2012

"When presently the twelfth stroke of the clock shall have sounded, we stand again at the opening of a new year... He knows all the trouble that this year shall burden your heart.... And therefore do not fear and neither be afraid, but now at the change of years, in childlike confidence grasp the faithful hand of that Father who is in heaven."
- Abraham Kyper

Why Wait?

Three days until I am officially no longer purchasing fast food.

Three days until I am no longer driving through to pick up a McDouble and a Sweet Tea.

Three days until I won't allow myself to drive through for a Happy Meal just so I don't have to pack a lunch for the kids.

Three days until I will need to make my own homemade mocha (1 pack of cocoa + 1 cup of coffee, stir, get fancy with a little whipped cream on top) instead of driving through Starbucks or McDonald's.  Yeah, I realized Starbucks counts as fast food when I realized they have a drive-through.  But some don't ... is this getting hung up on a technicality?  I'll have to ask Lennie Freeman, the one who started me on this "fast food fast."

Three days until I replace nutrition and common sense with convenience and laziness.

Three days until I eat deliberately instead of on a whim.

Three days until I take control of my habits instead of letting them rule me.

So, why wait three days?  Why not start now?  I only have $9.00 left in my food budget for the month. Why waste that on trashy food?  Is a so-called value meal that valuable to me anyway?

What a long, strange trip this will be

I have retooled things a bit as I turn my sights toward 2012.
In 2011, we got rid of our TV.  It was an old RCA console monstrosity that was ancient when we obtained it second-hand in 1999.  To part with it was not a heartbreak for me, especially since we can watch TV on hulu.com and espn.com, and nbcsports.com... the possibilities are mind-blowing for the modern family.  But we have eliminated our television, and that helps our budget, and makes us a little weird.
Thanks to a dare from a high-school friend, I have also decided to cut fast food -- any restaurant with a drive-through -- from my (and my children's) diets for one year.  Again ... a little weird, but it could help my food budget, cholesterol level, and improve the health of my family.
My husband and I have a goal to pay off our remaining debt (not counting our home) of $30,000.  It's a home equity line we took out a while back to pay for a used car, a new porch and new ceilings in the downstairs of our 1926 home.  Repairs needed to be made, but we just didn't have the cash on hand.  Since we've started applying principles we learned in Financial Peace University, we have paid off around $24,000 in consumer debt, and are beginning to pay down this line of credit.
We are getting ambitious this year.  We think we can pay this off in 2012.
It will require significant sacrifice on the part of everyone in our family, but we're excited to finally be free from this chain tying us down.
My blog posts may be a little strange this year ... counter-cultural, confessional, and a little crazy.  I promise I won't try to convert you, and I'll try not to make you feel sorry for me (although at times, I'm sure I will be a little pathetic).  I hope you'll follow along with me on this journey, and cheer me on when I need a little encouragement.

A glamorous day in the life of a church administrator

5:30 a.m.
Wake up, read the Bible and pray


6:30 a.m.
Prepare breakfast for the family, get husband off to work


8:00 a.m.
Prepare list of chores and school work for the kids
Update church website and Facebook pages to reflect EASTER 2 Days Away ...
Promote Easter and Easter Egg Hunt on social media


9:00 a.m.
Leave to take husband's breakfast and lunch to him at work (he forgot it on the steps when he was saying goodbye to the kids)
Go to the church building to prepare the screen for Easter services
Research background loops for Easter services
Meet with a beautiful single mother to give her a check from the church to help her get through the costs at the Department of Motor Vehicles - do an impromptu counseling session and agree with her that she needs to meet with someone much more qualified than me...
Meet the carpet cleaners and thank them for getting our building ready for Easter Sunday
Do an estimate of the Easter Eggs that were filled by our terrific volunteers and assess whether we need more candy
Review our guest gifts for Easter Sunday and the goody bags for the Easter Egg Hunt


11:00 a.m.
Pick up Easter Bunny costume from the rental shop
Refrain from texting the guy who will be dressing up as the Easter Bunny to tease him mercilessly about the amount of pink in the costume...


1:00 p.m.
Download some seriously cool looping backgrounds for Easter Sunday from www.worshiphousemedia.com


2:00 p.m.
Review Sunday's schedule using the free version of www.planningcenteronline.com and make sure we have someone to do a communion meditation in our super early 8:00 Easter service
Call Easter Egg Hunt volunteers to remind them and thank them for serving God and our community.
Text the guy who will be dressing up as the Easter Bunny ... but don't tease him. Thank him.
Thank God for blessing me with a job where I can serve him and pray that I honor him with my actions, attitudes and desires.


One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship,
      beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches.
   I'd rather scrub floors in the house of my God
      than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin.
   All sunshine and sovereign is God,
      generous in gifts and glory.
   He doesn't scrimp with his traveling companions.
      It's smooth sailing all the way with God-of-the-Angel-Armies. - Psalm 84:10 (the Message)

Bookmark Books!

What a great "twist" on book reports! We're starting this one today.

Bookmark Books by Susan Gaylord