Test My Ways...

Lamentations 3:40
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.

You know how people tell you when it seems like the world is crashing down that God never gives you more than you can handle? Well I would like to think that God must have amazing trust in my ability to handle things because He has given me a heaping help of stuff to contend with right now!

1. The transmission on my minivan needs to be replaced
2. The brakes on our SUV went on our way home from the transmission shop!
3. Our house is sitting empty, unsold, on the market for nearly 4 years

So if the Lord sees fit that a money tree should grow in my front yard, I would accept his blessing with a big basket and a huge smile right about now. Alas, I am pretty sure that's not going to happen, so it's time to move onto a plan of action.


The plan of attack
-We will NOT use credit to get through this emergency
-We will NOT touch our tithe to the church to get through this emergency
-We will TRUST that God will continue to provide for all our needs

We have our Dave Ramsey emergency fund, so that money is there to use. Unfortunately, our emergency fund isn't enough to really cover all these "opportunities" we've been given, so we are going to get very creative over the next month to fund the rest out of cash flow. It's going to be tight, and very close, but I am thinking we can do it. I started looking around the house and noticed we do have quite a few things that could be put on Craigslist instead of gathering dust. I listed a few things tonight, and when I am off work a few days next week, I'll attack a few more.

I read in some of the materials at church the other day something that really stuck in my head. It was a blurb on Phillipans 4:6 where we are commanded by God, "Do NOT be anxious about anything". God's pretty clear on quite a few things, and when he says DON'T, I am pretty sure I'm supposed to be listening! If I tell my kids, "Don't touch that" or "Don't you dare go out that door", I'm talking pretty serious, so I am gonna do what I am told (I know, shocker right???) and follow His lead on this one:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Phillipians 4:6)