Jonathan and I have always seen the need to save money. It was something that was instilled into me when I was little. However, looking back over the early years of our marriage, we can certainly see that we could have done much more to save as well as realizing many of the purchases we made were not the best use of our money and just became things that we later wished we had not gotten. So, we have purposed to be better stewards of the monies God has given us. We continue to save, but we also are praying more about all purchases we make. It is amazing how many things one would not get when they pray about it! We also feel that the Lord is leading us to a more simple lifestyle. By simple, we mean back to the ways in which "our grandparents" used to live. Now, being city people, this is definitely a step by step journey that will span years, Lord willing. So, some of my blog will be to tell you about this journey the Lord is taking us down. We feel the Bible calls us to be as self-sufficient as possible and that is the way we want to move. It is amazing all the arts of self-sufficiency our society has lost. It is one thing to have a high paying corporate job, but when the economy goes bust and you lose it all, what then? Do you know how to grow your own food? Preserve that food? How would one feed their family? We do not know how to do all these things yet, but we want to learn. And we want to pass these things on to our children so at the very least they will know how to weather economic crises, or natural disasters. And if they never need those skills for their survival, at the very least it will save them money, give them a sense of accomplishment and just provide them the overall health benefit of knowing where their food comes from and how it was grown and prepared. So, we will be letting you know the "baby" steps we are taking along the way to becoming more self-sufficient.
The first area is always getting out of debt. We do not, thank the Lord, have any debt. We also feel the Lord calls us to live debt free and we have purposed not to buy cars, etc. if we cannot pay cash for it...therefore, we are living in a rental home. :) But, we do own our van. We have not always had this philosophy. This is relatively new for us. Some will say that to wait until you can purchase a home for cash in our society is ridiculous. It does seem like an incredible hurdle. But, when all these foreclosures and job layoffs starting making the news, we were very glad that we had not bought a home. What if we were not able to sell it when we moved? What if Jonathan lost his job? Even the military is not 100% job security. Technically, the bank owns the home until you get the deed. They just allow us to live in them as long as they keep getting paid. And although we know many Christians have paid a mortgage and had no problems, we know that this is what the Lord has called us to do. He deals with His children about issues in different ways and different means. Our job is just to obey what He is telling us to do. In what ways do you think the Lord is leading you to live more frugally? As Christians, all the monies we have are on loan to us from God...He expects us to use those monies in ways that will honor Him. How can we better use our finances for His glory and the good of our families?
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