Bi weekly budgeting

Our life has recently shifted from a weekly pay check to biweekly it hasn’t been an easy transition and we are still learning the ropes but I have made this printable to hopefully help any one else going through this same struggle! 

Christ at Liberty!

 Christ at Liberty

              Sitting here watching a young girl I call my own, as the sun shines down on us creating the perfect day. This moment couldn’t feel any more peaceful. As I watch her teaching her horse liberty exercises. Liberty is when your horse follows your cues without a lead or pressure from tools. When done properly it is a beautiful dance between man and animal. When done wrong it is a disaster and dangerous. You must have a relationship with your animal as well as have trust both ways.

       As I watch her horse follow her based off snaps it all clicks this is like our relationship with God. When we listen and follow his snaps it is a beautiful dance between man and God. If we resist and don’t follow him, it can be disastrous and dangerous.

       It is not easy at the start, first we have to teach the horse what each command means, how they should respond, and what we expect from them. It takes time, repetition, and trust building. The same is true for our relationship with God. We have to learn to lean on his understanding and trust in him. When we start to lean on him, we learn Gods expectation of us.

Slowly, our beautiful dance with God begins and each step, each cue becomes second nature and before we know it our life is dancing in God’s will. Blessings come in so many ways when we do God’s will. 

Quenching my fire

 

Quenching my own Fire?

This is something I have really been struggling with lately. It appears I am flying through life and missing so much. Life is a constant busy, with kids, sports, housework, even church life. The constant push and pull of all these mundane activities have put me on auto pilot. I am going through the motions, but my heart is not in it. My view of these things has become burdensome and less lively. I feel as though I am living a constant to do list with no end. This outlook hinders us from so many opportunities. I have to make a change in my life so I can thrive and not just survive the day to day to dos.

I have let my mind go from seeing these things as blessings from God, to seeing them as checks on a list. I have lost my perspective and it is so easy to do I didn’t even realize it until it was to late. Now how do I fix it. I must first change my mind set. I must see everything as an opportunity and a blessing. I must slow down and enjoy the moments God has given me to grow and become who he has created me to be.

Starting with the mundane everyday chores and ending with the crazy hustle and bustle of our everyday life. I need to trust Gods process and lean on him and be grateful for all the reasons behind the checklist! It isn’t just a checklist. What is the purpose and the reason behind each item on that list.

Chores	Gratitude
Dishes	My family is fed.
Laundry	My family has clean clothes to wear.
Picking up clutter	My kids have toys to play with and things to do.
Grocery Shopping	We can provide food for our family.
Errands	We have everything we need.

 

Every item on the checklist has a greater purpose and has a reason to be thankful for. We are constantly grumbling about the little things in life when we should be grateful for the joys they bring. God is so gracious, and things could be so much worse than all the tasks we let destroy our days and our minds. I’m not saying it will be easy. Changing your mindset can be tough and we need God’s strength for that.

This verse tells me I have been doing everything all wrong lately. God has given me a job as a wife and mother to take care of my family. It is a God given duty and I have not had my heart in it. I have been doing it all in vain. I have been taking all his blessings for granted. Does grumbling and complaining about our day to day tasks bring God the glory he deserves. Just like Israel in the book of Hosea (that’s what we are studying in Sunday school) I have been going through the motions of it all and my heart has not been right. I have not been the light of God that I need to be. I have been quenching my own fire for him with my own selfish desires. All the constant running I am doing has been in vain all my labor has been in vain. I am in need of a lot of work.