Your Finances and You

This is the conclusion to my series on finances. I hope this has been helpful to you in thinking about how you handle money as a family. Money and finances are generally not the most fun subjects to discuss as a couple, but those discussions can dramatically alter the direction of your marriage in good or bad ways. We’ve discussed planning, income, and debt thus far. Now, let’s discuss how these things can be applied to your situation.

First of all, we are all in different situations financially. Some are more favorable than others, and all of these are dependent on your goals. If your goals are attainable and measurable, and you both agree on them, they are good goals. This will probably take some compromise from both of you. It’s better to deal with that up front though, than six months down the road when one of you is miserable because you are sacrificing for something you don’t even desire. That is a recipe for disaster. Take the time to seek common ground and agree on goals that both of you really desire.

One thing that can absolutely discourage you is comparison. I’ve done this, so I’m speaking from painful experience here. If you look at your neighbor and think... “Wow, look at that Escalade and the new pool they are putting in. Why can’t we have those things?” You are setting yourself up for failure. I can’t afford a new Escalade and a pool right now. Maybe you can and that’s great. If so, send money. Haha! Just kidding…maybe. Anyway, there will always be someone with more means than you. That is okay. There is more to life than money and what you can and can’t afford. Besides, maybe they took out a loan for all those things and have to eat beans and rice to pay for them. Different people have different goals.

Lastly, stick to the plan. This is HARD! I can attest. Without Laura, I don’t think we could’ve done this at times in our marriage. It’s really easy to get off track quickly. Reaching financial goals like being debt free, affording a house, or retiring take time and discipline. It may mean eating out less or not at all, or not taking a vacation. It may even mean selling your car and buying a cheaper one. The bottom line is that it takes sacrifice. Thankfully, though, you have been divinely paired with a partner to endure it with you and keep you accountable. I encourage you to lean on each other. You are a team!! Now go win like one!

Laura and I believe that every marriage is ordained by God, and He has a plan for each one. Things may not look great for you financially, but know that God’s plan is food on your table and a roof over your head. He loves you. We love you, too, and we are praying for you. You can do this through Christ!

~Howell
@G2WHubs

Keys to Financial Freedom: Part Three

As we continue through our discussion about finances in marriage, we must come to what is perhaps the most difficult topic. This is the one that can really derail a marriage, but it doesn’t have to. Today, we discuss expenses and debt. Debt has always been a difficult topic for me, and I’ve waffled over the years on how much is too much and how to handle it. After good and bad experiences, though, I believe that Laura and I have a better grasp of it.

As I said above, this topic has been quite an odyssey for me. I was raised in a home where debt was the complete enemy. We were the Dave Ramsey family ten years before it was cool. I still have a hard time understanding how my parents paid off cars and houses so quickly while still putting food on the table. They are a great example of success in retirement, however, because they live a comfortable, debt-free life and are still able to afford to travel and enjoy life after a career in education.

You would think I would come from that and be fairly credit wise, but I completely ignored it. I got my first credit card and quickly maxed it out with no way to pay it off. To this day, I don’t know how I did this. I really didn’t end up with much to show for it. This just goes to show you how easy it is to do. I found myself with negative money in the bank and a maxed out credit card at 20 years old. Typical, right? It didn’t feel that way at the time. Looking back, income played a part in this. I was trying to go to college and live and eat on a part time salary. I even went hungry for about two weeks a couple of times. I was not going to go crawling back to my parents, though. I had too much stubborn pride. Thankfully, God looked out for me. My grandmother noticed I had lost some weight when I went to see her (and probably that I ate for a small family of bears), so she snuck some money into my suitcase. Thanks, Mamaw!

From that little seed, I was able to rebuild my meager finances and apply those lessons from my parents. I also got a job where I could eat at work. That’s a handy tip if you’re ever a single person in my position. And eventually I could afford to take a girl out on dates—specifically, a cute English major named Laura, who spent most of her time reading books or writing papers.

I married a very wise woman. Laura is incredible at squeezing the pennies out of dimes, and I mean that in the best possible way. However, we have mounded up debt at times. Sometimes, expenses just happen all at once. We’ve been there, and we didn’t have a nest egg to fall back on. The key with debt is learning from it and communicating about it. We both got down on ourselves for our excessive spending. Part of it was necessary, but some of it could’ve waited. Because of that, we made a pact together that we would always have a savings account that would be an emergency fund. It took a long time to build, but has prevented many fights. I’ll talk more about that next time. At first, paying off our debt seemed impossible. Little by little, though, it came down, and after almost ten years, we've now paid off over $90,000 in debt. That’s another truth about debt. You CAN knock it down. It just takes time and patience.

Hopefully, this little testimony has been helpful. I know it can seem insurmountable, and we have certainly fought about it before. Like anything else, you must be together on this. It takes a team to run family finances well. Everyone has to buy in, but once you do, things can really change.

~ Howell

@G2WHubs

Keys to Financial Freedom: Part Two

In my last blog, I introduced a four-part series on home finances in marriage. This is a really important topic to me because it’s something that often tears marriages apart or creates the cracks in the foundation that ultimately lead to a failed marriage. I started the series with Planning, and this week, we will be discussing Income.

Income can be a tricky subject to address when discussing personal finances because of differences in beliefs or personal preferences of different families. I highly recommend reading what Laura has to say here about supporting your husband's work. 

Let’s get started…Over a long period of time, you can’t spend more money than you make. You’ll run out. BREAKING NEWS, right? Yeah, I didn’t think so. It’s never that simple, though. When you went through the planning session I discussed last time, did you decide your finances just didn’t add up? Did you find you couldn’t or weren’t willing to cut your expenses enough to make ends meet? If so, then increasing your income is the only other way.

Intuitively, I imagine this is something people would think of, but I’ve been surprised by how many people haven’t seen this as an option, so I feel it’s worth talking about. No matter your situation, you can increase your income. The question is, are you willing to make the sacrifices to do it? Sometimes, this is finding a different job or having a second family member start working. It could just mean delivering pizzas, driving for Uber, or doing odd jobs on the weekend. Your situation dictates how much more you need. I’m stressing the word need here. Most of what I just listed may only be temporary options to get something paid off or maybe serve as a bridge until you get that dream job.

What I really want to stress in this blog is this: You have options. If your current income is simply not enough, don’t let it continue to be a stressful point in your life and your marriage. Don’t let complacency in your job or all those closed doors you keep running into get you down. There are options in today’s economy, more than ever before!

I pray you're led by the Holy Spirit to make wise decisions for your income. God's promise is to provide for you, which means He will always give you what you need. 

~Howell

@G2WHubs 

Keys to Financial Freedom: Part One

Laura and I have both blogged before about finances, but given that it is one of the most common causes of strife in marriages, I want to come back to this topic. Money, and the lack of it, is a tough topic in almost every relationship. It certainly has been one for us at different times in our marriage. I always say communication is key, and it really is. This is the first post in a four-part series on financial freedom for families: Planning, Income, Debt, and You. If you haven’t read this post about getting on the same page re: finances, it’s a good foundational piece to start with. In this series, I want to take an in-depth look at how to approach finances, as a couple. I want to convey basic principles to build an understanding of how to work together to accomplish financial goals, instead of letting money be what tears you apart.

Today, let’s talk about planning.

You can talk about money until you’re blue in the face, but without consensus on a plan with actual, measurable, and attainable steps, you are just talking in circles. So what does a realistic plan look like? Well, that varies depending on your situation. 

So why do you, as a couple need a financial plan? You may be saying, we’re okay. We aren’t rich, but we are making it. We put food on the table and have a roof over our heads. Maybe you have significant debt, maybe you don’t. Maybe you have more than you need, maybe you don’t. Maybe you fight about money, maybe you don’t. Your situation does dictate what the plan is, but it doesn’t dictate the need for a plan. Whether you need to get out of debt or retire, or you want to give more to missions, you need a financial plan.

Step one is sitting down and talking about your immediate need. I’ll give some suggestions later in this series for setting long-term goals, but I think you probably know what your immediate needs with your finances are. This is a difficult step because you may be on different pages about what your needs are. The most critical part of this step is agreement. You must agree to move on and that means that both of you will probably have to compromise somewhere. You don’t have to set massive, life-long goals at this point. Let’s just have a plan for the next six months right now. What do you want to do in the next six months, even if that is survive? If you can plan six months, you can plan a lifetime.

The next step is forming a plan. Figure out how much your immediate need will cost and go from there. I recommend looking at your expenses for the last three months to get a basic, monthly cost of living, subtracting that from your current income, and then looking at what is left. That is what you have for accomplishing your immediate need. If there isn’t anything left, you have two choices: more income or fewer expenses. If neither of those are options, don’t lose heart; we’ll talk about ways to find places to cut and gain in later weeks. 

Now that you know where you are, it’s time to agree on a plan to move forward. Find areas that both of you can cut expenses and decide an amount to save toward your plan. You’ll need a budget to follow. Maybe you are more disciplined than us, but without a real budget, we rarely achieve our goals. You can see a basic outline below. I think it can apply to anyone’s household finances.

So now you have a plan! It takes time, discipline, and lots of communication, but you can execute it. Over the next few times I blog here, I’ll be going over different aspects of household finances to help you modify and execute this plan. I’m praying that you’ll find this helpful. I’m no expert, but I believe that with good communication, you can achieve your goals.

Read Part Two
Read Part Three

 ~Howell

@G2WHubs

Holiday Tips for your Marriage

The Christmas holidays are sometimes stressful for marriages, not only because in-laws and travel are added to the mix but also because budgets are usually stretched further, as we spend more money for gifts, especially if you have kids or large extended families.

We recommend three tips to ensure the holidays don’t stress your marriage:

1. Get on the same page. Communication is always essential in marriage, but especially at this time of year. First, talk through your travel plans in advance—and make sure you talk to your spouse before you commit to being at Grandma’s house on Christmas morning. Even if you always do the same thing, this year be intentional about ensuring that your Christmas plans are what you both want to do. In doing so, you give honor to each other. Second, communicate about your spending plan for gifts, which leads us to number two…

2. Make a budget. Finances are often cited in the top three reasons for divorce, and this time of year is no exception. I’ve said before that most marriages have a saver and a spender. Whatever role you usually play, be sure to talk to your spouse about your spending plan. Howell and I make a list of everyone we buy gifts for, and we budget an amount that we’ll try to spend on each person. It’s not always a perfect system, but it at least gives us an idea of what our account balance is going to look like at the end of the season.

3. Take a break. It’s okay to take a time out from family and events. Save time for each other. If you’re at the grandparent’s for the weekend, ask them for two hours so you and your spouse can have a movie date. Even if it’s just to escape for a grocery item or a sonic drink, take a break for some alone time with your spouse. Whatever your love languages are, don’t starve each other from much-needed deposits into your love banks just because you’re surrounded by family for days or weeks. You spouse is still a priority!

This season doesn’t have to be stressful for your marriage. After all, we’re celebrating the birth of our Savior. Emmanuel—God with us. What a privilege to know we’re never alone, and we’re never too far from His grace and love. When it feels like too much, when the stress is too high, and the checking balance too low, remember the reason for all we celebrate this year. Jesus came down—what a gift to us!

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas season with your family and loved ones!

The Words You're Probably Avoiding

Finances. Budgets. Bills. These are words most couples dread, right?

Usually Howell is the one to blog about money (this one is my fav), but it’s been on my heart this week, so I wanted to share a few principles we follow that I believe bring peace to this area in our marriage.

1. Tithe. If you’re on the fence about tithing, I can promise you it’s worth it to be obedient to the Lord. When we follow His word and do as He asks, abundant blessing follows. Our first couple years of marriage, our combined income was below the poverty level of a single-income household, and yet, we followed this principal of giving 10% of our income to the Lord (i.e. to our church home)—and we never went without. God has always provided everything we need.

We’ve always had the mindset that everything we own is God’s, and from the very beginning, we’d ask him, what do you want us to do with your money? Pay bills, of course. Provide for ourselves. But what else?

We both come from families who are “givers.” What does that mean? It usually means the family tithes—but in our case, we also watched our parents give generous gifts, sometimes to support monthly ministries, sometimes to give one-time gifts to the church for a project, sometimes to give extravagantly to those in need.

My dad used to tell me, even as a young girl, “You can’t out-give God.” How incredibly true! That first year of marriage, on our little income, we not only tithed, but we prayerfully considered giving to specific ministries every month. At first, we couldn’t give much, but as we were diligent to give away the little that we had, God quickly and immeasurably provided a blessing in return. With every raise we’ve ever had, our question has always been—Okay, God? How much and where to?

2. Save. Since I’ve already ball-parked our early income for you, I’ll go ahead and share that we saved enough for a down payment to buy a house within one year of being married on an income that certainly felt teeny-tiny. Want to know how? We save 10% of our income each month. 10%--that’s all. Give 10, Save 10.

We’ve been supernaturally rewarded by being stewards of our money in this way. We’ve been married 9 years, and we’ve paid off roughly $90,000 in debt. Today our only debt is our house, which will be paid for in 13 years or less.  I don’t say that to brag—in fact, I felt humbled when I started totaling it all up in preparation for this post. But because I know it’s possible to tackle what might even feel impossible, I want to encourage you: it can be done!

3. Mutually submit. We get paid twice a month, and we immediately tithe and save 10%. We do it on the gross income (though we don’t think there’s anything wrong doing it the other way), so we’re a little more stretched. What’s left after that is the money we live on and the money we give away.

Howell’s emphasized budgeting, and we live by his cute little spreadsheet (love ya, babe :)), so we know when it’s all spent on bills or giving, this is what we’ve got left to spend (gas, food, entertainment, etc.).

So what do I mean by mutually submit? Every couple has a spender and saver—and sometimes to more or less varying degrees. Whether you’re one or the other, remember that every financial choice you make affects your spouse. You’re communicating love and respect by how you spend your money (or by what you withhold in spending).

If your spouse has asked you not to purchase something or to be conscious of the “leftover” money this month, then honoring that amount is the way you honor him or her.

And I believe the Lord blesses us, not only when we honor each other with our spending but when we honor Him with our money as well.

I know money isn’t everyone’s favorite subject, but I hope you’ll be encouraged this week. If your bills feel too high, if your savings feels too low—begin to ask the Lord how He wants you to steward your money (and then be obedient! :)).

His word is true. Psalm 23 begins, “The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not lack.”

Believe that, my friends. He will always provide for you!

Getting on the Same Page Re: Finances

One of the most common things that couples fight about is finances. It seems that every time someone talks or writes about finances in marriage, they list lots of statistics about how it’s the biggest cause of divorce, or there are X number of unhappy marriages out of ten because of finances. 

I’m going to spare you that because I don’t think that the money is actually the root cause of the fights. I believe there are two root issues that cause fights about money: communication and selfishness.

I’m going to tackle selfishness first because it is actually less common. Most people want the best for their spouse and their family, and those that don’t usually don’t realize that they are acting in that way. Take a step back and think…Are my recent major purchases for me? Did I make any of them without my spouse’s approval? Are we stretching our finances for something that I really want but don’t actually need?

If you honestly answer yes to any of these questions, well, we all get there at times. I know I have. I drug Laura into a pickup purchase several years ago that was really more than we could afford or needed at that time, and I regretted it for two years before eventually getting into a more sensible vehicle. But when both of you are focused on each other’s happiness, the selfishness ends.

Communication, or lack thereof, is the most common financial stressor. I think that we often avoid conversations because they are tough, or they might lead to a fight. Avoiding a discussion now always leads to a bigger, more difficult one down the road. 

Speaking from experience, it is imperative that both of you are on the same page about your financial goals and your path to get there. Most couples never sit down and have this talk, but it changed our marriage for the better. 

Once you agree on a plan, you can work together to accomplish it. It isn’t always easy; in fact it never is, but when you are on the same page, it is doable. Even if your financial state isn’t great right now, a firm plan is always better than chaos. If you want to read more, I wrote this post on communication awhile back.

I’m praying that this might help you think about your finances as a couple differently. Maybe something about this gave you a nudge or an idea. I’ve included a template spreadsheet like the one we use to manage our finances and how we are progressing toward our goals. 

Everyone is different, so I’m sure you’ll make some changes, but a little structure to start with always helps. May God bless your marriage and your finances.

Howell

@G2WHubs

p.s. If you'd like us to email you the Excel file of the Finances Template, please click the "Contact Us" tab at the top of site. 

Trusting God with our dreams AND our finances: God's 'how' with our 'what'

On Sunday, our church had a message on finances, and I was struck by one comment in particular: finances fall under the law of sowing and reaping.

You see, we make financial choices today, good or bad, but we may not feel those effects for years to come. I've been thinking about that. We are pretty budget-conscious when it comes to our finances. We tithe, give, and save from 30% of our budget, and we try to pay our bills and live on 70%. We're not perfect, and we're not debt-free, but this practice has worked pretty well for us. 

There are days, however, when it's so tempting to think, man, if we could just use this for this, then we could have X outcome, maybe pay off X amount of debt; man, if we could just have a little more here and there, we would be set!

And that's the danger. Not the planning, the budgeting, certainly not the savings--but the mentality that if we can get to X place, we will be worry-free, our future secure. 

The danger lies in who controls your finances, in where you place your trust, in how you lean when uncertainty arises. 

The danger is forgetting that all we have is His. 

In our culture today, we like the law of immediacy, the law of "I snap, and it's done." And we look around to see where everyone else is in comparison to where we are. There's a reason keeping up with the Joneses is still a thing. 

But it's such a trap, with no long-term reward. 

I've been reading Psalm 37, and David describes two time frames: the right now and the future. Over and over, he is saying, now, it looks like this, but then, it will look like that. 

What does the future look like for the righteous man*? His righteousness will be brought forth (v. 6); he will inherit the land (vs., 9, 11, 22, 29, 34); he will have abundant peace (v. 11); he has a heritage that lasts forever (v. 18); he has abundance in the days of famine (v. 19); he is generous (now and then) (v. 21); he is not forsaken; his children are taken care of and are a blessing to him (v. 25 - 26); he is preserved (v. 28), not abandoned (v. 33), defended (v. 33). 

What an incredible list of promises! But it's a future list, not a present-day list. It's about sowing today for a harvest tomorrow. 

So what does the righteous man sow today? 

• He trusts in the Lord (v. 3, 5)
• He does good (v. 3)
• He delights in the Lord (v. 4)
• He commits his ways to the Lord (v. 5)
• He is still before the Lord (v. 7)
• He waits for the Lord (v. 7, 9)
• And he gives generously (v. 21)

That last bullet is not an accident. The big idea of last Sunday's message was that we cannot follow Jesus if we are out of balance with our finances. The righteous man in Psalm 37 is a faithful, patient, surrendered servant of the Lord. He does not compare himself to others (v. 7). He is not worried about the Joneses. 

He keeps his eyes on God, and he continues on the path before him. 

We've been reading The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, and we have been dreaming some pretty big dreams, asking God for the impossible, the unlikely, circling desires we only whispered about as silly pillow-talk before bed. 

Big prayers don't scare God. They scare us because it's not the what but the how: how could we do that? 

And when it comes to the how, it often returns to money. That's why I think Sunday's message was so timely. Finances operate under the law of sowing and reaping. You know what? So does prayer. We sow prayers today that may not be answered for 5, 10, 15, 20 years. 

The how is God's place of miracles; the what is our heart of dreams. 

The what puts us on a path... 

Sometimes, we forget that we are 28 years old. It's okay that our savings isn't overflowing with tens of thousands of dollars (or even the Ramsey recommended 3-times your monthly expenses!). It's okay that our kids' college funds aren't fully funded (yeah, we don't have any kids yet; I think we've still got time!). And it's okay that our combined retirement funds don't even equal one-third of what we make in a given year. 

God's got all the time in the world. 

Our job is to dream big, pray big, and say yes when He asks. May we be patient, trusting, giving servants today! 

*If you're a woman and the list of 'man promises' here is hard for you, I always insert she when I read (i.e. She will inherit the land; she will have abundant peace, etc.). God's kingdom is full of righteous men and women. :) 

The Day my WHEEL FELL OFF on 5th Street... (Part 1)

So, it's no secret that my car has been in the shop, and let me tell you, there's nothing more testing of your Christ-like-ness than being at the mercy of a repair shop.

Here’s the short and edited version: my u-joint needed replacing (I still don't know exactly what that is, btw), and the wrong part was ordered—that was week one, plus throw in some broken promised call-backs, lots of time on hold, a little rudeness, and in general, good ole waiting. And then, you know, the day we go to pick it up (Day 7), my wheel fell off while we were driving, on 5th Street. (Fortunately, the service manager and the technician were in the car to witness it.) So, the next week of work involved wheel replacement, axil repair, and good ole body work to the entire side paneling and bumper bracket.

About this time, our church started a series on judgment. Oh boy. Did I attach significance to that event? Um, yes. Did I get angry and offended? Oh yes.

I don’t generally consider myself an angry person, but if you’ve been around me at all—and if I love you enough to be real with you—you’ve heard my rant. And, of course, because I’m not confrontational enough to take it out on the repair personnel, I end up just being really angry in my heart and head—and in my head, let me tell you, I can say all kinds of rude things and do lots of brave things that I would never actually do in real life.

Here’s a better summary version: I am proud and arrogant, and I’m convinced I could do a better job, more quickly, than 10 technicians put together. I’m also impatient and am the most important customer you’ve ever had. And, while we’re at it, I’ve added a “because” to every “observation” for why the work isn’t done and X person was rude (which, of course, is also my own perception). And again, I’ve attached significance to all. of. this.

This is where God got me and ever so gently reigned me back in—around Day 8.

When the wheel fell off and caused greater damage to the car (Day 7), there was this question of who is responsible and who will pay? As Hal and I are not confrontational people, we listened to lots of versions of why the company should do the right thing, or our being justified to ask them to pay. We needed little help coming up with all the reasons, but, in short, my mind played on two key phrases: they should pay because it’s only fair; it is the right thing to do.

Because God’s word for me this year is grace and because I want so badly to wrap my head around this concept, I began praying—really more like questioning: Daddy, where is grace in all this? Why are we not favored and blessed with a fixed car already? Why do more problems keep coming?

So, as far as my understanding of grace to this point, read: grace = granting wishes.

Then, of course, my performance/punishment system sets in, and I begin thinking, Well, I guess you don’t want to be gracious because I’ve been angry in my heart and judgmental toward the service people. That’s fair; I know I’ve repented of those things, but I deserve the consequences for my actions, and this is my consequence.

Read: grace = works.

But the morning after my wheel fell off, I read the parable of the rich landowner, and let’s just say, God humbled me completely.

Jerry Bridges writes, “The landowner could have paid [the eleventh hour workers] only what they had earned, but he chose to pay them according to their need, not according to their work. He paid according to grace, not debt” (p. 50).

His goodness, His grace is not in regard to my works or efforts; neither is it suspended by my sin. His grace is not in regard to works or sin—it is beyond what we could have ever deserved or earned. His grace meets our need, not our merit.

Our deterrent from understanding God’s grace is pride; we still want to place some work and effort on ourselves. It’s not in our nature–certainly not our American culture—to receive something for nothing. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” we say, so we resist living on a spiritual welfare system (Bridges, p. 59). Who needs a handout when I’m perfectly capable? This: pride.

God began to show me that the root of my anger and pride was fear, and my fear was connected to lack: that the repairs would be expensive and that it would be a strain on our finances.

He also began to show me that it was by His grace, His favor, that my wheel didn’t fall off while I was going 80 mph down I-27—both before we took my car in and after we got it out. What if it hadn’t made the noise when we picked it up on Day 7? It was in His graciousness that the wheel fell off at the exact time that it did.

So, humbled, I thanked Him for His favor, I thanked Him for His grace that meets every need, and I thanked Him that even if we had to pay, He would provide.

But there was still this pesky business of who would pay and what was right or fair…

(Coming up in Part 2!!)

Faithful in the Battles

I've been reading through Deuteronomy, and the shortened version of the Israelite's' story. Already, the Lord has made so many applications relevant in my own life. In Chapter 2, the Lord raises up a new generation to begin moving in the direction of the Promised Land. The first step in that direction is a battle. If you read in verses 30-31, it states that God hardened the king's heart, causing the battle. It's possible that the Israelites could have peaceably passed through, or that the King of Sihon would have just let them pass, as the kings did in Seir and Ar. But God needed to begin to lay a foundation of faith in their hearts that 1) There will be many battles, and 2) that God will fight for them. Of course, the older generation knew this from Egypt--but God was laying a new foundation of faith in these Israelites' hearts that wasn't just about what He did then, but what He could do now.

Sometimes God makes the path more difficult and causes a battle, in order to show us a greater victory.

In Chapter 3, God builds on their victory in Sihon to fight a greater battle: not just a city, but an entire Kingdom--Bashan. Sihon was baby steps of faith building to a greater battle, just as Bashan will be baby steps to the greater batle that is Jerricho and beyond into the Promised Land. And each step along the way, God reminds them gently, "Remember, I fight for you." In Chapter 4, Moses pauses to remind them to keep these works of God hidden in their hearts, that they don't forget what He's done and depart from Him. Though Moses predicts that the Israelites will one day disobey and forget--and be scattered--God, in his mercy, will take them back when they begin to seek Him again.

In my own life, I think about all the mini financial battles the Lord has brought us through this year--just to show that He fights for us, and He is faithful. In January, we thought we'd owe $1500 from Hal's wreck, but God took care of it. In February, we unexpectedly owed $1600. And God provided. In March, I went to Pennsylvania, which costs us another $1500 in flights and hotels. But God provided again. All the while, we were trying to save money to buy a house--yet these expenses we hadn't anticipated kept coming up.

But in May, God had doubled our savings, in a way we can't explain--just to say that He did it.

In June, we found a house, whose closing costs we would not have enough to pay for. And we prayed, and God provided a way. In July, we moved--and all the extra money we thought we'd put into savings that month was nearly spent on other factors--visits to family nearly every weekend and purchases for the house. In August, we thought we were ready to finally start saving again, when we received heart-breaking news--the greatest test of all--that we owed $6000 to Hal's company (they'd been taking the wrong amount out of his checks), and that we'd be losing nearly half his paycheck each month.

We cried out to the Lord and told Him we weren't prepared. We panicked and worried about how we'd make it. We tried to "fix it" ourselves, by taking me off Hal's insurance to cut out $500/mo in expenses. But God had a plan and a purpose. And in September, He provided the money we needed--yes, all $6000. And He put me back on Hal's insurance, despite the strain it will place on our budget, because He wanted to be the one who fights our battles.

And even though this month, Hal will only receive 1/3 of his paycheck, to cover these insurance costs, God has already caused our bank accounts to be filled and our needs to be met. You see, when we are faithful to tithe and to give above the tithe to ministries He puts in our heart, to the point that we begin to say, "God it's not our money, but yours," He is faithful to return to us tenfold what we need. Like the Israelites, God used this whole year--nearly 10 months now--to bring us into a new battle.

And each time, He showed us, "It is I who fight for you."

Seek First

Some thoughts on money and needs from Matthew 5-7:

1) Make sure your focus is on Heavenly things

• Store up treasures in Heaven (6:19-21)
• Serve God, not money (6:21)
• Seek His Kingdom, His righteousness (6:33)

2) Ask God to provide for your needs

• Ask, seek, knock (7:7-11)

Matthew 6:33

Jesus tells us that we aren't to be anxious about anything in this life, but certainly not when it comes to meeting our financial needs. Not only does worrying not add an hour to our life (6:27), but it also displays a lack of trust in the One who feeds the birds of the air and clothes the grass of the fields. Thus, Jesus ends his mini-sermon on being anxious with the command to "Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." (6:33)

When I was younger, I remember taking this verse to mean "Seek God," and in some ways, that's pretty close. But having really focused on kingdom principles lately in studying the gospels, Jesus is actually giving two commands:

1) Seek the Kingdom of God

2) Seek His righteousness

The first, I believe, is related not just to seeking "God in Heaven." The Kingdom is now; the Kingdom is here. We are in His Kingdom, with a purpose. I believe that is part one of what we seek--our calling, our place in His Kingdom. How can I serve? How I can I be a witness to those outside the Kingdom? Or, to use the word Jesus had just spoken, seeking the Kingdom of God is simply stating, "Your Kingdom come [here, in this place you've given me to rule], your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven" (6:10). It means not focusing on your problem at all, but focusing on eternal things, focusing on how you can be used, and focusing on how you can be selfless and loving toward others.

The second part, then, goes all the way back to chapter five--righteous living: His righteousness. Jesus gives a new law in these three chapters that steps up the standard. If it seems hopeless and discouraging that we could be righteous, it's not. It may seem impossible, from our limited view, to think that we can be useful in His Kingdom or that we can be selfless and loving toward others--as He has commanded us--but we can. That's another blessing, another gracious act, that Jesus delivered on the cross: "For our sake, He made Him to be sin, who knew no sin, that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" (1 Cor 5:21).

In seeking the Kingdom of God and in pursuing His righteousness, Jesus promises our needs will be met. But, as we saw from psalm 62, the trust and hope that we must place in Him as our source of security is absolutely necessary.