Some of you know what those three little letters mean without me even spelling out the words...Financial Peace University. More on that later.
A little over a month ago I started attending a class for women on Wednesday nights at church. There are a lot of reasons why I joined the group; three being that I invited a friend and couldn't invite someone to something I'm not a part of, I thought I could learn a lot about community from a group of women who have gotten really close, and honestly the third is that I couldn't really find my niche at our big church. I needed conversation and to hear people's perspectives on God's word, so I joined the group. I have to say that they've been very welcoming. I hate to admit it, but often times Christian clicks are really hard to get into...and I'm a Christian! It's a sad truth that we seriously need to work on.
Anyway, last week we started the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University video series. I will admit that I think Matt and I have a pretty good handle on our finances for our age. We give to those in need (which you can do no matter how old you are or how much money you make. Don't try to give me excuses on this one), we pay all our bills on time, we are paying down student loans faster than they are due, and we save. However, what I'm learning from these videos is that we can be doing so much better! There are things that Matt and I will definitely put into practice after watching the video series.
There's one more thing that I am really loving about doing this video series with these women...they are brutally honest! No two women in that room share quite the same life situation, and none of them share mine. However, they will say how much the have or don't have, know or don't know. What's even better than that, they are excited! They've had enough of not having enough, and they are ready to make some changes for the better. I have not seen so much excitement about something so difficult in a long time, and that's refreshing. Encouragement is just hovering around us, waiting to be soaked in, if we'll only open our eyes and learn from the lives and hearts of others.
21 July 2010
04 July 2010
Us too!
Yesterday Matt and I had a great day. We ate breakfast (very late!) and then got ready to go to our friends W and E's house. Matt, as usual when we have plans to do something, got called to a vehicle accident and had to leave for that. I finished getting ready and went to their house. W and E are moving to Chile early next year, and were having a garage sale to get rid of many of the things they will not be taking with them. They, along with another person they are moving with, were at their house Friday and Saturday hosting a garage sale.
W and E have always had a really comfy home. Matt and I loved to go to their house and just hang out, it's the kind of place you can just sit around in for hours. That being said, when I went over to their place yesterday it was totally desolate! The transformation that took place within a few short days was astounding. They had a very successful garage sale, and continued to sell items as I hung out for the last hour of the sale. Matt made it over just as the sale was ending, and we helped them clean up a little and then took the tables they used back to the people they borrowed them from.
Some interesting things happened after that which I would like to share. Matt and I ran a few errands, and then got home and went crazy working around the house! Matt washed every dirty item of clothing we own (which are now slowly being folded and are in a huge pile on the love seat). We also needed to work out, which requires us to vacuum since we have the biggest shedding dog in the world. I was ready to vacuum the floor like normal, but Matt moved all the furniture around so we could vacuum in places that are not often reached. He also cleaned the window and window sill. After working out and eating dinner, we worked on our fund raising packet until the wee hours of the morning. We wanted it done! Here's what I think happened: we saw our friends taking some big steps forward toward moving, and we thought, "Us too! We want to move too, we're ready!" There's something about seeing people on the same journey with you, who experience a step in the right direction, that excites you and makes you want to do the same. I think yesterday we got a little boost of energy to take care of things that seem ho hum, because we know that when we sell our house they will be things that need to be done.
I have to admit, however, that we really wanted to get our fund raising packet done for another reason. We have been trying to contact a church in Tennessee since February. I emailed them in February...no reply. I emailed them in April...no reply. Some might give up, but not Tish! I'll thoroughly bother someone until they tell me to stop, and as far as I was concerned no one had given me a good reason to stop trying to contact this church yet! I emailed them again in July, and I got a response! In their defense, apparently there was a switchover in the person we were supposed to contact, and the previous emails were not passed on by mistake. Anyway, the person I ended up making contact with was so encouraging! He sent us a great email, and wanted us to talk to him over the phone and send him our fund raising packet. I had a great conversation with him over the phone, and we wanted to get our fund raising packet updated to reflect the changes in our team and off to him as soon as possible. I guess W and E are not the only ones who have a step in the right direction to celebrate!
W and E have always had a really comfy home. Matt and I loved to go to their house and just hang out, it's the kind of place you can just sit around in for hours. That being said, when I went over to their place yesterday it was totally desolate! The transformation that took place within a few short days was astounding. They had a very successful garage sale, and continued to sell items as I hung out for the last hour of the sale. Matt made it over just as the sale was ending, and we helped them clean up a little and then took the tables they used back to the people they borrowed them from.
Some interesting things happened after that which I would like to share. Matt and I ran a few errands, and then got home and went crazy working around the house! Matt washed every dirty item of clothing we own (which are now slowly being folded and are in a huge pile on the love seat). We also needed to work out, which requires us to vacuum since we have the biggest shedding dog in the world. I was ready to vacuum the floor like normal, but Matt moved all the furniture around so we could vacuum in places that are not often reached. He also cleaned the window and window sill. After working out and eating dinner, we worked on our fund raising packet until the wee hours of the morning. We wanted it done! Here's what I think happened: we saw our friends taking some big steps forward toward moving, and we thought, "Us too! We want to move too, we're ready!" There's something about seeing people on the same journey with you, who experience a step in the right direction, that excites you and makes you want to do the same. I think yesterday we got a little boost of energy to take care of things that seem ho hum, because we know that when we sell our house they will be things that need to be done.
I have to admit, however, that we really wanted to get our fund raising packet done for another reason. We have been trying to contact a church in Tennessee since February. I emailed them in February...no reply. I emailed them in April...no reply. Some might give up, but not Tish! I'll thoroughly bother someone until they tell me to stop, and as far as I was concerned no one had given me a good reason to stop trying to contact this church yet! I emailed them again in July, and I got a response! In their defense, apparently there was a switchover in the person we were supposed to contact, and the previous emails were not passed on by mistake. Anyway, the person I ended up making contact with was so encouraging! He sent us a great email, and wanted us to talk to him over the phone and send him our fund raising packet. I had a great conversation with him over the phone, and we wanted to get our fund raising packet updated to reflect the changes in our team and off to him as soon as possible. I guess W and E are not the only ones who have a step in the right direction to celebrate!
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