Spending Month Update

We have gone 18 days without a french fry... or a Jason's Deli salad... or a Culver's Concrete Mixer... or a Domino's pizza... or a new shirt... or a new pair of shoes... or a new anything for that matter!  So, how does that feel?

In one word - FABULOUS!

Have there been times where we have had to plan ahead - without a doubt.  Have there been times over the last 18 days where we would have liked to take the easy route and go out to eat - absolutely.  Would I rather be wearing women's deodorant right now - an emphatic YES.  I can't believe I missed it - I ran out of my deodorant but thought I had an extra in my closet... it was men's!  Yes, I could get away with buying one at the grocery store since Kroger is on the "approved list" but I think that would be cheating a little since I NEVER buy deodorant at the grocery store.  The point is to do without in situations like this... so that is what I am doing.

I love what this month is doing to our family.  We have been "forced" to get more creative and think out of the box..

1. You saw what we did for a "bouquet" for Milana's dance recital.
2. We had already purchased the Daddy/Daughter dance tickets for Valentines but didn't think about how to make dinner special.  Since they couldn't go out, I made a white table cloth candle light dinner for three including china!  They loved it and we have wonderful pictures to commemorate the evening.
3. A sprinkler system pipe broke.  Andy found a couple things in the garage that he had forgotten to take back to Home Depot so with the return, he was able to "purchase" what he needed for the repairs.
4. We got free coffee grounds from Starbucks to add nitrogen to our vegetable garden beds that we are preparing for our Waste month (April).  
5. Milana's Valentine's Day party at school consisted of a Chick Fil A lunch in which every child was asked to contribute $3.50.  As I was about to get the money out, I realize that would break the rules so I had to make her a lunch.  When I told her, she totally understood and didn't make any fuss.  What a trooper!
6. Andy has a gift card to Starbucks and used to go there often to work (he works from home and this can prove challenging in the afternoons when the kids are home.  He feels like using the gift card would be cheating so he hasn't been all month.  He has found other places to work and to my delight he doesn't come home smelling like a strong coffee house.  
7. We as a family love The City Harmonic - an amazing Christian band that we all enjoy.  They will be in Arlington on March 2nd.  We are planning on attending but can't purchase our tickets until March 1st. We hope there will be tickets left since it is a small venue... but if there isn't, then it wasn't in God's will for us to be there.  
8. We are planning on visiting Andy's parents in a couple months using airline miles.  Well, there are $30 worth of taxes we have to pay in order to get the tickets.  They have agreed to pay those charges so that we can come visit... but they are very thankful that spending isn't what we are fasting when we get there!!!  :) Little do they know, just because we won't be fasting "spending" doesn't mean God hasn't changed our hearts on how we spend.  Yikes... and they probably thought we were pretty frugal before... ha!
9. We are eating better foods and saving money at the same time.  We will let you know what we do with the extra cash at the end of the month.  However, spending on others in need is always okay - even during our spending fast - with that in mind we may not have much left over.  It has been a huge blessing for our entire family to be able to help others in need - which has probably changed us the most.  

So, we have learned to be creative - but what have we learned about God?  

We have already decided that once this month is over, we will continue our spending fast in a modified form so that we can continue to have extra funds to help others.  I mean isn't that what Jesus asks us to do anyway?  "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brother, you did it to me." Matt 25:40.  Our blog is Love2540... get it!  :) 

We have learned that if you truly want to feel God's will for your life - feel His blessings - feel Him intimately, go out and help people in need!  Sacrifice something - 1 Starbucks drink per day, 1 restaurant meal per week, whatever it is that you freely spend on each week but could do without - then take that money and help someone who needs it.  If you can't find anyone who needs help, contact me - I have found many people in need while preparing for our Possessions month (March).  Just that act of obedience in and of itself will bless you immeasurably.  No one is asking you to give up spending to the extent that we have this past month... just start with a little sacrifice.  It just might change you... you just might get addicted to helping others... you just might step it up another notch because it feels so good to say YES to God in this area.  Go for it!  What do you have to lose???  :)

Day 2 - Temptation

I promise - you are not going to get a day by day, play by play for the next seven months.  But I do want to share when we feel moved by the Holy Spirit.

Today was a great day - A surprise visit from my amazing cousin, Janna... Milana's precious winter ballet/tap recital... an incredible message at church (Matt has started Nehemiah)... and amazing weather!!!

As we were leaving church, several of our friends decided to go out to dinner.  And as each one asked us if we were going, we had to decline the invitation.  I will admit, I was sad as I kept having to say no.  But as Marbella, Milana, Andy, and I sat down for dinner at our own kitchen table, Andy began to bless our food.  He gave thanks for the opportunity to worship our sweet Savior by being obedient to His call to avoid extra spending this month.  At that moment, everything felt right.  Yes, I missed being able to have an evening of fellowship with my friends, but at that very moment I knew I was exactly where God wanted me to be, doing exactly what He wanted me be doing.  One thing I have been learning over the past few months, there is absolutely no better place to be than in His obedience.  It could be something as easy as saying no to an evening with friends or as challenging as an adoption... when you do something in obedience, you will never regret it.  Don't be afraid to say "YES" to the nudging of the Holy Spirit.

By the way - Milana loved her Minnie Mouse lollipop bouquet!!!  Cost - $0.00 :)

 

Day 1 - Cheating so soon???

Day one was off to a great start...

Andy joined Marbella at her school today for lunch.  What did he do differently this time?  He packed his lunch instead of running through a fast food establishment.  Yay... score 1 for the Green Team!  :)

Then I realized Milana's ballet recital is tomorrow and I need to get creative - yes, flowers are available at Kroger but I really want to avoid unnecessary expenditures - even at the approved places!  So, I made a card as well as a sucker bouquet and attached it to her favorite Minnie Mouse.  I am on a roll...

Minnie Mouse with a lollipop bouquet

At this point I am really excited because I'm not planning on even going to one of the 7 "approved" places.  No money will be spent today... UNTIL...

Andy and I were talking and we heard a lawn care service mowing someone's lawn around us.  Then as I look out the window I realize they are mowing OUR LAWN!  What???  They don't come during the winter months except maybe once every 6 to 8 weeks to help clean up the leaves and get our beds looking good.  Until regular lawn care is needed, we give them freedom to decide when they come and it is usually a nice surprise!  Key word - usually!

I have a look of horror on my face when I see them - as did Andy... for about 30 seconds.  Then this huge smile forms on his face as he sees them take several bags of leaves to their truck - a job he thought he was going to have to do himself over the weekend.

Are you serious?  You could not have come yesterday or even the day before... you had to come today???  The first day of our fast and we have already blown it. Yikes... I sure hope tomorrow ends up with better results!

Month 1 - Spending

I feel like the month leading up to my last day on the job several years ago.  I stock piled Mac make-up because I just knew I would never be able to afford good make up again.  I bought extra hair spray, mousse, shampoo.  I bought the shoes I wanted... the work out clothes I needed.  It was crazy!  This time however, my kids are involved. About 2 weeks ago, we were on our way home from church when Marbella said "can we go out to dinner since we won't get to eat out for the entire month of February!"  Andy and I laughed but could also understand her want to squeeze it all in before we started our February fast.

Thankfully we have avoided most of that same behavior... except when it has come to dining out.  I started to put a menu plan together this week but quickly decided that was a silly idea.  We are taking full advantage of squeezing in our last restaurant prepared meals... Chili's Monday night (kids eat free), Domino's tonight (just because), Cafe Italia (taking advantage of a Groupon that is about to expire) tomorrow night.  Lunch at Jason's Deli today... out somewhere/anywhere for lunch tomorrow.  Yes, it is pathetic but I think it is doing a good job of preparing us for the month... I am actually getting tired of restaurant food!  We have also taken care of a few other items before our spending halt starts on Friday - haircuts, inspections, gardening stuff (in preparation for our month on Waste) as well as a few others. But for the most part we are just going about our days as usual... and are both looking forward to what God will be revealing to us over the next 7 months.

Oh, I guess you might be interested in what 7 establishments will get the Green's money this month!

1. Gas Station - I am not specifying a specific gas station - that would be silly!
2. Kroger
3. Sprouts/Farmers Market - serves the same purpose so I bunched them together.  If I can purchase locally, that is what I would rather do but since we don't have a Farmers Market that is open 7 days a week right down the road, I needed to include Sprouts.
4. On line bill pay - our monthly fixed bills - mortgage, electricity, water, girls school, etc.
5. Exercise - not my favorite way to spend our money but a necessity!
6. Isabelle - our housekeeper.  Yes, this is an expense that I could give up... however, she depends on what we pay her and we care about her - she is part of our family.  We won't give her up - not because we love her services - but because we love her!
7. Wal-Mart - Emergency expenses only!  This is not on here so that we can still shop for wants... that would defeat the purpose.  The ONLY reason this is on here is for unexpected expenses - a birthday party invitation ... we need a gift for the birthday kid. Marbella gets a project assignment at school and we need supplies to do it, etc.  Plus, a few grocery items that are significantly cheaper at Wal-Mart - i.e. the organic soups we like are 1/2 the price of Kroger.  

As you can see, there are NO restaurants... no Home Depot... no Amazon... no Buckle (that is for me!)... no movies, etc.  However, there is one thing that doesn't count - tithing... or any type of additional giving.  The purpose of this process is to draw us closer to God by taking in less... that doesn't mean we can't give more.  And if we think about it, isn't that what Jesus wants us to do.  That is why He is quoted by Paul in Acts 20:35 "...It is more blessed to give than to receive."

One more full day then we are ready to roll!  

Karin

Gearing Up for 7

Oh my goodness... 7 more days before we start!  

Like I said in an earlier post, we are changing things up a bit in how our family moves forward with this process.  For us, we are treating this time as a sort of "fast"... I will go into more detail about fasting and what that means to us in another post.  For now, I would like to share the basic details of the next 7 months. We have prayed over how we would like to proceed as well as discussed it in depth.  Here is what we have come up with...

February - Spending
March - Possessions
April - Waste
May - Food
June - Clothing 
July - Media 
August - Stress

No matter what order we (or you) decide on doing it, I can imagine that each and every month will prove to be challenging, enlightening, and rewarding... and probably in that order.  At the same time, I thought you might want to know why we laid out the months the way we did (with the Lord's approval, of course!)  

We start off in February with spending.  If we can get more disciplined with our spending, then that will allow us more freedom to give (possessions) and really prepare us for the following 6 months.  It sets the stage. The hardest part for me will be not eating out... or picking up that pizza after church on our way home.  Oh Lord! I will share with you the 7 places we can spend our money in another post... and none of those places include Jason's Deli, Domino's Pizza, or even Chick-fil-A for that matter.  I say it again, Oh Lord!

Then we move into March with possessions.  I don't know about you, but we have found that we live in a bubble.  There is need all around us but we can't seem to find it.  As a result of reading 7, I got a little more proactive in my search.  More about that in March!  We wanted to make sure this was toward the beginning of the process too.  It is a month where others will benefit from our discipline... and in all honesty, Jesus calls us to be His hands and feet and serving others in need is doing just that.  This just may end up being my favorite month; however,  I do believe it will prove to be a little more challenging for my 6 year old who wants to keep EVERYTHING!!!

April is about eliminating waste and embracing our 'green' side.  What a perfect time to start planting our gardens.  We already have 2 small garden spots prepared but we just might have to build another... and I have a feeling this year we will be much more methodical in what we plant and where.  And yes, I will tend to it much better.  I have always been a bit green anyway so this month will be challenging in that we will need to step it up a notch.  

May... oh sweet May.  Food... oh glorious food!  We will not be picking 7 foods but rather a combination of 7 foods/categories.  As of right now, our eating for May will consist of Fruits (not just apples, but any fruit), Veggies (not just one veggie, but all veggies are fair game), eggs, chicken, wheat bread (Andy has been practicing making it home made in our bread maker), nuts (mostly raw almonds), and protein drinks/bar (our post exercise supplement!)  Now, God may instruct us to change some of those choices by May but at this point, that is what we are going with.  For those of you who know me well, you know that this month will bring me to my knees in prayer more then even spending.  Besides the fact that I will become more intimate with my Savior during this process, May will bring with it lots of yummy produce... and for that I am thankful!

June will be clothing.  I am actually looking forward to picking out 7 pieces of clothing to wear in June.  Of course, it is easy for me to say that now.  I am grateful that I did not feel led to put clothing in a month that has cool mornings and warm afternoons.  It will simply be hot no matter what time of day it is.  I hope I don't smell too much during this month - I really want to get through this time without explaining myself... to live with 7 pieces of clothing without justifying it to anyone.  Living with less in a true sense... however, if I start to smell then I just might find myself explaining without even realizing my mouth is moving!

July will be media. The kids will be home from school... this will either be a perfect time to cut off from all media or it will be the worst idea ever since that means the kids won't get any tv/movies either.  This has historically been a perfect month to hit the dollar theater just to escape the heat.  Or it is a perfect time for God to work in all of us and really share a quality month together.  I guess we will see in July!  :)  I do have one exception - we will get to listen to Christian music.  When I put on praise music, our home is different - in a way that I believe God is glorified... and that is always okay!  

And we will complete the 7 month fast with Stress in August.  As the summer winds down and preparations for school starting pick up, it will be a perfect month to focus on our amazing Savior.  I have high hopes for this month... again, I will keep you posted!

That gives you the basics.  I am excited about starting... but also enjoying what I would consider freedom.  I am confident that I don't really know what that word means but will get a much better grasp of it through this process.  I know in my head that freedom actually comes from disciplines rooted in God... but soon I will know it in my heart too... and that is exciting!

    

Communicating with Marina - wonderful and heartbreaking

I am so excited and so sad all at the same time!
For the first time since we came home from the Ukraine, we communicated with Marina in real time.  She wasn't able to Skype but she was able to communicate with us back and forth on Facebook.  

For about 2 weeks we didn't hear from her.  We were actually getting a bit worried until Andy realized that she might be at camp.  In order to give the orphanage workers a break (and in hopes of facilitating adoptions), the kids get "hosted" during the Christmas holiday and during the Summer (like we hosted Marina.)  The kids that don't get hosted go to a camp... which sounds like fun in the summer but not much fun in the winter primarily because they don't have hot or even warm water. 

I received a message from Marina on December 29th letting me know the snow was melting at the orphanage... just a quick note to let me know she was thinking about us.  I then sent her message... and then another... and then another... with no response.  I finally got a message on Friday with her letting me know that she had been at camp and that it was "bad."  

We can tell that she doesn't get to use her English there.  It is getting more and more difficult for us to decipher what she is saying when she sends us messages.  
The first message she sent today said...
"hi mummy i love u 2.in camp i was bad.and i miss u 2".
   
Well, as you can imagine, I was worried about what happened at camp.  So, I asked her and let her know that we so wish she were here with us.  
And this was the response I got...
"the camp was enside the forest and we have water cold brrrrrr.and i think once i saw you again."

I was so relieved that nothing bad happened at camp but rather she just didn't like it because she had cold water.  And now I have to try to figure out what she means when she thinks she saw me once again.  Does that mean she saw someone that looked like me?  Does that mean she wants to see me again?  Does that mean she had a dream or vision about me?  Ugh... I wish I could speak her language.  I wish I could communicate with her as well as we were when she was here.  Does she wish she were here?  Is she doubting her decision now?  Does she realize she could have been sleeping in a warm bed every night with hot showers and warm clothes?  Or is all of that wishful thinking on my part?  

I am at the point where I ache for her.  I want her to make different decisions.  I want her past to be different so that she can make different decisions.  I want her to feel loved and accepted even in a way that was too difficult for me to make her feel.  I want her to feel love in a way that only Christ can really live up to.  I want so much more for my sweet Marina.  It is almost as if it is getting harder and harder to accept her decision instead of easier and easier.  Is that because I am feeling less angry at her for making the decision to begin with... is it because more time has passed since I had to face the daily challenges of loving a very hurt and angry child... is it because I feel like I can hear it in her "voice" that she is beginning to miss us.  After all, she is now initiating communication with both Andy and I and calls us Mummy and Daddy (not mom and dad which are much more generic) and tells me she loves me (and the girls) on most of her communications?  I don't know... I just don't know.  

What I do know is that the Lord is in control.  He has this.  He has her.  He sent us to her for many reasons - one of which is so that we will pray for her daily, if not more.  He is taking care of her in the way He knows  is best for her.  I also know He wants me to continue to ache for her... so that I will always drop to my knees on her behalf.  It is also a constant reminder that I need Him... always and in everything.  

Please continue to pray for Marina!  I honestly believe that our sweet Savior will bring light into her darkness at some point.  We cherish your prayers for her... thank you so much!

Friendships

I feel so blessed... beyond blessed!
I have a wonderful husband - 2 healthy little girls - a warm bed - a full belly - heat - lotion - chap stick and so very much more... things we take for granted.

As I am reading Jen Hatmakers book, 7, I am feeling many things!  Blessed... inspired... thankful... content... along with a deep desire to help others feel the same way.  Others who don't have what we have - who won't sleep in a warm bed tonight - who won't go to bed with a belly full - who don't know the gospel.  It is a hodge podge of feelings that I don't know what to do with... but God does.

Do you ever wonder why God gave you the friendships you have?  As I am becoming more aware of the needs of people, I am becoming more aware of how incredible the people are that God has put in my life.  I am getting a better understanding of why it takes a village to raise a family... or why we need to be in a community of believers.  There is not one person out there who is everything so God puts many people in our lives who look like Jesus and who can inspire us to become more like them.  Does that make sense?

For example, I have a friend who makes me dig deep into myself when we get together.  She challenges me to think more radically in terms of missions and prayer.  I find myself striving to be more mission minded and a prayer warrior like she is.  She teaches me much and inspires me much.  I adore that about her.  I have another friend who is generous to a fault (if there is such a thing!)  She models to me how I should act in terms of how I give my stuff, my resources, my money.  I adore that about her.  I have another friend who amazes me with her love for orphans.  She has her biological kids, she has her adopted kids, she has foster kids and she is amazing.  She has inspired me through our own journey and continues to do so.  And I adore that about her.  I have another friend who encourages me.  When I am confused, unclear, off track - she always redirects me to the Bible and my faith in my Savior.  She is just starting to dig deeper in her faith yet she seems to always encourage me in mine.  I adore that about her.  I have another friend who is the hospitality queen.  She is always willing to host and the more the merrier.  Mess up my house - no problem.  Eat my food - no problem.  Create chaos - no problem.  I adore that about her.  I could go on and on... but I think you get the point.

I challenge you - take an inventory of your friendships and become aware of their diverse gifts... and adore them for the way God put them in your life to encourage you in the ways they were gifted!  And as you become more aware of the needs of people around us, you will know who to ask for help to meet those needs.  Isn't that what it is all about - being the hands and feet of Jesus as a community while sharing the Good News???

I am so eager to get started on this new journey... it is making me giddy!  So glad I have friends gifted in giddy too!  :)