Monday, July 13, 2009

Hard Times are Coming

It is so cold and it is thundering outside right now. How can it be like this in the middle of summer? This is a picture of what is coming. . . Hard Times.... I am going to be very careful with our finances so we can prepare. I can only manage the basics. I admire people who are stocking up on food and the like. But for my house, we cannot come up with the extra cash at this time. The basics for me include getting wood pellets to heat our house this coming winter. We need over a thousand dollars for this. It will take tremendous tears and sacrifice on my part, not to waste any money frivolously for the next few months to come up with even half of this amount. God help me....

I don't want anyone to panic.... There is no need for us to worry.... God takes care of His children. But we do have to be wise. We do have to be good stewards of the funds He provides us with. This is a hard thing to do in the midst of a culture obsessed with enjoying life by spending money on things, entertainment and the like. We have to take on an underground, counter-culture mentality to emotionally fight this. I read somewhere that it is called "A Ghetto of the Mind."

There may not be a literal ghetto where you live; but in those ghettos, (a group of
people from a specific culture and similar values) they lived the same kind of life. They were almost separated from the rest of the world.

So we too, in our minds, must live like we are in that ghetto, where we will not be deterred from our work here on earth. We must prepare for hard times. . . Almost like Noah did when he built the ark. . . We have to avoid the temptation of falling into assimilation with the world, and instead, prepare for our basic needs:

1. To keep our families warm this coming winter.

2. To keep our families fed with nutritious food (not junk or garbage).

3. To keep our families clothed.

4. To keep our families peaceful and joyful. We must have our sense of humor. We must bring joy into our lives to get through this.

Hard times are coming.......... Please help me, dear Lord, to avoid wasting money and start working hard to save every dime that comes in so we can buy our heat for this winter.

It is much harder to save money than it is to earn it.


Blessings
Mrs. White

6 comments:

Karen said...

Thanks for the very timely reminder...

Deanna said...

AMEN.
I will be in agreement with you about the Winter heating. I understand that we will have to save up for heating our home as well.
God Bless,
~D~

7Sisters said...

Ah, yes, the balance between being prepared and being able to afford it!

I, too, have rethought some purchases. When you also add in herbs and vitamins to help keep the family healthy, in can be a real challenge for a large family.

The most important preparation I feel we can make, though, is to focus on our relationship with the Lord. If I make all the preparations, lay up enough food, get enough wood stacked, get enough warm clothing for a good price, but in the process neglect nurturing our relationship with Him, then I have failed the most important preparation!

It's not an either/or, of course, but I had to reign myself in as first of all, I also don't have the funds to put back lots and lots of food, and secondly, my thoughts were more consumed with my physical preparations than seeking Him!

Proverbs 16:3 spoke to me again, yesterday. I need to commit my works to Him, then He helps my thoughts get established so I prepare out of guidance from Him and not my fearful, fretful heart!

Good thoughts in your post, especially #4!

Blessings!

Trisch

Cassidy said...

OH! How TRUE this is!!! I need to be saving my money too. I will be doing this and putting money away for the summer as 2 of my 4 girls will need some summer clothes. This is not to mention other things that will come along that we will need. My husband has all the control of the finances but with what he gives me when he can I need to be saving. I "want" not need 2 or 4 (so when two are in the wash) hand towels for our bathroom and I want 2 for the girls bathroom. Maybe as I put a little aside and save up I can do one at a time. You make me smile!
Blessings!! Cass

Kathy said...

I just found your blog, and I am enjoying your posts. I pray that you were able to save the money for your heat a few years ago.

Mrs. Laura Lane said...

I am reading this message 7 years later. It's just as appropriate now as then. Hard times did indeed come. They continue to come. God has taken care of our family in spite of it all... even during 4 months with no income from work or the government. God took care of us through his people, finding bargains, going without some things we didn't need, and trusting Him through it all.

Be blessed dear one.
Mrs. Laura Lane
Carthage, Missouri
Just at the edge of the Ozarks