This week Jason and I have seen God continually bless us and show us that He’s taking care of us.
A few months ago Jason got a raise and a sweet contract when he started this new company with some other great guys. Before that we were living off of his dad’s investment in his old company. It was always financially tight and, though we lived frugally, there was never much left at the end of the month. So, August was our first month of living on his new salary. But, it was also a month where I didn’t work much since our dance studio has 3 weeks off in August. However, we felt really good to be financially responsible and have money left at the end of the month. Before August we were never tithing as much as we should (if at all – some months) because we just couldn’t see how we would have enough money. This was something that I didn’t feel good about because I knew that it was a matter of faith on our part. We weren’t having faith that God would provide ways for us to stretch a dollar. In August we tithed the full amount that we had hoped to and felt really good about it. It actually felt wonderful to write a check to the church and know that we were being obedient.
When we were paying all our bills at the beginning of this month (Sept.) we got a little depressed that things were going to be so tight this month. We were able to pay all of our bills but we tithed $100 less than we wanted to. We made a plan to pack lunches every day so we wouldn’t eat out, not spend any extra money on coffee or things like that, make sure to buy diapers in bulk and all that stuff. I actually kinda liked the challenge of having to make our money last, but still, it was a bummer to feel like we were going to be that close at the end of the month again. Well, right after this, I noticed that we had gotten charged twice for our hotel room that we booked on Priceline (the hotel’s mistake – not Priceline’s) so we got a credit of $180-something dollars. Jason and I were both like, “sweet, we can tithe it and then buy a high-chair.” We’ve been waiting for a couple of months to buy a high chair. Then we got a bill in the mail the very next day that was for $124.69 for our trash. We forgot about that bill because it only comes every 3 months (just like that stinkin’ auto insurance). We were like, “okay, we’ll pay it, and tithe the rest.” Of course, not the heart that God wants us to give with. He doesn’t want our leftovers, but we were justifying giving Him just that. Again, we were kinda bummed. We would get a high chair in October and give God what we had at the end of the month. Then, the very next day, I was at my tap class and my teacher (she owns the studio and I also teach a couple of classes for her) said, “we got paid from Dublin, so you’ll get a check this month.” I totally forgot that I was getting paid for these classes that I teach in Dublin for her. This would be about a $400 check. I called Jason and I was totally excited to tell him how God had blessed us. This was enough to pay for a high-chair and give God what he deserves. Then, I think God was saying, “I’m not done, guys!” because, to make a long story short, Jason’s company reimbursed him for the health insurance that we’ve been paying for 2 months. It was in the contract for them to be paying it but since it’s a new company it wasn’t happening right away and we were just taking care of it until they could pay it since we had the means to, finally.
So, all that is to say that God is totally blessing us and showing us that he’s taking care of us. We’re totally humbled and we’re happy to work on being more faithful with our finances.
Oh, and here’s a picture of Piper getting a Mommy in her face!