and maybe a couple trees in next spring.  This install was about $2000 in labor and another $1000 in materials.  That is not including what we did with the perimeter.  Home improvements definitely aren’t cheep!

Our next project will be to add a couple of rooms in the basement.  Hopefully, we will have the time and money to do that this winter.  It’s getting a little cramped in our 1100 square ft house with four children!

 

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Coincidence? I Think God!

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In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 3:6

Throughout our lives, we have seen God work in miraculous ways.  Some may say that they are coincidences or that we’re just lucky.  But, we know exactly Who is molding and shaping us as individuals, as a couple, and now as a family.  Our lives are a work of art.  They are expressions of God’s love and desire for us to be crafted into His image.  We’re not the type of Christian’s that go around telling people (or, even believe) that God will make your life perfect if you just follow Him.  In fact, we know from God’s Word that we will endure many sorrows and heartache in our lives.  But, as we’ve trusted Christ in all we do, there is an overwhelming sense of peace that follows.  When we’re sick, we are at peace.  When we’re poor, we are at peace.  When we are grieving a loss, we are at peace.  And, when my husband lost his job a few months ago, we were at peace.

I admit, there are times when I do not trust God.  Those are the dark times.  And, boy do I know it!  I can remember exact moments in my life when I was not trusting God.  I can tell you right now that those are the most depressing memories I have as a young adult.  I still go through times like that.  But, they are usually brief, because I know the cure!

 

God Moment #1: How We Met

The moments in our lives that are really God moments are truly amazing to us.  My first “God Moment” came when we were in high school.  I really really really wanted to be a part of the dance team at our school.  They were one of the best in the state, and I loved to dance.  I remember trying out for the team my freshman year and being devastated that I did not make it.  So, instead, I decided to try out for the school musical and the tennis team.  To my surprise, I was able to be a part of both!  This was a “God Moment” for me, because I didn’t have a very good singing voice and I wasn’t very good at tennis either.  I didn’t understand how I could be left out of something I was truly good at, but be welcomed with open arms into these two groups that I didn’t really fit into.  Later, I would meet my husband, Jesse, during rehearsal for the musical, “Annie Get Your Gun.”  If I hadn’t been rejected from the dance team and accepted into the musical, I probably never would have really gotten to know Jesse.

 

God Moment #2: Location, Location, Location

6 months after we were married, Jesse and I moved to Nashville, TN, from our home in Wisconsin.  While working for a flooring company, Jesse pursued music in the evenings and on weekends.  6 months after that, we had our first child.  We had moved there to see if other Christian musicians with a passion for the Lord and for contemporary Christian music would surface to form a group with Jesse.  But, something happened after Abigail was born.  We started to experience a string of “bad luck.”  I can look back now and honestly say that the Lord was working during this “bad luck” streak.  Jesse had just found, what we thought was a job as a guitar teacher.  It turns out, it was more like a scam.  The music school “hired” him to teach children guitar in their homes.  What they failed to mention was that they only had a couple of children ready to start lessons.  It ended up being more of a business start-up where the teachers would only be paid hourly.  We found this out AFTER Jesse had quit his job at the flooring company.  It was all down hill from there.  As we prayed for guidance, the Lord slowly answered in unexpected ways.  Jesse couldn’t go back to work for the flooring company and he was having a hard time finding work, so he had to leave Abigail and me for a short time to go back to Wisconsin and work for his father.  We also ended up having to pay for a fender bender.  So, all of this set us back quite a bit.  We started to feel claustrophobic, as if our dreams were about to come crashing down on us.  Then, we started to reach out to family and friends back home.  This was the “God Moment” for me.  Jesse began talking to a few guys back home that expressed an interest in starting a band.  My family offered to take us in until we got back on our feet.  Jesse’s Dad offered him a job working in the family business.  And so, we found ourselves preparing to move back home.  God was calling us home and we just couldn’t ignore His calling.

 

God Moment #3: What Makes a House a Home?

After moving back to Wisconsin, we quickly began searching for a place to live.  We had a little motivation since we ended up having to move in with my parents, grandmother, and sister upon our swift return home.  When moving back from Nashville, we had just enough money to buy gas for the trip home.  So, we needed to find a temporary place to live until we got back on our feet.  My parents were gracious enough to welcome us into their already crowded home.  Needless to say, things weren’t easy, especially since we had our six month old baby girl with us.  It was a house to live in, but it was not our home.  We prayed for the Lord to provide an alternative to our chaotic living situation at that time.  Then, Jesse’s parents told us the news that their tenants living above them in their duplex where going to be moving out.  So, as soon as they moved out, we got to work getting the place ready for us to move in.  It was an answer to prayer!  We ended up living there for two years until we could afford to buy our own house.  Then, it happened!  God Moment #3 showed it’s face at just the right time.  Timing was EVERYTHING when it came to how we acquired our first house.  First, we had just paid off our credit card, so we had a $0 balance on that.  So, what does the credit card company do?  They send us an offer for a NO FEE, 1.99% balance transfer offer for the LIFE OF THE BALANCE.  This was truly a God send.  We still had about $12000 left to pay on our car loan with a minimum payment of $350/month.  With that high of a payment, we could not afford to buy a house.  But, after transferring the balance to the credit card, which lowered the interest rate and payment, we could now qualify for a $120,000 mortgage.  But, where would we find a house at that price in Ozaukee County where the going rate was $250,000?  Within weeks of transferring our car loan balance, I got a rather unexpected phone call.  My sister called to say that the elderly woman living next door to her had just been moved to a nursing home and her son would be putting the house up for sale.  She told me about an estate sale he would be having that weekend.  I knew what my sister and brother-in-law had paid for their house, so I thought there was no way we could afford to buy one right next door to them.  But, we decided to go to the estate sale anyway and talk to the owner’s son.  We walked around the house and realized that we may be able to get a good deal on the place.  It hadn’t been updated in years!  So, we asked him how much he was looking to get.  Without going through a real estate agent, we were able to get the house for $115,000!  Praise the Lord!  And, on top of that, we were GIVEN a down payment from a family member.  We would finally have the house we’d been wanting since moving back to Wisconsin.  Now, if we could just get these updates finished, it may finally look like a home.

 

God Moment #4: Get a Job or Start a Business?

 

We started off February of this year with high hopes.  Jesse was expected to get a raise after his two year mark as a web designer/developer.  Unfortunately, he not only didn’t get a raise, he was let go because of budget cuts.  On the plus side, the company gave him about three weeks to find a new job.  Time to start praying hard for some direction, we thought.  Then, Jesse came to me with an idea. “Why don’t I start my own business?” he asked.  Jesse had developed some business contacts and was confident he could keep the work rolling in.  So, we began to ask the Lord if that was the right thing to do.  After really really praying about it, we still didn’t feel ready to make a decision.  We didn’t know exactly what was holding us back.  We just didn’t feel the Lord leading us to commit to starting a business.  Until we were certain of what the Lord wanted for us, Jesse continued updating his resume and portfolio (http://www.jesseleedesign.com.)  He applied for a couple of jobs and waited for a response.  Then, it happened!  God Moment #4 came in the form of an unexpected conversation on Facebook.  Jesse had just been called in for an interview and he was up late the night before doing some social networking.  One of his friends from college, that he rarely talks to, suddenly popped up to ask him a question.  ”Do you know what [this] is?” he asked.  He was referring to some sort of software that I’m not familiar with.  Jesse responded, “No, what is it?”  At that point, his friend continued to explain what it was.  Jesse suddenly remembered from his friend’s description that he had come across that software before and indeed was knowledgable of it.  He just couldn’t remember what it was called until just then.  That was the end of the conversation.  Jesse went to bed that night asking the Lord to be with him during his interview the next day.  During the interview, he was only asked 4 questions.  One of them just happened to be about the very same software Jesse had discussed with his friend the night before.  HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!?!?  Just think, if he hadn’t had that conversation, he may have sounded like an idiot to the guy interviewing him.  For all we know, that was the question that put him at the top of their list.  He was offered the job within 20 minutes of walking out the door!  After that, we were certain of what direction the Lord was leading us in.  Praise the Lord!

 

Unfortunate Circumstances

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

I did not want to be rejected from the dance team.  I did not want to go broke and move back in with my parents.  I did not want to wait to have our own house.  And, I certainly did not want my husband to lose his job.  Those were all unfortunate circumstances that lead to amazing moments that I would like to call “God Moments.”  They are moments that remind you Who is in control.  They are moments that remind you not to be anxious about anything.  They are moments that remind you to give thanks in all circumstances, even the unfortunate ones.  You may just come to realize that they’re not so unfortunate after all.

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