Faith over Feelings

     I've been there before. There's not a single tree in sight across miles of dry desert land. If your lucky it rains once or twice a year. The air and earth so dry the wind blows the dehydrated sands across the desert in upward spirals before it vanishes back onto the ground in which it once laid. The sun shining forth with such intensity that any measure of water in the earth quickly evaporates just as soon as it hits the ground. I assure you the desert lands are very dry. Unfortunately, there are times in which the Christian soldier also enters spiritual seasons as dry as the desert sands. You know the need for sustaining water, but finding the strength to run to it requires energy you don't even have. How then can you come to it? The answer is in the gospel- dear one, you can't. It is the LORD who reaches down and provides the living water from which you must drink. It is the LORD who provides comfort when you can find no rest. So then you say, "But what if you cannot feel HE is doing so?" or perhaps "But yet I am still in the midst of this dry season!". Dear soldier march forward encouraged by such thought. If you are aware of your dry season lift your hands upward in praise for the acknowledgement of this truth. To know that you are in the midst of a drought is to know there is a need for living water- for that of CHRIST. To know the drought is to know the water- this is grace in and of itself. Yet again you cry out "I do not feel the nearness of GOD!", remember deeply within your heart- relationship with CHRIST is not based on feelings it is solely dependent on faith. "GOD is near" is not a feeling, its a biblical truth- one you may not always feel yet must fight to continuously believe. Charismatic expectation can be a deadly poison in the midst of a dry season- it can cause one to fall into so deep a doubt that one would stray further away from saving grace. It's there. Grace is indeed faithfully there. By contrast in the way the sun beats down onto dry earth giving forth hallucinations of water- CHRIST is truly and surely there. Dear one, cling to the truth which is able sustain personal relationship with a HOLY GOD: faith can surely triumph over feelings. March forward in the dry desert land to which you currently endure for hope has not escaped you -it is with you.

Much Love, 

Frances Hope

Know your Money, Honey! [From Iron Wife]

     The first time I sat down with my pastor and talked budget we exchanged high fives with grins on our faces, because I was doing awesome! ....Just kidding that is a BIG FAT lie. I bawled like a baby. Like snotty, red faced cried. There were NO pretty tears.  I felt defeated. I cried, and cried, and CRIED! I felt hopeless, and then I cried some more. I'm pretty sure you get the point now. It was not pretty. I left feeling like I wanted to go home and lie in the fetal position and cry till I passed out...but there was a small sliver in me that said "don't give up"... so I wiped the tears from my eyes, caught my breath and poured my devastated heart out to GOD. Quite a few months have passed since then and I met with him again... this time with no tears and a grin on my face... for real. Not because I magically became a millionaire and all my financial dreams came true (I wish!), but because I am headed in the right direction. I am to date still learning to budget, but I am better off than I was before. I have learned that it is not hopeless, but it does take discipline (and grace for myself). There are times I wish I could snap my fingers and have thousands saved up in my savings account- but that isn't reality. Saving and budgeting takes time, effort, and discipline. It doesn't happen overnight. YET praise GOD I am 24 and DEBT FREE! That is a HUGE blessing! This doesn't mean I can run around and flamboyantly spend my hard earned money however I please- it actually compels me to want to be wise with what I do have. I want to be able to support myself one day as a single woman- which brings me to the point of this blog: Being a budget babe, and a savings sister! HA!
     Remember how I mentioned I bawled like a baby? Well part of that had to do with the truth that I didn't want to sit around and be dependent on some guy with money in his pockets to come sweep me off my feet.  I understand that GOD could call me to singleness for the rest of my life. That is a very real possibility. Therefore I wanted to get in control of my finances in hopes that one day I can support myself comfortably as a single woman. Odds are I probably won't marry an established brain surgeon who REALLY loves JESUS, is great at budgeting, .....and doesn't happen to be in his 90's. So, the most logical and rational thing for me to do is to get in control of my own finances and life (with GOD's grace and guidance) in the expectation that GOD may call me to singleness for the rest of my life. Also if you meet a guy with money in his pockets...you might want to tell him there are safer places to put it. Just a thought.
     There are still times where I let out a deep sigh when I look at my budget and wish I had it ALL figured out already. There are those moments when I see a Dave Ramsey post on Pinterest or I'm reading his book where I wish I magically had the all the financial discipline I need- but discipline takes practice over time. Its the continuous transformation of walking away from the choices you used to make. Financial discipline is not losing heart when you make a mistake, but learning from it. It's the act of consistently taking "X" about of your paycheck and putting it into savings. I've said it once and I'll say it again financial discipline takes time, effort, discipline and grace. The struggle can be very real, but progress and preparation for the unexpected is rewarding and necessary. Let me just be the first to admit (least I be a hypocrite) that I DO NOT have it all figured out- but I am continuing to learn so that though I am debt free I can get ahead of the game. I don't want to stop saving....EVER! Not because I want to greedily hoard and hide away all my money, but because if I ever enter a storm I want to be prepared.
     Obedience is something I never want to forsake- tithing is not a choice its a command. I'm not talking a damnation if you don't because your evil (which every sin tainted heart indeed is) kind of command, but a call to obedience to GOD- the provider of all things. JESUS said it HIMSELF "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to GOD what is GOD's", and if JESUS said it- it has to be legit. The first thing I do whenever I get my paycheck is do the math to find 10% (that's all GOD asks for) and put it into my tithes. The second thing I do is take my "X" amount and put it into savings. I have personally heard a lot of people say "GOD doesn't need your money" and they use financial struggle as an excuses to justify that- this is W-R-O-N-G. Wrong. Not in the sense that GOD doesn't need our money- that much is true- but its a matter of obedience and gratitude for what GOD has done- even in a worldly sense like you have a J-O-B with a P-A-Y-C-H-E-C-K so there is no E-X-C-U-S-E for you. I'm not trying to be harsh- just realistic. Even on months where I don't make as much I tithe, not out of self righteous obligation, but (to be repetitive) out of obedience and gratitude for ALL that GOD has done for me. I give out of joy, not out of obligation.
     My pastor put it this way "Your income should first go to obedience (GOD), then expenses, then planning, and then to generosity". Trust me when I found out generosity was last on my list I was shocked. You also might have guessed that when I heard this I heard it through tears- because all I want to do is give. The goal is not to be selfish with finances, but to be prepared. If you can't take care of yourself then you can't take care of others around you. You are not GOD. I know this all may seem like heavy news to hear, but trust me getting in control of your finances is a blessing. So girlfriend download a budget app (like "Mint" or "YNAB"(if you really want to be disciplined)) and build financial discipline and be a single girl who saves!

Here are a few practical tips for saving money that I have learned (and wished I learned them sooner):

Save it before you spend it 

As soon as you get your paycheck put "X" amount into your savings account. This helps build discipline, because the more you save the less you having in your checking to spend. That shirt you want today wont matter in 5 years. 

Don't pay for pink or spend on sparkles 

This is one of the worst scams I have ever seen, and I wish I would have saw it sooner. One of the greatest areas I see this is with razors- it's a plastic handle with a metal blade that cuts of unwanted hair- it needs to work but it doesn't have to be pink.  It's a great marketing strategy, but it doesn't mean the product is better...just because its girly and your a girl. 

BOGO is not better

Chances are you don't need that second thing even if it is discounted. Call it one and done. 

Don't be captivated by clearance

"It's cheaper, therefore I have to have it!" That is a point- blank- lie, and your better off walking away. 

Buy in Bulk

Don't be fooled by sales prices. Look at unit prices and choose wisely from there. 

There is no shame in straying from name brand

When it comes to getting the little day to day needs there is no shame in buying store brands in opposition to the name brand. In most cases the ingredients are the exact same. 

Dare to DIY

You can actually save money by learning to do things yourself- and it's more fun!  

Much love, Frances Hope