I get a little funny when people ask me that question. I start to stutter and fumble, while trying not to freak out my dinner guests or an old friend I ran into at the mall. It may be the only time I truly don't know what to say.
I'm in a place in my life where nothing really "new" is happening. I've been with my man for seven years, married for two. We don't have any kids, and won't for a good while. I've been in my career job for three years, and will probably be there at least three more. Though we plan to take vacations, we're not really the travel-the-world type of people. We have our condo, vehicles, furniture, technology, bells, and whistles. And this makes me feel that I have nothing to share in the "new" department.
Oh sure, we're busy as all get out. Between hosting our prophetic home group, dance practice, Passion Project worship practice, church, family dinners, and our date night that we guard with the walls of Jericho, we are always "on-the-go." (Which I think is a stupid expression. It makes people sound like toddlers learning to walk. Or a train.)
Then there is our incredibly active social life with our best friends (all 47 of them) that are really at the core of what we do on a regular basis. We kind of have a Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants/How I Met Your Mother/Friends/Brady Bunch thing going on. We are all incredibly close and connected and involved in each others lives. Now there are some new things going on. With one newly married friend, five engaged couples, three new relationships, and a few people moving around, our friends' lives are new and exciting like never before. Sometimes I live vicariously through them.
It's not that I feel sad about my own life, or even bored. Oh gosh, definitely not bored. And I do have new things going on. They're just not the type of thing you share with someone in the produce aisle.
"Well I've been working out and eating really healthy for a few months now, and I've lost some weight!"
"I have been attempting to redecorate the guest bedroom in our house, but I'm failing miserably because I hate taping off ceilings and I'm not as handy as I thought."
"My husband and I had a great date last night and finished it off with great flair!" (sorry to any prudes)
All of these things are true, and actually really exciting to me. Especially the fitness thing - I'm starting to feel like a champion. But it's not what people want to hear about. Those are the things you tell your close friends who see you on a regular basis. Other people just look at you like you're a loon and ask if you have baby fever yet. (It's a fever? Can I buy medication for it? Will I sweat a lot?) At the age I'm at, it's more socially acceptable to have stories about studying in India for a year or going on first dates than it is to talk about your recent addiction to almonds.
But I like my life, and feel really blessed by what I've been given and happy with the choices I've made. I don't feel that I've settled, missed out, or am largely lacking anything. Last night Justin and I drove the truck down a dirt road and just watched the stars while listening to country music and cuddling under a blanket. Tonight, some of our closest friends will come over and we'll share our hearts and talk about how cool Jesus is. On Sunday, I'll lead a worship event where the Presence of God consistently shows up and people's lives are impacted.
HOLY SMOKES I LOVE MY LIFE!
And having nothing "new" to share in the public's eye is just fine with me. My adventures, lovelies, and kick-ass Jesus are everything I need.
Yes, I said kick-ass Jesus.
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Being faithful
I am currently trying to not scream with excitement at God's goodness! He always comes through, even if we have given up or don't recognize His ways of blessing us. Sometimes we have to wait, sometimes we receive His blessings right away. Sometimes it is exactly what we were praying for, sometimes it is more than we could have ever believed possible, and sometimes it is something entirely different that may leave us a little confused. As of today, I feel blessed beyond belief and I am praising God for all of it. But first, let me tell you some things that are not so wonderful. Things that had me questioning, worrying, and full of grief. And yet, with each one comes a small victory and gift from our Father who takes such good care of us.
Justin has his own business, which comes with many pros and cons. Working for yourself is fantastic, and I find myself envious of his flexibility at times. It also means that you are responsible to front all of your expenses and losses. And while he has been incredibly blessed his first few years of business, it has come with a mighty amount of storms and disappointments. I'm going to be honest about all of them.
The first one occurred when he did thousands of dollars worth of work for a contractor who ended up not being able to pay him right away. Eight months later, we are still waiting for that check. Obviously that stings a little, especially since it was right around the time where he needed to buy a new trailer which set us back a few grand.
The next big hit was his trailer being broken into a few months ago, and most of his tools were stolen. We, uh, didn't have insurance. We learned our lesson, got insurance right away, but still had to repurchase thousands of dollars worth of equipment, while still paying subcontractors and regular expenses. God blessed us with the company Justin gets work from who paid for the tools upfront and slowly took the amount off his checks.
Only a short while later was his trailer broken into AGAIN! This time, there was serious damage to the trailer itself and it was left almost completely empty. Though we had insurance, the paperwork only went through the day before the theft, making us look suspicious and the process a lot more extensive. We are currently still waiting to be reimbursed once again. There were deductibles on both the trailer insurance and insurance on the tools, which was a hefty number. Around the same time, Justin got a letter saying he hadn't filed his 2009 taxes. Ridiculous, I know, but it comes with good news. He filed, and will be getting a return that nearly covers our deductibles.
Then there were a series of smaller but frustrating events including blowing out a tire on the trailer, another bag of tools gone missing, a flat on our truck, etc. We were so discouraged and couldn't figure out what to do. Both of us believe very strongly in tithing, being generous, and using our finances to glorify God. We had been so faithful, and had even increased our giving through this process. We knew God would take care of us, but it was looking so dismal in the meantime.
What happened next put me over the edge. Through our prophetic home group, we have been doing a lot of outreach to people and talking about how to truly love people, especially strangers who don't know Christ. A week ago, Justin really stepped out in that and inconvenienced himself by picking up a hitchhiker on his way to work (which I was not totally thrilled about, but he thought it would be ok). He encouraged him, shared Jesus with him, and dropped him off. When he got to work, he realized that his iPad had been stolen.
When I found out, I lost it. All I could do was cry and feel like giving up. The iPad was a Christmas gift from me, had tons of important information on it, and was used for the business. This felt like the final straw. We felt that we were doing everything right, and even when we went out of our way to show Christ's love, we got burned. I felt sick and so terribly disappointed. But my incredible husband encouraged us in a different way. He was just as upset as I was, but we realized that our value was not in our material things. This wasn't a person who had been taken from us, but a series of objects; things that were important, but not worth grieving over. Justin was inconvenienced in his time, and that extended to his possessions as well. But he was still glad he did it.
Now it is tax time, which is always different being self-employed. We have been setting aside money to cover our upcoming tax bill. Because of all of the added expenses throughout the year, we didn't set aside as much as we intended to. But we were hoping that with the amount of write offs, we would be able to pay the bill without cutting into any other finances.
Well I am so stoked to find out that not only am I getting money back, but Justin is also getting a small refund, which means all of the money that was set aside is OURS!!!! We will have a huge amount of extra money that we don't have to pay to taxes!!!! God is so good and we are more than thankful for the way He provides. Let this be an encouragement to stay faithful to Him, even when things look terrible. He has an answer when we put our faith in Him.
Justin has his own business, which comes with many pros and cons. Working for yourself is fantastic, and I find myself envious of his flexibility at times. It also means that you are responsible to front all of your expenses and losses. And while he has been incredibly blessed his first few years of business, it has come with a mighty amount of storms and disappointments. I'm going to be honest about all of them.
The first one occurred when he did thousands of dollars worth of work for a contractor who ended up not being able to pay him right away. Eight months later, we are still waiting for that check. Obviously that stings a little, especially since it was right around the time where he needed to buy a new trailer which set us back a few grand.
The next big hit was his trailer being broken into a few months ago, and most of his tools were stolen. We, uh, didn't have insurance. We learned our lesson, got insurance right away, but still had to repurchase thousands of dollars worth of equipment, while still paying subcontractors and regular expenses. God blessed us with the company Justin gets work from who paid for the tools upfront and slowly took the amount off his checks.
Only a short while later was his trailer broken into AGAIN! This time, there was serious damage to the trailer itself and it was left almost completely empty. Though we had insurance, the paperwork only went through the day before the theft, making us look suspicious and the process a lot more extensive. We are currently still waiting to be reimbursed once again. There were deductibles on both the trailer insurance and insurance on the tools, which was a hefty number. Around the same time, Justin got a letter saying he hadn't filed his 2009 taxes. Ridiculous, I know, but it comes with good news. He filed, and will be getting a return that nearly covers our deductibles.
Then there were a series of smaller but frustrating events including blowing out a tire on the trailer, another bag of tools gone missing, a flat on our truck, etc. We were so discouraged and couldn't figure out what to do. Both of us believe very strongly in tithing, being generous, and using our finances to glorify God. We had been so faithful, and had even increased our giving through this process. We knew God would take care of us, but it was looking so dismal in the meantime.
What happened next put me over the edge. Through our prophetic home group, we have been doing a lot of outreach to people and talking about how to truly love people, especially strangers who don't know Christ. A week ago, Justin really stepped out in that and inconvenienced himself by picking up a hitchhiker on his way to work (which I was not totally thrilled about, but he thought it would be ok). He encouraged him, shared Jesus with him, and dropped him off. When he got to work, he realized that his iPad had been stolen.
When I found out, I lost it. All I could do was cry and feel like giving up. The iPad was a Christmas gift from me, had tons of important information on it, and was used for the business. This felt like the final straw. We felt that we were doing everything right, and even when we went out of our way to show Christ's love, we got burned. I felt sick and so terribly disappointed. But my incredible husband encouraged us in a different way. He was just as upset as I was, but we realized that our value was not in our material things. This wasn't a person who had been taken from us, but a series of objects; things that were important, but not worth grieving over. Justin was inconvenienced in his time, and that extended to his possessions as well. But he was still glad he did it.
Now it is tax time, which is always different being self-employed. We have been setting aside money to cover our upcoming tax bill. Because of all of the added expenses throughout the year, we didn't set aside as much as we intended to. But we were hoping that with the amount of write offs, we would be able to pay the bill without cutting into any other finances.
Well I am so stoked to find out that not only am I getting money back, but Justin is also getting a small refund, which means all of the money that was set aside is OURS!!!! We will have a huge amount of extra money that we don't have to pay to taxes!!!! God is so good and we are more than thankful for the way He provides. Let this be an encouragement to stay faithful to Him, even when things look terrible. He has an answer when we put our faith in Him.
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