The other day I was praying over our finances... Well, you know what they say, "Be careful what you pray for"! When I asked God about five years ago for an opportunity to witness to others about Jesus as a stay-at-home-mom, God gave me Ella and stuck me in the belly of a hospital for 3 1/2 months where I was able to share about His love and amazing peace, joy and hope in the midst of trials! And now, all of these years later, several lives have come to Christ, due to His amazing provision in our situation...all because of a prayer!
Well, this prayer for our finances was more like a plea. I wasn't sure how in the world we'd pay all of our bills, medical bills, get our groceries and buy the things that the girls need and have adequate money to do it! Last night, Calvin sat down to pay another lump from our 2 1/2 inch stack of medical bills. If it weren't for our medical bills, we'd be living pretty comfortably, but with the extra weight on our budget, we are just barely scraping by every two weeks. When Calvin was done paying all of the bills that we could afford to pay in this two weeks, he left a small amount in the check book to cover groceries and gas for the next two weeks until he gets paid again. The remaining bills that were still waiting to be paid, were tucked neatly into their file and will wait for the next pay-check.
As I considered all of our needs and our available money, I was a bit overwhelmed. Not counting the money that we will need for the waiting medical bills in our file, the medical bills that we know are coming but haven't arrived yet, or even the funds for our upcoming adoption!!!, the girls are in desperate need of clothes and I have yet to get the gray colored bridesmaid shoes that I need for my brother's wedding coming up at the end of this month. I knew that both, my shoes (which are due to cost at least $30 and have been really tricky to find because of the color) and the clothes for Ari needed to be purchased ASAP as an internet order would take time (for the shoes) and Ari was running out of daily outfit options! Recently, Ari had a ridiculous growth spurt and has shot right out of her latest wardrobe, leaving her with shorts for pants and belly-button exposing shirts. Needless to say, the need was not going to wait. After taking a mental inventory of what Ariana needs and what money we had "available" ($50 left from my last-week's paycheck), I decided to take her to Other Mother's today to do some clothes shopping. The rest of our needs were just going to have to wait.
After I had found a large selection of clothes for Ariana at Other Mother's (probably 10-20 items), I knew I had more than I could afford, but I thought we'd try the clothes on her and weed out clothes that didn't fit and go from there. Ari had a blast in the dressing room! With the blaring hip-hop music from the dance studio in the back of the store serving as the kindling to Ari's fire, she had her own dance party in front of her dressing-room mirror as she tried on each piece of clothing. When she had tried on every item, only four did not fit! I did not know how I was going to choose between them all! They had all looked so good on her, and truth be told, she needed it all. There were things ranging from pajama shorts to actual shorts, to dresses, to shirts and pants! With a sigh I bundled up the mass of clothes and we made our way out of the dressing room. When we came out, a sign caught my eye: "All Shirts and Shoes: Buy One Get One Half Off!" I realized in that instant, that I was probably holding around $65 worth of clothes and with the sale, we may be able to get most of the clothes!
With new excitement, the girls and I made our way to the register and once it was our turn, I flopped my mass of clothing on the counter and asked the gal to get me as much as possible for my $50. After several minutes of entering prices and taking 1/2 off of every other item, the cashier announced my total: $46 for EVERYTHING! We did not have to put one item back! And we were four dollars under budget! I was beyond excited!
As we were leaving the store, the shoe section caught my eye (of course)! As I was quickly scanning their limited inventory, I noticed a pair of heels that just so happened to be the exact color that I needed for my brother's wedding. In disbelief, I set my newly purchased bags of clothes down so that I could inspect the heels a bit closer. I knew that it was quite the chance thing to find that specific color at all, but since we were at Other Mother's (they get their items used, so there are no two items alike: there was only one pair of these gray heels) the odds that they were my size would be next to impossible! Plus, I have really wide feet, even if they were miraculously my size, there's no way I'd be able to get them on without them being a wide size. As I knelt down on my knees and took the shoes in hand, I noticed that the tag had them labeled as size: 9. I'm normally an 8 1/2. So, I tried them on... They fit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was just too good to be true. They were the right size, right style, wide enough and they fit! But I only had four dollars and some change left. As I grabbed the price tag, I held my breath and slowly flipped the tag over...
They were $3.99!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!
Today, I was able to buy a summer wardrobe for Ariana and my bridesmaid shoes for Josh and Kapree's wedding all for a measly $50! I call that a miracle! Especially considering my shoes were supposed to be at the very least, $30! Even the online shoes that were listed at $20 would be $30 after shipping! Ahhh! I'm just so amazed and blown away at the amazing provision of our God! I, in no way, imagined when I prayed for God to have His hand in our finances that He would knock our socks off to this extent! You'd think I'd be used to it, but nope, He surprises me every time! :)
Not only has God allowed us to pay exactly the medical bills that were due, but He also provided the money to buy the things that we urgently needed. The bills that we tucked away to wait for our next paycheck can wait. It's been like this for years now...with money coming in exactly as we need it. I sure don't enjoy living paycheck to paycheck; and even when we've had more money than we've needed, it seems that new expenses pop up (like medical bills), but there has always been the right amount at the right time! And I know that God is providing for us perfectly and blessing us with the opportunity to never rely on ourselves by growing our faith in Him! We are so overwhelmed with the amazing joy and peace that comes from resting in His security!
Matthew 6:25-27
"25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"
James 2:5
" 5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith."
I have no idea, not even a hint of how God is going to fund our adoption, especially since He's pretty clearly laid two children on our hearts instead of one! But I do know that He is faithful to provide a way when He gives a call. Now all we have to do is surrender our own ideas of what our future might look like and watch God map out and unfold His plan in and for our lives! And I can hardly wait!
James 4:13-15
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”"
Proverbs 19:21
" Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails."
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Well, this prayer for our finances was more like a plea. I wasn't sure how in the world we'd pay all of our bills, medical bills, get our groceries and buy the things that the girls need and have adequate money to do it! Last night, Calvin sat down to pay another lump from our 2 1/2 inch stack of medical bills. If it weren't for our medical bills, we'd be living pretty comfortably, but with the extra weight on our budget, we are just barely scraping by every two weeks. When Calvin was done paying all of the bills that we could afford to pay in this two weeks, he left a small amount in the check book to cover groceries and gas for the next two weeks until he gets paid again. The remaining bills that were still waiting to be paid, were tucked neatly into their file and will wait for the next pay-check.
As I considered all of our needs and our available money, I was a bit overwhelmed. Not counting the money that we will need for the waiting medical bills in our file, the medical bills that we know are coming but haven't arrived yet, or even the funds for our upcoming adoption!!!, the girls are in desperate need of clothes and I have yet to get the gray colored bridesmaid shoes that I need for my brother's wedding coming up at the end of this month. I knew that both, my shoes (which are due to cost at least $30 and have been really tricky to find because of the color) and the clothes for Ari needed to be purchased ASAP as an internet order would take time (for the shoes) and Ari was running out of daily outfit options! Recently, Ari had a ridiculous growth spurt and has shot right out of her latest wardrobe, leaving her with shorts for pants and belly-button exposing shirts. Needless to say, the need was not going to wait. After taking a mental inventory of what Ariana needs and what money we had "available" ($50 left from my last-week's paycheck), I decided to take her to Other Mother's today to do some clothes shopping. The rest of our needs were just going to have to wait.
After I had found a large selection of clothes for Ariana at Other Mother's (probably 10-20 items), I knew I had more than I could afford, but I thought we'd try the clothes on her and weed out clothes that didn't fit and go from there. Ari had a blast in the dressing room! With the blaring hip-hop music from the dance studio in the back of the store serving as the kindling to Ari's fire, she had her own dance party in front of her dressing-room mirror as she tried on each piece of clothing. When she had tried on every item, only four did not fit! I did not know how I was going to choose between them all! They had all looked so good on her, and truth be told, she needed it all. There were things ranging from pajama shorts to actual shorts, to dresses, to shirts and pants! With a sigh I bundled up the mass of clothes and we made our way out of the dressing room. When we came out, a sign caught my eye: "All Shirts and Shoes: Buy One Get One Half Off!" I realized in that instant, that I was probably holding around $65 worth of clothes and with the sale, we may be able to get most of the clothes!
 |
| Ariana posing in one of her new dresses |
As we were leaving the store, the shoe section caught my eye (of course)! As I was quickly scanning their limited inventory, I noticed a pair of heels that just so happened to be the exact color that I needed for my brother's wedding. In disbelief, I set my newly purchased bags of clothes down so that I could inspect the heels a bit closer. I knew that it was quite the chance thing to find that specific color at all, but since we were at Other Mother's (they get their items used, so there are no two items alike: there was only one pair of these gray heels) the odds that they were my size would be next to impossible! Plus, I have really wide feet, even if they were miraculously my size, there's no way I'd be able to get them on without them being a wide size. As I knelt down on my knees and took the shoes in hand, I noticed that the tag had them labeled as size: 9. I'm normally an 8 1/2. So, I tried them on... They fit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was just too good to be true. They were the right size, right style, wide enough and they fit! But I only had four dollars and some change left. As I grabbed the price tag, I held my breath and slowly flipped the tag over...
They were $3.99!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!
 |
| My "miracle" shoes |
Not only has God allowed us to pay exactly the medical bills that were due, but He also provided the money to buy the things that we urgently needed. The bills that we tucked away to wait for our next paycheck can wait. It's been like this for years now...with money coming in exactly as we need it. I sure don't enjoy living paycheck to paycheck; and even when we've had more money than we've needed, it seems that new expenses pop up (like medical bills), but there has always been the right amount at the right time! And I know that God is providing for us perfectly and blessing us with the opportunity to never rely on ourselves by growing our faith in Him! We are so overwhelmed with the amazing joy and peace that comes from resting in His security!
Matthew 6:25-27
"25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"
James 2:5
" 5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith."
I have no idea, not even a hint of how God is going to fund our adoption, especially since He's pretty clearly laid two children on our hearts instead of one! But I do know that He is faithful to provide a way when He gives a call. Now all we have to do is surrender our own ideas of what our future might look like and watch God map out and unfold His plan in and for our lives! And I can hardly wait!
James 4:13-15
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”"
Proverbs 19:21
" Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails."
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
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