Recently we've had to be super creative about how to budget carefully as we are purposely trying to live on less than normal. It wasn't intentionally on the "Lent list" of sacrifices, but I've kind of added it subconciously. So, kind of like my son, I've given up "money" for Lent! It works!
So when this weekend rolled around, my husband really wanted to work on the house, but we didn't want to spend any money on it. How do you work on the house when you don't have supplies? Well, maybe you do have supplies, more than you think? So he asked himself, "What do I have?" This is one of my favourite questions in the Bible. Elijah asks the widow, "What do you have?" when she comes to him with all this debt and she doesn't know how to get rid of it, not to mention her sons might be taken from her. She didn't have much, but she had oil. We also looked around and turned out we had a lot of left over supplies from when we leveled the whole family room floor, enough to level the remaining hall and closet.
Though he has a lot of sore muscles, he got it done and the hallway is now level, too. This wouldn't normally excite me, but now I realize it is the little by little way we get things done. I still wish we could hire 30 contractors and get it all done in a weekend like they do on TV, but our way works, too, just a little slower, but it is getting done! I was reminded by my little Ann Voskamp calendar, "...the one way to live the big of giving thanks in all things in all things is this: to give thanks in this one small thing, the moments will add up." That's revolutionary, life-changing! It means I'm grateful a lot more because there are sooo many little things to be grateful for.
We also had a funny experience on Friday. We had someone coming by to pick a kitten. They are only 2 weeks old, but people are already picking kittens as they want the one they want! So they pick them and then will pick them up at 8 weeks old. When the lady came by to pick the one she wanted, she casually mentioned how it would be so fun to take two. Being the ever-selling salesperson that I should have been in an earlier life, I said, "I highly recommend two kittens! They are the cutest things ever when you see them together!" It is true. I do recommend two! What I didn't expect was the DOWN PAYMENT! She handed over a brand new $100 bill for two cats. We charge for kittens now - remember, the Kitten Dynasty? My sons' eyes nearly popped out of their heads and she handed it over. We were used to getting no money for kittens. I still marvel. One of them took it in his hands and said, in front of the lady, "I have to check to see if it's real!" and then as she was walking out the door he yelled, loud enough so she could hear, "We're going to be billionaires!" Oh dear, I've created a monster. But, all that to say, it was such a blessing! I hadn't thought to ask for a down payment! But she offered it! She was serious! When those things happen, it just feels like God is smiling down on us.
Earlier in the week I had read a verse for our Lent devotional and it was a verse I had never seen before, "But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves." What a great verse. I love everything about it. It describes "you who revere my name". I talked with the kids and we all agreed we hardly revere God's name the way we should, yet we try. In this period of Lent we have been more focused as a family like never before. I have the Bible open breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now, part of that is for Bible quizzing so that they hear the material all the time, but the other aspect it to get them in the habit of regularly reading God's Word, praying, having a relationship with God. As we attempt to revere His name, the verse promises that "the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays". We listed the areas of our life we need healing, from our sinful nature, to our emotions, to finances and even academics. It went on to describe how we will then "go out and frolic like well-fed calves." The interesting thing about that phrase is that we just finished a week with baby goats that required bottle feeding. They were "well-fed" and sure enough, after their feedings, three times a day, they would frolic and run around their pen. Such a great image for my children that captured the essence of the verse. Reverence gets followed by rays of healing that leads to frolicking!
We've experienced that all this week. As a result of their diligence they saw financial rewards for their hard work with the goats and even with the kittens resulting in money in their wallets! Trust me, they were frolicking around the house, and not the animals, my kids! Human kids, not baby goats! For kids who don't live on a farm the Bible would be just a book of metaphors, but for our kids, it all makes so much sense! God came down once again and brought the Bible to life.
Well, that's a lot of rambling thoughts..everyone is scrambling for breakfast......
Beautiful, God is good and His Word is true and so relevant. PTL for showing Himself to you and the family in wonderful ways. ox
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