Since our return from Honduras, Carol and I have reached a new conclusion. We had been living on our credit cards and trusting God's supply to provide what we needed so that at the end of each month the card was paid off. (He has been providing every month so that all bills are current. ) We'd start again the next month, whether the money to cover the charges was in the bank or "going to be in the bank". I could tell that this method was causing Carol more anguish, so we discussed options. Her take was that we could make sure that the balance in the checking account always stayed positive and not spend ahead based on what was coming in but on what was already provided.
The more I thought it through and considered the scriptures, I realized she was right. This plan feels very "right" to us and is helping us trust daily in God's provision. So starting about a week ago we don't spend unless we know the money is in the checking account to cover - even if it is a credit card charge that won't be due for weeks. Since that time God has been showing us His personal care and deep love for us in some new ways.
One of those ways came a day or so after making the decision described above. After getting my haircut and knowing we had funds to cover the cost, I discovered that my haircut was free. Now that may not seem like much but ... we had $46 in the account and the bill would have been about $20. As I heard Jen tell me the service was free, I remembered our new strategy, smiled really big inside and probably outside too, and walked out thanking God for caring about the little things in my life as well as the big ones.
A few days later at a meeting with a friend, that I got to know after I had taught Basic Training to a group of pre-marital mentors in North Georgia, he "hired me" to train his family in the Basic principles. He saw in that training several keys he wanted his family to get. So I went for coffee with a friend and came away with another way to teach these truths. He sent a check to our umbrella group, Helping Hands Ministries, and donated a generous amount to help our ministry. I didn't expect either of these blessings, but once again my Father in heaven had a plan to do "exceeding, abundantly above everything" I had imagined.
Praise Him for being my loving, perfect Father and for keeping His promise to "never leave me or forsake me". Thank you for taking time to read this blog post.
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