ENCOURAGED IN HEART

If someone asked me, “Do you need others Steph?” I’d instinctively reply, “Of course!” And then the Holy Spirit would get a vote, “Really Steph…REALLY?”

(Gulp.)

and gently continue, “is that why when challenges hit, you morph to preschooler mode, ‘I can do it all myself?’…cause you need others?“

(Double gulp.)

This past week has been a test bed of my will, or perhaps better put, my pride.  Pride is one of the most heinous sins – it’s what got angelic Lucifer to trade in his wings for a hotter residence located down south.

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6b (NIV)

As I’m learning what humility looks like, I feel His grace surround me with His love put into action with loving arms, meals, childcare, prayers, encouraging notes/call.  In the words of James Brown, “I FEEL GOOD!” Grace feels good!

This week I had a huge breakthrough – I truly, for the first time in my life, admitted to myself that I needed others. (Not like it was a hidden secret to those around me!) Not only that, I’ve accepted help in various and diverse ways.   Know what else I had?  The first glimmer in MONTHS – a breakthrough in my plateau!  Don’t tell me mind-body-spirit aren’t connected, cause you’re going to talk to a dry, chipped nail Jersey hand!

It’s a fact Jack; the opposite of pride
is humility.  If I’m going to keep loosing the emotional weight, I’m gonna NEED to loose my pride and need
others.

Joyce Meyer  wrote it most clearly, “Remember, pride is a sin, and it is the culprit behind broken relationships.” (1)   My sinful pride has separated me from deeper relations with others and God.  That’s what sin  does – separates from love. Sin separates, love unites.

So what do you read on the need scale? Which category  most fits you?

1.     Do you need others?  (Do you communicate needs, listen to others’ needs and reciprocate accordingly?)

2.     Do you knead others? (Do you refuse to accept help because you can do it, “all by yourself?”  Kneading others patience and love by constant refusal to accept help?)

3.     Or somewhere in the balanced middle – you recognize the God-given gift of friendship and partake in a healthy reciprocity?

And my God will meet all your NEEDs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.Philippians 4:19 (NIV)

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(1)    Meyer, Joyce. The Everyday Life Bible.  New York:  Warner Faith, 2006. p. 1925.

Last week we discussed paying down your high interest debts.  Now, let’s discuss your lower interest debts.  These are typically your car and mortgage payments.

I’ve heard many people say, “I will always have a car payment.”  Why?!?  People who make this type of statement have the wrong attitude about debt.  Debt is bad, period, end of argument.  Average car loans are for five years.  If you have a perfectly good vehicle, why would you trade it in for something that is going to depreciate at a minimum of 10% the second you drive it off the lot?  That doesn’t sound like a very good investment strategy to me.  Here’s a radical idea.  Keep the car you have until you run it into the ground / it doesn’t make sense to keep it anymore.

Ok.  Maybe you should trade it in before it gets to this point.

Once you pay off the loan, use the extra cash to pay down your mortgage / other debt and you can even stash some extra in savings to help save up for the next vehicle you buy.
I once had a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

I bought it used in 2000.  I kept it until 2007.  I kept it until the maintenance costs on it were cost prohibitive to keeping it.  For me, that was the breaking point.  So what did I do?  I cleaned it up inside and out, took it to the dealership and traded it in…..for a used car.  Not only did I get a really good trade in value for the Jeep because it was clean, but I bought a car that was less than one year old and it had low mileage on it.

I got it at a great price and I paid cash.  We knew this day was coming, and we prepared for it.  The dealer looked confused when he offered me 0% and I told him, “No thanks.”  He asked, “May I ask why?”  We replied, “We believe in the Biblical principle of being debt free.” Wonder how many times he’s heard that one before?

Let’s go back to talking about trading in your car for a moment.  Next time you trade in your car, clean it inside and out.  It will give the dealership a sense that you have taken care of your vehicle (and hopefully you have) and they are more apt to giving you a good trade in price than if you brought in the vehicle right after you went mud-bogging.

I am absolutely an advocate of buying used vehicles.  You can find really good ones if you do some shopping around.  If is without a doubt a better use of your money.

With no car payment, you find yourself with a surplus of extra cash every month.  What do you do?  Crown Financial recommends three months worth of your salary in savings.  That way, when the inevitable crisis hits, you have the cash to take care of it without going into debt.  If you already have your savings built up, then start paying extra on your mortgage.  If you pay one extra mortgage payment per yer, you will knock years off your mortgage.  That is great thing about compound interest.  You can make it work for you instead of against you AND enjoy your life more!

Question:

What do you get when you combine six moms, with seven children (one bun is in the oven!) and The Shack book?

Answer:

Another round of Shack Attack!

My neighbor Jenn, below in the pretty blue top, located at the bottom right, (who is hosting a bun in her oven!) hosted a book discussion for her Mom’s group.  She invited me to crash…so I did!

So I can now add Mom’s Book Club Crasher to my resume! (I’m a wild one!!)

What fun! I love meeting new women and getting to hear their perspectives about anything and everything, and most recently, The Shack!  If you’re part of a Mom’s, Bunco, running, MOPS, or any other kind of group – this is a really cool idea to think about! See what everyone thinks about reading The Shack and pick a day or night to chat about it!

I’d love to crash your group too!  Or, if you’re looking for some good questions, (and afraid I actually will crash!), here are some questions I got off of the web (I Googled and not sure the site):

Stay tuned for the next round of The Shack Book Discussion that I’ll be posting again soon!

Good conversation starters for your book discussion:
1.    Were you drawn in by the plot of The Shack?
2.    Why do you think Mack’s encounter with God took place at the shack? If God were to invite you somewhere, where would it be? (In other words, where is the center of your doubt and pain)?
3.    Do you think suffering makes people closer to God or causes them to distance themselves from Him? What has been the pattern in your life?
4.    Were you satisfied with God’s answers to Mack about suffering? Do you struggle with believing God is good in light of all the tragedy in the world?
5.    How is Young’s description of God different from your concept of God? What parts of his description did you like and what parts didn’t you like?
6.    Did The Shack change any of your opinions about God or Christianity?
7.    What were some of the things The Shack teaches about God, faith and life that you disagreed with?
8.    Would you recommend The Shack to a friend?
9.    Rate The Shack on a scale of 1 to 5.