Around The World

Monthly Update

2012-01-30T18:55:00.001-05:00

Can you believe we are already one month into 2012? I am actually pretty pleased with how I've done on my goals so far, and wanted to share that progress with you:

1. Support raising: We started the month at 7%. Now we are at approximately 22%! We need to increase this by 5.6% every month to get to 50% by June. Even better is 7% a month to guarantee we're at 85% by October!

2. Date night: We have been so busy that for our few nights off, we've just chosen to veg at home and watch a movie. And I am totally ok with that :)

3. Save 53% of our Emergency Fund: We started at 40% and end the month at 41%. We are definitely on track to achieve this goal.

4. Go to bed before 11 on work nights: I've done better than I have in a long time, but I definitely need to improve on this. Staying up late is a hard habit to break.

5. Read through the books on my reading list: I'm flying through this goal (thanks to all the study halls I subbed for :))! You can see what all I read this month (and what I thought about them) here.

6. Exercise regimen: Ray and I have been discussing this, but haven't nailed down what we're going to do in the winter (I don't venture outside in the cold unless absolutely necessary...and I definitely don't exercise in the cold!). We're thinking of walking in the mall down the road. But I've given myself until February to have a workable plan. *phew*

7. Daily schedule: This is still a work in progress. I have a somewhat workable plan, and have been doing *okay* with sticking to it on most days, but we have a pretty variable and hectic schedule some evenings, so it's hard to schedule for everything. Still, I feel like I've been more productive and time-conscious than if I hadn't made the schedule at all. I'm sure this will go through some revisions and revamping as I figure out what does and doesn't work for me.

8. Scripture memory: After waffling between the book of Philippians and the book of James, I decided to start on the book of James. My main problem with memorizing Scripture is lack of accountability. My Mom is memorizing James, too, so that solves that problem (and removes that excuse :))!. If I finish that book before the end of the year, I'll probably start Philippians, but we'll start here. I'm still polishing up chapter 1 (which I memorized once a couple years ago...so it's mostly review), but basically that's where I'm at.

9. Stop popping my knuckles: This has been torture at times, as it helps my wrist feel better, but I'm really pleased at the progress I'm making! Only a couple times have I forgotten and popped my knuckles. I'm very proud of how far I've gotten! The past week or so, I've gotten complacent and popped them a couple times, though, so I need to get back on track.

How did you do on your goals in January?

Books read in January

2012-01-27T06:30:00.000-05:00

So, here are all the books on my list that I've read in January, as well as my impressions :)

1. Anthem by Ayn Rand - I first read this book in Ms. Riddell's 10th grade English class, and it still intrigues me. I can't say it's a "favorite," but it's such a fascinating look at what happens when a society forbids any individuality and embraces total collectivism. It's also a pretty short and easy read (I'll admit...I cheated and read it New Year's Eve! :)). One of these days, I might actually get around to reading her massive book "Fountainhead," which has been sitting on my shelf since high school. Perhaps after I finish these 24 books :)

2. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - bizarre read (Dorian's portrait ages and shows his flaws and sins while he stays young and innocent looking), but at least it was interesting and easy to understand. I see why it's considered a classic, but still...very odd.

3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - I definitely lucked out to sub for a teacher who had nothing but study halls for me to cover all day AND a copy of this book on her desk (instead of having to wait for 14+ other people to read it at the library or go buy it myself :)). I absolutely LOVED it, cannot wait to see the movie, and am really excited to see what she does in the next two in the trilogy.

4. Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss - who knew a book about grammar could be so hysterical! I snorted with laughter while reading this book, sympathized with the author as she encountered horrendous grammatical errors, and learned quite a few interesting things about the development of our language and punctuation. If you're the type that is forever correcting people's misuse of its, it's, their, they're, there, and all those other common mistakes, you will love this book!

5. Room by Emma Donaghue - very moving book about a woman and her son held in captivity, told in the voice of 5 year-old Jack. I had to get used to Jack's different way of talking, but it was such a beautiful story, sad and triumphant at the same time. Really loved it!

6. PT 190: John F. Kennedy in WWII - not a fan. Not sure if it was just poorly written or not the most exciting war story, but I just couldn't get into it. Definitely don't recommend.

7. The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis - I always love C.S. Lewis books. This one is no exception :)

8. The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson - Mezmerizing. Weird in that every character definitely had major issues and probably could've used extensive therapy, but I simply could not put this book down. I was intrigued throughout every page and passage!

I also read a couple others that weren't on my reading list:
--The Seer of Shadows by Avi (kind of creepy/bizarre, but I absolutely love and appreciate Avi's writing style and how educational he is while still drawing you in)
--Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (Really enjoyed listening to this audiobook while driving to and from work every day! Neat insights into the Great Depression, circus life, and prohibition. And while I won't spoil it, I LOVED the ending. Didn't see it coming, but it was so perfect :)).

Temporary Home

2012-01-22T19:23:00.000-05:00

I want to share something I've been wrestling with recently: moving.

I've moved all my life; growing up, it was usually every three years, though it varied, depending on my Dad's military responsibilities. And I absolutely loved that lifestyle. It was all I'd ever known, after all (a "lifelong friend" you grow up with is still a foreign concept to me), so how could I complain? And we got to live in neat places and experience so many great things (did you celebrate your 10th birthday in the Pentagon?). I would never trade my childhood for someone else's, and I've always said that growing up that way has prepared me to the life Ray and I have been called to now.

But it is tough. Answering the question: "Where are you from?" is a much longer answer than most people are willing to sit through. I have ties to a lot of places, but no real roots. I've struggled to make connections in churches and communities where everyone else has known each other for most of their lives and I'm still somewhat of an outsider where I am now.

I've lived in PA now for just over 3 years, and I am finally starting to feel like I sort of belong. Like I have "bosom friends" with whom I can be real. Like if I'm out of town or at home sick, someone will actually notice that I wasn't in the Sunday service. I finally feel like I'm "home."

And yet I know that is all about to change yet again. I know that soon we will have to pack up our belongings and begin building a life in a new city, a new country, a new culture. I've really been struggling with fear and selfishness. I don't want to leave my friends and family. I don't want to try to pack up my life here. I truly am excited about this ministry we are called to and part of me can't wait for it to begin. But part of me is petrified.

But HE has been so gracious in reminding me of truths in HIS Word. These are the things I'm clinging to:
-You know the phrase: "Home is where the heart is." Well, my heart is "hidden with {Him}" (Col. 3:3) and so my forever home is in heaven. My temporary home is wherever He leads me.
-No matter what happens to my current earthly dwelling, I have a building from Him, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Cor. 5:1). (I was reminded of this all the more when my parents' house took a direct hit from lightening several months ago. Thankfully, the house and my family are ok, though :))

I'm trying hard not to let fear overtake me, but instead give my anxieties to Him (1 Pet 5:7). If you have any other eternal truths to share from His Word, I'd definitely welcome them. Thanks for remembering me and allowing me to be vulnerable with you :)

PS - I actually wrote this blog post several weeks ago, but I thought it kind of a "God-thing" that in the latest magazine our organization put out this week, they included this quote from my testimony in Candidate Seminar (which was way back in July): "I grew up in a military family and moved around very frequently. I count that as a blessing now because I feel like that's impacted who I am, that I don't hold dear to the place that i call home right now. It's just a temporary home. And when He calls me to move on, I'm ok with that." I guess this really is a common theme in my life right now :)

Time Management and Clutter

2012-01-07T14:30:00.000-05:00

Recently, I finished reading a pre-release copy of Crystal Paine's (the genius behind www.monesavingmom.com) new book. It was so good (you can read my review here), but I wanted to share something I realized about myself while reading it, something that has prompted some of my 2012 goals:

I. am. so. disorganized.

I probably could've told you that before reading that book (ok, so nix the probably), but what her book helped me realized is that even though I'm horribly disorganized and my life is full of clutter, there is HOPE! And trust me...if there's hope for me, there's hope for you too (don't you feel better now?). Crystal's book only touched briefly on time management and organization, but she recommended several books on the topics, and after reading three of them, I wanted to share my thoughts with you (because please tell me I'm not the only disorganized, frazzled, busy person out there...please?).

Tell Your Time is a 30 page e-book by Amy Andrews. It's jam packed with practical advice, the accompanying website has worksheets to help you do the things she suggests. She single-handedly convinced me that my schedule CAN be managed and productive and I actually do not need to run around every day like a chicken with my head cut off. It is now officially on my list of fave books. It's also SUPER affordable, since it's an e-book!

168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam was another worthwhile read. She gives lots of tips that can be implemented to make small and large dents in your to-do list (or multiple to-do lists, if you're me :)) and give you more time to spend with the people who mean the most to you. LOVED this book.

Eat that Frog! by Brian Tracy was just ok. I love the title, which is based on a Mark Twain quote: “If you eat a frog first thing in the morning that will probably be the worst thing you do all day,” the premise being that you should do the one thing you LEAST want to do FIRST and you'll get a lot more done the rest of the day. It didn't appeal to me as much as the other two because it focused more on accomplishing things in a typical corporate office setting, which doesn't apply to me at all, but I garnered some useful tips and it was a quick read.

I'm working on writing out goals and establishing a schedule that works (meaning I actually stick with it longer than my typical 4 days), but I've already been enjoying the feeling that comes with the small changes I've made. For instance, I've resolved not to go to bed without cleaning up the kitchen--dishes done, counters wiped down, etc. I'm still establishing this as a habit, so it hasn't happened every single night, but even if I only accomplish this goal half the time, I still have a clean kitchen more frequently than I used to! And waking up to an empty sink and clean table helps me start my day more relaxed.

I'd like to share this journey with any of you who are interested. I think most of us benefit from accountability, so feel free to call, e-mail, etc. and ask how my kitchen is looking (or you could pop over and see for yourself :)). Ask me how my schedule is coming along and how I'm doing in organizing my clutter and my time.

How do you do with clutter and time management? Do you have any tips for me? I'll take all the help I can get!

2012 Goals

2012-01-02T14:00:00.000-05:00

One of the important things I've learned this past year is how to live purposefully through writing out specific goals. I've never been a fan of New Year's Resolutions because they always seem so vague and unattainable. But specific, qualified, and quantified goals? Those I can do. I feel like I've done a lot better in my goal writing for 2012 they pertain to some of the long term goals I have in my life, they're challenging, but not overwhelmingly so, and they address multiple areas in my life (physical health, mental/emotional health, relationships, career, etc). Some of these goals need a little more fleshing out, so I've given myself appropriate time to do that, but I wanted to put them out here now.

Kat's 2012 Goals

Attend EMC and Field Prep (the training we need before we can leave for Asia...we must reach 50% of support by June to be able to attend EMC in July and 85% by October in order to attend Field Prep in November).
Go on one date night with Ray “out and about” a month.
Save 53% of our Emergency Fund (We start out the year at 40%. We are definitely hoping to save much more than that, but with paychecks varying month-to-month, we figured we'd stick with whatever we thought we could reasonably set aside every month and make that our goal. If we're able to attack this goal with the same intensity we attacked our debt, though, we'll do way better than 53%).
Go to bed before 11 every work night.
Read my 24 books from the list I made.
Create an exercise regimen that I can stick with (I've given myself to the end of February to figure this out...I'm awful at sticking with exercise!).
Create a schedule that allows me to make better use of my time (I've given myself until the end of January).
Come up the Bible verses I want to memorize and have Ray quiz me on them once a month (list of Scriptures due by the end of January).
Stop popping my knuckles.

So there you have it! What are your goals for 2012?

Year-end Goal Check

2011-12-31T22:00:00.000-05:00

The last week of December is busy with end of the year tasks...finishing up budgets, putting away Christmas gifts, cleaning up from the holidays, and evaluating my 2011 goals. I'll admit that looking back, I was probably not as thorough as I could've been in thinking them through, writing them or planning their implementation, but it was a good learning and growing experience. I did more on each front that I would've if I hadn't set the goals, and now I have a better idea of how to succeed in writing out goals for 2012!

1. Scripture memorization - Memorize Psalm 27, Hebrews 11, and 24 individual verses for the Siesta Scripture Memory Team.
--I finished Psalm 27, didn't quite get through the SSMT verses and I only partially memorized Hebrews 11. Lack of accountability (not lack of ability) killed me on this one, so in 2012, I need to find someone to memorize passages with me, or at least ask frequently how I'm doing.

2. Become DEBT FREE!!!
--Accomplished in August! Woo!!! 8 months ahead of our original goal of our second anniversary!

3. Read through the Bible in 2011 with Ray
--We haven't quite finished (we got woefully behind in July/August), but we are still pressing on and plan to finish that in early 2012.

4. Pray for the entire world (see my blog post about that HERE).
--I am just loving learning about all these different countries, and I plan to continue doing this in 2012. My heart feels tugged to GO be with many of the people groups I learn about...I’m so thankful for this opportunity to pray!

5. Complete ABWE’s Candidate Class (we have to do it anyway, but why not make it a goal to do it well? :))
--DONE! Exhausting but so wonderful :)

6. Volunteer in a local ministry.
--Well, that’s not worked out quite like I expected. I took a training course to be involved with Capital Area Pregnancy Center, but most of their needs require more time than I’m able to give. I did complete a counseling course they offered in April, but other than that, other things took priority.

7. Lead a Ladies’ Bible Study at church
--That ended in June, and while it was a challenging (and sometimes discouraging) experience, I’m very thankful for it. It was actually the first time I’ve ever been a part of a Ladies’ Bible Study, much less led anything like that. I hope some of the ladies benefited from our fellowship and time of study together....I know I did :)

8. Co-lead Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University with Ray at our church
--Completed earlier in December! We loved our group members and loved leading this class! Wish we would be around to teach it again :)

9. Host people in our home for food/fellowship at least 6 times this year.
--Well, we didn't do a good job of keeping count, but I'm sure we had people over more than 6 times. We love opening up our home for out of town guests and local friends alike. Initially, we had to be intentional about inviting people, but hospitality really grew on me and now I love it! Plus, it's a good excuse to keep the house clean.

10. Read 5 books for Spiritual/personal development and 5 books for historical/teaching development (I know I’ll read much more, but I want to be intentional in picking these 10 books).
Spiritual/Personal
--1: Radical Together (a new book by David Platt that came out in April....I was blessed to receive an advance copy from the publisher and it totally rocked my world!)
--2: The Wounded Spirit by Frank Peretti (an incredible story about his personal encounters as a victim of bullying and his observations about bullying today and the worth of each and every human soul. It was so touching and emotional, and it's been around since before bullying became the new buzzword at schools.)
--3. 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam (great book about time management. I can't wait to implement some of these principles).
--4. Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley (so convicting...really need to go back and soak up the principles again and implement practical application. I already blogged about it once--here)
--5. The Money Saving Mom's Budget by Crystal Paine (I can't express how much I loved this...read my total review here)
Historical/teaching
--1: 131 Christians Everyone Should Know from the editors of Christian History Magazine (very fascinating read on various leaders, movers, and shakers in the faith)
--2: The Help by Kathryn Stockett (really interesting historical fiction set in Jackson, Mississippi during the Civil Rights era. I absolutely loved it!)
--3: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (another historical fiction, but I really felt I learned a lot about the Afghan people, especially since the author is Afghani himself. Afghanistan has a complex history and I really enjoyed learning a little bit more about it from an insider)
--4: 1776 by David McCullough (he is one of my FAVORITE historical authors, and it’s amazing the amount of information he packed into this book. My only regret was that he only covered the year 1776. I would love to read a book he writes on the entire War for Independence).
--5: The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller (got tons of great ideas for cultivating a culture of reading in my home and perhaps, someday, in my own classroom. Also got some great new book titles I want to read :)).

11. Complete at least 1 course toward my teaching re-certification (I’d like to complete 2, but I’m not sure of the time involvement in these courses or what our budget will allow)
--I’ve took several free 1-day courses through Cumberland Valley School District, so I’ve knocked some of those hours off already (Praise the Lord!). I didn't take any other courses, though, as it just isn't a huge priority (financially or in terms of time) at this point.

How have you done with your own goals for this past year?

2012 Reading List

2011-12-28T17:07:00.000-05:00

I've been working on my/our goals for 2012, and while I haven't quite finished the list, one of the goals I have is to read 24 specific books. I'm sure I'll read more, but I wanted to make a specific list and focus on those 24 first. Some are classics that I've always *meant* to read, but I'm ashamed to say I just never got around to it. Some are assignments for before we go on the mission field, so I figured I'd put them on the list. Some have been sitting on my shelf, neglected, a couple are re-reads, and others have come highly recommended from my trusted reading friends. So, without further ado (and in no particular order), here they are:

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Green Letters by Miles Stanford
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis
Room by Emma Donoghue
Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
Planting Churches Cross-Culturally by David Hesselgrave
Let the Nations be Glad by John Piper
Anthem by Ayn Rand
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman
The Best Question Ever by Andy Stanley
Interwoven by Russ and Nancy Ebersole
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Lauren Hillenbrand
PT 109: John F. Kennedy in WWII by Robert J. Donovan
Emma by Jane Austen
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Cross Cultural Connections by Duane Elmer
Culture Shock!
English Teaching as Christian Mission by Donald Snow
The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson

Have you read any of these books? Any others you'd recommend if I finish all these?

MoneySavingMom's new book!

2011-12-21T21:00:00.000-05:00

If you're friends with me or read this blog very often, you know that one of my favorite websites is www.moneysavingmom.com. Crystal Paine (the genius behind the website) is a phenomenal lady. I was so blessed with the opportunity to meet her in person back in October, and she is just the sweetest! So, I was beyond excited for the opportunity to read a pre-release copy of Crystal's new book: The Money Saving Mom's Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year.

So neat to meet Crystal!

I don't know how to start besides saying that I loved it! I love Crystal's encouraging writing style (and she's the exact same way in person!). She doesn't criticize or talk down to you, and she makes you feel like no matter how much you might struggle in a certain area of your life or finances, you can get it under control. She's very open with the financially tight times her family has gone through, so I know that she's qualified to give tips for frugal living. I also love how she sprinkled tips from her blog readers throughout the book.

Also, even though I'm a faithful reader of her blog (and have been for at least a couple years) and practice the financial principles Dave Ramsey teaches, I still found lots of helpful hints and advice in every chapter. It is more than a basic book about creating a budget or cutting the amount you spend on groceries (although you'll find both addressed). She gives creative ways to save money in other areas of your life, and (in probably my favorite section) she addresses time management and household clutter. While I'm pretty good at saving money and sticking to a budget, clutter and time management are two areas where I definitely need to improve. I found some great suggestions in her book, as well as some other book recommendations that I've already read and benefited from greatly.

If you're looking for some great advice and help taking control of your finances, home, or time, I can't recommend Crystal Paine's book (or website, for that matter) highly enough. Just click on the link listed below to order it from Amazon or see if your local library will have it on their shelves (or recommend they get it!). Oh, and by the way, she's donating all of the proceeds to Compassion International, which is just another reason I think this is a great buy!

Disclaimer: I received this book for free for this review. The opinions of this review are my own and were not influenced by anyone.

Too busy living...

2011-12-10T21:14:00.001-05:00

We've been so busy just living life, that neither one of us have had much time to get online to actually write about it. We are now in the midst of my favorite season--Christmas! I've absolutely loved decorating our apartment, trimming the tree with ornaments collected throughout my childhood, mixing the traditions of my past (like the felt advent calendar my Mom made for me and listening to Bing Crosby sing classic tunes) with new ones that Ray and I have created for our own little family.

In the month or so that's passed since we last posted, we've had a lot of other fun events going on...

--We got to meet another couple currently on pre-field and headed for East Asia. They plan to leave in the next month or so. They are so great and we are excited to get to work with them!

--My Mom came for a visit and we attended a clown conference together. We had an awesome time hanging out (er...clowning around? :)) with her! It definitely wasn't a long enough visit!

--I had a great follow-up appt with my wrist doctor. He's pleased with my progress in healing and just wants to see me in 6 months. And I've noticed that my pain is significantly less in intensity and frequency. Praise God!

--We celebrated Thanksgiving with Ray's side of the family. It was a nice, relaxing time of just sitting around and spending time together, which we desperately needed.

--We finished teaching our Financial Peace University class at our church. Altogether, our class paid off almost $41,000 in debt during the class--we're so proud of them! :) They were such a fun group!

We're gearing up for a training course for our ministry that starts at the end of December and then we're jumping head-first into raising support for East Asia, so these next couple weeks are the calm before the storm. We're trying to enjoy that down time as much as we can.

And....since I don't really know how to tie up this blogpost...here's a picture of us :)


This is actually a few months old...from our debt free date night celebration :)

The End :)

Monthly Financial Update

2011-10-31T21:25:00.000-04:00

I really should've anticipated a month like this shortly after we became debt free. This was definitely a very unexpected month, financially, and we are so grateful for the steps we've taken to set up a budget, an emergency fund, and just basically have a plan for our money, so we weren't totally punched in the gut. We knew some major medical bills were coming for my surgery and subsequent physical therapy, and those all came in the mail this month. Then, I found out last week that my weekly clowning job was ending....effective immediately. That was quite a shock to lose some of our consistent income (since my teaching income is dependent on how many jobs I get).

But, on the flip side, God provided many teaching jobs, several soccer games for Ray to referee, and two other unexpected clowning jobs. We have not lacked necessities. We can run the heat when we are cold. We can buy plenty of food. We have full gas tanks. As we near Thanksgiving, I'm very much aware we have much to be thankful for, and one of those things is that God provided enough for the month to pay our bills and we didn't have to dip into our emergency fund.

We weren't able to put anything towards our Emergency Fund this month, but I am still very, very thankful (after all, we didn't have to take anything OUT of the emergency fund :)). I was reminded of something that was shared during the Women of Faith Conference that I jotted down for just such an occasion: God supplies my needs, not according to my bank account, but according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19).

So how did you do with your financial goals this month?

Spiritual Parents

2011-10-28T19:05:00.000-04:00

Several months ago, as a part of my Bible Study, I made a list of spiritual "parents." These are people I've encountered throughout my life (outside of my home) who have mentored me or in some way impacted my relationship with Christ. It was such an encouraging exercise for me--to see how many dear people have invested deeply into my life and loved me so selflessly, so I wanted to share a few of them here with you.

--Jim and Romaine - This lovely couple have been in my life since the 8th grade. He was my parents, and eventually my, Sunday School teacher. I learned so much from his Sunday School! She has always been an example to me of the kind of wife I aspire to be. She has also been a huge encouragement to me. She would send me letters when I was away in college--they would be filled with confetti (so fun! :)), Scripture, and encouragement.

--Laura (and Mike) - Laura mentored me from approximately 8th grade until I graduated and was probably one of the biggest influences during those years. I spent so much time in her home: babysitting her awesome kiddos, sipping tea with her (I still think of her nearly every time I drink tea :)), and doing Bible study. Laura and Mike lived out for me such a wonderful examples of being a loving couple and parents. I can't begin to count the number of conversations Laura and I had about my future husband. She is probably one of the biggest influences (outside of my home) that shaped who I am today.

--Charlene ~ she was and is a godsend in so many ways. Having met me only once, she offered to open her home to me so I wouldn't have to live alone (and could save on rent, etc.) when I first moved up to PA (and managed to tolerate having me there for a year and a half until Ray and I got married!). She is a phenomenal prayer warrior, listener, and encourager--all qualities I've observed and hope to emulate a little better as a result of living with and knowing her.

--Curt and Bonnie ~ Ray and I met Curt and Bonnie via our trips to Asia (Curt was our team leader). They have been such encouragements to us and we're thrilled to have them as mentors and co-laborers on the field. They've been such an influence in our life that we asked Curt to perform our wedding....so special :)

--Mr. and Mrs. Gensler ~ this adorable couple attends our church and mentored us as a couple from the time I moved to PA until shortly after we got engaged (we still view them as mentors....we just don't meet regularly like we did before). Seeing as how they just celebrated 50 wonderful years of marriage, they were an obvious choice as relationship mentors. I love watching them interact with each other and others. It was another special part of our wedding, having Mr. Gensler pray over us shortly before we were pronounced husband and wife.

--Shawn and Michelle ~ these two are some of my favorite people EVER :) I met them when I first started attending their church when I was at Cedarville. They opened their home to me every weekend (and loaned me their comfy couch for Sunday afternoon naps :)) and treated me and so many others like their own family. They are godly examples to me in their marriage, their relationship with others, their parenting (seriously...their kids are phenomenal!)....every aspect of life. They are never afraid to speak truth or ask hard questions, yet they cover it so completely with love. And I know they examine themselves with their own hard questions. I feel challenged and blessed just being around them. I'm excited for them, too, as they prepare to move to Hawaii and plant churches.

There are so many others who have entered my life, even for brief moments and changed me "for good" (insert Wicked song....haha), but these are some who have left the deepest footprints on my heart. I am so grateful for each and every one of them!

Women of Faith

2011-10-14T17:01:00.000-04:00

I cannot express enough how wonderful the Women of Faith weekend in Pittsburgh was. I was really excited to spend the weekend with one of my best friends, Ruthie. Neither one of us had ever been to a weekend like this, so we had no idea what to expect. I can't speak for her experience, but I had a blast. The worship music was so genuine. The speakers were phenomenal. And I had a great view for it all--2nd row on the floor, just 10 feet away from where all the speakers sat. Not bad for free tickets!!

I do have to quickly share my one negative opinion of the weekend. They gave away free Women of Faith t-shirts if you signed up for a Visa card. I felt like that was inappropriate and could pose as a stumbling block for women who are having financial difficulties or struggle to control compulsive spending. I don't feel a Christian conference is the place to offer credit card sign-ups. But that's really the only complaint I had (oh, that, and I wish the conference could go for longer! :)).

I came away so refreshed, and I'm still processing everything I took away to see what practical applications I can make in my life. I wanted to share my thoughts on each speaker and one (or two) of my favorite take-aways from each speaker's session(s).

Sheila Walsh - my fave speaker of the weekend!
--Will you love and follow a God you can't understand?
--Peace isn't the absence of trouble, it's the presence of Christ.

Dr. Henry Cloud - so impressed at how comfortable he was being practically the only guy in the arena! :)
--What stuff or people are in my life now that cannot exist in the Promised Land God has for me? (this is one of the biggest points I need to process and mull over).
--Your impediment or handicap won't prevent you from fulfilling God's purpose for you. His light can shine through my broken places (and as Ruthie pointed out--often He shines better in the broken places).

Lisa Harper - a funny lady, but not the deepest spiritual content. Was refreshing to laugh so much, though :)

Nicole Johnson - funny and so personable. Really admire how she (and the other ladies) could share the broken parts of her life that God had redeemed.
--God takes our bags of trash that hold the broken pieces of our lives, picks out the stained glass pieces in our life and creates a masterpiece. It isn't the same as what you looked like before, but it gives you wholeness and provides you with a new perspective.

Angie Smith - I SO wanted to sit down with her for a cup of tea or something and a looooong chat...absolutely LOVED her! She's one of those people that can make you feel like you've known her for ages...when you've never met. I'm sure you will adore her too...when you go check out her website: http://angiesmithonline.com/
--When Jesus asks the question "Where is your faith?" our answer often sounds very different in the midst of the storm as opposed to when He has already calmed it.

Luci Swindoll - one of the funniest 79-year old women I've ever encountered!
--Live in the now because that's all we have been promised. Don't let your life be over and never have what you really wanted. Don't miss what God's going to do through you waiting for something better.

Natalie Grant and Mary, Mary were awesome to listen to, also. I enjoyed both concerts they played immensely!

Disclaimer: I received these tickets for free for this review. The opinions of this review are my own and were not influenced by anyone.

Monthly Financial Update

2011-10-03T17:05:00.000-04:00

Can I just say how AWESOME it is to be debt free? I mean we were never over our head in bills, and we were always able to pay our debts, but it just feels so nice to not have to worry about loans anymore. And it's amazing how different our budget looks when we don't have loan payments eating a huge chunk of our income.

On the down side, though, we did go a little nuts eating out. I think it was just that we never really had that option before, so when time was short or we were just too worn out, that was our go-to excuse: We're debt free, so let's eat out. Baaaad idea. Most things weren't huge...just a Sheetz run here or there, but we definitely went over budget in that area. We will have to show a little more restraint and discipline in October :)

Even though we ate out a little more, we were still able to save more towards Baby Step 3: 3-6 months worth of expenses in an Emergency Fund. We end the month with 38% of our Emergency Fund in the bank. Woo! Our current goal is to have it fully funded by August 2013--a little less than 2 years from now. We're certainly hoping to do it faster than that but feel that was a reasonable goal based on how much we think we can save each month.

What are your financial goals for the month?

Happy Birthday!

2011-09-21T15:50:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrate the birth of my best friend and favorite person ever--my hubby :) In honor of his 26th birthday, here’s a list of 26 things I love about him:

His laugh.
How worked up he gets about his sports teams (well...usually :)).
He’s an amazing cook.
He is laid back about stuff.
He has impeccable character.
He remembers specific things that calm me down or make me feel better when I’m sick/upset. And he does them.
He is always trying to learn how to love me better.
He puts up with my weirdness.
He is patient with me.
His ability to make me laugh just by saying, literally, one word.
How safe I feel with his arms around me.
He is always conscious of my needs.
He encourages my dreams.
He is so great with kids (I know he’s gonna be an awesome Dad :)).
He is a good driver.
He is trustworthy.
He protects me.
He defends me.
He loves sports.
He’s taught me to love {some of} his sports :)
We always have fun together, no matter what we’re doing.
He loves God.
We share the same dream of serving others on the other side of the world.
He has uber-cool sideburns :)
He makes the yummiest coffee.
He is MY husband <3

My good-lookin hubby and I at our friends' wedding :)

Happy birthday, Ray! I love you SO much!

Dreamin...

2011-09-12T16:29:00.000-04:00

While we know we need to stay disciplined since we're debt free (no going nuts and blowing our budget...haha :)), one of the things that has helped keep us disciplined here and now, is dreaming of what we will be able to do once we are debt free. I mean, we started out with almost $700 worth of payments to various loan agencies (3 school loans and 1 car loan adds up!), so that's a huge chunk of our budget. Here are some of the dreams we have for using that hard earned money (that we finally get to KEEP!).

1. Do some FUN stuff! I know some of you (*ahem* Stephen) think Ray and I are total prudes that never have any fun. While I would argue until I’m blue that you’re wrong (we have tons of fun, including free dates!), I won’t lie that Ray and I are looking forward to having some wiggle room in our budget to do some fun things that we haven’t been able to afford. Before, we would MAYBE eat out once a month, and that’s usually somewhere cheap like Chick-fil-a (and we ALWAYS use coupons and USUALLY gift cards that we've been gifted or have redeemed from places like Swagbucks). We are definitely looking forward to being able to eat out more when we’re debt free (we have a place picked out for dinner and a celebratory dessert location for our debt free celebration...but I won’t spoil that surprise!). We will also have more freedom to go to sports games (Go Phillies!), enjoy outings with friends (it's so hard to say no!), and lots of other fun stuff that we’ve had to forgo for the last two years. It will just be nice to have some breathing room in our budget :)

2. GIVE more. As I’ve said on here before, we want to be able to “Give Like No One Else”. This includes investing more in our church, helping out friends in need, and helping out those who give their lives to serve others (overseas and in the States). We’re so excited about being able to share our blessings with others!

3. Get educated. Ray and I have both talked about going back to school to get our master’s degrees. In the field of education, it’s pretty much required, and Ray would also like to get more specific training that will benefit others when we’re overseas. While it’s still something we’re praying about, we’ve already decided that if one or both of us goes back to school, we will NOT be taking out any student loans, so that will be something to save towards.

Those are just a few goals that we have in mind. I love setting these goals and dreaming about possibilities we now have. It's definitely helped us stay on task and hang onto our vision!

What would you want to do if you had no debt? What are your dreams and ambitions?

Book Review

2011-09-12T16:28:00.000-04:00

I picked the latest book I read and am reviewing because the title: "Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A memoir....of sorts" intrigued me. I'll admit, though, that I've had very mixed feelings about this book by Ian Morgan Cron. It probably took me a month to get through the first chapter (though I'll admit I was very busy that month). Still, it didn't start intriguing me until a couple chapters in. I thought it was a very humorous book. He has a great writing style that, once he got going, pulled me in. I enjoyed his anecdotes about his childhood.

That being said, I don't think I'll hang onto this book or ever reread it. I felt misled by the title, as the CIA really plays no part in this book, just warranting a passing mention here or there. Also, his theology seems sketchy at best (I've noticed I don't agree theologically with a lot of this publisher's books, so I'm not surprised), and he doesn't mention how he came to some of his theological conclusions and assumptions that he makes. But, to be fair, he does market it as a memoir, so he can fairly write about whatever he wants.

Overall, I was amused, but not really challenged, and I'm glad I didn't pay money for it.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, for this review. The opinions of this review are my own and were not influenced by the company or author.

In Remembrance

2011-09-11T19:54:00.000-04:00

I can't believe September 11, 2001 was 10 years ago. And yet so many of the emotions seem so fresh, as if they came to me yesterday. I can recall the shock of sitting in my 3rd period geography class, watching a second plane impact the WTC. I remember the emotions of seeing the towers fall on live TV. I remember sitting in 5th period English, seeing the gaping black hole in the side of the Pentagon and being gripped with fear. My Dad was traveling for the military that day, and I couldn't remember where he was headed. Flying to the Pentagon was not out of the realm of possibility for his job, so I was petrified until I finally found out that he was safe at an Air Force base in Georgia.

My Mom and I were just texting back and forth the other day about how hard it is to remember a time before 9/11. Before security was so high. I remember coming home from Asia one year (after being out of the loop on international affairs for a month) and discovering at the Shanghai airport that we were no longer able to carry liquids on to the plane. Crazy how normal it seems now to pack that quart size ziplock with my carry-on liquids.

The students I teach every day are growing up in a very different world than I did. They don't have memories of "before." And so, I hope that as we move past this important anniversary, that I and others who remember do a good job of sharing our memories and what that day meant to us. I hope we always honor those like my Dad and others who have served in the military, especially those who pay the ultimate price. I hope I always hold on to that pride I had in the following days, to be united with other Americans because of a tragedy we had endured but that had not destroyed us. While the wounds will heal, and the hurt and memories will fade, I hope we truly will never forget.

Here's a quote from this time last year on my Facebook page that sums it up pretty well for me: Remembering where I was when time seemed to stop and tears flowed....praying for those who lost friends and family 9 years ago today and in the ensuing wars that continue to this day....may God continue to shower His mercy and grace on us all. It is through His mercies that we are not consumed. His compassion never fails--it's new every morning. Great is YOUR faithfulness, Father.

Monthly Financial Update

2011-09-06T18:03:00.001-04:00

This HAS to be my favorite financial update that I've written so far. I've been so discouraged recently at the slow progress we've made in paying off debt, but, as you might've heard, our current debt payoff is 100%. That's right, folks! We achieved our goal of being debt free by our 2nd anniversary...and we were 7.5 months ahead of schedule! I gave all the nitty-gritty details here, but it's something we love repeating: We're DEBT FREE!!!

Now that I got that out of my system, we wanted to share our new goals we'll be tracking in this financial update:

--We're on Dave Ramsey's 3rd baby step (I wrote about all 7 of them here), which is to build up 3-6 months worth of expenses in savings. We decided not to skimp on this step, so we are putting the full 6 months worth of expenses into the bank (and we calculated on the high end as to what that would be). Based on what we already had in our emergency fund, we're currently at 35% of our goal.

--Quarterly giving: In addition to our usual tithes and offerings, we're praying about other projects and people we can invest in every 3 months. The project/people could be different every month--we've decided to leave that up to God.

--We are also beginning the paperwork to roll my traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. We're not sure when/how much we're going to start investing, but we wanted it to be ready to go.

So there you have it! How did you do on your monthly financial goals?

Women of Faith

2011-08-21T18:18:00.001-04:00

I love retreats. I love that opportunity to get away and spend time focused solely on my relationship with the Lord. Unfortunately, since I graduated from college, I haven't been able to attend any sort of retreat because there were either never any close by or all of my money was going towards paying off debt. Then, a couple months ago, I got an e-mail inviting me to apply for two free tickets to a Women of Faith Conference. I would get two free tickets, all I had to do was blog about the conference before and afterward. Of course, I applied, and a few weeks later, I got an e-mail that I was selected!

I'm super-excited about going to this conference. I've never been to an women's conference like this. I've never heard any of the speakers, though I've heard great things about several of them! You can see the lineup of speakers, singers, etc. here. I think the person I'm most excited to hear is Angie Smith. I stumbled on her blog several months ago and was really blessed by it. I can't wait to hear her in person.

But I think the best part of the trip is that I'm going to get to spend the entire weekend with my dear friend, Ruthie! She lives out in Pittsburgh, where the conference is being held, so she's coming with me! I'm always so blessed and encouraged by our time together, so I can't wait for this special girls' weekend!

If you're interested in attending a Women of Faith Conference, click on the badge on the left sidebar on our blog--it will take you to their website, where you can find a conference that's hopefully near you!

Exciting news!

2011-08-21T15:24:00.002-04:00

Now that I (Katherine) have the use of my elbow and fingers again, I'm finally able to type more than a short e-mail (one-handed pecking quickly gets frustrating!). I appreciate your prayers for my wrist surgery. The initial recovery has been rough...slower than I expected, which is frustrating, but I AM improving. I'm still in a splint, so no evidence yet on if it worked. I'll keep you posted--thanks for your continued prayers!

And now for our exciting news! (and no, we aren't pregnant...since that seems to be the default guess when we told our families we had exciting news :)).

WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!!!!!!

That's right, folks! We finally did it! Here's the story: Friday afternoon, I made up a list of things we needed to get done in the next month or so. Most of it was ministry related, but there were a few other things mixed in. I wanted Ray and I to sit down and set deadlines of when we wanted to have them finished (deadlines always light a fire under my behind :)). One of the items was pay off our debt. We knew we wanted to do it by the end of September, so I thought setting an official date would be a good idea. I read down the list and when I got to that one, Ray said: "How about today?" I think I asked him "Are you serious?!?" about 500 times. We looked at our bank account and budget, calculated some things, and realized we could really do it and still have enough to pay all the bills and leave our emergency fund intact. So we wrote the check, walked it to the post office, called our families and screamed "We're Debt FREEEEEEE!!"

I'm still in shock and so excited! It's truly a testimony to God's provision. We started this journey about a year and a half ago with $30,000 worth of debt. And it is ALL GONE! I can't exactly figure out how we did it...except to say that God provided. Praise Him! We're planning to call Dave Ramsey next Friday to do our "debt free scream" on his radio show (hopefully we'll get through), so you can listen for us :) This makes me even more excited to go through his Financial Peace University Class again this fall--so I can learn more about what to do now that we're debt free :) If you're interested in joining us, sign up here.

Guarding My Heart

2011-08-03T09:13:00.000-04:00

Phew...I just finished reading Andy Stanley's "Enemies of the Heart: Breaking Free from the Four Emotions That Control You." This book hit me in the gut a little harder than I thought it was going to. That being said, I think it was also one of my favorite and most beneficial books I've read in a long time. In this book, Andy Stanley delves into the root causes of greed, jealousy, anger, and guilt. He also gives hugely practical advice in dealing with each of these, specifically in how to counter them with their opposites: generosity, celebration, forgiveness, and confession.

I really loved how simple, yet accurate this book was. He backed everything up with Scripture, and gave easy to understand examples and practical behavioral advice. So often we live a life of behavior modification, trying (but sometimes failing) to cover up the anger, guilt, and other emotions that are festering within us. Just as most of us actively pursue a healthy lifestyle to protect our physical heart, we should also pursue a lifestyle that keeps our spiritual hearts healthy. Andy Stanley shows you how that truly is possible.

I really did love this book and can't recommend it enough! Within those pages, I found so much freedom from things I didn't even realize were holding me captive and slowly destroying me from the inside out! I would love to buy a bunch of copies to share with everyone I know, but since I can't, you should go buy it for yourself. It's definitely a worthy investment :)

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher, WaterBrook Multnomah, for this review. The opinions of this review are my own and were not influenced by the company or author.

Monthly Financial Update

2011-08-02T14:37:00.002-04:00

(Sorry I didn't post this yesterday....was too busy enjoying my birthday! :))

Well, with us not working much of this past month due to our training and with lots of doctor bills pending, we didn't have a lot of wiggle room in our budget. As always, the Lord provided and we lacked nothing we needed, but it can still be frustrating to see our debt disappear soooooo slowly. Still, I'm grateful that we didn't have to wonder where our next meal was coming from and that we don't have to worry about how we're going to pay the hospital bills. I'm trying to keep a healthy perspective and not complain about things that are really just inconveniences.

So, with all that in the way of explanation, we are still at the place where we've paid off 88% of our debt. It's just hard to contain myself when we are SO close to paying off our debt. I desperately just want to be done, but thankfully, Ray is the voice of wisdom, so we will continue to save and hope to be debt free soon. I seriously have had dreams of our "Debt Free Friday" phone call to Dave Ramsey (I'm weird, I know :)). Believe me, we will let you all know when to listen in for that debt free scream for real :)

Realistically, it looks like we will be able to pay off our debt in September. I don't start back full-time subbing until the end of August, so my income is still small and inconsistent this month. Also, I'm having another surgery, so I will be out of work for a week and there will be more hospital bills :( But, I'm clowning more in September, Ray will referee more, and teaching will (hopefully) be more consistent...so September is our new goal for being debt free :) Can't wait for that day!!!

Financial Peace

2011-07-28T15:53:00.000-04:00

It is now official--Katherine and I are leading Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University beginning September 12! We are very excited for this opportunity. We hope and pray this is something that will be a blessing to our church/community. I cannot begin to explain how much this class has helped Katherine and I with our finances. Not to say that we were bad with how we handled money, but we are much better at handling it than we were before. We feel like we are in control of our money, instead of it being in control of us.

We see a lot of value in taking this class. For starters, our communication is really good when it comes to money. I think it is because of this class. I don't think we ever seriously realized how differently we looked at money until we heard Dave Ramsey teach on it. There was nothing wrong with how either one of us looked at, but to understand how you and your partner view money, I think, is a big help to having good communication with each other. Recognizing these views helps us be on the same page during our monthly "budget meetings."

Another way the class has helped us is when it comes to planning for our future. We have realized the need to do things that we would have never considered, like buy life insurance. Before this class, it wasn't even on my radar as something to do. To be honest, I thought that was something you buy when you're 50. Boy, was I wrong. I'm very thankful for learning about the different types of life insurance so I knew what was right to buy for us.

A couple final things--the class really is interesting! A class about finances may sound like a yawner, but this one is quite the opposite. Dave Ramsey is a great public speaker with a good sense of humor and a heart of the teacher. Katherine has taken the class twice already, I've taken it once, and we are both looking forward to this upcoming class. Also, there are small group times after each video session. They are great opportunities to encourage each other and hold each other accountable.

If you are in our area, we'd love to have you as part of our FPU class. It starts Monday, September 12 at 6:30 and runs for 13 weeks. It usually lasts a little over an hour (never longer than 2 hours...unless your small group gets into a really excited discussion :)). You don't have to be a member of our church to attend. If you are interested, here is the link so you can sign up (FPU Community Christian Fellowship). For the month of July, Dave Ramsey is selling the Lifetime Membership Class Kits for a special reduced price (one is needed per family). If you have any questions, we'd be glad to answer!

Hope to see you there!! God bless!

Finding a new "normal"

2011-07-26T14:24:00.004-04:00

I'll admit that I've been staring at our blog's homepage the past several days, knowing I should write some sort of an update, but not really knowing what to write. I feel stuck in a lot of areas since finishing training a little over a week ago. We are officially appointed and with that comes the challenge of finding a new "normal." Before our training, we had a schedule, plan, and routine that worked for us, but now we have these added responsibilities we must complete before we can move to East Asia. We are still trying to figure out a balance of still being involved in our community, have quality time with each other, and make this calling on our life a reality.

But the thought of a new normal is exciting! We had an absolute blast at our two week training and learned SO much (I thought my head was going to start leaking information out of my ears...it got overwhelming!). They did a great job of facilitating fellowship (we walked away with eternal friendships with people who are going to serve around the world :)), training us in numerous areas, and getting us pumped up for this next stage of our journey to East Asia. Here are some things we took away from our two amazing weeks:

--Be ALIVE: Always Living In View of Eternity (the theme of our group devotions).

--What if God’s dream for my life is bigger (or smaller) than my dream? God might want to crush our dreams. The death of a dream allows it to be put into the proper perspective so He can resurrect it and fill it with Himself.

--The Lord will sustain and take care of us because His name is on the line (see Psalm 55:22).

--Spiritual success flows down a river of suffering and sacrifice.

--The resources are in the harvest.

--By your obedience, God can make you smarter than you are able to be smart.

--We are going to share the story of hope, build communities of faith, and serve the world with love.

--Initiate conversations that may become redemptive relationships (see Colossians 4:2-6).

--You don't know what you don't know.

--Build on your strengths and partner for your weaknesses.

And that's only a small snapshot. Now we are back home, back at work...trying to recover from the past two weeks, but trying not to lose sight of the vision and excitement we have. The hard work has only just begun, as our goal is to be in East Asia in 2-3 years.

We also have other commitments and excitement coming up...Ray and I, along with a friend, Jason, are going to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in a little over a week to help with relief work (they were devastated by a massive tornado in April). I have wrist surgery two weeks from today. Ray and I will be teaching Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University in the Fall (post on that coming soon!). It's an exciting, though very very busy, time in our life!

PS-If some of this doesn't make sense or seems vague (like...what do we mean by appointed?), you should probably sign up for our newsletter (see the link on our blog's sidebar). Security precautions required for our work in East Asia necessitate the vagueness in public forums such as our blog and on facebook. We're sending much more detailed information out via e-mail newsletters and would love to add you to that list!

Training Update

2011-07-13T07:58:00.001-04:00

Hey!

Well, we are about half way through training and we are having a wonderful time. We have met a lot of great people that have hearts for the lost. The fellowship has been wonderful and is refreshing. We also have gotten a ton of information, but it is really good information. At the end of this training we'll send out a e-mail with more detailed information. We will be doing this for security reasons. If you would like to receive this letter you can sign up for it on the right of our blog or click on this link. We are really getting excited to take this next step of our journey. Please continue to pray for us as we finish the week out. We do appreciate the prayers.

Below are some pictures from the home office/training center; it is beautiful there.

If you guys have any questions about the process we are taking, please don't hesitate to contact us. We'd love to share with you.

Monthly Financial Update

2011-07-05T12:22:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned last month, since we changed our strategy and are saving up to pay our last loan in full, our "debt snowball" progress has been slow. I was blessed last month with an extra opportunity to work at the daycare and make a little extra money and Ray refereed quite a bit, so we are certainly saving up. Personally, I would love to have the debt paid off before we start Candidate Class in a few days, but since we won't be working during most of July, we decided that the wisest course of action is to hold off until August, at least (maybe September). With just our monthly payment, though, we did bump ourselves up to 88% of our total debt paid off. So close! My laptop on my legs is the only thing preventing me from dancing around the living room right now :)

A few weeks back, Ray and I sat down and really discussed what our next financial goals would be once we were done putting every single dollar towards our debt. I wanted to share those goals with you here. Some of them are based on Dave Ramsey's baby steps (which I blogged about here), but some of them are our own ideas:

1. Save up 6 months of expenses in the bank as an emergency fund (Dave Ramsey recommends 3-6 months, so we decided to go for the high end, just in case).

2. Convert my IRA into a Roth IRA and invest 15% of our income in it.

3. Grow our savings before starting to raise support for the mission field (we are still hashing out exactly what amount we want to have in savings, but we feel this is a smart move before leaving our jobs and starting to raise support for C*hina).

4. Give quarterly to others above and beyond our regular monthly giving. This could be for missionaries, local ministries, church projects, people we know who are in need....to whomever or whatever the Lord leads.

We also have some other "fun" dreams/goals for our post-debt days, but I'll save those for another post.

What are your financial goals right now?

Goal check!

2011-07-02T19:37:00.000-04:00

Well, we are halfway through the year (even more than halfway, actually), so I figured now was a good time (since I’ve been too busy, forgetful, etc. to do it sooner :)) to check in and reviewing my goals that I set in this blog post.

1. Scripture memorization - Memorize Psalm 27, Hebrews 11, and 24 individual verses for the Siesta Scripture Memory Team.
--So far, I’ve finished Psalm 27, I’m working on Hebrews 11, and I’m also memorizing for SSMT: 2 Corinthians 4:17, Psalm 40:5, 2 Chronicles 20:12, 2 Corinthians 10:5, Amos 4:13, and Romans 15:13, Isaiah 26:8, Ephesians 4:29, Deuteronomy 7:9, 1 Samuel 12:24, 1 Peter 2:9, and 1 John 3:18. I’m not solid on all of them...but I’m working on it :)

2. Become DEBT FREE!!!
--Still working on that...I’m getting excited about how close we are, though :) :) :)

3. Read through the Bible in 2011 with Ray
--We get behind every once in a while (like we are now...ahem), but we’re still relatively on track...thankful for grace :)

4. Pray for the entire world (see my blog post about that HERE).
--I am just LOVING learning about all these different countries. My heart feels tugged to GO be with each people group I learn about...I’m so thankful for this opportunity to pray!

5. Complete ABWE’s Candidate Class (we have to do it anyway, but why not make it a goal to do it well? :))
--Coming up next week! :)

6. Volunteer in a local ministry.
--Well, that’s not worked out quite like I expected. I took a training course to be involved with Capital Area Pregnancy Center, but most of their needs require more time than I’m able to give. I do help out occasionally, though. I completed a counseling course they offered in April.

7. Lead a Ladies’ Bible Study at church
--That just ended last month, and while it was a challenging (and sometimes discouraging) experience, I’m very thankful for it. It was actually the first time I’ve ever been a part of a Ladies’ Bible Study, much less led anything like that. I hope some of the ladies benefited from our fellowship and time of study together....I know I did :)

8. Co-lead Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University with Ray at our church
--Coming this Fall! If you live in our area and are interested in attending, you can register here.

9. Host people in our home for food/fellowship at least 6 times this year.
--Our friends Brent and Alison came over a couple months ago and it was so fun! What a great opportunity to get to know them better! We are planning several more get-togethers with people, but those won't get scheduled until after Candidate Class.

10. Read 5 books for Spiritual/personal development and 5 books for historical/teaching development (I know I’ll read much more, but I want to be intentional in picking these 10 books).
Spiritual/Personal
--1: Radical Together (a new book by David Platt that came out in April....I was blessed to receive an advance copy from the publisher and it totally rocked my world!)
--2: The Wounded Spirit by Frank Peretti (an incredible story about his personal encounters as a victim of bullying and his observations about bullying today and the worth of each and every human soul. It was so touching and emotional.)
Historical/teaching
--1: 131 Christians Everyone Should Know from the editors of Christian History Magazine (very fascinating read on various leaders, movers, and shakers in the faith)
--2: The Help by Kathryn Stockett (really interesting historical fiction set in Jackson, Mississippi during the Civil Rights era. I absolutely loved it!)
--3: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (another historical fiction, but I really felt I learned a lot about the Afghan people, especially since the author is Afghani himself. Afghanistan has a complex history and I really enjoyed learning a little bit more about it from an insider)
--4: 1776 by David McCullough (he is one of my FAVORITE historical authors, and it’s amazing the amount of information he packed into this book. My only regret was that he only covered the year 1776. I would love to read a book he writes on the entire War for Independence).

11. Complete at least 1 course toward my teaching re-certification (I’d like to complete 2, but I’m not sure of the time involvement in these courses or what our budget will allow)
--I’ve actually been able to take several free 1-day courses through Cumberland Valley School District, so I’ve knocked some of those hours off already (Praise the Lord!). Perhaps in the fall, once we’re debt free, I’ll take one or two courses that I’ll have to pay for to get a huge chunk of those hours out of the way.

How are you doing with your own goals for this year?

It's All About the Little Things

2011-06-27T12:28:00.000-04:00

Ray and I were chatting the other day about the various ways we try to save money. We do live differently than others to try to save large chunks of cash (we clip coupons, don’t go out to eat, and forgo other costly forms of entertainment), but some of our savings comes from just making tiny adjustments that we really don’t notice. And while most of them don’t add up to a lot on their own, when you put them together over the long haul, they are definitely helping to make a dent in our fight to overcome debt. So here are some minor lifestyle changes we have made:

1. We pay most of our bills online. This saves us on a couple different fronts. We don’t have to write a check, which means not having to order checks as frequently. And we don’t have to pay for the stamp for each utility bill. Also, it gives us peace of mind, knowing that bill was paid instantly. We don’t have to wonder if it got lost in the mail and will arrive late or when they are finally going to cash that check. It’s all instantaneous.

2. We pay attention to our electricity consumption. This may seem like a no brainer, but everyone can improve. We used to leave a light on in the kitchen in the evenings, even if we were just sitting on the couch watching TV, so we could see down the hall if we needed to get up and go get something out of the bedroom. Now we only turn it on if we’re actually headed down the hallway. On cool summer days, we use the A.C. less and just open the windows to let our house cool naturally. These two things helped lower our electricity bill by $10+ a month!

3. We conserve heat. Towards the end of last summer, Ray got the brilliant idea to install a dowel rod at the entrance to the hallway leading to the back half of the house. He hung up a large black sheet, dividing the house in half. Then, when we ran the A.C. unit installed in our living room, it didn’t have to work as hard to cool down the whole house (this was when it was still warm enough out at night that we couldn’t open the windows and were sleeping on the futon in the living room). When it first started to get cold out, instead of turning on the heat for the whole house, we turned on a small portable heater in the living room, so we only heated the part of the house we were in (the sheet really does do a great job--you can definitely feel the temperature difference!). Then we moved it to the back bedroom shortly before we went to bed. The portable heater did a good enough job at a much lower price (also, I frequently wore sweatshirts around the house to stay warm).

What are some minor changes that you’ve made to reduce expenses? We’re always looking for ways to cut costs and save money and would love your advice! :)

Deal-a-Day

2011-06-20T12:57:00.000-04:00

Ray and I are always looking for discounted fun. We usually go on cheap or free dates and are always looking for good deals. One of the cool, newer things on the market are "Deal-a-Day" sites. These sites sell good and services at discounted rates, provided a certain number of people sign-up to take part in the deal. There are dozens of these websites out there, some with targeted markets (parents with young kids, etc) and some are not. Ray and I are currently signed up for two different deal-a-day sites: MooLaLa and Groupon. And we really love them :)

MooLaLa
MooLaLa is a very new start up on the spectrum of Deal-a-Day sites, and I'll admit that I'm not yet impressed with their selection of deals (most of them are businesses I haven't even heard of), but I'm sticking with them for two reasons: 1) They are new, so I'm giving them time to find better deals and partner with more recognizable establishments, and 2) they have a really awesome referral system. when people sign up under your referral link, you don't get just a one-time bonus like most deal-a-day sites. Instead, you get a cut from each and every purchase they make. Also, it's a "pyramid structure," meaning if someone signs up under you and someone else signs up under them, you will get a portion of money from each purchase they both make. Pretty neat!

Groupon
Groupon is one of the first, largest, and best (in my opinion) deal-a-day sites out there right now. They offer multiple deals every day (some region-specific, some nationwide) and from a wide variety of businesses - restaurants, bookstores, salons, museums, etc. They also put $10 in your account for every referral you get (after they make a purchase), which can go a long way toward buying your next Groupon. Oh, and if you purchase these through Swagbucks, you can earn Swagbucks for your purchase too!

Ray and I don't sign up for every deal that comes through our e-mails....not by a long shot. But those two daily e-mails are so worth it for the mileage we have gotten out of them. We've purchased bowling tickets, codes for movies at Redbox and Blockbuster Express, a Barnes and Noble gift card, golfing fees (for Ray...I don't golf :)) and tickets to the Indian Echo Caverns (which we're really looking forward to visiting this summer). We've also seen deals for dancing lessons, a pottery house, and lots of other fascinating things. There really is something for everyone!

Road Trip!

2011-06-10T13:15:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was a great weekend! Where to begin? We packed so much into this weekend I can't believe it....from a Phillies game, to a beautiful wedding, to just hanging out with friends and building relationships....it was a blast!

We first stopped off in Pittsburgh to visit Katherine's friend, Ruthie, and catch a Phillies/Pirates game. Even though they lost, we still had a great time. We certainly got our money's worth out of the tickets, since they even went into extra innings. PNC Park in Pittsburgh is a beautiful stadium. If you like baseball, I would recommend getting out to this ballpark.

We had awesome seats!

Thanks, Ruthie, for hosting us! We had a great time!

Saturday, we drove the rest of the way to Ohio for a wedding of two friends. Congratulations Nick and Suzy! Your wedding was beautiful! I love weddings. It is such a good reminder how we are Christ's bride, and one day, we'll be spending eternity with Him.

Cake cutting :)

Before the wedding, though, it worked out perfectly for us to have lunch with Katherine's friend, Grace. We hadn't planned on it before we left, so it was a nice surprise addition to the trip (thanks again for texting us, Grace!).

The rest of the weekend, we just enjoyed sitting around and catching up with all our friends at Urbancrest (the church Katherine attended while at Cedarville). We stayed up really late eating pizza and chatting with Clint (thanks for letting us stay with you!), crashed a graduation party, enjoyed Sunday morning service (Pastor Tom is one of Katherine's favorite preachers) and spent a lot of time with Shawn and Michelle, who are getting ready to move to Hawaii to start multiple church plants (check out that adventure at Shawn's blog). We enjoyed seeing everyone, and we hope to get back out there soon.

Monthly Financial Update

2011-06-06T12:56:00.000-04:00

A blog post on our incredibly fun weekend is soon to come, but today is the first Monday of June, which means it's time for our financial update!

May had to have been one of our busiest months in a long time. We both worked a lot (on top of traveling and other commitments). That being said, we have actually slightly changed our strategy for paying off our debt. My school loan (our only debt left) is actually an interest free loan (thanks MOAA!). Since we depleted a portion of our savings to pay off our other loan last month, we are putting all extra money into our savings account. Once we've saved back up enough, we will just send in one extra check, paying off the balance. It's so nice to not have to worry about monthly interest accruing. Also, this new plan allows us some wiggle room since my summer job is only a couple days a week and neither one of us can work during Candidate Class in July, making finances a bit iffy for the summer.

So, without anymore rambling, we have currently paid off 87% of our debt. Yeah, if you noticed (maybe you didn't.....so maybe I shouldn't point it out...hah!), that's the same percentage as last month. We did make our payment (no, we're not slacking!), but since we're down to just one payment (and a small one at that), the monthly percentage is much smaller. We are pleased, though. Nothing can dampen our excitement from paying off Ray's loan last month :)

Praise God!!!

2011-05-27T18:41:00.000-04:00

Thank you again to everyone who prayed this past week for our Oral Doctrinal Exam--we passed!!! It was a bit nerve-wracking, especially at first, but I think we really complimented each other well in the questions we knew and how we answered them. And it really was a special time of talking about God's Word with 6 men who have been instrumental in our spiritual lives. I actually learned some stuff too :) (part of me wanted to take notes on some of the things they said! :)). It is such a relief, though, to be finished with that exam and be able to move on to other things.

And I received another, unexpected blessing this week: I was offered a job as a Mother's Day Out childcare worker at a local church's daycare. It's a totally new thing for me and kind of outside my comfort zone, but after praying about it and talking with Ray and seeking wisdom, I'm going to take it! It's only a couple days a week, so it isn't a huge time commitment (or a large income), but it is something, which lifts the burden I've had for a while (not having a summer job has really been stressing me out!). I also have the potential opportunity to work at another day care part time. I'm interviewing for that position on Tuesday afternoon, so I'd appreciate prayer for wisdom in deciding whether or not to take it.

Now I'm in the midst of my 3 week whirlwind of personal busyness. I'm actually currently in Florida for Stephen high school graduation. Next weekend, Ray and I will be visiting one of my best friends, Ruthie, in Pittsburgh for an evening (going to a Phillies' game together!) and then traveling to Ohio to see some dear friends, Suzy and Nick, get married. The following weekend, one of Ray's college roommates (and our new worship and student ministry pastor) is getting married so we will be there to celebrate with them! Phew! And I have a feeling this wedding shindig stuff is just getting started for us! I've had SIX friends get engaged in the last MONTH! That's a lot of upcoming weddings :)

Just Ask

2011-05-09T12:46:00.000-04:00

So, this is probably one of the best ways to save money, yet one that's talked about and used the least: asking for discounts! Now, granted, this doesn't work in every situation. I don't ask the cashier for an extra discount on my groceries or anything like that. But in some industries, bartering is acceptable, and can end up saving you a lot of money. I found that out just a couple weeks ago.

We got a notice in the mail that our newspaper subscription was expiring. We get the Sunday edition, mostly for the coupons :) The renewal rate was almost double the special sign up rate we got last year. While it wouldn't destroy our budget to renew at the "regular rate", it was still more than I thought was reasonable, so I gave them a call. I explained to them that I was looking at our budget and it would really be a lot better for us to renew at our previous rate. Ed, the gentleman who helped me, immediately said sure, he could give me the rate I got last year. My jaw about dropped. I didn't have to threaten to cancel my subscription, beg or anything (though I was well prepared to :)). He offered me a couple of other "great deals" (none of which were as good as the one I was asking for), but I politely turned them down. I spent less then 5 minutes on the phone with him and it was totally worth it!

I'm sure many of us are quick to just sign up for the renewal rate, but in this economy, businesses like that know they might struggle to keep customers. Even if I hadn't gotten the better rate, the call would've been worth it because at least I would've known I had done all I could to save us money. It never, ever hurts to ask!

The Heart of the West

2011-05-09T12:45:00.000-04:00

I recently read this fascinating book called The Book that Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization, by Vishal Mangalwadi. In this book, Vishal argues how everything we do in the Western World (specifically Europe and America) has been based on a Biblical worldview. He argues that now that Americans especially are embracing Eastern religions and ways of thinking, our civilization is crumbling and suffering the consequences. I found it very enlightening to see how a Christian coming from India and an Eastern worldview saw the sense and reason in accepting God's Word as truth. His arguments only strengthened my faith in the Bible as truth.

I must admit that when I first started reading this book, I expected dry, academic arguments (it's a pretty thick book, after all), but on the contrary, he was engaging, relevant, and even funny! In the middle of the book, as he narrowed his focus to specific and particular areas of study, such as science and literature, it did get a bit dense and difficult to wade through, but I always found it to be worth it when I reached the end of each chapter.

Vishal Mangalwadi does a phenomenal job of sounding the alarm of the dangers that await the Western world if we continue to separate ourselves from the Bible and the institutions and ways of thinking that have stemmed from it. He quotes countless well-respected, learned men throughout history, from John Locke to George Orwell to Jonathan Edwards. While it's a lengthy book and appears daunting, I think it should be read by everyone. He makes very compelling, well-phrased arguments. Everyone should be made aware of the path our society is taking by rejecting the Gospel.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, for this review. The opinions of this review are my own and were not influenced by the company or author.

Monthly Financial Update

2011-05-02T16:07:00.000-04:00

So, I had this whole blog post all typed up and ready to go....but never have I been more excited to retype one than now! We have been so incredibly blessed. God has been so good in providing work for us. I've been teaching almost every day, and with soccer in full-swing, Ray has been refereeing almost every weekend. And what a blessing that has been to our budget! This leads to our big news....

Just a few days ago, we submitted a final deposit to pay off Ray's school loan! I was so excited to click that "Submit" button on the computer and finalize our transaction. And it is all thanks to God's work in our lives! Soooooo, since the end of April, we've paid off 87% of our debt!

I can't believe how close we are to being debt free! We've been talking about what our financial goals will be after paying off our debt, and hopefully, I'll get around to typing those up to share with y'all. We really appreciate all your support, encouragement, and prayers as we work towards this goal! It's one thing that definitely keeps us going, especially during the tougher months. :)

Jehova-Rapha: The Lord who Heals

2011-04-22T17:33:00.000-04:00

To be completely honest, I never really thought that I'd write this blog. Oh sure, I believed God could heal me. And I prayed (and many of you joined with me to pray) toward that end. But I guess I considered this something God wanted me to live with for the rest of my life. It was a daily exercise of placing my wrist on the altar, but I have learned so much from this pain. I've already shared a little bit of that here, so that's not my purpose today. Instead, I wanted to share how God has given me at least a temporary healing!

I saw my new specialist again about one month ago because I was in excruciating pain (and no medications were working to alleviate it a bit). He offered to try an injection of medication directly into my wrist, something that had been tried twice before, with no positive results. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of trying something already proven to be fruitless, but since it was really my only option, I consented. A few days later, Ray and I realized that I had gone a couple days without a debilitating pain attack (they usually occur at least once or twice daily). It wasn't perfect, but the pain level was very tolerable.

Now, the nature of this injection is such that it will eventually wear off. And indeed, in the past couple week I've experienced the same levels of pain that I had prior to the injection. Despite that fact, though, I cannot possibly describe my complete gratitude to God for giving me even the slightest respite from the pain. I didn't deserve it, yet He has overflowed my life with grace again and again. I'm thankful He's entrusted me with this story of His faithfulness and provision to share as a testimony of how wonderful He is!

Hopefully these pain-free results will help guide the doctors down a better treatment path in the future. Thank you for praying with me in this. May you, too, share in my joy!

Tackling Bullying

2011-04-18T17:13:00.000-04:00

Several months ago, I picked up Jodee Blanco's book, "Please Stop Laughing at Me..." when I saw it on the desk of the teacher for whom I subbed. I skimmed it quickly during my lunch and other breaks and placed it on my "wish list" of books to buy (and read more thoroughly). Needless to say, I was excited for the opportunity to read and review it.

To get the negative remarks out of the way - I was surprised Thomas Nelson offered this book to review because it isn't remotely "religious," which is their typical market. Worldly behaviors and bad language are prevalent, which is disappointing. I know that most of the instances are presented only to recount actual events of the past. Still, the vulgar language doesn't add any extra shock to the book (the bullying is shocking enough), so I feel it could have been left out.

Still, regardless of those things, I think it should be mandatory reading for teachers, and I wish every school would implement the author's anti-bullying campaign. As Jodee Blanco details her bullying experiences (so heart-wrenching!), I found my own spirit being convicted for the times when I was a silent bystander. I never "actively bullied" when I was in school, but I'm ashamed to admit that I've laughed at jokes (at the expense of others) or neglected to speak up and defend the hurting, all so I would hopefully be accepted by a group of students. I deeply regret that now.

I appreciate Jodee Blanco's honest confessions and her detailed advice for parents, teachers, and fellow victims. In every page, I truly felt her heart for this issue, to help all students, both the bullies and their victims. Her forgiveness and understanding toward her own bullies and their victims. Her forgiveness and understanding toward her own bullies is remarkable. I've seen tragic effects of bullying in local schools, and while this book might not solve everything, it is certainly a remarkable start.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, for this review. The opinions of this review are my own and were not influenced by the company or author.

Book Review: Max on Life

2011-04-18T17:00:00.000-04:00

When I think of prominent inspirational Christian authors, Max Lucado is one of the first to come to mind. He has written a plethora of books covering subjects ranging from grief and the hereafter to understanding and emulating the character of Christ. My personal favorites of his are actually two of his children's books: You are Special and Tell Me the Secrets. In this brand new book, Max on Life, Max Lucado addresses 172 questions that have been asked of him over the years. He gives Scripture-based answers for each and every one, speaking the truth with great love.

While not every question applied to me, I did appreciate that each question was specific enough to be helpful to people, yet broad enough to apply to many people. He wisely included indexes for both topics and Scripture references, so one can quickly access storeis and Scriptures that apply to a current situation or problem. I did feel like some of his questions were kind of repetitive and he didn't always answer the specific question being asked (sometimes he just talked around the issue) or gave vague answers. However, he did do a nice job of dividing the questions up into seven main sections, so it was nicely organized.

By it's nature, this book is broad and doesn't delve deeply into too difficult issues. It isn't my favorite Max Lucado book, but certainly one I would be interested in sharing with friends who are new Christians. It answers some questions that I've heard from a lot of people in the church (and people outside the church, too), and perhaps they could benefit from reading the new book.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, for this review. The opinions of this review are my own and were not influenced by the company or author.

Monthly Financial Update

2011-04-04T14:09:00.000-04:00

Wow...I can't believe it has been a little over a year since we began tracking our progress in paying off debt. This year has been so full of wonderful blessings, yet has flown by so quickly! We count ourselves to be especially blessed by God in the area of finances. He has always provided exactly what we needed, and while the discipline we've had in forgoing luxuries and other "wants" has not always been easy, it is definitely worth it.

This month, we celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary AND having paid off 66% of our debt! We are getting close to the point on Ray's school loan that we might just pay the whole thing off in the next couple months. Then there's only my loan remaining. I'm getting jittery just thinking about it! Being debt free this summer is looking more and more like a possibility! Thank you, Jesus!

Anniversary!!

2011-04-03T14:11:00.002-04:00

April 3, 2010 was the best day of my life. One year ago, Ray and I stood before God and many of our dear friends and family and made our vows. We still have them (our vows...not our family and friends...haha) hanging up on our fridge, and while I know we have both failed to keep them perfectly, I'm thankful for the grace God has bestowed upon us and the forgiveness Ray offers me every time I fall short. Here's a brief list of reasons why I love and am thankful for my wonderful husband:

--He is always able to make me laugh...even when I'm hopelessly upset (he even proposed to me while I was upset and in tears!)
--All the inside jokes and looks we share
--He loves to cook (and is way better at it than I am)
--He is always willing to admit his wrongs and ask forgiveness....and is gracious enough to forgive me, even when I'm too stubborn to do either
--He is always trying to be a better listener and understand me
--He has really cool sideburns :)
--He is incredibly giving to everyone
--He has the best smile and incredible eyes
--He is a spiritual leader
--He is always trying to learn more about Scripture, even though it isn't always easy
--He loves East Asia as much as I do
--He has a heart for the orphans
--We have so much fun in the great outdoors
--He puts up with my quirks
--He works hard to provide for us and is supportive of my substitute teaching, even if it means my income isn't steady
--He is respected by the people of our church
--He is creative in showing his love to me
--He is always making an effort to spend quality time with me

And that list is only a small beginning :) I am so grateful to be able to spend forever with such a wonderful man, and I'm honored he would choose me for his wife.

I can't wait for him to get home from work...then we're going out to dinner (Olive Garden!!!) and digging in to our delicious cake topper :)

Happy First Anniversary, Ray! The first of many wonderful years to come :) Wo ai ni! (I love you...in Chinese :))

One of my favorite pictures from the best day of my life

Marriage....a different kind of culture shock

2011-04-01T20:40:00.000-04:00

While I’m sure I’m not the first person to come up with this analogy, it did just hit me the other day (while I was thinking about our eventual move overseas...and the fact that we're very close to our one year anniversary) that marriage is a different kind of culture shock. I looked online for the various stages of culture shock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_shock)...and here’s how I made the connection (all below quotes come from this Wikipedia page).

1. Excitement/Honeymoon Stage - “During this period the differences between the old and new culture are seen in a romantic light, wonderful and new.” You can’t believe how awesome it is to be married to your best friend, and you’re thoroughly enjoying setting up your new home together.

2. Negotiation Stage - “After some time (usually three months but sometimes sooner or later, depending on the individual), differences between the old and new culture become apparent and may create anxiety.” He never wiped his mouth on his sleeve at dinner when you were dating. She’s always seemed so neat and tidy. Those little things you thought would never bother you (and those major things you never even noticed) start to get under your skin....a lot.

3. Adjustment Stage - “Again, after some time (usually 6 – 12 months), one grows accustomed to the new culture and develops routines.” We’ve adjusted our eating schedules, sleeping schedules, ways of organizing important papers...all of these have had to be intertwined and meshed together into some kind of new formula.

4. Mastery Stage - “Eventually, you are able to participate fully and comfortably in the host culture. Mastery doesn't mean total conversion; people often keep many traits from their earlier culture.” We have created our own life for ourselves...with pieces from our past woven in. I saw this the most at Christmastime. We each incorporated traditions that we grew up with. But we also found new things to do--just the two of us.

I guess this stuff has just really been on my mind, as we are approaching our one year anniversary (wow, time flies!). I’ve been thinking a lot about how I have changed and what God has done to unite us. We are still individual people, with unique histories, but we are walking a mysterious path, learning what it means to obey the command to become one flesh. Journeying through the “culture shock” of marriage hasn’t always been easy, but it is the path God has called us to and we are trying to walk it with integrity. I’m just praying for grace as we approach the culture shock of moving overseas (and I’m glad we get to experience each culture shock separately!).

Bad Girls of the Bible

2011-04-01T20:38:00.000-04:00

I'm not really sure how I missed out on it for so long. Liz Curtis Higgs' book Bad Girls of the Bible has been out on the market for more than 10 years, yet for some reason I never picked it up. Until the mailman delivered it less than a week ago, that is. Yup, I devoured it that quickly. Mrs. Higgs' humor and writing style is right up my alley (she calls it "Girlfriend Theology"). If you're a fan of Beth Moore's style, that's who she kind of reminds me of. I definitely recommend this book to all my girlfriends!

I absolutely embraced the set up of her book - she opened with a modern-day retelling of the bad girl's story to make it more "real" to us, followed by a verse-by-verse look at her Biblical story. I could tell she had really done her research (a lengthy process she lays out in detail in the first chapter, so you can see how thorough she was). At the end of every chapter, she summarizes some lessons we can all learn from that specific bad girl. She then includes several thought-provoking questions that can be answered individually or be used to make this a great ladies' Bible study (she's put out other materials, too, to supplement the book).

I think she did a phenomenal job on this book. I realized I had more in common with a woman like Jezebel than I originally thought. It definitely challenged my attitudes and behaviors towards others. If you're looking for a funny, yet profoundly insightful look into the lives of Delilah, Lot's wife, Michal, the woman at the well, and others, this is a great place to start.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. The opinions of this review are my own and were not influenced by the company or author.

Thankful for some do-nothing days

2011-03-22T20:59:00.000-04:00

Yes, if you were to look at our March calendar, you would see that Saturday, March 19, is the ONE day that our calendar is empty. We never truly realize how busy we are until we have a day to do absolutely nothing. Sunday, I did have to work for an hour, clowning for a delightful family, but other than that, we were free that day too. It is so incredibly rare! So, how did we spend our weekend?

On Saturday, we slept in (well, just me...Ray's an early bird) and enjoyed just snuggling close under the covers :) Ray watched some basketball while I perused the Internet and caught up on some stuff that had been piling up for me all week. Intermittently, we cleaned up the house....it gets a little out of hand during the week :-/ We made a quick grocery run to take advantage of some good sales and enjoyed singing along to the new Passion 2011 cd we won over the radio last week (SO good! Everyone should go out and buy it right now....then come back and finish reading :)). Grocery shopping is such fun together....seriously :)

I made some fresh, homemade cinnamon bread (was supposed to be cinnamon raisin...but guess who forgot the raisins...oops! :)) AND we baked homemade pizza (bread machine got a workout!). Then we settle in for an evening of homemade pizza, free coke, and a free rental of the new Alice in Wonderland DVD (different....but enjoyable).

Sunday, after I got back from work, we went out to celebrate the first day of Spring by getting free Italian Ice from Rita's and Maggie's. It's something we've done together every year since I moved here, and we enjoy the tradition. Then we came home and just laid on the couch, chatting and watching old episodes of "The Office."

So, no, we didn't exactly do nothing this weekend, but it was such a wonderful, quality weekend of togetherness. I'm so grateful to be married to a wonderful man and my best friend. I can't believe we are quickly approaching our first anniversary! I'm so incredibly blessed!

Meal Planning

2011-03-15T12:25:00.000-04:00

In talking to lots of different people about our financial journey to become debt free, I often mention that we do a meal plan. And I usually get a negative reaction. I’ve come to the conclusion that meal planning is a lot like doing a budget. Most people think it’s a good idea.....but it’s too much torture to actually sit down and do it. However, I want to share with you today how we do our meal plan and why we think it has benefited us.

First (and most importantly, in my opinion), we make our meal plan for an entire month at a time. Towards the end of each month (we don’t really have a set time...usually when we sit down to also do our budget), we draw up a meal plan for the whole month (we use the calendar feature on Ray’s computer). Now, I know a lot of people who do this every week, but all my reasons for why our menu plan works for us hinge on us doing it monthly. I know it can be a painful process, trying to come up with so many different meals in one sitting, but once it’s done, it’s done and we don’t have to think about meal planning again for another month. I think that’s helped us not burn out and quit doing the meal plan. We do a lot of the same favorite recipes from month to month, but we also like to try one or two new recipes (feel free to share your faves!) each month to mix it up.

Once we’ve made up that initial meal plan, we print it out and hang it on our fridge. It’s so nice to not come home from work every day and have that “What are we going to have for dinner” conversation. We’re also able to plan based on our schedule. I work every Wednesday evening and don’t get home until 8, so we know not to plan something that I will need to cook on those nights (else, we wouldn’t eat until at least 9pm!). Ray is always our Wednesday night cook (he does most of the cooking, actually). We aren’t exactly rigid with the meal plan. Some times we just don’t feel like making something, so we switch it with something else in the month. But we at least have a basic plan in place. And no, we don’t come up with 30 different meals...we leave plenty of slots for leftovers, one for eating out, and we usually spend at least one Sunday a month with Ray’s extended family.

So why is a meal plan beneficial?

Well, first, we are prepared. Because I know that I will be cooking a casserole requiring two chicken breasts tomorrow, I will try to remember to set them out to defrost from the freezer in the morning. And I know we have all the ingredients on hand because our grocery trips are planned with our meal plan sitting right next to us. There usually aren’t any last minute trips to the store because we saw these meals coming up and planned accordingly.

From a financial perspective, I think we’ve saved a lot of money on our grocery budget by doing a meal plan. One of my favorite blogs to read is Crystal’s MoneySavingMom. Currently, she is doing a weekly video series called “31 Weeks to a Better Grocery Budget.” And one of the first tips she mentions is making some kind of meal plan. Every Sunday, we look at the grocery store sales flyers to see what we might need to stock up on this week. If ground beef is on sale for a really good price, and we know we are having 4 meals in the next month that will need ground beef, we can go stock up on ground beef. I can’t tell you how frustrated I’ve been when I’ve gone out and purchased something at full price, only to see it go on sale the following week. Sales typically go in a cycle, so what’s on sale this week, won’t usually show up again for 4-8 weeks. By planning ahead and stocking up (see Ray’s blog post on freezing food here), we can usually avoid paying full price for food, especially meat.

I hope this has encouraged you to give meal planning a shot. It really isn’t that bad! What kind of questions do you have about meal planning? If you’re new to this, I’d really love to offer insight into what has (and hasn’t) worked for us!

Book Review: Finding Our Way Again

2011-03-13T21:41:00.000-04:00

Last week, I finished reading the book Finding Our Way Again by Brian McLaren. It was the first book in the “Ancient Practices” series from which I read and reviewed a book on the liturgical year. I wanted to read this one because it seemed to be an overall review of the entire series. I was fascinated by the first one I read, so I was definitely interested in this one too.

It wasn’t exactly what I expected. First of all, I had hoped to learn a tad more detail about each of the ancient practices covered in this series. This book didn’t really contain that kind of information. It focused more on why we should look to our past to shape our spiritual walk and how to begin that process. Secondly, the author tended to use terms that he had coined himself (“elbow knowledge,” etc.) throughout the book, but doesn’t actually define their meanings until the end. That made for some confusing moments.

Finally, I just plain didn’t agree with some of the author’s theology and beliefs (it didn’t really hit me until about halfway through that it was written by Brian McLaren, who I don’t agree with on a lot of issues). Certain things he says seem a bit wishy-washy to me, and he gives certain words his own definition to make his arguments work.

However, if you can read with an open mind and filter out the stuff you disagree with, it wasn’t all bad. I really loved the last 75 or so pages. There were more practical ideas that I could live out and analogies and illustrations I could both relate to and agree with. Overall, I’m glad I read this book, even if I had to work a little harder to pick out the good /theologically sound points from the bland and not so good/theologically sound.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, for this review. The opinions of this review are my own and were not influenced by the company or author.

Dust Weekend Recap :)

2011-03-13T16:47:00.000-04:00

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free,and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. ~Galatians 5:1 (The theme of this year's Dust Weekend)

Ray and I both greatly appreciate the prayers y'all offered up for us and all the students participating in the youth retreat last weekend. It was an awesome experience, and I'm so grateful that God allowed us to take part in it. I can't begin to describe the weekend in a blog post that would do it justice, so I'll try to share a few highlights:

--My 8 amazing 7th and 8th grade girls that I had the privilege of leading for the weekend. They were all such sweethearts. Please continue to pray for each of them as God works in their hearts. I'm praying that some of the words God placed on my heart touched their hearts. We also were so blessed by our host family, the Jones's--I LOVE that family! :)

--Brian Frye, our way cool speaker who certainly challenged me. What a heart that man has for God...so thankful he chose to spend the weekend with us!

--Fellowship. Although it wasn't nearly long enough, I'm so grateful for the time I had to reconnect with many of my dear friends and mentors at Urbancrest. I had the opportunity to hear the hearts of friends who are heading off on mission trips around the world, hear wedding plans, meet new babies, share Ray's and my future plans, and just generally hang out and chat. I used to do this every weekend at Urbancrest, and it was by far the highlight of every week. We stayed several hours past when we intended to leave to return to PA just because we were enjoying the fellowship.

--Salvation! Lots of students made important decisions during Dust Weekend: to reconcile with friends and family, get rid of the "kudzu" (our weekend metaphor for sin) in their life, pursue mission work, be faithful in studying the Bible, and many other things. But the most important decisions of all happened when 3 students, including one from Ray's group, decided to trust Christ and Christ alone to save them for eternity. Another young lady got saved during the Sunday morning service. Praise God for 4 new brothers and sisters in Christ!

--Worship. This weekend was all about making God great. It was so refreshing and rejuvenating to have a weekend dedicated to falling on our faces before God and praising Him and Him alone. I can't even begin to describe the awesomeness of that.

Thank you, again, for lifting us up in prayer. I was reminded again and again of my weaknesses and God's strength. We couldn't have done any of this on our own.

*Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. When we're living in Your freedom, we see Your glory*

Frozen Assets

2011-03-07T18:55:00.000-05:00

I (Ray) love to cook. Along with cooking, I love to try and save us money when it comes to getting the materials needed for cooking. One thing we have done to do this (with great results) is freezing our food. If you have never done this, I will warn you, it can take a little work. However, the savings you get are well worth the work. We freeze everything we can think of (or as much as we can fit into our freezer). If we had the space, we would get a stand alone freezer to supplement.

What do we freeze?
We buy meat in bulk, package is up in meal size portions and freeze it. A lot of times we can get discounts for buying 10 or 20 pounds of meat at a time. We'll buy real or frozen veggies, because they are healthier for you than canned. When fruits and veggies are on a great sale, we'll buy a bunch, eat what we can, and then freeze the rest so they stay fresh and good. Just the other day, I chopped up some green peppers and onions and froze them. They have lasted us over a month and we still have some in the freezer. We also still have lots of frozen strawberries left over from this summer, when strawberries were in season. We will use them for homemade smoothies and ice cream toppings. We also freeze bananas that are starting to go bad. When using them for things like banana bread, they still taste just as good as if we had used fresh bananas.

A freezer full of chicken breasts!

What's the best way to freeze?
Our freezing methods depend on what we're freezing. When it comes to meats, we try to divide them up into meal-size portions. We wrap 1 LB portions of ground beef in foil or place chicken in smaller Ziplocks (be sure to label them with the date you froze them so you don't forget any in the back of your freezer!), so we only have to pull out and defrost as much as we need for a meal. It's a hassle (and we worry about the health risks) to defrost the whole package of chicken just for 2 breasts and then refreeze all the rest of chicken. When it comes to the fruits and veggies, we use a method called "flash freezing." We will wash and cut them up, then place them on a baking sheet in the freezer until they're frozen. Then we place them in a ziplock bag. This method prevents them from freezing in a big lump together, so we can use as many or as few as we want later.

I hope you find this helpful! It has certainly served to save us a lot in our grocery budget. What are some unique ways you save money on food?

Looking forward to a "Dust"-y weekend :)

2011-03-03T21:59:00.001-05:00

Ray and I would both appreciate y'alls prayers over this weekend. We will be spending Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at my former church (back when I attended Cedarville), helping with their annual "Dust Weekend." It's similar to the "Disciple Now" weekends--a weekend retreat spent together as a youth group and in small groups in host homes (you can read more about it here). This year's theme is Freedom (based on Galatians 6:1), and we are both super excited to encourage these students to claim the freedom they have in Christ! Ray is leading the 9th grade boys and I'm leading the 8th grade girls. We would greatly appreciate prayers that we would speak the words those students need to hear and that God would move in their midst.

On a personal note, I cannot fully express my excitement at being there for 3 days! That church was my home for two-and-a-half years. I spent most of my weekends in the homes of families that became my dearest of friends. I'm excited to meet new babies that have been born and catch up with my "bosom friends" (Anne of Green Gables reference :)) who pray for me and encourage me all the time....it is going to be SUCH a good weekend!

PS~Two special milestones to note today as well:
1~~100th post on our blog :)
2 (and way more special!)~~Today is our 11th month anniversary! Our next marriage milestone will be our 1 year anniversary--I can't believe how fast time flies!! :)

Monthly Financial Update

2011-02-28T13:15:00.000-05:00

Wowzers....where does the time go! Is it truly already time for another financial update?

First, though, I must apologize that we've been rather absent on the blog through this month, but we have been extremely busy! We both have multiple commitments at church. I had an unexpected two week full-time substitute job (meaning I wrote lesson plans, graded, etc...it was extremely stressful!). We are both preparing to help lead a youth retreat at the church I attended while at Cedarville--Ray's leading the 9th grade boys and I'm leading the 8th grade girls (this is coming up next weekend, so we would appreciate your prayers for this event!). We are both super excited about it (me, especially, since it's been so long since I've seen my dear friends out there!). Life just has been keeping us on our toes, but God has continually been providing for us.

I'm happy to report that we have now paid off 64% of our debt. While it is still that slow, steady 1-2% we've been seeing the past several months (still no unexpected inheritances), I must say that God has really been changing my attitude and giving me encouragement in unexpected ways. I am so thankful to be surrounded by some wonderful people, especially the ladies in my church, who have blessed me (and us) SO deeply.

64% really isn't too shabby, I guess, when I stop and think that we've only been doing this for almost a year. And while our "official" goal remains to be debt free by our 2nd anniversary, we are hoping to be a tad more ambitious and be debt free by the time we attend Candidate Class (to become full-time missionaries) in July. Dave Ramsey calls it "gazelle intensity." Some people call it just plain crazy. But it would be so awesome to enter that new stage of our life completely free of the chains of debt. We will certainly keep you posted on that endeavor :)

Life Without Limits

2011-02-11T20:48:00.000-05:00

Have you ever seen a YouTube video about Nick Vujicic? That was how I was first introduced for this remarkable Australian who was born with no arms or legs. If you’ve never heard of him, I recommend you check out his website (http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/) for videos and more. I’ve enjoyed watching/listening to him and admired his independence, so I was definitely interested to read and review his new book Life Without Limits. While I definitely enjoyed parts of it, I’ll admit that it wasn’t exactly what I expected.

I appreciated Nick’s unashamed presentation of his Christian faith and the upbeat attitude that he consistently manifests. He isn’t hesitant about admitting his personal struggles throughout the years, even to the point of contemplating suicide. However, he tends to jump all over the place and it’s hard to follow the story line.

He is a motivational speaker, and I felt like he tried to appeal to every potential audience he might encounter - from students struggling to find self-worth to aspiring public speakers. He shared many inspiring stories from his own life and the lives of others, and I enjoyed them, but I found it hard to follow a consistent message or train of thought. I would say he is probably more suited to speaking for a short period of time to various audiences then writing a lengthy book. I am glad I took the opportunity to read his book, but it probably isn’t one I’ll keep on my shelves to reread time and time again.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. The opinions of this review are my own and were not influenced by the company or author.

Observing a New Kind of Year

2011-02-11T20:09:00.000-05:00

I'm interested in any type of history, and I've especially enjoyed the history of the church and of my faith. The Liturgical Year is a beautiful look at the history of celebrations in the church, a closer look at how we, as Christians, keep time (hence the term, the Liturgical Year), beginning with Advent and culminating with Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. This book is one of a collection about ancient church practices, which intrigued me because sometimes I feel like some churches today ignore the wonder and mystery of Christ and also talk too little about some of the ancient practices, such as tithing and fasting

I will be honest and upfront that I didn't agree with every aspect of the book, however it's because it's written by a Benedictine nun, so I expected to disagree with some theological stances. Another thing I found problematic was since it was written primarily to a Catholic audience, there were some things I didn't full grasp or understand, but it wasn't anything a quick Internet search couldn't explain.

I never grew up really observing Advent or Lent, but now that I've read more about them, I'm intrigued by what these represent and ask us, as Christians, to stop and consider during these special times. I love a lot of what Joan Chittister, the author, suggests we remember and do to observe the Liturgical Year. It was very inspiring and reminded me to stop and wonder at what Jesus did, who He was, and how that should affect my everyday living. I definitely think this book will change the way I think about and perhaps even observe Advent, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. Here is one of my favorite quotes from the book:

"To live the liturgical year is to remember God's goodness in life, day after day, week after week, season after season, and to remind ourselves ceaselessly, therefore, of our own obligation to live life differently as a result."

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, for this review. The opinions of this review are my own and were not influenced by the company or author.

Snapshots

2011-02-09T21:58:00.000-05:00

We wanted to share some favorite pictures of things that have been going on recently:

These first few are some awesome pics taken by Aislinn at http://aisphotography.zenfolio.com/. You can see all the pictures on her website there, but these are some of my faves. We had these done when we were in Florida visiting my family for Christmas (*sigh* I miss that weather!)

A fave of the whole fam :)

Rachael and Mom: two of my bestest friends and most favorite of ladies :)

My favorite picture of us :) I love this man SO much!

Ray and I visited the beach with my Mom (you can't go to Florida and NOT go to the beach :))...

...it was a tad chilly, but we had to dip our toes in anyway :)

Also while home, my Mom, sister, best friend, and I went to this cute little tea house, dressed up, and had a tea party. It was one of the *funnest* things ever! Good thing it’s far away, or I would go there all the time!

L-R: Rachael, me, Rachel, Mom

Back home in PA, Ray and I enjoying one of the recent snow storms. It was so pretty and peaceful out...but awfully cold

Good thing this was waiting for us when we got inside :)

*I’m crossing my fingers that the Punxsutawney Phil was right this year and spring weather comes soon*

:)

They say the last 5 pounds are the hardest...

2011-02-07T14:59:00.000-05:00

No, I’m not trying to lose weight. But I think this phrase also can apply to where we are at financially. These past couple months have been hard. With Ray not refereeing and me losing teaching jobs because of the frequent snow days, we haven’t seen progress occur as fast as it has in past months. We are in this lull between paying off debts. And because we aren’t seeing huge successes in paying off large amounts of debt, I’ve been feeling discouraged. I am tired of clipping coupons and shopping sales (though I know that’s something we will continue once we are debt free). I’m tired of having dinner at home every single night. I’m tired of spending our weekends at home. I wanted to go out to eat, catch a movie at the theater, and pay FULL PRICE for my Cheerios. There was a trip this past weekend that our church took that I really wanted to be able to participate in. I could make a very lengthy list of the things that we have had to say “No” to or put off until our debt free future arrives. And some days (or weeks...or months), I just feel so discouraged.

I don’t mean to come across as depressing or complaining. God has been SO good in providing everything we NEED (and yes, I’ve come to a whole new appreciation of what it means to need and not just want), and we are so blessed that we are continuing to pay down our debt. A dear friend pointed out to me the other week, that most people are increasing their debt every month, not decreasing like we are, so we have a lot to be thankful for. I just wanted to be honest with everyone, lest you think this path to becoming debt free is all rainbows and sunshine. It is hard work. I know that it will be totally worth it. But some days it's just plain hard.

Thoroughly Resolved

2011-02-05T17:17:00.000-05:00

I’ve never been a big fan of making New Year’s Resolutions. That’s mostly because I think they have this stigma--people make lofty goals and don’t keep them. I’m all for goal-setting, I just didn’t want to get caught up in the hype and make some promise to myself that I wasn’t going to keep (and then promptly beat myself up about it). So most years, I let New Year’s pass me by without giving “New Year’s Resolutions” much thought.

Since December, though, I’ve really been doing a lot of thinking. After all, with candidate class this summer, a lot of changes are going to be taking place. God is doing some awesome things and I wanted to be consciously aware of what He was calling me to do and become. So, I’ve been spending the last month and a half thinking about and praying through what things God would have me get work on or get involved with this year. He has laid on my heart that this year is about getting outside my comfort zone, so my “resolutions” have a lot to do with that.

I debated sharing these things on the blog, but decided that extra accountability can only be a good thing, and perhaps it will inspire some of you to set goals of your own. So, in no particular order, here they are:

Scripture memorization - Memorize Psalm 27, Hebrews 11, and 24 individual verses (I’ll list them out as I go) for the Siesta Scripture Memory Team (I’ve never tracked how long it takes me to memorize larger chunks of Scripture, so if I complete Psalm 27 and Hebrews 11 with extra time, I’ll tack on more verses to memorize).
Become DEBT FREE!!!
Read through the Bible in 2011 with Ray
Pray for the entire world (see my blog post about that HERE).
Complete ABWE’s Candidate Class (we have to do it anyway, but way not make it a goal to do it well? :))
Volunteer in a local ministry (I’ve actually left my part-time job to better enable me to do this, but that decision/journey is a whole other post).
Lead a Ladies’ Bible Study at church (that’s starting in a couple weeks...I’m petrified, but excited!).
Co-lead Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University with Ray at our church (coming this Fall!).
Host people in our home for food/fellowship at least 6 times this year.
Read 5 books for Spiritual/personal development and 5 books for historical/teaching development (I know I’ll read much more, but I want to be intentional in picking these 10 books).
Complete at least 1 course toward my teaching re-certification (I’d like to complete 2, but I’m not sure of the time involvement in these courses or what our budget will allow)

Haha, I just realized that I have 11 goals for 2011. I promise I didn’t plan it that way...I didn’t even originally number my list. And those aren’t really my only goals. just the ones I felt God leading me to specifically list out, quantify/qualify, and share with y'all. I’ll try to keep you posted on my completion of each of them (I’d like to share my reasonings behind some of them, as well)--you certainly have permission to comment/e-mail/facebook me to ask how I’m doing, if you’d like to keep me accountable. I’m excited to share this year's journey with you!

Successful shopping!

2011-02-01T19:09:00.000-05:00

I know we don't usually post our weekly grocery trips, but we had SUCH a good trip yesterday, that I had to share! It wasn't really a big grocery run or anything, since we have most of the stuff we need for our meal plan the next couple weeks. Most of it was just to use up some coupons that expired at the end of January and take advantage of some special store sales--and that is how we scored :) Here's a picture of all our goodies at the end of the night:

And here's the breakdown:

Wegmans:

10 yogurts - $0.40 each

1 pro-biotic "super" yogurt - $0.79 (FREE with coupon)

1 box of penne pasta - $1.69 (FREE with coupon)

1 bag of chips - $4.19

Bag of grapes - $2.03

Total: $10.22

Giant:

2 bottles of Coke - $1.69 (Coupon Buy One, Get One Free)

2 boxes of Devil's Food Cake - $1.00 after sale and coupon

Head of lettuce - $2.09

2 gallons of milk - $3.48 each (FREE after coupons)

*Note: the coupons for free milk were for $4.50 off per gallon and they gave us the full amount of the coupons, giving us extra off our groceries!*

Total: $2.85

Total spent on groceries this week: $13.07

Total amount saved: $14.75

It may not be as great as some people can do with matching deals and coupons, but I'm incredibly pleased with this--especially since we got 2 gallons of free milk! We're going to try freezing one gallon, since we won't drink it all before it goes bad. I've heard it can be done, so we're going to attempt it. If it doesn't work, at least it was free! :)

*Thanks for humoring our delight in saving some money. We're slowly trying to trim our grocery budget even more, so every little success helps motivate* :)

Monthly Financial Update

2011-01-31T18:02:00.000-05:00

I wish I had something more exciting to give you this month for our financial update...something fantastic like a long lost uncle left us a vast inheritance and we paid off our debt, funded our emergency fund for a year, and can practically retire by 30 (ok, maybe not THAT fantastic....but at least that we found some way to pay off another big chunk of debt). But that’s just not the case. This month our budget didn’t look quite as pretty as usual. There were doctor bills that had to be paid, gas prices (as we all know) went up, and I just didn’t get as many teaching jobs as I hoped. So, we weren’t able to pay any extra on our loans. *Booooring.* Not that our normal monthly payments didn’t do some good--we have now paid off 62% of our debt, but it's just a measly 1% more than last month. It just doesn’t make for a great blog post.

But, as I sat here with a blank screen, trying to think of something fantastic to write to you or trying to come up with something peppy and enthusiastic, I was reminded of something Ray and I recently read in Exodus, when God was showing the Israelites how He would provide food for them while they were in the desert (which turned out to be a little longer than they expected :)). He provided manna and quail every morning that they would gather to feed their family for the day. They could gather twice the amount the day before the Sabbath, but on any other day, any extra would spoil overnight. So the Israelites had to be consistently faithful about getting up in the morning, gathering what was needed for the day, and then doing the same thing the next day, and the next, and the next. *Boooring....* I imagine that it got pretty old for them. As cool of a miracle as it seems to me NOW, I’m sure after 40+ years of it, they wished they could wake up to ice cream sundaes instead (or maybe that’s just MY wish :)).

The point is: God isn’t always fireworks and moving mountains. Some days, He parts the Red Sea and other days He makes sure the same manna and quail are available that were available for the past 40+ years. Some months, He grants us enough work to pay off our car and some months, He gives us just enough to make ends meet. But He always provides. And I feel convicted that I’m not as quick to praise His faithfulness and provision during these “boring” months as I am when He blesses us greatly. But it truly is miraculous that with an unpredictable job like mine, we still were able to pay all our bills and put food on our table.

It’s kind of funny how God knows I’m going to need the verse I’m memorizing more than I realize it when I select it: Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. ~Psalm 40:5. I need to be more consistent about recounting His faithfulness and works--big and little. Then maybe I’d be more thankful for that “measly 1%.”

Operation World

2011-01-28T22:06:00.002-05:00

One thing I've felt challenged to do this year is to pray for the entire world. Yup, that's right--the whole world. Seems overwhelming, doesn't it? It's certainly how I felt when I first received this challenge. I didn't know where to begin. Or even HOW to pray for most countries.

After I finished making those excuses, though, I discovered this website: www.operationworld.org. Operation World put together a book and this website as a means to aid Christians in effectively praying for the evangelizing efforts and current situations (economic, political, social, religious, etc) in each and every country. After poking around on their website for a bit, I signed up for their mailing list, not sure what I would get. I have been blown away.

Every afternoon, I get an e-mail from Operation World that focuses on a different country. The e-mail gives basic information about the country (percentage of people unreached, major religions, etc), praises for the ways God has been working in that country, and challenges still to be overcome, which helps guide my prayers for that country. There is also a short video for each country. Often it is a believer from that country, praying for various needs in that country, while the video shows clips of people, places, and culture.

This website has been such an neat blessing because during this year, I will be able to pray for each and every country in the world. I have already been so touched by the many awesome countries and cultures I've been able to pray for, often wishing I could minister there myself (and who knows what the Lord has in store!). It has also been a catalyst for prayer in a way I did not expect. I'm amazed by the people the Lord brings to mind with every country I pray for:
-Missionary friends serving in the Czech Republic.
-My friend Tricia, who was recently serving in Cambodia and is now in Kenya on The World Race.
-A college friend, Angela and her husband Scott, who are raising support to move to the Dominican Republic.
-A friend from years ago, Elizabeth, who is also on The World Race (currently in the DR).
-Estela Marleny, the beautiful young lady from Guatemala whom I used to sponsor through Compassion.

And that's only in the first couple weeks of doing this! I really encourage you to develop a heart for the nations. He may not be calling you to move halfway around the world, but He IS calling you to pray for others...brothers and sisters in other countries, those who have not yet accepted His saving grace, and those He HAS called to take the Gospel of Peace to those peoples. I really hope you'll join me in receiving those daily e-mails from Operation World. It's truly a blessing!

Income Ideas: Surveys (Part 2 of 2)

2011-01-24T14:42:00.000-05:00

*To read the first part of this post, click here*

I wanted to take the time today to post links to some of the survey companies I currently use. I signed up for these because reputable bloggers I follow or friends I trust recommended them. I haven’t reached a high enough total to cash out with some of them (some send checks, other deposit into a PayPal account), so I can’t comment on everyone’s speed or reliability in that area. I did my own research on http://www.surveypolice.com/ before deciding to sign up with these, and I recommend you do the same. While I only mention the cash options for most below, many of them also give you the opportunity to redeem your points for gift cards or donate to charities.

Opinion Outpost - As I mentioned here, I’ve already been paid by them, so I feel like I can give them my full recommendation. I love that they pay directly by check. You can request a check after accumulating 50 points (which equals $5), though I tend to wait until I've accumulated at least $20.

SurveyHead - You get a $5 bonus for signing up and can cash out after $25 (they pay via PayPal). I think their surveys pay pretty good and they do pay out in a reasonable amount of time.

SendEarnings and InboxDollars - You get paid to read e-mails and take surveys. I’ve accumulated money slowly, but these two require VERY little work (just clicking a link on each e-mail to verify receipt), so it’s great. You get a $5 sign up bonus and get paid by check.

Ipsos I-Say - Even if you don’t qualify for a survey, they enter you in drawings. 1000 points = $10 and you can request a check when you reach that amount. Pretty easy :) Also, their checks arrive pretty quickly. I think I got a check less than 2 weeks after I requested it.

Lightspeed Consumer Panel - You can be paid via PayPal after you reach $5. Sometimes they do some neat extended panels. I was asked to log in every evening for 2 weeks and record if I had taken any medication that day. I was rewarded on a daily basis and then given a bonus reward for finishing the entire panel. They’ve also had a lot of creative surveys (I once got to watch several movie trailers and give my opinion of them!). *Note: I actually just heard this weekend that they will be joining with another survey group, MySurvey, who I also currently am signed up with. I don't care for them as much (low pay for surveys compared to all the others), which is why they aren't on this list of recommended survey sites, but I'm hoping that by joining with Lightspeed, they'll get better...crossing my fingers :)*

MyPoints - I know I’ve mentioned them before, but they are another easy one--just click on e-mails they send you and try the occasional survey (they reward you even if you don’t qualify). The only negatives for them are that it takes quite a while to rack up points (though with the amount of effort I expend, I can’t complain :)) and they don’t pay you cash--you can only redeem points for gift cards and other stuff. But we’re already salivating over which restaurant gift card we want to redeem :) Very effortless and easy.

SurveySpot - They send out several surveys a week, so that’s nice. You can cash out through PayPal when you reach $10

Toluna - Not only do you earn points by taking surveys, but also by participating in polls and giving opinions. I like it because it’s more of an interactive online community than the others. You can even create your own polls for people to vote on. You can request a check when you reach $20 (60,000 points).

Pincone Research is a site that is a “closed survey company,” meaning it only occasionally accepts new members. I finally got into it this fall (watch www.moneysavingmom.com - she posts when sign up opportunities are available). They have very few survey opportunities (I maybe get one e-mail every week or two from them), but they pay REALLY good (usually $3 per survey!).

American Consumer Opinion Panels - this company doesn’t send out many surveys and they quickly fill up, but if you qualify, they compensate you well for your time (at least $3 per survey...sometimes more!).

Synovate Global Opinion Panels - I have mixed feelings about this company. I've accumulated points somewhat slowly for the number of surveys I have tried to complete (and their surveys are often quite lengthy), however, I've frequently qualified to test full-size products. They've sent me all sorts of products to test and review, all of which I've benefited from long after the test was completed, so I'm planning to continue working with them in the future.

Cash Crate - this one has lots of different ways to earn money, such as special offers. I can’t vouch for the validity of any of those, as I stick just to taking surveys. I haven’t gotten to the cash-out point here yet ($20), but my friend, Beth, uses them and has received multiple checks from them.

Just so you are fully informed, here are the ones that I have personally received checks/PayPal deposits from (so you can be assured they are valid): Opinion Outpost, Surveyhead, Ipsos, Lightspeed, SurveySpot, Toluna, and Pincone. But I wouldn’t recommend the other ones to you if I wasn’t sure (based on the testimony of others I trust) that they’re valid. I am still looking into joining others and if I find more worth mentioning, I will certainly share my discoveries.

So, what do you think? Did I miss any? What survey sites have you signed up with that I didn’t mention here?

Reminded of the GOODness of God

2011-01-20T14:43:00.000-05:00

Where is God in the midst of my pain?

A difficult question, isn't it? Oh sure, it's easy enough to spout off verses about how God will never leave or forsake us when other people are hurting, but let's be honest: when we're in the hot seat, the verses don't come quite so easily.

This month, I read The Goodness of God: Assurance of Purpose in the Midst of Suffering by Randy Alcorn, and I must say, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I figured it would be your usual run-of-the-mill *God's gonna use this awful thing for His glory* book. Not that I don't believe that it's truth--I trust with all my heart that God's in control and using every situation, no matter how painful, to glorify Him and draw me closer to Him. However, it's not so easy to share that with someone who is hurting in a way that won't come across trite and unfeeling. I was pleasantly surprised, though, at the way Randy Alcorn presented his thoughts. It is definitely a book that I will reach for again and again, as I encounter (or friends and family members encounter) difficult circumstances in life.

One thing I really appreciated about this book is that he doesn't ignore that there are countless views that address the problem of evil. He talks through all sorts of alternative views from relativism and atheism to the belief that God is limited in His knowledge or ability. In each scenario, he gently explains why this simply cannot be truth or how, if we want to claim it's true, it actually makes things worse, not better. I was thankful that he talked through each claim thoroughly, as I feel he better equipped me to engage in conversation with hurting people who don't necessarily see God the same way I do.

Here is one of my favorite quotes that I think sums up the book very well: "But to say that God is good is not to say God will always appear to be good, or that we'll always like him for being good. In reality, when suffering causes us to question God's goodness, it's because our own standard of goodness falls so far short of his. And God's goodness entails far more than whatever makes us feel comfortable and happy for the time being." (p. 32). I'm so glad that I have a God whose understanding and goodness goes far deeper than what I can know. I don't want a limited God I can always understand. I want an infinite God who is infinitely good, even if I can't understand how or why He is choosing to act in certain ways.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. The opinions of this review are my own and were not influenced by the company or author.

Income Ideas: Surveys (Part 1 of 2)

2011-01-18T13:39:00.000-05:00

As I promised a loooong time ago, I want to share with you a creative discovery I made while trying to find ways to bring in any amount of income, no matter how small. I signed up to start taking surveys through various survey companies. I don’t think I could ever do it as a full time job, but I can see us using the income to pay for Christmas and birthday gifts. Right now, it’s been helping us meet our monthly budget needs (though it didn’t replace my teaching income while I wasn’t working). I’m definitely new at this (I’ve only been doing it since July), and I don’t claim to be an expert, but by the end of last year, I made more than $200 doing it (plus, I've received many full-size products to test), so I considered it something worth sharing. Next week, I’ll share the survey sites that I currently use, but today, I’ll give some tips for getting started and what’s worked for me so far:

Get a separate e-mail account
I haven’t received any spam as a result of signing up with survey companies, but I do receive 15-30 e-mails a day from various survey companies. I don’t want to have to sort through all those to get to my personal e-mails, so I have a separate Hotmail account that I only use for survey companies. Yahoo, Hotmail, and GMail all offer free e-mail accounts that are easy to set up.

Sign up for many different survey sites...
Some sites send me 2-3 surveys a day. Some of them only send out one a week. They all ebb and flow, depending on what surveys they have out and whether or not I qualify for them. I’m currently signed up with approximately 16 different survey companies, which guarantees I have at least a few surveys trickling in every day. On the days I have a deluge in my inbox, if I don’t have time to do them all, I just pick and choose which surveys (and which survey companies) are worth my time. If you do want to complete a specific survey, it’s best to take it as soon as you can, though, because most meet their quota within a day or two.

...but be careful who you choose
I’m very wary of getting involved in scams. I can’t stress enough that you should be discerning in who you sign up with. A huge red flag is if the survey company wants you to pay a fee to sign up. Also, I haven’t been asked to give any sites my Social Security Number. I believe you’re required to provide it after you’ve made a certain amount from them (for tax purposes), but I doubt I will reach that threshold.

I’ve tried to sign up for survey sites that have been recommended by bloggers I trust, but since you can’t be too careful, another resource I found was a website called “The Survey Police”. They list all the legitimate survey sites and also mention sites that are scams. You can also read people’s comments about legitimate survey sites to see their personal experience and if it’s worth it to you to sign up with them (just because it’s legitimate doesn’t mean it pays well, pays frequently, or has lots of surveys that you can qualify for--people’s comments will help you with that).

Take the pre-qualifying surveys
Many of the survey sites have short mini-surveys to make up your profile. While they don’t offer you any money for completing them, I still recommend you take the time to do each one. Filling them out helps determine what surveys you’re qualified for. While you still won’t be qualified for each survey sent your way, it can cut down on your wasted time answering questions on countless surveys only to be told you don’t match the profile they’re looking for.

Make sure you know what your time is worth to you
Some days I open my e-mail and see 20 surveys waiting for me. I know that I won’t always have the time to complete them all. And you need to be ok with that. I find that my evenings with Ray are more valuable to me than completing those 5 surveys I didn’t get to before he got home. Do I forfeit a couple dollars? Maybe...but our precious one on one time is more important to me than that. And a couple dollars isn’t going to make or break our budget for the month.

When you’re first starting out and completing all those pre-qualifying surveys and everything, it can be overwhelming. But don’t let it shake up your priorities. Decide what your time is worth to you and how each minute can best be spent. Don’t get so caught up in it that you miss precious moments with your loved ones. These surveys have helped me pass the time when I’m home alone all day (especially during the summer or on other breaks), and they have helped bring in a little extra income. But they are not more important than my family.

Have you ever used any survey companies? What is your experience? What sites do you recommend? Tune in next week for a list of survey companies I currently am signed up with.

Free to be in His Presence

2011-01-08T17:57:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week, while driving home from work, I was listening to Bethany Dillon (love her music!) singing her song "Reach Out," which is about the women (written about in Luke 8:43-48 and in Mark 5:25-34) who had bled for years with no help, but was healed when she simply reached out and touched Jesus' robe. As I listened to this song, the Lord gave me such an encouraging perspective and really touched my heart regarding this story. Mark and Luke both tell of how she had spent ALL of her money on doctors and none could heal her. Mark 5:26 even says "and [she] had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse." "Time and money and hope was spent" sings Bethany.

Oh how I can relate! So often I wish my visits with the doctor were over. I, too, have seen so much of my income go to pay the never-ending doctor bills. And some procedures I've felt have actually increased my pain and not helped at all. I just wanted to grab that woman up in a giant hug and whisper "I understand your pain!" But here's something I've always overlooked about her story: that flow of blood that lasted for years had also made her unclean for all those years due to the laws set forth in Leviticus 15. She couldn't enter the temple, the very presence of God, for that entire time. I can't imagine it!

I was struck with how much I have taken for granted: the fact that I have the Holy Spirit, the Comforter (John 15:26, 16:7), living and dwelling in my. And I can go before the Lord and petition Him for healing or for wisdom/understanding and He doesn't turn me away because of the physical condition of my body. Immanuel, "God with us," has torn down the "wall of separation" (Ephesians 2:14). He has torn down the veil, the curtain the separated us from the Holy of Holies, His very presence (Matthew 27:51). What freedom! How can I sit here and complain about such a small thing when I have been given so much? Thank you, Lord, for so blessing us!

Monthly Financial Update

2011-01-03T13:23:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

Hopefully, you haven't missed Ray and I too much on here, but we've been so busy having fun! :) We spent over a week in Florida celebrating Christmas with my family. And we have two more Christmases still to come (one with Ray's Dad's side of the family and one with his Mom)!

I'm so excited for what 2011 holds for us! I'm definitely hoping that this is the year that we will be able to scream "We're debt free!!!!" We still have a long way to go, but we've seen God bless us this past year in regards to finances, and I'm trusting Him to keep providing this year.

So, Ray and I just sat down Sunday afternoon (our first full day home) to look at our budget and meal plan for the month and calculate where we were in paying off our debt. The past month wasn't the best--I didn't get as many teaching assignments (due to all the holidays and teacher workdays) and I had a lot of doctor appointments (which means a lot of doctor bills). Despite all that, though, we managed to bring our total debt payoff to 61%. It's not as exciting as some months, but it's a small step in the right direction. We are just thankful that our debt keeps getting less and less.

January offers a time of fresh starts. Getting rid of debt, managing finances, saving more--all these (and other money-related goals) are top New Year's Resolutions for countless people. We are resolving to continue to pay off our debt and to share the knowledge we have gained with others (more on that plan to share soon :)). What are your financial goals for 2011??

I want to live radically

2010-12-22T13:19:00.000-05:00

I had already heard some really great things about Radical by David Platt, so I was super excited when Waterbrook Multnomah sent me a free copy to review. It only took me about a week to read, it was that good, but the convictions it brought about have had my brain and heart working overtime as I think and pray through what practical changes in my life God is calling me to make. One thing is certain, an American Christian truly seeking the will of God cannot read this book without making some changes to their heart and life.

Dr. Platt addresses the concept of the "American dream" and questions if it may, in fact, be opposed to what God has called us to as believers. He points out the commands of Jesus to help the poor and take the Gospel to those who haven't heard. He challenges us to give up security and weigh for ourselves and decide if the commands and promises of God are truly worth whatever He asks of us. I think one of my favorite parts of the book was where he pointed out that we willingly accept the promises of God in Scripture as being addressed to us ("Come to Me, all who are heavy-laden and I will give you rest"), however some commands are selective ("Go into all the world and preach the Gospel") and apply only to those who are specifically "called." How convicting!

I think Dr. Platt did a wonderful, thorough job in laying out Scriptural truth and challenging life changes. He is humble, though, and recognizes that he is still working through all these questions himself and doesn't have it all figured out. I hope you consider picking up this book and implementing the lifestyle changes he suggests. Jesus truly is worth it!

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. The opinions of this review are my own and were not influenced by the company or author.

Income Ideas: For Sale

2010-12-21T17:46:00.000-05:00

One of the funniest phrases I’ve heard Dave Ramsey use (and he’s got a lot of them...seriously, I laughed during all of his financial seminars!) is “Sell so much stuff the kids think they’re next.” It’s certainly what came to mind when I began thinking about writing this post. One of the best ways I can think of to come up with some cash, especially if you’re in need of it soon, is to sell something (or lots of somethings). There are different ways to do this, which I will suggest below:

The Old Fashioned Garage Sale
If you have a lot of stuff you want to get rid of all at once, a garage sale is definitely a great way to sell it all at once. We don’t really accumulate that much stuff that we need to get rid of, so we’ve never had one, but we do keep a box of stuff we don’t need anymore and can sell whenever Ray’s Dad holds one. If you have friends or family in the area holding one, perhaps you can join forces and hold a larger garage sale. Since I’ve never planned or held one, I can’t offer many tips on this, but MoneySavingMom (my favorite blogger to read for anything financial, homemaking, freebies, etc!) put together a great post with tips on hosting a successful garage sale here.

E-bay
This is another one that I haven’t personally tried out (well, I’ve tried buying on E-bay, but my blood pressure can’t handle the stress of bidding), but I know a lot of people who have had great success selling stuff on E-bay. You can sell stuff you don’t need anymore, or perhaps you’re gifted in creating things (like jewelry, purses, etc) that you could sell new. One of my best friends in high school made more money selling homemade jewelry on E-bay than I made babysitting (and I babysat a LOT).

Craigslist
Ray and I haven’t yet tried selling anything on Craigslist (LINK) (we simply haven’t collected enough "junk" in our first 6 months of marriage :)), but we have been on the buying end, and absolutely loved it. We both have bikes and wanted to be able to ride them in the area parks, but we both have small cars and no way to transport our bikes there (other than actually riding them there, and the distance is a bit too far). We couldn’t find a new bike rack within our budget, so Ray started watching Craigslist. Within a month, we were able to purchase a $150 bike rack in great condition for $35. As always, you have to be careful with what information you give out to people over the Internet and where you plan to meet to complete the sale, but I think it’s a great resource to advertise stuff you want to get rid of quickly AND find items for your own family that won’t break your budget.

Freecycle
I really debated putting this one up, because you can’t earn money through it, but if you’re looking to get something and not spend any money, it’s a great place to do it. People post things they are looking to get rid of (much like Craigslist...Freecycle is also organized by city/region). In order to keep it from going in the trash, they are willing to offer those items to you, free of charge. While you won’t earn money doing this, you can certainly SAVE money (and use that money for something else) by searching for items you are currently in need of. You are also doing the environment a favor by keeping those items out of the landfills.

What do you think? Are there any other websites or ideas I missed?

Why It’s Worth It

2010-12-18T15:04:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I start to second guess why we do what we do--clip coupons, register for freebies, bargain shop. Yes, it’s rewarding, but can also be exhausting and time-consuming. And there are some days that I want to just walk into a grocery store and buy what we need without rifling through coupons or pulling out our grocery money envelope. But then we have weeks like we had this week. Where I get a rush from the money we saved and am reminded that it is definitely worth it. Here are just a few of our successes this week:

That, my friends, is a freezer full of chicken. And all of that cost $25. We saved almost $10 by buying in bulk and we don’t have to worry about buying chicken for a VERY long time. Also, as a side note, that purple bag is full of rolls we got for free :)

We love games. And we love them even more when we get them almost free! We had 2 coupons for $5 off a Hasbro game. Target had Pictureka! on sale for $5.04. With the coupons and a reusable bag (Target offers 5 cents off for bringing your own environmentally friendly bag), we ended up paying $0.03 for them both. Now we have a new game AND a gift for a friend :)

Lots of freebies I sign up for online are small sizes: individual servings of food, a one-time use of perfume or hand lotion, etc. However, for their new product line, CoverGirl offered a Facebook giveaway for a full size eye shadow and lip gloss. I don’t wear makeup very often, but I’m excited to try this for free.

Finally, since I do a lot of reading, I recently joined a group called “Blogging for Books,” which is a part of WaterBrook Multnomah, a Christian publishing company. They send me a book to read, review (on my blog and other sites, like Amazon), and then keep! As soon as I finish one book and post my review, I can sign up for another free book. This is the first book I got from them and am SO excited to build my library through this program and review some cool books.

Another reason I got re-enthused about bargains is a reminder of why we want to be debt free: so we can be better enabled to bless others. Check out this video on Dave Ramsey's website: http://www.daveramsey.com/specials/christmas-articles/article/miracle-in-franklin/ It brings tears to my eyes every time and totally pumps me up for how God is going to bless others through us being debt free :)

I hope I didn't bore you in sharing this stuff...it's just this week was definitely a much needed pick-me-up in the bargain department. Now I feel energized to go do it some more :) What bargain successes have you had lately?

Income Ideas: Swagbucks

2010-12-13T17:56:00.000-05:00

*With all the recent holiday finance posts, this series kind of fell by the wayside...but after a month, I've finally got the next one up :)*

I know, I know, you’ve heard this from us before (check out my posts here and here), but seriously I’m crazy about Swagbucks. I admit that, at first, I was a little skeptical...it seems too good to be true, but after winning way more than 10,000 Swagbucks and redeeming more than $100 worth of gift cards, with no strings attached, I’m definitely a believer! While this may not be the best way to earn actual income, I decided to include it in this series because using Swagbucks has freed up our budget in certain areas, allowing us to put more income toward our debt.

Swagbucks allows web users to earn virtual currency by doing the things they do every day - search the web, watching videos, shopping online, downloading online coupons, etc. It is a search engine that you can use just like Google, Bing, etc. (and I believe it uses those sorts of search engines to help compile their results too), and occasionally, you earn “Swagbucks” by doing that search that you would’ve done anyway. Sometimes they put codes out that you can plug into on their main page for extra Swagbucks. They also put out a daily poll. You can win a Swagbuck each day just for voting in the poll. It really isn’t hard at all to accumulate Swagbucks...most of them I win without even trying.

It is very simple (and FREE) to sign up for (I know, I was skeptical about that too--but it’s true!!). In fact, it takes all of about one minute. There are no fees, no credit card required (side note - I don’t give any of these online companies my debit card number...it just screams danger to me), and no phone number or address is requested (if you redeem prizes, though, you must provide a shipping address at that time). After that, you are credited 30 points to your account as a sign up bonus (sometimes they have specials going on for bonus Swagbucks when you sign up), you can download their toolbar, and every day as you're searching online, you earn a few more points.

You can redeem these points for giftcards (Itunes, Amazon, Starbucks, etc), video games, and countless other prizes. You can even convert your Swagbucks into PayPal dollars (although the exchange rate is better if you purchase other gift cards, so I don't do this). You can also refer other people to the site and earn a commission off of their online searches. A lot of the Swagbucks I earn are thanks to the searches that my friends have done after signing up through my referral links. I know of people who use their Swagbucks to pay for everyone’s gifts at Christmas (almost everything that we purchased off of Amazon this year was paid for with gift cards purchased via Swagbucks). Imagine how much money THAT will save you! Not to mention, the people who run Swagbucks have done a great job of making it a fun site with games, a blog, and other neat stuff (most of which have potential to earn you more Swagbucks!).

They’re very user friendly and offer lots of resources to help you get the most out of their website. You can check out their FAQ page here. And I’m definitely willing to answer any questions you might have.

Do you use Swagbucks? What’s your favorite aspect of the site? If you don’t use it, why?

Christmastime is here...happiness and cheer

2010-12-10T17:17:00.000-05:00

I LOVE Christmas! Some of my favorite childhood/teenage memories center around Christmas. In my family, we may have moved a lot and many things changed, but Christmas traditions remained the same: homemade Christmas cookies and gingerbread houses, advent calendars, trimming the tree, homemade apple cider. I just adore everything about this holiday.

This year is our first Christmas as a married couple, and it's been fun to start thinking about and put into practice the Christmas traditions that we want to keep as our own. I thought I would take the time to share a few of those pictures here on the blog. There is a whole album up on facebook, if you want to see more, but here's just a snippet :)

We made and decorated homemade Christmas cookies - Yum! :)

Some of our Christmas countdowns :)

The beautiful nativity my parents gave us for Christmas last year

Our decorated tree, the gifts for all our family, and a nifty Christmas floral arrangement that we made ourselves :)

I'm also excited because this year will be the first time in 3 years that I will get to spend Christmas with my family in Florida. I can't wait to see them and spend more than 2 days with them!

Oh, one last thing--Ray and I are almost done with our very first family Christmas letter, and would love to send it to you! To save on postage and such, we'd like to send it out via e-mail. Since we'll be sending out ministry updates before you know it, we went ahead and set up a mailing list. So, sign up for our mailing list (to receive our Christmas letter AND future ministry updates) by clicking here.

I know "personal" blog posts have been sparse recently...and I do regret that (I truly do think about y'all!), but I don't regret that instead, my time off work has been spent with Ray, family, and friends. I wouldn't trade that time for anything! Hopefully, after the holiday season passes, my time won't be so filled with activities (I can dream, right?) and you'll see/hear more of us here.

*Anyone know what classic Christmas movie this blog post's title comes from?? :)*

Monthly Financial Update

2010-12-06T13:34:00.000-05:00

Well, this past month has certainly yielded a lot to be thankful for! Ray and I are so thankful for the various ways God has provided for us to earn extra income, allowing us to pay off as much debt as possible. We are thankful that we haven’t had any major emergencies or anything come up to sap the extra money in our budget. And as a result of those things, we are thankful that we have paid off 58% of our debt!

I admit, I was shocked that we paid off 8% of our debt in one month. But God really provided with some extra clowning jobs and a couple big tournaments for Ray to referee. I just can’t believe that we’ve crossed the halfway mark and are actually starting to talk about what we’re going to do when we’re debt free. Perhaps we’ll share some of those plans and dreams in the coming months :)

What are your financial goals?

How to Give Christmas Gifts on a Budget

2010-11-29T17:02:00.000-05:00

I figured I would take a break from my one series to put up this post, since Christmas shopping is in full swing now. With us trying to pour every spare dollar into paying off debt, Christmas presented an interesting challenge. We love giving gifts and have a good size family, but we didn’t want paying for Christmas presents to hurt our progress on paying off debt. So here are some ways that we are keeping our costs down this holiday season. Ray and I wrote this together. He gave invaluable input as he was the brave soul who went out on Black Friday and scored some great deals (to be fair, I did have to work all that morning :)).

Make a budget
Yeah, this is a no-brainer, but so few people do it. When we got married and did our first budget as a couple, we decided just how much we could afford to spend on Christmas gifts this year. Then we divided that amount up into our monthly budget, so it didn’t break our bank account come December. We’ve already been setting aside money all year in preparation for this season, so our bank account won’t take an unexpected hit.

Take advantage of sales
We try to keep an eye out for sales early on in year, so we aren’t rushing around last minute. But even if you don’t do that, with the economy hurting like it is, lots of stores have great deals going on this time of year. Also, before you go out and buy something, do an online search for coupons. There are lots of coupons out there just waiting to be used! We took advantage of special sale days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday and also watch for coupons in our Sunday paper. Also, www.moneysavingmom.com and lots of other “deal blogs” do a great job of highlighting some of the best sales out there every week.

Shop Around
Ray also noticed that some many online sites, such as Amazon had just as good deals if not better than the physical stores he was at. In the past, online would have good deals, but it seemed they wouldn't compete with the deals that were offered by physical stores on Black Friday (Cyber Monday has only been in existence for 5 years and seems to grow in popularity every year). He noticed that Amazon is very competitive with DVDs and games. And with Amazon, they offer free shipping for orders over $25 most of the time (and who doesn’t like being able to check people off their shopping list without getting out of their pjs?). Another good place to check online is Ebay. You can find some good deals on there as well. Ray also compared stores on Black Friday and noticed that many stores offered deals that were similar to each other. So he picked stores that opened later, hoping to avoid some of the rush, traffic, and crowds.

Use Swagbucks
If you’re like me, at least SOME of your gifts will be purchased from Amazon. All year, I’ve been stocking up on FREE Amazon gift cards, using points I earned from using Swagbucks (the $5 gift cards are the best value, but if you're just starting to redeem them now, you probably will want to go for higher denominations, since you can only redeem 5 of the same prize per month). If you don’t currently use Swagbucks, I definitely recommend checking out our posts about it here and here. They have lots of great gift cards (and actual gifts) in their "Swag Store". I mostly use the Amazon gift cards only, but I know some people who have paid for all of their Christmas gifts using Swagbucks.

Those are the main ways we’ve kept our Christmas spending to a minimum. Another thought is to invest in opportunities to spend TIME together. Perhaps a bowling or mini-golf date? Quality time is one of my love languages, so I really enjoy spend time doing something memorable (it doesn’t have to be some expensive outing). At the end of the day, you have lots of laughs and memories (and perhaps pictures?) and none of the clutter other gifts can bring. After all, Christmas isn’t about stuff. It’s about Christ. It’s about spending time with family.

What are your tips for saving money on gifts?

30 Days of Being Thankful

2010-11-25T10:01:00.000-05:00

I love Thanksgiving. I love the gathering of family with no agenda other than to spend time together (and eat delicious food!). I have so much to be thank God for. More than could fill any simple list I could conjure up. The Lord has truly blessed me. But, in the spirit of this month that begins a wonderful holiday season, I thought I’d come up with 30 things I’m thankful for - one for each day of the month. There is never a bad time to be thankful, right? But I love that we have a day that is specially dedicated it :) What are you thankful for?

1. I’m thankful for the loving, patient, godly husband the Lord has blessed me with. Ray was my first boyfriend, my first handhold, my first kiss, my first true love. I’m so SO thankful for him!

2. I’m thankful for the wonderful family God placed me in. I have amazing parents who instilled so much wisdom and knowledge in my life. I have the coolest brother and sister who always make me laugh and encourage me. I can’t say enough about how much I treasure these four people.

3. I’m thankful for Ray’s family that I can now call my own. Since the day I first met them three Thanksgivings ago, they have made me feel as if I was always part of their family (and now I am :)). I have gained more than just a wonderful husband from my marriage. My heart is full.

4. I’m thankful for the love and passion I’ve been given for Asia. And how, in this time of waiting, before Ray and I can depart for the “far side of the sea,” I’ve been given so many opportunities here to share this love with others. I can’t contain my love for those people--it just continually bubbles over (gosh I’m tearing up as I type this!)

5. I’m thankful for the opportunity to substitute teach. It wasn’t what I had in mind to do with my teaching degree, but it’s been a great learning experience and grown me in ways I wouldn’t have expected.

6. I’m thankful to be a part of a wonderful church with people who care about the Lord and His work. I’ve recently felt so encouraged by them and overflow with gratitude that God provided them to me in my time of need.

7. I’m thankful for the opportunity to build relationships with our neighbors and share Truth with them.

8. I’m thankful for my amazing friends that I have all over the world--at Urbancrest, from Cedarville, in Niceville, in PA. I could fill a post with your names alone. I love you all!

9. I’m thankful for Dave Ramsey and the financial knowledge we have gained from him and others in the past couple years. Next year, I plan to be thankful that we are DEBT FREE!

10. I’m thankful for my health--it’s not perfect, but it could be worse and I’m grateful for what the Lord has taught me through my struggles.

11. I’m thankful for where I live. Yeah, I’m not always keen on such long bouts of cold weather, but the mountains of PA are gorgeous and I love hiking and enjoying the scenery.

12. I’m thankful that I’m able to go home for Christmas this year. I have missed the last 2 Christmases with my family and am looking forward to the family, traditions, and beach :)

13. I’m thankful for the opportunities I have to clown. I absolutely love my job.

14. I’m thankful for scented candles. Scents hold such strong memories for me, and I love burning candles that remind me of home.

15. I’m thankful for the students, teachers, and administrative staff I work with in the area schools.

16. I’m thankful for how much I love reading. Nuff said :)

17. I’m thankful for the beautiful (fake) flower centerpiece in my living room and my African Violet plant. Both give so much life and color. I love flowers and these really liven up our apartment.

18. I’m thankful for the love and guidance Ray and I have received from so many people as we’ve grown in our relationship and embarked on marriage. Especially the Gensler and Jones families as they have mentored and counseled us.

19. I’m thankful for our wonderful landlord. We couldn’t have asked for a more thoughtful and considerate man.

20. I’m thankful for the Ladies Bible Study I’m a part of. I’ve grown so much from the series we’re currently studying and I always appreciate the fellowship.

21. I’m thankful for coupons and all the other ways I’ve been taught to pinch every penny. My life is so blessed because of it, which is why I’m always so eager to share these things with y’all on our blog.

22. I’m thankful for warm drinks, especially tea, hot chocolate (with marshmallows!), and apple cider. Liquid comfort, that’s what they are.

23. I’m thankful that our apartment has a spare bedroom so we can open our home to guests. (*hint, hint*)

24. I’m so incredibly thankful for the men and women who serve in our military and dedicate their lives to protecting us.

25. I’m thankful for our comfy bed (yay for sleep number!) that has helped me sleep better the last several months since we got it (Thanks, Nan and Pop Pop!)

26. I’m thankful for the beautiful changing seasons. What an amazing display of God’s creativity. I love each season, though I’d pick fall as my favorite :)

27. I’m thankful for my job at Bath and Body Works and how flexible they are with my schedule.

28. I’m thankful for photographs. I love that I can look back and remember awesome memories and recount the Lord’s provision.

29. I’m thankful for AWANA and the phenomenal role it has played in my spiritual development. I wouldn’t be who I was today without that program and the people I encountered who were a part of it.

30. I’m thankful that the Lord has caused my boundary lines to fall in pleasant places. Indeed I DO have a beautiful inheritance (from Psalm 16:6). I’m thankful for His provision and for giving me more to be thankful for than could fill an entire year of posts.

Preoccupied with Blessings

2010-11-23T12:51:00.002-05:00

So, I sort of feel guilty that I haven’t updated this blog in a while, but on the other hand, I wouldn’t trade all the wonderful things that have been going on that have kept me away from much of the online world. This being Thanksgiving week, I wanted to share my overflow of blessings and the thankfulness I feel for what I’ve recently gotten to be a part of.

I guess I’ll start with last Sunday (a week or so ago). Ray and I got to go hiking. That might not seem like a big deal, but with both of us often working on the weekends, it’s been hard to schedule time to get OUT and do something together. We both love hiking--it’s one of my favorite things to do with him (or with anyone, for that matter), but we hadn’t gotten to go once since the leaves started changing. We hiked up to Pole Steeple, a beautiful overlook, and got to enjoy some of the last of the fall colors before they fell from the trees.

The beautiful view from the top

We made it together :)

Sunday night was also hugely special to me. We went out to Lancaster to see Living Hope International’s orphans who are touring the US, performing traditional Chinese dances. I wish I could share pictures, but I can’t (for their safety). The reason this was so special (besides the obvious--they’re from China :))? Some of these orphans are children that I have been visiting since my first trip 4 years ago. I brought pictures of them so they could see how they had changed over the years. I was thrilled that they remembered me and had such a wonderful time loving on them and visiting with them after their awesome performance. I wanted to cry when I had to hug them all goodbye. They took a huge piece of my heart with them.

Then there was this week, which has also been SO China focused. There were little things, like Diane Sawyer being in and reporting on China all week (yes, we are avid World News Tonight watchers :)). I learned a lot and really enjoyed seeing sights of the country I love. And then there were big things. I managed to snag a 5 day substitute position for a middle school Chinese teacher. I got paid to spend 5 days teaching middle school students about the culture of China (I wasn’t going to attempt to teach the language...some of them knew way more than I do!). It was challenging (a taste of what I might encounter when teaching overseas, I suppose :)), but definitely my favorite job so far. I miss being in that class--they have such a thirst for knowledge and asked such good questions. SO fun :)

My week of blessings was book-ended with another fun time in the great outdoors, this time hiking with 7 ladies from church. Many of them, I didn’t know very well, so it was a special time of fellowship and getting to know them. I’d never hiked where we went (White Rock Trail), and it was gorgeous. Definitely planning to take Ray there sometime (once it’s warmer).

So, that’s what I’ve been up to recently. Hope it is a satisfactory excuse for being absent on the blog recently :) My cup is overflowing with blessings from a wonderful God and I can’t help but go into this week being so SO thankful for what He has seen fit to give me.

Income Ideas: What’s Your Hobby?

2010-11-08T13:04:00.000-05:00

*Ok, so what if taking on another “real” job just won’t work for you? Don’t despair--this post is for you.*

Some great advice that I’ve gotten from my parents, teachers, Dave Ramsey, and many other mentors is to do what I love. That’s why I went to college to become a teacher. I love history, I love kids, and I love telling kids about things I love (like history). That job choice was a no brainer.

But, as many of you know, that is not my only job. In addition to teaching and my new part time job at Bath and Body Works, I am also a professional clown. When I first started doing it at age 4, I was just helping out with my Mom’s business. But it was something that I grew to love and wanted to embrace as my own. I love interacting with the kids and bringing smiles to their faces. I have some of the most priceless moments with them. And the cherry on top is that I get paid for making them smile.

Now, you may not have grown up with a mother who could’ve run off to join the circus (though I’m glad she didn’t! :)), but I know you have unique gifts and talents. Yes, I’m talking to YOU! And believe it or not, you have skills that somebody out there is willing to pay money for. It might take a little work, but here are some brainstorming ideas to get you started:

--Are you a neat freak? Are people always making fun of how organized you are? I’ll bet they are secretly wishing they could invite you over to makeover their house. Plenty of people pay for a housecleaning service. Why shouldn’t you get in on that?
--Animal lover? Spread the word in your church, school, neighborhood and offer to dog/cat-sit while they are gone on vacation. Kennels can be expensive (and they always stressed out our pets, I know). I’ve dog-sat for our pastor, a former professor, and other friends before, and I know they were glad to know someone responsible was keeping their best friend company in the comfort of their own home. It’s an easy and fun way to make money (if the animal likes you...I’ve also had some nightmare experiences, so make sure you and the pet have met before!).
--Love kids? Offer to babysit! I babysat almost every weekend when I was in high school and on and off during the summers between college. It was a great source of income and I usually had a blast with the children.
--Enjoy the great outdoors? Surprisingly some people don’t, especially in the summer heat. A friend of mine funded his college education mainly through running a lawn care service.
--Are you into a sport? Ray played soccer for many years and loves the sport. Now, he brings in quite a nice side income by refereeing soccer games in the area. He enjoys both participating in the sport and being a mentor to the young people he referees.

In this age of social media (facebook, twitter, etc), it can be quite easy (and free!) to advertise. Also, I suggest letting friends, coworkers, church members, neighbors, etc. know this new business you’re starting, even if they don’t fit the demographic you’re planning to service. They might not need your services, but chances are, they know someone who DOES. Here in PA, my clowning business has grown largely out of word-of-mouth. My former boss told her sister-in-law about me and she hired me not once, but three times! And that’s only one example. With the exception of printing business cards to hand out, I haven't spent a dime advertising my hobby.

Maybe you have some other talent I haven’t mentioned. I’ve heard there’s quite an online market for selling jewelry (though I’m not crafty enough in that area to pursue that avenue). Be creative! Pick something you truly enjoy or have a unique gift for doing well and look for people who might benefit.

What suggestions do y’all have? What hobbies did I leave out? What tips would you offer?

Controversial Books

2010-11-05T16:52:00.000-04:00

*Note: These are two books that I read and truly enjoyed! Both were spiritually encouraging and convicting. I definitely recommend both! But I want to recommend with a disclaimer that I don’t completely agree with all the theology presented in either one. If you’re going to pick one or both of them up, I advise you to read (as you always should!) with a discerning heart, that you can rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).*

The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson
This book so challenged me and inspired me. I struggled not to cry while reading it, and it made me want to pack up and move to the city to love on troubled teens. David was a small town pastor who God called to move to NYC and start a ministry to teens involved in gangs and drugs. His ministry is now world-wide! He told so many stories of the teens he met--some rescued from their lifestyle, some not. It was definitely a realistic, yet hopeful picture he painted.

I think the biggest way I was challenged was in my prayer life. David committed to praying for the two hours in the evening that he usually spent watching TV. That was how God called him to NYC. He reminded me of George Muller, in how he relied on God to supply their every need, especially in the first few years of starting the ministry. I loved (and was envious of) the way he was so in-step with God that he never doubted the still, small voice he heard, whispering direction.

I don’t agree with him on everything, theologically (he comes from strong Pentecostal background), but I still admire and appreciate what he has done and continues to do. If you want a book that will challenge and inspire you to get off your behind and DO something to help the hurting world around you, I definitely recommend you read this.

The Shack by William P. Young
The Shack was one of those rare books that I saw at a store and purchased on a whim (I’m usually hugely analytical about my purchases :)), and I don't regret it. It’s a beautiful story of a devastated father who meets God for a weekend to work through his grief following a tragic loss. It captivated me and I sped my way through my first reading over a year ago, eager to know what happened next. This time, though, I wanted to “ooze” my way through and digest the theology. It is definitely shocking and controversial in the way God is presented, and I needed to decide where I agreed and disagreed with it (though some of it was so complex, I’m not sure I comprehended it enough to make a decision). The one point that I blatantly disagreed with was when Jesus tells Mack (the father) that he is willing to go down any religious path to save His children. I read an interview with the author and I don’t think he meant this as a Universalist statement, but it certainly sounded that way to me.

The story’s main focus is relationship. God is not some mean, distant being, waiting to smite us. He loves us and wants to walk through the valleys of life (and the mountain tops) with us. One of my favorite illustrations painted in the books shows how Christ chose to take on human form and walk with us on earth, yet is still God. In the same way, a bird can choose to walk around on the ground with its legs, but that doesn’t take away or diminish in any way its ability to fly.

I really loved this book and was challenged spiritually, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone willing to read with an open, discerning heart. However, I think the author focused too much on just one aspect of the character of God - His desire for relationship. In trying so hard to make God relatable and someone we would feel comfortable calling “Papa,” he neglected His holiness. As I read, I couldn’t help thinking of how God handled Job’s grief. He presented His majesty and sovereignty until Job had no answers or responses, but could only acknowledge that he had no right to question the Lord’s judgment as to what was right or fair. God isn’t our buddy. He is our Father and He loves us, but He is GOD. The prophet Isaiah feared he would die when he found himself in His awesome presence.

If you’ve read The Shack or The Cross and the Switchblade, I would love to hear your thoughts, favorite parts, etc. Please share in the comments!

The Little Engine that Could (aka Monthly Financial Update)

2010-11-01T11:29:00.000-04:00

*Sorry for not posting a monetary post last Monday...after the long weekend away, I was just overwhelmed getting back in the swing of things. I'm back now, though! :)*

I must say, the last few months, we have felt so blessed. God has provided so many opportunities for us to work. Ray has refereed tournaments and other soccer games almost every weekend. I have been teaching nearly every day. It has been nice to have some breathing room, after our tight summer, when I wasn't working. We even were able to add some fun stuff into our budget, like a nice dinner out and traveling down to see Rachael and my Mom.

My math was a little off last month, as I already confessed, but I double checked the numbers this time, and in the month of October, we paid off 50% of our debt! It's not as exciting as it was last month...since I feel like we've already visited this percentage amount before. But I can't complain :) We are like the Little Engine that Could, slowly creeping up the hill. We are halfway there, and I can't wait to see the view when we reach the top!

Weekend in North Carolina

2010-10-28T17:05:00.000-04:00

So, this past weekend, Ray and I took a road trip down to North Carolina to see my sister, Rachael play Division I volleyball for The Citadel. I can't begin to tell you how excited I was for that weekend! My Mom flew up from Florida for the weekend, so we got to spend time together, all four of us, for the first time since Ray and I got married 7 months ago. Also, I haven't seen Rachael compete in volleyball since she was in middle school (I left for college the year she entered high school...so except for a couple summer practices, I've missed out on it all). The whole weekend was a blast! Rae played awesome (I'm in awe of her athletic ability!) and we had a lot of fun hanging out in between matches. Here are some pictures from the weekend:

A snapshot of a few of the gorgeous views Ray and I experienced on the drive down

I missed my sis!

Mom, me, and Rae - soaking our feet in the hotel bathtub :) Mom then painted our toenails....yay for girl time!

Mom made these cute little pumpkin dudes for goody bags for Rae's company....they attacked me while I was "sleeping" :)

Misty May-Treanor was on hand for Saturday's match--how cool is that!

Rachael being announced as a starter...woot woot!!

Gearing up for the game.

My sis can SERVE IT UP!

Game night!!

Showing our support for Citadel Volleyball!

Some of my favorite people :)

My favorite pic of the weekend--me and my sis!

Beautiful church in Roanoke on the drive home

If you're my facebook friend, there are even more pictures up there, but these are my faves and seemed to highlight the trip pretty well :) Can you tell I had a blast? I can't wait to see all of my family at Christmas!!!

Pain's Perspective...

2010-10-26T13:30:00.000-04:00

I want to share something from my journal the other day. As most of you know, I have been dealing with severe, debilitating wrist pain for more than 4 years. After seeing 5 doctors and having 4 wrist surgeries, I am still experiencing pain, and am visiting a new doctor on Wednesday. I've really been struggling with why I have yet to be healed...this journal entry resulted...

My wrist has been on my mind a lot lately - because it hurts so much and because I'm going to the doctor next week. I've been praying hard that he would find something to fix or at least be able to dull the pain somewhat. However, I read something on an online blog of a friend yesterday (check out her blog here...read entry entitled "Thankful") that is slowly changing and challenging my attitudes. She talked about how being pain-free and able to do stuff she wants to do is a gift from God, not a right, and therefore we should thank Him when He does grant us those days of freedom and relief.

He hasn't promised us a life of ease and painlessness. In fact, with the Fall came pain and sorrow. Why, then, should I expect Him to release me from this pain while I am here on earth? Paul asked the Lord to remove some thorn from him, and the request was never (to the best of our knowledge) granted him here on earth (see Scripture quote below). Now, I do cling to that promise of being made whole in heaven. No more aches and pains will be a marvelous thing.

I've been told before by friends that perhaps God is trying to teach me something through this ordeal, and I have clung to that - looking to glean every possible learning experience from this (hoping the faster I learned, the faster I healed). And have learned a lot, but I've realized in the last day or so that I still have so much more to learn.

I have learned compassion for other people who live in constant pain. I can relate to a whole new demographic that I couldn't before. Who knows what doors of ministry will open as a result? (A few years after my brother died, I was able to lead a classmate to Christ because I understood the losses she had experienced.) I've learned not to rely on my own strength, because it can fail me in a second, and not to be too proud or stubborn to ask for help. I've learned so much about my own weakness, frailty.....my humanness. I've learned to appreciate and praise God for the brief moments that I am pain free. I've learned to run to the Lord and His Word for emotional and spiritual comfort when no physical comfort will come. And as a result of those times with Him, I've been stretched and grown in other areas.

Most recently, I've realized that my painless moments should be viewed as a GIFT, not a right. I don't think I'm a place yet where I can embrace the thought of living with this pain for the rest of my life. I won't stop praying and asking for healing. And I'm going into my doctor's appointment on Wednesday with a hopeful attitude, but I'm no longer looking at it as something I deserve or am owed. If this is what my life needs to be like to draw me closer to God and tear down the sinful layers of my heart, then I will learn to rejoice in it, because that is totally worth it.

2 Corinthians 5:1 - For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a home not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 - And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distress, for Christ's sake. for when I am weak, then I am strong.

I am NOT good at math...

2010-10-19T15:46:00.000-04:00

Yup...math is definitely not my strong suit. And I was reminded of that today when Ray and I sat down to look at some budget stuff, including our current debt amount. Apparently, while putting together our last financial update, I managed to flip the amount of debt we paid off and the amount we had left. So, I have to confess my error. I reported that we had paid of 52% of our debt. In fact, we have 52% left, which means we paid off 48% for this past month. I guess it's a good thing I didn't become a math teacher!

I am also not a French teacher. This means that if I should happen to substitute for a French teacher and she leaves me a lesson plan almost entirely in French, I will NOT be able to teach the lesson because I only know a few words in French...certainly not enough to translate said lesson plans. I thought about leaving my sub notes in Chinese...but I don't know enough of Chinese yet either :)

Income Ideas: Take on an Extra Job

2010-10-18T18:15:00.000-04:00

If you’re needing some extra income, whether it’s to help pay the bills, add an extra little bit onto the debt payments so you can be debt-free faster, or to help save up money for vacation, Christmas presents, or another reason, one of the first ideas that comes to my mind is to take on an extra job. That’s what I have done recently to help add a little extra to our debt payments. Bath and Body Works has hired in me on a part time basis and has worked great with my teaching schedule.

Now is actually the perfect time to start looking for that new part time job. See, a lot of stores (especially in the malls) are trying to find extra part time workers who can be trained and ready to go when the holiday shopping season arrives (I know for sure that BBW is hiring!). It may be something you only want for a short time--and that’s great because they may not need that many workers after New Year’s. If you do want something part time, but long term, make sure you’re a hard worker who is always available. Try to stand out so you can increase your chances of being kept on after the holiday rush.

Another plus I’ve discovered is that, depending on where you work part-time, an employee discount can help with your Christmas shopping (although you have to watch your budget. I know some girls who spend their whole paycheck at BBW). I have a lot of gals on both sides of the family who love soaps and nice smelling stuff. Ray and I are definitely planning to take advantage of my employee discount at BBW when purchasing Christmas/birthday gifts (to our family members reading this: act surprised :)).

This extra job isn’t something I want to keep up long term. It definitely cuts in on the little bit of time Ray and I have to spend together and it isn’t a job I’m planning to turn into a career. But for now, while we are attacking our debt with a fierce intensity, every little bit helps, so it is perfect for me. And perhaps something like this is just perfect for you too.

How I Feel About the Church

2010-10-16T16:37:00.000-04:00

A couple Sunday’s ago, I was so challenged and blessed. The sermon by our former youth pastor really stirred up thoughts that have already been impressed on my heart for some time (feel free to go listen to our church's podcasts at www.communitycarlisle.org - October 3 is the sermon I’m referring to). I think people of the church (in general--I’m not speaking specifically about the church I currently attend) have become too comfortable with their circle of friends and aren’t reaching out to new people to get to know them (truly know, not just speak their name). They aren’t inviting them to get involved in ministry.

I’ve attended many churches (because of moving so much in my life) and almost everywhere I’ve found that there is a core group of people involved in almost every ministry. If a new person wants to get involved, they must seek out the right people and, often, persistently request information. I’ve rarely seen or experienced church members approaching new folks and inviting them to events and ministries. From the perspective of someone new (because I’ve been that person many times), let me tell you, it can be hard to seek involvement out. We are outsiders and don’t want to step on toes or mess with how things “have always been.” We want to feel needed, not like we’re imposing.

After the sermon that Sunday, Ray and I decided to reach out to someone and invite him to join the Mission Team. (I’ve learned to stop assuming what ministries people are called to participate in or would enjoy. I’ve decided to try to just invite and let them and the Spirit decide whether or not it’s their “niche.”) Because of that initial question, we fell into one of the best conversations I’ve had with someone in a long time. We discussed our opinions of theology, the church today, and the content of that morning’s sermon. It was so encouraging and I left in such a wonderful mood.

At first, I couldn’t figure out why that conversation meant so much to me and so lifted my spirit. That evening, I realized it was the type of conversation I have so desperately missed since moving from Ohio to Pennsylvania and leaving Urbancrest, my beloved church. I have craved interactions where I am both challenged and encouraged on a spiritual level. After church on Sunday, I listened to where he was spiritual and heard his challenges. And I was able to pour out my heart and passions to an attentive audience.

I didn’t realize how much I had been hungering after this. It’s the essence of what I used to have on a weekly basis in Ohio. Every Sunday, I was able to spend time in the homes of friends, the families of Urbancrest, and the natural course of conversation often turned to the spiritual. No one was excluded. No opinions or voices unheard. I have deeply missed true fellowship.

I’ve thought a lot about why I wanted to share this. I’ve spent a lot of time in prayer over this post (which I wrote almost immediately after that Sunday...but held off posting). I don’t want my motivation to be to criticize or complain, but to challenge myself and you. Especially within the church, we should be careful not to become so comfortable within our circle of friends that we neglect others. I’ve heard this phrase so often that it sounds cliche, but it’s so true: “We are the only Jesus some people will ever see.” If someone spent one Sunday in your church and it was the first church experience they ever had, would they return the next Sunday? Who was the last new person you even noticed? Often, people are so caught up in their own friends that they don’t even notice a new person (it is NOT the duty of just a greeter to make them feel welcome...we are all ambassadors of Christ). I struggle with this myself. I’m a shy person (at least, I am towards people I don’t know :)), but I’m trying to overcome that and introduce myself to the people I don’t recognize in the pews around me.

The other evening, Ray and I watched the movie “To Save a Life.” It was really good and so perfectly in tune with what I’ve been thinking about these past weeks. We don’t know how our exclusiveness might be affecting people. Eternity is at stake! Is it worth it for you to stay in your comfort zone, surrounded by familiar friends, and ignore how you might be hurting someone by excluding them? As Christians, we are held responsible for welcoming (or not welcoming) others and helping them in their life journey.

Don’t wait for new people (or even regular attenders who just aren’t involved) to approach you or answer your “help wanted” ads in the bulletin. Reach out and ask people to roll up their sleeves and join you the messy business that is Kingdom Work. Invite them to help with your ministry. Make them feel included and desired. We weren’t meant to walk alone.

Income Ideas

2010-10-11T13:25:00.000-04:00

A while back, I did a couple of posts (here and here) about ways to earn money or at least get the most bang for your buck. However, I wanted to expand on those posts. See, this past summer, I realized I needed to get serious about looking for extra sources of income. I was having a hard time finding any sort of work to replace my substitute teaching income, and while we had some money in savings, I was constantly worrying that we would have some major emergency (health problems, car trouble, etc.) and that savings would be gone in a flash (I'm a chronic worrier....can you tell?).

Since I was stuck at home with nothing else to do, I began scouring the Internet for ideas on how to add to our income. I didn’t care how small the amount was, it was better than nothing. And at least I would feel like I was doing something to help pay the bills, however small that “something” was.

Over several weeks, I want to lay out various ideas that I’ve come up with (some I have implemented and some I have not for one reason or another) to add to our income. Now that school has started back up, I’m excited to continue some of these ideas and use them to knock out debt even quicker.

What are some ways you bring in some extra money?

A Few Good Books...

2010-10-08T20:24:00.000-04:00

Rather than bore you with SOOO many book review posts (since I’ve really been flying through my books), I figured I’d try to put a few books in the same post and keep my reviews shorter. So here goes!

Thunder of Heaven by Ted Dekker
I was really excited to read this book, especially after I read the Martyr’s Song (LINK to review). As usual, I wasn’t disappointed. It was a little more predictable than some of his books, and not as dark and scary. However, I loved the deep spirituality of it. The reminder that we all live to die. The challenge of whether or not we are willing to die for Christ. The knowledge that we have all been put in this exact moment in time for a purpose...a purpose that we may not see for a really long time.

“It’s not your duty to feel predisposed to any clear message. Think of yourself as a vessel. A cup. Don’t try to guess what the Master will pour into you before he pours. Only pray it is the Master who pours. Then be willing to accept whatever message He wishes to fill you with. It’s His to fill, Sherry. You only receive.”

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
I’ve loved reading Avi books since I was in middle school. He does a wonderful job of writing historical fiction that is engaging, captivating, and easy to understand. Also, most of his books have curriculum guides in the back to help teachers incorporate them in the classroom. If I ever have my own history classroom, especially in a middle school, I definitely plan to incorporate his books. Crispin was a great book, although well below my reading level. It’s set during the Middle Ages in England. If you have kids 8 or older, are looking for something for your classroom, or are just looking for an interesting read, you should definitely read it!

The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw
I definitely recommend this book! I know, I know...this history geek in me is probably who loved it the best, but seriously, it is definitely a meaningful read. It’s easy to read in short spurts because it’s a conglomeration of stories that Tom Brokaw collected while interviewing people who came of age during WWII. It covers many different aspects of life--women who served overseas and on the home front, the struggles faced by minorities (Native American, Japanese American, and African-American especially), the marriages that came out of that war, and so many others. Each story is inspiring and hopeful. I think it’s important, as only a few who remember that time are left, for us to remember their lives, their stories, and the lessons they learned.

So what have y'all been reading? Anything I should add to my list in case I finish my 2010 list early (or to add to my 2011 list)?

3 years ago today....

2010-10-05T19:48:00.000-04:00

Yup, it's another one of those sappy posts about one of my dates of remembrance :)

3 years ago today, my beloved Ray drove all the way out to the cornfields of Ohio, during Cedarville's Homecoming Weekend. I was incredibly nervous (as I only very recently confessed to him). We had only met in July, but we had talked on the phone or via e-mail quite frequently (ok, the phone calls were pretty much nightly by October) since I had left Fuzhou at the end of the July. However, since we had both decided that this was becoming more than "just" a friendship, we had not spent any time together in person, and I was terribly afraid that we would spend the weekend hanging out and not mesh like we had over the phone.

He had already given me a hypothetical over the phone: "When I come out to Cedarville, if I was to ask you to be my girlfriend, what would you say?" I had never dated anyone before....so yeah, I was a tad nervous about taking that step. Nevertheless, I told him that I would say yes.

So, that Friday, October 5, 2007, after hanging out at the traditional cardboard boat races, we went for a hike at the nearby Indian Mounds. It was on that hike that he repeated his question. And I repeated my answer, already well reassured that my previous fears were completely unfounded. And I couldn't have made a better choice :)

Monthly Financial Update

2010-10-04T10:28:00.000-04:00

Wow...how did September come and go so fast? I can’t believe October is here, the weather is cooling, the leaves are changing, and winter is right around the corner. Fall also means soccer starts back up, so Ray has been refereeing quite a bit. Sooooo, with September over with, we couldn’t wait to take a look at how much debt we’d knocked out.

Last month, I said we hoped to reach the halfway mark in the next few months. Excitingly, in September, we met and surpassed that goal. We got rid of 52% of our total debt! I can’t believe that yesterday (October 3) we celebrated being married for half of a year and having gotten rid of half of our debt. Also, with all of Ray’s refereeing, the numerous teaching jobs I’ve been getting (I've been subbing almost every day!), and a potential clowning job, it looks like we will be paying off a lot more than usual next month. So exciting! Who says paying off debt isn’t fun?

Meal Time! Thai Beef Stir Fry

2010-09-30T22:21:00.000-04:00

Well, I hope all of you enjoyed the homemade french fries. Kat and I love them! I have a new recipe for you to try out: Thai Beef Stir Fry. If there is one thing you need to know about me: I love Thai food! Kat and I love this dish (Kat says she always wants to lick the plate afterward!) and I think you guys will too. This dish isn't that hard to make, but will take a little time and work. Give yourself about 30 to 40 minutes to make this.

Stir-fried veggies cooking

Ingredients

-1/2 cup packed brown sugar

-2 tablespoons brown sugar

-2 cups beef broth

-1/3 cup soy sauce

-1 teaspoon onion powder

-1 teaspoon garlic powder

-1 teaspoon ground ginger

-1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

-2 pounds boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into thin strips

-6 tablespoons olive oil, (divided in half)

-2 cups fresh cauliflowerets

-1.5 cups julienned carrots

-4 cups fresh broccoli florets

-1/4 cup peanut butter

-Hot cooked spaghetti

-1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Ok, I want to mention a couple things I change when it comes to the ingredients. I don't use the hot pepper sauce. Instead, I put dried chili peppers or some ground up cayenne pepper (I only put a dash because Kat doesn't like it too spicy). Also, if you would like, you can add other or different veggies. What I do, to make this meal cook a little quicker, is get a big bag of frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots already mixed. I have julienned the carrots and I have also cut them in round circles. Either way it cooks just fine.

Directions (Makes 6 servings)

1. In a small bowl, mix the first 8 ingredients listed, until smooth; set aside.

2. In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry beef in 3 tablespoons oil until meat is no longer pink. Keep warm.

Cut and cooked beef

3a. In the same skillet, stir-fry cauliflower and carrots in remaining oil for 5 minutes. Add broccoli and stir-fry for 7 minutes or longer. You want to make sure all veggies are crisp-tender.

3b. If you get the bag of frozen veggies already cut, I just throw the whole bag in the skillet and cook that till it is crisp-tender. It takes around 10-12 minutes.

4. Stir broth mixture (some of the ingredients will have settled to the bottom). Once stirred, add mixture to the pan of veggies. Bring this to a boil, and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

5. Reduce heat to medium heat and add beef and peanut better.

6. Stir over medium heat until peanut butter is blended.

7. Serve over the spaghetti and sprinkle with peanuts.

Bon Appetit!

Here is the finished product!! Yummy!! I know this is one of Katherine's favorite dishes, since I started making it. It does have a good Thai taste to it. Try it out and let us know what you think!

One year ago today...

2010-09-27T15:25:00.000-04:00

I'm a sucker for special dates. When something important in my life happens--a spiritual breakthrough, an important trip, births, deaths, marriages (the list is endless!)--I record the date in my journal (and sometimes my Bible too) so I can always reflect back and remember those special moments.

Today is one of those special dates.

One year ago today, Ray and I went for a walk in his neighborhood. I was upset (not at him...just upset in general...over something very stupid, probably) and needed to talk it out. So, per his suggestion back at the house, we walked and talked. And I cried. Finally, hugging me, he asked if he could do something that would be sure to cheer me up. I can still remember that hug. And I remember thinking, "He better not be planning to propose to me because then I'll feel really stupid for being so upset and I've been crying and don't look at all like how I want to look when he asks me to marry him!"

But sure enough, he pulled away from that hug, got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him. And still crying (but for a different reason, now), I managed to vigorously nod yes. So one year ago today, Ray went from being my boyfriend to fiancee to now my husband! Aw, I just get so weak with happiness from saying that! Sappy, I know :)

I'm so glad that a year ago today, my best friend asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I don't regret saying yes at all! I love you, Ray!

Living like no one else: Trusting HIM

2010-09-27T14:42:00.001-04:00

*This is the conclusion of a five-part series I put together, sharing why we decided to work towards being debt free. To read previous posts, just click on the statement.*

1. Rather than helping loan companies make money, we want our money to work for us.

2. Peace of mind.

3. So we can “Live Like No One Else.”

4. So we can “Give Like No One Else.”

5. We believe it is the right thing to do.

More than any of the other reasons, we have decided to pursue a debt free lifestyle because, while taking Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, we have come under the conviction that it is not Biblical for us to continue to be in debt. Therefore, it is in our best interest, spiritually (not to mention emotionally, mentally, and financially!), to be debt free. Matthew 6:24 says, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." And we are totally committed to serving God. That means Mr. Money cannot control our life. And when you’re in debt, it certainly starts to feel like Mr. Money is calling the shots. Also, Romans 13:8 says, "Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law." That seems pretty straightforward, but I also know that it has been hard somedays (especially since I wasn't able to get much work this summer) to believe that this is all a good idea and that our hard work and sacrifice will eventually pay off. To counter that doubt, I’ve been reminding myself of Philippians 4:19: "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." I’m so glad I don’t have to be in charge of everything that’s going on in my life and that He has us covered!

So, yes, we’re ok with being a little weird. If we can attain even half of what I’ve shared, I will be so happy and thankful. But I’m confident that with God, ALL those things are possible (Philippians 4:13). So, we’re gonna keep livin’ like no one else so that someday we can truly LIVE like no one else. :)

Where have we been?

2010-09-23T17:36:00.000-04:00

I know, I know...minus the financial posts I’ve been managing to post every Monday (thank goodness I wrote some up ahead of time!), we haven’t really been present on our blog. That doesn’t mean we haven’t been thinking about you, faithful readers :) So, here’s a few snapshots of things that have been keeping us busy (in no particular order):

--My teaching and Ray’s refereeing soccer have really picked up, making us even busier than usual. Hooray for knocking out debt!

--Ray and I have been planning for the upcoming Mission Festival at our church this weekend. It’s been a TON of work, but we’re both really excited for it. If you’re in the area, feel free to join us for the International Dinner on Saturday at our church (Community Christian Fellowship) from 4:30 to 7pm. It’s a free event, but we are collecting money for our church missions fund, which is totally funded through donations.

--We got free tickets, thanks to Ray’s sister, Stacey, to go to UpRise Festival, a Christian music festival in the area. It was SO much fun! We got to see RED, Newsboys, and Skillet in concert. I don’t really know RED, but I LOVED the Newsboys and Skillet concerts. It was uplifting, worshipful, and a great time. Plus, we got to spend time there with Ray’s friend and former roommate, Alan, who was in the area for a job interview.

Michael Tait--did a great job as Newsboys lead singer (and we even got to hear some DC Talk!)

More Newsboys...we were so close!

Skillet--lots of fire :)

Fire and moving platforms--bonus!

Soooooo good!!

--Ray and I have both been battling illnesses. I had strep throat about a month ago and then we both caught this nasty cold or something. Ray caught it from me and is already mostly better. But my body decided to make this a big deal....Ray finally took me to the ER because I couldn’t breathe and one breathing treatment, 2 chest x-rays, and a doctor consult later, I finally have meds that are stronger than over the counter stuff and might finally kick this in the butt. I’ve missed far too many days of work (teaching AND at Bath and Body Works.

--We got free tickets to see the Harrisburg Senators (the local minor league team for the Washington Nationals) play in the playoffs. They ended up losing (the game and the series), but we got great seats, had a wonderful time, and Ray even caught me a free t-shirt.

Game 3 of the playoff series between the Harrisburg Senators and Altoona Curve

Enjoying our front row seats out in left field!

--We celebrated Ray’s 25th birthday. His actual birthday was the 21st, but we had a big celebration with his family on Sunday, and then he and I went out for Thai food at Pakha’s (his favorite restaurant) on his birthday.

I’m sure there’s more, but this illness (and the medications) have made my brain a little foggy, so I’ll leave you there. I hope y'all are doing great!

Living like no one else: Giving Unto Others and the Lord

2010-09-20T12:50:00.001-04:00

*This is part four of a five-part series I put together, sharing why we decided to work towards being debt free. To read previous posts, just click on the statement.*

1. Rather than helping loan companies make money, we want our money to work for us.

2. Peace of mind.

3. So we can “Live Like No One Else.”

4. So we can “Give Like No One Else.”

God has blessed us richly. He has given me a husband with same vision, not only to live a debt free lifestyle, but to serve God in every way, and I’m SO incredibly thankful for that (Genesis 2:24). We have always tithed on all of our income, and while some months that has been hard because we weren’t quite sure if we would have enough to make ends meet, He has blessed us and we have never lacked the necessities. I was reminded just the other day of His promise in Malachi 3:10: “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,' says the Lord of hosts, 'If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." Talk about pouring out blessings! In one of our most difficult months so far, financially-speaking, He has provided enough so that we were able to pay off our car! How awesome is our God!

However, being debt free will enable us be better stewards of the money that was once used to pay for our loans and use it instead to bless others and further the kingdom of God. We can share the blessings He granted us and pour those blessings over others because we won’t have any more room to receive it without it going out to others! What an awesome problem to have!

And boy, oh boy, do we have BIG dreams! We have several friends in the United States and living overseas who have dedicated their lives to share Christ with others. Currently, our budget doesn’t have the room to support them but we sure hope it will soon. We will also be able to give more to our church and support ministries in our community. I used to sponsor a little girl in Guatemala named Estella. I was richly blessed by that opportunity to be a part of her life and see her grow in Christ. I hope someday in the future, if God leads us in that direction, we will be able to bless another child (or many children) in that way.

The biggest dream that we have, though, is to adopt. We have both worked overseas (and I’ve also worked here in the States) with orphaned and abandoned kids. God has truly laid it on our heart to open our hearts and home to those children. It is such a beautiful picture of what God did for us--rescuing us when we were orphaned and alone and giving us the privilege to call Him “Abba, Father” and making us heirs to His kingdom and glory (I’ve been trying to memorize Romans 8, and those verses [vs. 15-17] just really shake me up and resonate in my heart).

So what would you do if you had extra money in your budget? What are your big dreams?

Living like no one else: Truly Living!

2010-09-13T15:10:00.000-04:00

*This is part three of a five-part series I put together, sharing why we decided to work towards being debt free. To read previous posts, just click on the statement.*

1. Rather than helping loan companies make money, we want our money to work for us.

2. Peace of mind.

3. So we can “LIVE Like No One Else.”

Dave Ramsey’s motto for FPU (Financial Peace University) is “If you live like no one else, then later you get to LIVE like no one else.” Right now, we’re choosing to live in a way that many people think is too strict and confining. We rarely go out to eat. Never go to the movies. Live on a budget. Clip a LOT of coupons. We’re living like no one else that I know. But once we’re debt free, we plan to do a lot of things we’ve chosen to forgo for now. We won’t have to worry about how we will be able to pay for that movie ticket and the student loan.

I stumbled onto this Bible verse on Dave Ramsey’s website: Luke 14:28-30 - "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying 'This man began to build and was not able to finish'?" It’s certainly a challenge to me. We are an example to others, whether we want to be or not, because of how we manage our finances. We want to be a good steward of the resources God has given us, not just so we can get out of debt, but so we can also have the opportunity to share God's greatest blessings with others.

We have counted the cost of everything we want to do in life (even those unseen things that God may lead us into). And because we do not want to be stopped in the midst of our plans or have to hold off on the blessings God wants to bring our way, we have found the solution is in living debt free and saving to pay cash for significant purchases. Then we will truly be LIVING like no one else.

“That was the day that I loved him the least...”

2010-09-09T18:33:00.000-04:00

Ray and I attended the wedding of some dear friends of ours, Joe and Mayu, over Labor Day weekend. It was so beautiful and a lot of fun. We got to have our first dance together (we didn’t have dancing at our wedding), and I was pretty sentimental through the whole thing (and of course, I left all my tissues in the car!). It reminded me a lot of our wedding day, and I replayed through my mind our vows and the message Curt gave before he married us. I’ve spend a lot of time since that day reflecting on our marriage. It gave me a renewed appreciation for Ray and our marriage. I was reminded not to take him or our life together for granted. I guess we all need those reminders on occasion.

One moment which probably stuck with me the most was when Mayu’s stepfather gave his toast at the reception. He gave lots of good advice to Mayu (and Joe) and said all sorts of wonderful things about them. As he finished, he said (I can’t remember it word for word, but this is close): “When you have grown old and you look back over your life together, may you see this beautiful day and think ‘That was the day that I loved him the least.’”

Those words resonated deep in my heart. I think over the past couple months, as we’ve really started to settle into a routine, I’ve grown to be in danger of taking things for granted. I do the laundry. He writes the checks to pay the bills. We split cooking and dishes duty. Everything falls into a nice neat place. It’s so different from when we were dating...trying to “woo” each other. I guess when you’re married, you just have to try a little harder. We leave each other little notes...give an unexpected back rub...make a conscious effort to spend quality time together.

I DO love Ray more than the day we were married. I didn’t think it was possible. I thought I knew him inside and out, but I learn more and more about him every day. And I love and appreciate him even more. We are both very much determined that in 60 years, we will be flipping the pages of our wedding album, smiling, laughing, and maybe crying. And I’m sure we will both agree that April 3, 2010 was the day that we loved each other the least.

Our beautiful wedding day...so happy and in love :)

Even more in love, 5 months later and forever ahead of us :)

Monthly Financial Update

2010-09-06T19:03:00.000-04:00

Happy Labor Day!! I can’t believe we are already here in September. It is amazing to think back over the past year and what God has done. September 3 marked 5 months of marriage. To think that just one year ago, Ray and I were “just” dating. And by the end of the month (September 27, if you would like the exact date :)) we were engaged and planning a wedding! Hopefully this September won’t be *quite* as busy :)

Since we paid off our car loan in July (to see last month’s financial update, click here), August marked the first month that we “snowballed” our former car payment into one of the two remaining school loans. If you aren’t familiar with Dave Ramsey’s “Debt Snowball” principle, check out my post here. When we ran the numbers at the end of the month, we found that we had knocked out 46% of our debt. It's so exciting to know that in the next couple months, we will probably reach the halfway mark! I am so hoping that we will celebrate completing half of our first year of marriage at the beginning of October with a joint celebration of half of our debt gone. How cool would that be?

This past month, I read a quote by Dave Ramsey that I really loved: "Adults devise a plan and follow it, children do what feels good.” We could go do whatever feels good for the moment - order pizza, buy new clothes, go the movies, etc. But we have a plan to be debt free in a year and a half (if not sooner, at the rate we’re going!), so we are delaying some of those “feel good” things in order to stick to that plan. And you know what? Seeing those debt amounts creep lower and lower feels really good too!!

The Martyr's Song

2010-09-03T12:35:00.000-04:00

I read The Martyr’s Song by Ted Dekker in just an hour. I don’t know what it is about his writing style that I just can’t stop. I can’t put his books down. Often it’s because they are so scary (although this one was more sad than scary). I read his books and have to remind myself that it’s JUST a book!

The Martyr’s Song tells the story of a small Bosnian village at the end of WWII that is rocked by an awful event. It presented questions of how each of us would respond to life’s tests and trials. It showed me such beauty through the eyes of God. It reminded me not to cling so much to this life.

The priest in the story painted a beautiful picture of death as a wedding. While I’ve heard this analogy before--Christ as our bride, it resonated with me differently this time. Perhaps it was the way Ted Dekker wrote it or the fact that I just recently got married, although I’m guessing both shaped my new understanding:

“...Why shouldn’t we just die now,” Nadia asked.
“Heaven forbid, child! What bride do you know who would take her own life before the wedding?...We will all cross the threshold when the Groom calls. Until then, we wait with breathless anticipation.”

This is not a hard read, although the content is not something I would read to children. I read it in an hour, but it is still something that challenged me. I wanted to stop reading because it was so sad...I literally sobbed through parts of it. But it is also triumphant. I cannot recommend Ted Dekker’s books highly enough. VERY good book. Below are some of the lyrics from The Martyr’s Song, sung by Todd Agnew (he wrote the song to accompany the book).

I've been waiting to let you drink the water of which
Your greatest joy on earth was just a taste
I've been waiting for the day when at last I get to say
My child you are finally home

Every tear you cried dried in the palm of my hand
Every lonely hour was by my side
every loved one lost, every river crossed
Every moment, every hour was pointing to this day
I've been longing for this day

Sing O son of Zion
Shout O child of mine
Rejoice with all your heart and soul and mind
Sing O daughter of Zion
Cry out O child of mine
Dance with all the strength that you can find
For you are finally home

Living like no one else: Peace that Passes Understanding

2010-08-30T13:04:00.000-04:00

*This is part two of a series I put together, sharing why we decided to work towards being debt free. To read previous posts, just click on the statement.*

1. Rather than helping loan companies make money, we want our money to work for us.

2. Peace of mind

Not having those monthly payments on our various debts means we can put more money into savings. The next baby step in Dave Ramsey’s Steps to Financial Security (to read about all 7, click HERE), after we are debt free, is to save up 3-6 months worth of expenses. When we are able to save up that kind of money, that will offer us HUGE peace of mind. One of us could lose our job. We could have a major medical issue. Or one of our cars could break down and need a major part replaced. Not that I want any of these things to happen, but as we become more and more financially independent, I’m becoming less and less worried about those sorts of disasters. Because, as difficult as those things might be emotionally, they won’t be nearly as devastating financially as they might have been in years past. Luke 8:14 says, "...but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures..." We don’t want those worries of life to deter us from the plans HE has for us (Jeremiah 29:11). We have committed not to move to Asia with any debt to our names. By eliminating our debts to others, we can stand firm and follow God’s leading without anything holding us back. I cannot WAIT for that day!