The Plans He Has For Me

It's a strange feeling to describe, when God speaks to you, isn't it? It's like a thought, or an idea, something brilliant, that cuts through all the confusion and anxiety and stress of a single moment and hits you right in the heart, but you just absolutely, unequivocally know that it didn't come from you. That's what happened to me on Jan. 6.

These last few months have been a crazy blur for Danielle and I. I lost my full-time graphic design job back in the fall, and picked up work with my uncle's construction business and as a seasonal driver for UPS.

Meanwhile, the wife and I are trying to sell our house in Bethlehem, NH, but, as anyone who has ever had anything to do with the real estate business can tell you, things are moving veeeeeeery sloooooowly. In the meantime we've moved in with my Grandma.

Oh, and Danielle quit her job. She worked a high-burnout shift at a high-burnout job in the field of adult mental health, so it was no surprise that she got burned out. Furthermore, since the move to Grandma's her job had become a 50 minute commute. Danielle practically begged me to let her quit. She's got a part-time baby-sitting gig now, but it's just as uncertain as my work future.

Uncertainty. That seems to be the word dominating our lives at the moment. Our jobs are uncertain. The sale of our house is uncertain. Our future is uncertain. It's kinda nerve-wracking.

Last week while I was driving a route during my seasonal UPS job on a very cold, blustery, slippery winter road I felt a panic rising in my chest as I was thinking about all the uncertainty in our lives. I started getting depressed, even angry. I mean, there wasn't even the slightest indication of what I should do next—where I should look for a job, how to get our house sold, whether we should do this or that. There was nothing on the horizon of our future except stress and uncertainty.

I started praying, and I asked God for a glimpse of His plan, some hope, something to keep me going, something to give me some idea of what we should go next. His answer cut through my brain in a voice that wasn't my own: "I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and future." (Jeremiah 29:11) I was actually startled by this because I knew this answer had come from somewhere beyond myself. The voice in my head wasn't mine. It was a reminder that God has nothing but my best interests at heart. Wherever I'm headed, whatever happens next, it's coming from Him and it will be good.

But God wasn't done speaking to me.

That night when I finished my route, my boss pulled me into his office to go over my performance. He said the company wanted me to come back this summer to cover routes while other drivers were on vacation. It would be a full time position lasting June-through-September. There would be a month off and then the holiday driving job would start again in November. It's not a guarantee, but it would keep me within the company and possibly lead to more steady employment down the road.

It wasn't much, but it was hope.

It was an answer to a very simple, desperate prayer.

What about you? Can you recall a time when God's voice cut through the noise and pierced you with Truth?

Keep pinchin' :-)

How To Refocus Your Finances

Hi. Remember us?

Yeah, we sort of lost track of our blog about three months ago when it fell into the abyss between Mt. Busy and Mt. Really Busy; they're two peaks in northern Vermont on the road to Overwhelmington, overlooking lakes Where-Has-Our-Life-Gone and It's-February-Already. (Yes, those are real lakes.)

These past wintry months have brought a lot of exciting changes into our lives. Right now, we're a week into sub-zero temperatures and I feel sort of like our life was put into a little snow globe and had the daylights shook out of it. Except what's falling down around us isn't fake plastic snow, it's a crazily scary, busy, fun, weird, roller-coaster ride of uncertainty. Our home is almost sold. Neither of us have full-time jobs. It was 30 below on Tuesday.

Whether we like it or not, a financial refocusing is what we have to do right now, and with Christmas having come and gone and New Year's resolutions in full-swing it's likely that's where you're at too. Getting back into the habit of budgeting and financial planning may sound daunting, even overwhelming, but here's the truth: it's easier the second time around.

If your financial focus has fallen by the wayside, the only thing that makes it seem difficult to start back up again is your memory of how difficult it was the first time. Do you remember the first time? I do. It was six brutal months of weekly budget meetings between me, a money spender, and my wife, a money hoarder, butting heads, bickering, crying, until we finally figured out how to do this "budgeting thing" together.

But the second time around isn't like the first. We know the drill. We know what we have to do. Thankfully, Danielle and I never really quit doing our budget meetings, we just have them once a month now instead of once a week. Still, with the major upheaval our life has undergone these last few months, it's time to sit down and figure out what our financial priorities are. This isn't a bad practice to do every once in a while. So...

Think Small

Refocusing your financial goals needs to be broad in scope, but small in steps. One of the reasons people veer off course is because they set their goals too far ahead. Their goals become too unobtainable. They get discouraged. They quit. This is why Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University approaches budgeting with the "Baby Steps." The first step—get $1,000 of emergency money in the bank—is obtainable within a month for most people. Seeing progress that quickly is encouraging and helps you to realize that, yes, this budgeting process can work!

So as you refocus your finances, make your goals realistic. Maybe your broad goal is to pay off the house in the next ten years, but for this month make it a goal to put an extra $100 down on the mortgage, or $1,000 in six months. The way we handle money is tied to our emotions, and our emotions are motivated when we see progress, so set obtainable "baby steps."

Keep Those Meetings Coming

You and your spouse need to be making your financial plans together. Maybe, if you really love crunching numbers and your spouse doesn't, you can handle it on your own, but you need to at least make an effort to include your spouse in what's going on. Danielle and I talk about our finances a lot. We help keep each other focused and motivated. Knowing what financial dreams are on her mind are important to me, and, frankly, I couldn't do all this math crap without her.

Pray

No financial plan should begin without consulting the One who owns it all anyway. "Everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your hand," 1 Chronicles 29:14. God knows your future far better than you do. He knows what storms are coming your way and how He's going to provide for your every need. You and your spouse—or financial accountability partner if you're single—need to keep God on the front lines of your financial goals.

So start there. Pray. Think small. Keep those budget meetings in the pipeline. Let us know what you're struggling with so we can pray for you and learn more about this stuff alongside you.

Keep pinchin' :)

How Financial Stress Can Lead To The "D" Word

Jake and I were recently talking about how hard our first two years of marriage were, specifically the first year. We have publicly stated before that had we not taken Financial Peace University, we may not be married today. That statement is not something I am proud of, but it is also not much of an exaggeration!

Debt, finances, and no real money-management plan can cause a lot of stress on a relationship, and when that relationship is fairly new that stress can be hard to bear!

I remember there were times when we would just walk away from an argument and not speak because frustration, misunderstandings, and hurt had caused both of us real pain that we didn't know how to communicate.

Even after we started budgeting there were times that our financial meetings ended with me in tears and the hubby frustrated that we still weren't on the same page or that our money didn't seem to be doing what we wanted it to.

We had made a promise to each other to never mention divorce, not even jokingly. It is a word we just don't want in our vocabulary. Still, in the midst of those first couple years, we both contemplated how we were ever going to make this marriage work, and whether or not we even wanted to.

Fast forward to where we are now.

This summer has been amazing, not that our marriage still hasn't had its challenges, but because we've become more united in our goals. We've begun to cement as a team with a single vision of where we want to go with our finances, our family, with God.

When we decided to sell our house it was a huge relief to both of us. After living there for almost two years we realized that it was way more house than we needed, more work than we could handle, and really not in the location we wanted to be in. So, a few weeks ago, we packed up our bags and moved in with Jake's beautiful grandmother, one of the sweetest ladies you'll ever meet. The situation is mutually beneficial for all of us because having us there at the house helps Grandma and also gives us some time to save some money and invest a little more time in finding our dream home.

Some may consider moving in with family a step back, but for us it has been freeing. I don't completely regret buying our big old homestead because while we were living there we learned a lot about what we really want in a home, what we really need, and where we want to be.

The weirdest part about all of this, however, is that even though we're probably facing more stress than ever right now—with trying to sell the house, with Jake possibly losing his job soon—we're dealing with it much better than we would have a couple years ago. Instead of all this stress driving a wedge between us it has become something we can come together about, praying and trusting that God has a plan in it all, and being thankful that we do have that 3-6 months savings set aside for these uncertain moments in life.

I think the reason we are both so passionate about Financial Peace University is because of how it helped not only our finances but our marriage.

If you're facing marital problems, won't you let us pray for you? Click the contact button above. And if you'd like more information about Financial Peace University, ask us!

Keep pinchin'

One Of My Greatest Money Saving Tips

I try not to go shopping unless I have a plan. Some days I can go into a store and not purchase anything, just enjoy the "window shopping" experience, but there are other times, times when I go in without a plan, that I end up purchasing things I either don't need or don't have in the budget.

Here's what I mean by "shopping plan":

Whenever I go on a shopping trip and stick to this plan I'm usually quite successful and don't leave the store with that guilty feeling of going over budget. I not only enjoy the trip a lot more, but I enjoy the items I purchased even more. Going shopping with a budget plan is also motivation to hunt down good deals and maybe even have a little money left over to purchase a few "wants" :-)

Do you have a plan when you go shopping? Is there something you do that isn't on my list? Please share!

Keep pinchin' ;-)

Dog Days Of Working... I Mean Summer!

We have a busy month upon us here at the Grant household. Jake has five weddings to photograph in the next four weeks, which means that in between each wedding he will have lots of photos to develop. I have my first Fitness Challenge Group to manage, plus learning the ins and outs of my new business venture, and preparing for next month's Challenge Group. On top of that we have several family functions to attend, a half marathon to train for, and our regular jobs.

Whew! Just writing all that makes me want to take a nap!

But when life gets busy I just have to stop and remember what my goals are, and remind myself that it is just for a season.

We desire to live debt free, and if that means taking on extra work to get there than we are willing to do it.

We desire for me to be a stay-at-home mom—once we are blessed with kiddos, that is—and if that means trying to start up a new business than we are willing to do it!

We desire to bless others financially, whether giving through our local church or supporting a missionary, and if that means taking on extra work than we are willing to do it!

You get the idea.

We have prayed and sought after what God wants for us at this point in our lives, and we have come to a place where we are willing to accept whatever He sends our way. So while this month may be super busy for us, we are thankful for His abundant blessings. Plus, I'm planning a fun date night for this Friday because we are in need of some "couple time."

What are you willing to do to be out of debt? Cut the cable? Take on part-time work? Stop eating out? Commit today to doing something about your finances, and let us know what it is in the comments below!

Keep pinchin' ;-)

Learning What's Really Important Can Result In Drastic Life Changes

A screenshot from our "Penny Pinching Rap"
AS SEEN ON TV!

Blogging. It's a never-ending saga. Jake and I try to make each post stand on its own, but sometimes you may need to do a little catch-up reading to really know what we're talking about. So if you missed my post about being "house poor" you might want to check it out here before you continue reading. Or not. It's your choice. I'm just saying, it's what awesome people do.

Anyway. Moving on.

In our quest to be debt free as soon as possible, the hubby and I have chosen to put a lot more money toward our mortgage than what the bill calls for. Our plan was to get that bad boy paid off in about five years. And, honestly, we were doing quite well at that. We don't have kids yet. We've both been working hard. So things seemed to be going along beautifully.

And then life happened.

It was around the end of winter that we had multiple unexpected financial burdens heaped upon us, not the least of which was the fact that our mortgage company had screwed up our escrow account BIG TIME! It upped our monthly house payment by $400, which took our whole "pay off the house in five years" plan by the throat, shoved it under water, and held it there until it choked and died.

Then came hurricane Obamacare which demanded every free penny we had and then some.

Moreover, Jake and I have spent the last couple of years realizing just how much time and money it's really going to take to manage our house, even after the mortgage is paid. I mean, the house is huge. It's 150 years old. It needs a new everything. Heating costs are astronomical, not to mention the taxes that show no sign of ever going down. Both my dad and Jake's dad would have a field day in this house, but neither of us are our fathers. We don't know the first thing about renovating. More's the pity.

After two years in this house we now have a better idea of what we want in a home, what we need. We've also learned a lot about each other, what our capabilities are and what's important to us.

On that list of importance is:

1. Being closer to our church in order to be more actively involved in it.


2. Being closer to Jake's job because the hope is that one day I'll be able to stay home with the kids and homeschool, and I know Jake would love not to have to spend five hours a week commuting.


3. Being able to enjoy our home instead of always feeling overwhelmed with a long list of repair jobs.


4. Being closer to family is important to us, especially when we have kids.


5. Being able to free up some money for adoption, which is something Jake and I have always dreamed of doing.

So, we have decided to pray about doing something drastic, and putting what we once thought was our forever home on the market. It's time to find a smaller place, a cheaper place, that will help us out financially and get us more in-line with what we now know to be the things that are really important to us. We want to be done with being "house poor." (Again, if you need that defined check out my previous post on this topic like all the other awesome people do!)

If we do decide to put the house on the market we know it will only sell by a miracle from God, and we are trusting that if this is what He would have for us at this time in our lives than He will do that miracle.

In the meantime, we've begun renovating the upstairs, which will either serve our future family, or perhaps serve as a space we can rent out to earn a little extra money.

Keep pinchin' ;-)

PS. We do plan to fix the basement, unless you all think an indoor pool would help in the selling process!

What It Means To Be "House Poor"

"House poor."

I'm pretty sure the first time I heard that phrase was when Jake and I went to meet with a financial adviser before we bought our house. He looked over our finances and gave us feedback on whether or not it was financially feasible for us to buy a house.

This meeting took place over two years ago now, but I still remember what he said. He warned us by saying that while we could probably swing a mortgage and all the home-maintenance frustrations that come with owning a house, but he wouldn't recommend it at this point. He took into consideration our income levels, along with some debt that we had, and said that, for us, buying a home might make us feel "house poor."

He then went on to describe what being house poor looks like. It doesn't mean that you can't afford to make the payments, but instead that you'll leave yourself with nothing much left after the bills. The house, essentially, will become your life. And since you can't really afford to do anything but stay home and pay for your house, you'll feel "house poor."

I heard him out, and although I believed what he had to say, I was hopeful that things would be different for us. I mean, we weren't planning to spend nearly as much as the bank said we qualified for, and I was sure that in the long run it would be wiser to invest our money into a mortgage instead of rent, and so I made it my mission in life to convince my then fiancé that buying a house was the best option for us.

After all, we were getting married soon and we needed a place to live. How great would it be to start out life together in our very own house!

So after looking at four or five homes we found what we believed to be our "forever" home—a place we could raise a family, grow old together, have the grandchildren come and visit, and host big holiday parties. We had to jump through a ton of hoops in order to purchase the house due to the type of government loan our bank recommended we go with—we had to get permission from the owner to go in and start cleaning to demonstrate to them how serious we were; we had to paint the outbuildings, the deck, the trim, and a bunch of other things. Finally, a month after our wedding, we closed on the house! OUR house!

Fast forward almost two years later.

I can now say I understand firsthand what the phrase "house poor" means. I wouldn't recommend anyone live this way. The house has, exactly as the financial planner warned, become our life. We work to pay off the house, and when we're not working we're thinking of other ways we can work to earn more money to pay off the house. And if we're not doing that we're making emergency fixes to the flooded basement or the broken furnace, we're renovating the upstairs, or just maintaining the property—mowing, shoveling snow, raking leaves, gardening. It never ends.

The time has come for a dramatic change. Jake and I have a lot of things we want to do in life and right now this house is holding us back. We're considering doing something drastic to change our circumstances... but you'll have to come back to find out the rest of that story.

Keep pinchin' ;-)

Don't Keep Lying Dormant When You Can Thrive

I love strawberries, and my hubby is a big fan of strawberry smoothies, so this spring I ordered 100 strawberry plants with the intention of planting them, growing them, and enjoying them for a long, long time!

But then I forgot to plant them.

Well, sort of. When they first arrived it was pretty cold outside, rainy, and the ground was mostly frozen, but I was told I could safely refrigerate them to keep them dormant and moist. So the bagged-strawberries settled in on my refrigerator door next to the mayonnaise and Root Beer where they remained for a week.

Actually, it was two weeks.

Ok, if I'm completely honest, it was three! Yikes!

Some of the strawberries looked like they were frozen and possibly dying, but since we had invested some hard-earned money in them I was determined to plant them. That way if they did die I could blame nature and not my fridge. (I know I'm totally to blame, but just work with me here).

So on the next nice day we had I planted them in my garden. In just a couple of days I noticed that they actually appeared to be thriving in their new environment—they were growing leaves and getting bigger.

I told a friend who knows a thing or two about strawberries and he assured me that living in the fridge for three weeks wouldn't be a problem because the strawberries were lying dormant.

Cue sigh of relief.

This got me thinking about finances because, yes, just about anything gets me thinking about finances. No matter how impossible it may seem sometimes we all have the potential to be financially responsible. Making the journey to debt-free living is a choice that has to be made, and until you make it you're just lying dormant. In the fridge. Freezing. And possible dying. The potential is there, but until you're planted into some good soil and given some sunlight you probably don't even that potential is there.

That's kind of what it was like for us going through Financial Peace University. It brought us out of a lifestyle of overspending and debt and gave us the knowledge we needed to grow. It took some time to get used to—just like it's taking my strawberries some time to adjust—but when done right it's possible to thrive, even flourish, in a debt-free lifestyle.

Storms are going to come, and there will be dry spells, but if you stick with it you have a much better chance of thriving than if you stayed in the fridge.

Are you still in the fridge lying dormant, recently planted, or in full blossom financially?

Keep pinchin' :-)

How Pruning Can Benefit Us

At the end of winter I decided to cut back my raspberry bushes. I'm not entirely sure if that was the right thing to do, but it seemed logical to me. The raspberry bushes were on our property when we bought our home almost two years ago, and I'm not sure how long they had been there prior to that or how long it had been since someone took care of them. I wasn't sure what was old and what was new, so I decided to just cut it all back in hopes that in the future I would reap a greater harvest.

As I was raking out all the branches I had pruned and the dead leaves, I was reminded of how this is kind of what Jake and I have done with our finances. In some ways I feel like we have hacked back and hacked back as far as we can go in hopes of building a better financial future. We went into this process with some hesitation, facing a lot of unknowns, and we still don't really know what will happen next, but we are trusting the process to produce financial fruit for us. We knew that we couldn't keep spending the way we had in the past if we expected things to be different in our future, but knowing that didn't necessarily make it any easier to cut out restaurants, Netflix, or our vacation budget.

Another thought that occurred to me was how God prunes my spiritual life. Often times in order for God to really work in my life He has cut back or completely remove things that I thought I needed. While this process is painful, if I stick with it and trust in Him, I usually find that He is faithful to do a mighty work in my heart and life. Sometimes He even replaces the things I thought I needed with much more precious things.

It amazes me how often I am willing to hang onto the old, broken, damaged parts of my life for fear that I won't like what will happen if I allow them to be pruned back, but as long as I am unwilling to allow that process to happen I am missing out on the good things my Father in heaven has in store for me.

So, while I wait to see what comes from my raspberry bushes I will allow those newly cut-back plants to remind me of the importance of the pruning I need in order to continue in my financial and spiritual life.

Keep pinchin' :-)

The Ultimate Homemaking Bundle - Feather Your Nest This Spring

So, the hubby and I are fairly new to this whole blogging adventure. Originally we set out just to tell our story, keep a journal of our progress, and share what works and doesn't work as we journey to debt-free living.

While we enjoy this whole blogging thing it does take time, and so we ventured into the process of trying to earn a little money from our blog, hence the ads you may see, and the occasional "plug a product" post, in which we'll include a link to a product that we may earn some money on if it gets enough clicks. Honestly we haven't really made any money off of it so far, but since an income is secondary to our original goal we keep pressing on.

Just this week I was given the opportunity to plug an awesome bundle of e-books, which will be on sale until Monday. While this opportunity does offer me a pretty decent commission, I don't share it just because of that. After looking into all you can get from this deal I wanted everyone I know to hear about this amazing opportunity.

Here is a little video which will give you some info about why you need the Ultimate Bundle.

I purchased mine the other night and am so excited about all it has to offer. There are 78 e-books in this package covering topics like faith, kids, financial stewardship, food, heath and wellness, holidays and special events, homemaking, homeschooling, marriage, motherhood, pregnancy and babies, self-care, working from home, and blogging.

Not only are these fantastic books, but the authors seem like great people. By purchasing this bundle you are actually supporting missionaries, stay-at-home moms, and many working moms too! Here is a picture of some of the books included:

Epic, right?

And there's also about $200 in bonuses!

These books sold individually would come to a grand total of $698.

So, why am I sharing this with you? Because if you want to get your hands on all of these great resources and not pay $698, then all you need to do is purchase it between now and Monday night at midnight and you can get all of this and more for only $29.97 for the PDF files and $39.97 for Kindle versions. If this is something you think you would like to give to a friend they also have a special offer of buy two get the third free!

All you have to do is click on the picture below! 

I hope you enjoy this bundle as much as I am. Now I'm off to figure out how to make some "ice cream with nourishing ingredients" and then maybe read the Frugal Secrets of Real Foodies. If you have any questions about the bundle feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Keep pinchin' :-)

A Series of Unfortunate Events At The Grant Homestead

As I stated yesterday, we appear to be on a ride through unfortunate financial events. Since I blogged about Trusting God Without Borders two weeks ago the following has happened:

• My car needed to be inspected, and due to a corroded catalytic converter wouldn't pass said inspection until blah, blah, blah... $620.


• Our mortgage company was way off on their estimate for our escrow account and are now either asking us for $2,200 by June or an increase of $400 a month on our mortgage to cover this shortage and also meet the amount needed for next year.


• We received a $620 oil bill, which is unusual for this time of year because our provider had delivered oil just the month before. Thanks March for breaking record lows!


• My debit card number was stolen and multiple purchases were made on it, including a $720 purchase from Walmart, some glassware in Massachusetts, and an escort service. (To hear about all that awesomeness, check out my post from yesterday: Swiper, no Swiping.)


• Finally on Sunday morning I discovered we had no hot water, which led us to discover that our basement was flooded and our furnace was about 6 inches deep in water :-/ Turns out the sump pump had tipped over and couldn't kick on, but, thankfully, after setting it back up it drained the basement in about six hours. The hubby's father, Mike—a whiz when it comes to mechanical and home repair issues—came over and got the furnace running again. No major damage, but it should probably be cleaned and services.

Sigh.

What do all of the above have in common, besides being financial burdens? To me they are trials. I am a saver through and through. It kills me to spend money at all, but especially on unexpected expenses, so when each of these situations occurred I wanted to just stomp my feet and cry! Somewhere in the back of my mind, though, the words to "Ocean" by Hillsong United kept rolling in my mind.

I will call upon Your Name

Keep my eyes above the waves

My soul will rest in Your embrace

I am Yours and You are mine

I knew that each of these circumstances presented me with the opportunity to trust that God is good, that He has good plans for me, and that He already knew about each of these circumstances before they even happened. Was I going to cry "uncle" or was I going to rest in His embrace? Though I haven't enjoyed this little ride of financial delights, I think I'm learning, and I guess in the end that is all that matters. When I invited Him to take me deeper than I would ever choose to go I didn't know that this might be the direction He would take, but I will continue to follow along wherever He chooses to lead.

Keep pinchin'

Trusting Him Without Borders: Part Two

Yesterday I talked about my need to choose whether I'm really serious about my relationship with Christ and will I choose to stand firm no matter what I might face, or will I run at the first sign of hardship. Today I wanted to share a few specific things that I have been thinking about in relation to this.

• Finances. Honestly the road to becoming debt free hasn't been that hard yet. Sure we have given up more than we probably would have wanted, and definitely more than we thought we would, but compared to most of the world we are still living very well. The part that I struggle with the most concerning our finances is whether we will be able to get out of debt soon enough so I can stay home and raise the imaginary kiddos. This has been the desire of my heart since I was just a child myself, and sometimes it looks like it will never happen. Even if we get out of debt can we survive on one salary? I have to choose to believe the truth though, and that is that God wants to give us the desires of our hearts. He has never failed me and He's not going to start now. He has good things planned for my life. Notice I said "good" and not "easy" :-)


• Adoption. When the hubby and I first started dating, one of the first life goals we found we had in common was a desire to adopt. Since being married, we've talked about this desire a lot, and each night when we pray together I pray that we will be able to adopt little babies from other countries someday. As we get closer to making that a reality I find that it's easy to get overwhelmed by the costs involved with adoption, the challenges it will bring to our lives, and the logistics of it all. Part of me thinks it will never happen, but that's not what I want, and I believe our Father put this in both of our hearts for a reason. I have to trust that He will provide, that He will make a way for it to happen. He is very clear in scripture that we are to take care of orphans, and I believe that He will honor our desires in this area.


• The Future. It's scary to think where our country is heading. It feels like it won't be long until the freedoms that I have grown to take for granted may be stripped away from me. There are times I think I was born in the wrong era, and I wish I could raise my imaginary kiddos in the past where life seemed simpler. I've contemplated building an underground home to hide in, or finding an island to purchase, but I have to trust that God chose to put me here on Earth at this time for a reason, just as He did Esther. I have a purpose today, and my job is to fulfill that purpose. I have to trust that He will take care of us, give us wisdom as we raise children in a world we couldn't have imagined as children, and guide and direct us on this journey.

The greatest thing I've realized this past week is that I have to trust Him in the good and bad. I have to expect trials, temptations, tribulation and hardship, and know that I'm not spared from these things just because I'm His child. If God chose to protect His children from everything then the New Testament would have looked very different. I need to be prepared to follow Him out on the waters, into the scary places, farther than I would have ever imagined. I need to rest in His embrace even when that's the only thing I have left.

I want to sing:

I will call upon Your Name

Keep my eyes above the waves

My soul will rest in Your embrace

I am Yours and You are mine

—Hillsong United

Keep pinchin' :-)

New Years Resolutions 2 Months In!

Two months of the year 2014 are already in the books. Craziness! I swear that every year time goes by faster. Gone are the days where summer vacation felt longer than the school year :-) This past month has thrown my schedule for another whirlwind, as I've finally been transferred to my program here in Bethlehem, but have been working 8-4 Monday-Friday. It's hard being 'faithful' when I'm still in limbo with getting to my end goal of being the awake overnight staff.


Faithfulness in our finances. February proved to be another solid month in working on getting to be debt free. We base our budget on a four week plan, and so in a year's time we come up with an extra month of payments, which helped our mortgage greatly. In the past year and a half we have almost paid off $20,000 on our mortgage which can only be summed up as a God thing. Financial Peace University is also going well, and it has been fun to get excited over other's success in this area. 

Faithfulness in living a healthy lifestyle. Since transitioning to Bethlehem I have been trying to walk to work any day it isn't sub zero temperatures, which unfortunately has not been as often as I would like. Hopefully in the next couple weeks it will warm up so I can walk and also change to being overnights so I can get my exercise in during the night.

Faithfulness in my spiritual life. I went ahead and got the year subscription to the Word of Life Quiet Time Diary. I like devotionals because it is strictly Scripture with some commentary and thought-provoking questions. It doesn't take long to do it though so my hope is once I start overnights I can beef it up with other things or even just committing to spending part of my night in prayer and Scripture memorization. 

Faithfulness in being good stewards of the homestead God has blessed us with. This month we have begun hosting a small group bible study called FAITH Group, in our home every other week. This was our heart's desire when we were looking at purchasing a home. We wanted a space big enough to have other believers in and it's nice to finally see that happening on a more regular basis.

Faithfulness in being the wife my husband needs me to be. I completed my 14 days of Love for Jake, with writing something I love about him every day. It was good for me to think about things I sometimes take for granted and put words to things I should say on a more regular basis. I have been home in the evenings so I've been able to enjoy making dinner for the two of us, which is a nice change from the 3-4 nights I would get to be with him in the past.

Any progress on your resolutions or word for the year? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Keep pinchin' :-)

New Year's Resolutions - One Month In

I can't believe the first month of the year has already gone by. Is it just me, or does time go by faster and faster the older you get? I've continued to plug away at my goal of working on "Faithfulness" throughout this year, and while I don't always do as well as I would like, I guess even being aware of my goal can be helpful.


Faithfulness in our finances. I have been able to pick up a few babysitting jobs and Jake has some extra work lined up. We are continuing to attack our mortgage like crazy people, and I think for the most part we are staying on budget.

Faithfulness in living a healthy lifestyle. The exercise goal has been hard recently. I seem to go a couple days doing really well, and then "forget" about it for the rest of the week. I got in a few good workouts, including a day of boarding at Bretton Woods—courtesy of an awesome friend—and I ran/walked three miles last week. My goal this next week is to walk to work and back as often as I can, since my job situation has finally moved closer to my home—just a few minutes away by car! As far as healthy eating goes: I worked on making healthy freezer meals last week so that way when I don't have time or energy to cook anything we aren't having to eat some processed junk.

Faithfulness in my spiritual life. I've missed a few days of doing my personal quiet time because the devotional I was using was only a 30 day trial. I think I might get the full subscription though because it's been good for me. I've continued to read Beth Moore's "Believing Day by Day," and I am hopeful that Jake and I can get back to doing our couples' devotional on a regular basis now that my work schedule is a little less crazy.

Faithfulness in being good stewards of the homestead God has blessed us with. We have been discussing whether or not we want to begin renovating the upstairs of our house, which we currently don't live in. The timing is good, but it costs money, so we're still in the praying and considering phase.

Faithfulness in being the wife my husband needs me to be. For February I decided to do a couple of special things for the hubby. The first is to write a reason I love him on a heart leading up to Valentine's Day. It's been fun to think about different things I love about him. The other thing I've been doing is writing a cute little love note that goes with an item—e.g. like "I have CRUSH on you" with orange Crush soda, or "You're the APPLE of my eye" in his lunch bag alongside an apple. He seems to be enjoying these little notes and it's fun to write them.

Any progress on your resolutions or word for the year? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Keep Pinchin' :-)

New Year's Resolutions - Three Weeks In

We are about three weeks into the New Year. Do you even remember what you're resolutions were? Usually by this time most people forget they ever made a resolution, have given up on it, or haven't even started it yet. Maybe 2015??

While the word "Faithfulness" isn't constantly on my mind, overall it appears to be ingrained in me already, or at least so far. So here is my three weeks update.


Faithfulness in our finances. I've continued to use cash for my groceries based on a monthly allowance. This has been very helpful because I know exactly what I have to spend, and if I go over my budget for one week I just have to cut down the following week. Last week we took another look at our overall budget to see if we could squeeze out any more pennies to put toward our mortgage, and we came up with over $100! We were able to do this because after more than a year of following this budget we now have a better idea of what some of our expenditures actually are.

Faithfulness in living a healthy lifestyle. I continue to try to work out four or five days a week, and although it's not always for as long as I would like, it is a start. This past week I had a hard time finding some motivation, but after reaching out to a friend we motivated each other to go for a walk that lasted about 45 minutes. Jake and I have been eating a lot more fruits and veggies—salads probably four days a week, at least, which is a huge improvement for us. I also made some yummy banana muffins, substituting the butter for applesauce and eggs for flaxseed. Even though they're technically "healthy muffins," I tried them out on some of the kids I babysit, as well as the husband, and I'm pleased to announce the muffins are "kid tested and husband approved!" :-)

Faithfulness in my spiritual life. I have continued to do my personal quiet time daily, and although it's not at the same time (sometimes 10am sometimes 11pm) it's happening! I continue to read Beth Moore's "Believing Day by Day," and I find that encouraging! This week I plan to listen to my home church's Sunday sermon, which I missed because I was working in the nursery.

Faithfulness in being good stewards of the homestead God has blessed us with. Once again not a whole lot happening in this realm, probably due to the time of year. I did make a Valentine's Day garland, which I plan to share later this week, and I made my Thankful Jar. Last week I ordered two Apple trees, two Blueberry Bushes, and 100 Strawberry plants, which I'm super excited about! We already have Raspberries, Grapes and one Apple tree on the property, which I plan to work on taking care of this Spring.

Faithfulness in being the wife my husband needs me to be. Over the past couple of weeks I've been able to continue to keep our home picked up, make homemade meals, and keep up with the laundry. I am thankful for this because I know I can think better in a clean and organized house, but I also know my husband appreciates it. Our Sunday School class has been going through Love & Respect by Emerson Eggerichs. It's hard to remember to put the principles he talks about into practice outside of the class, but today when my husband tried to help me make lunch in a manner completely wrong from my point of view, I was able to remind myself, "Not wrong, just different." Years from now when we have kids, I'll probably beg him for the help and not care what route he takes to get there.


So, where are you at with any resolutions you made? Do you remember your word for the year? If you find that you have already "failed" don't give up and think, "Maybe 2015 is the year," but instead jump back in and recommit to your goals!


Keep pinchin' :-)

New Year's Resolutions - One Week In

So, it's been a week since the new year began. Have you followed up on your resolutions? Don't answer that.

My word for 2014 is "faithfulness," and I've begun working on the different areas that I know I need to be more faithful in. I know I'm not going to reach perfection overnight, but as long as I am striving to work toward these goals I'm ok with that.

Faithfulness in our finances. Since going back to using only cash a few weeks ago I've found that it's much easier to keep within our budget, especially when it comes to our grocery budget. I also decided to take out my whole monthly grocery budget at the beginning of the month, which enables me to spend a little extra some weeks when I see some good deals, but still be aware of how much I have left to spend for the rest of the month.

Faithfulness in living a healthy lifestyle. I committed to trying to exercise on a more regular basis, especially during my overnight shifts because it helps me stay awake—not to mention that it's just plain good for me. I also bought lots of fruits and veggies this past week and have found that if I am purposeful in using them in my cooking we eat a lot more of them every day.

Faithfulness in my spiritual life. I've been making it a point to spend time in the Bible each day. I was also able to download Beth Moore's "Believing Day by Day" to read, and I've been making a point to listen to Christian radio and/or sermons when I'm doing housework.

Faithfulness in being good stewards of the homestead God has blessed us with. Not a whole lot has been done on that front, but we did spend Saturday putting away Christmas decorations, cleaning the house, shoveling the driveway, and draining the never-ending pool of water in our basement.

Faithfulness in being the wife my husband needs me to be. This week I tried to put some extra effort into picking up the house, doing the laundry, and making good meals. It's hard when I'm gone for three days straight each week, and I want my husband to eat healthy, so making sure he's cared for in that way is important to me (see amazing dinner at right). I think he appreciated my extra efforts on the home front, and that even though I kept pretty busy we still got to enjoy some quality time together ;-)

Overall it's been a good start to the new year, and hopefully by keeping my goals in the front of my mind and letting you all know how I am doing I will continue to be faithful in all I want to accomplish this year.

Keep pinchin' :-)

My Word For Next Year....

After much careful thought and consideration about this past year, I have come up with my 2014 word for the year. Dun, dun, da dun! ... FAITHFULNESS.

I felt like this word perfectly encompassed what I want to work toward this next year. As I thought about 2013 and what I wanted to see different for 2014 I thought of things like:

• Faithfulness in our finances. I want us to continue slaying our debt like we have this past year by spending wisely and having the wisdom to know how to best use the resources God has blessed us with.


• Faithfulness in living a healthy lifestyle. In previous years I have been good about running in the summer, of consistently walking or participating in some other type of exercise, but 2013 proved to be challenging in this area. In 2014 I want to not only see myself be more faithful in exercising, but also in eating healthy.


• Faithfulness in being good stewards of the homestead God has blessed us with. I think we can do this by learning how to better care for the plants and trees we have in our yard, and also continuing to work on projects in and around our house.


• Faithfulness in continuing to work on being the wife my husband needs me to be. I want to get better at supporting him. I want to study him so as to learn more about him so that one day I'll have my Ph.D. in Jake :-) I think right now I may still be in elementary school!

But more importantly than all of the other areas I want to be more faithful in my personal quiet time, prayer life, and spiritual growth. Without that I might as well forget about the rest.

I think my verse to go with Faithfulness for the year will be Luke 16:10-12:

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?"

What are some of the areas you want to change in 2014?

Keep Pinchin' :-)

Is It A Lack Of Faith or A Lack of Prayer? ... A Followup

On Friday, I wrote about how our finances ebb and flow in Is It A Lack of Faith or A Lack of Prayer? I had noticed that Jake and I had kind of grown lazy in asking the Lord to provide extra work and extra money for us. Whether our tight finances this month are a consequence of that or not, who can say?—but a really funny thing happened.

In my mind, I took this before the Lord. I knew Jake and I hadn't been praying very consistently for God's provision, but then within 24 hours of writing that post I received two babysitting job offers through a website where I advertise my service. I have only ever gotten one job offer from there in the past. When I told the hubs about this, he told me that he had been contacted about two photography jobs, a book illustrating job, and a graphic design job—not to mention the very generous and unexpected Christmas bonus he received from his employers.

At that time Jake had yet to read the blog post. So he read it. Then he told me to stop praying because too much extra work was coming in. :-)

How awesome is our God?! I could have whined and complained about the lack of extra income. I could have doubted that God is for us in our debt-slaying adventure, but instead I tried my best to have faith and hold on to things I know to be truth, and He completely exceeded what I would have asked for.

I don't know if this is always how God chooses to work for us, but I will choose to continue to trust in Him, no matter what happens. I will choose to have faith that He has good plans for me. I will choose to believe the truth that He is for us and not against us! Once again it's all about choices!

Keep pinchin' :-)

A Cheap Way to Move Snow

It's time to shovel snow again! (And that exclamation mark is not intended to convey enthusiasm.)

Shoveling our driveway is one of the ways that Dani and I have decided to save money. Sure we could hire a plow truck like the majority of other people on our street, but with the rising cost of fuel plow trucks are expensive to hire. Other means of moving snow are pricey too—the last John Deere snowblower attachment I looked at was almost a thousand dollars. So, no thank you. I'll stick to the push shovel. Besides, it's a good workout!

To some people this sounds ridiculous. They can't imagine shoveling for an hour and a half just to clear the driveway. But just because we've decided that moving snow by hand is an acceptable sacrifice to make on our journey to debt-free living, doesn't mean it's right for you. Everyone has to find those things that work for them. The important thing is that they find them.

Some of the other choices we've made, include:

• Instead of buying firewood that's already been cut and split, we bought what's called "log length" wood. We had to chainsaw it all up and split it ourselves, but the price for a cord of log-length is about half of what it costs for a cord of pre-cut.


• We've eliminated restaurants from our budget completely. This is a big sacrifice for me because I love eating out, but, A) we're saving about $500 a year, B) eating out isn't all that healthy anyway, and C) it's not forever. (Thank God!)


• We unplug electronics if we're not using them because TVs, DVD players, stereo systems, computers, and other electronics draw a lot of power even if they're off. Believe it or not we have noticed a difference in the electric bill.


• We pretty much live in just the downstairs of our house. The upstairs is all closed off for the winter with the upstairs thermostat turned down to about 55.

Some of the things we do are minor annoyances that just take some getting used to—it took a month for me to start remembering to shut off the power strip to the TV whenever I was done watching a movie, but now I do without even thinking about it. Other things take some serious dedication—you think I want to be outside shoveling snow first thing in the morning?!

These are some of the things that work for us. I'd be curious to hear what works for you. You might have some great ideas!

Now, you'll have to excuse me, last time I looked it was snowing outside.

Keep pinchin' :-)

How to Handle a Christmas Conversation About Dave

Fortunately, Dani and I have lots of understanding friends and family, but we know there are a lot of naysayers out there who can kill one's momentum when it comes to being thrifty, money-smart, and a Dave Ramsey fan.

Dave offers some tips on how to diffuse any digs that people may take at you without getting all bent out of shape.

"The key is to talk about why you believe in having a budget and paying cash and to not make a big deal out of it," says Dave. "Say things factually. If you’ve been saving money each month of the year for Christmas and someone tells you that you can’t pay for gifts with cash, just say, 'Actually, I am—I’ve been saving all year. It really wasn’t that bad.' By being matter-of-fact, you quietly defuse their claim that it can’t be done without having an attitude. It’s no longer 'your opinion versus mine.' It’s fact—you have the proof right there in the figgy pudding. When you don’t give them ammo, they quickly run out of it."

Click here to read the entire article, How to Handle a Christmas Conversation About Dave, at his official website, www.daveramsey.com.