I am really going to have to be tight this week. I don't know if I will make it to next week. I am expecting $50 from a source, so that should help. Pray that I do get it as I should. I am also concerned because my battery indicator light is flickering on for a second once in a while. It doesn't stay on. It flickers on and off every now and then. It could be because it is getting cold out. My car is old, (135K ) and the cold weather will put a strain on it. I plan to have more maintenance work done on it including getting it winterized, when I have enough money saved up, which I pray that I will be able to do. I just put a new battery in recently. Not to mention I had a $450 breake job done with the help of donations. Now what? Pray that God annoints whatever part of my car's electrical system is acting up by the blood of the lamb, forbidding it from going completely, until I get extra money to fix it. It is not as immediate as the brake problem I had. I am also upset over the proposed legislation to freeze our raises in January. This affects all Federal Employees, not just me. It just can't go through! Pray that God forbids it from going through. I have a knot in my stomach as I try to concentrate at work and other things while going through this trial. I put it all in God's hands! I sure wouldn't want my life in anybody else's! I need some support, I am really going through a lot. I know I am not to be surprised but rejoice during trials. I am rejoicing. However, I am also worried about running out of money or my car breaking down. I will focus on God and not my problems, believing that he will bring me thorugh these trying times. Pray for everything to be ok, and for God to give me strength to make it through the week. God Bless You All!Quote:
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Originally Posted by JeriRose12
I know that you've been tithing and giving and trusting God with all this. I just keep praying for God to pour out abundant blessings on you. It is hard to face endless financial troubles. I am agreement with you for all of this to be met and supplied.
Hmmmm.... that much for a honeymoon? Maybe you could rethink that. It is not good to incur more debt in getting married. More important than the honeymoon would be marriage counseling. 2K for a lap top? I've seen them on sale for $599. I strongly advise you not to spend too much on the wedding and honeymoon. Well, I am trying to believe for abundance right now.... so maybe I shouldn't tell you that. But if any of this is putting you into debt, say "No" to it. ~JeriRose~ Finding HIM in 2005  |
With my tax refund, I will be more than able to pay for my half of it. I might be able to find a laptop for $1500 or less. The $2000 was a limit I was setting on myself. I would also desire a good one, since I am am after all an IT person. God has demonstrated in my life his faihtfulness and his graciousness all along for the things that mean the most to me and are precious to me. He has graciosly blessed our Phoenix trips for example among many other things. How much more he will bless our wedding and Honeymoon. 
Different people have different emotional needs. Some people need more recreation and leasure than others. God has proven to me that he cares about my need for entertainment and fun. God knows where to draw the line between what people need to thrive and when it is too much, meaning when it gets to the point that people are spoiled and no longer appreciate their blessings. The people in some other countries are actually blessed in some ways in that they are able to thrive and be satisfied with less than Americans. Peter is into fun as well. Peter is also very disciplined, and is more able to wait for good things, so he would complement me in that area. Activities like going to the movies and restaurants and concerts are what make me the happiest. I've enjoyed those activities for many many years, and I am not about to give them up. I have cut way back. I don't go to the movies nearly as often as I used to. I am happy as long as I can go a few times a year now. The frequency of entertainment has decreased. I haven't been to a concert (with the exception of Gaelic Storm at the Potomac Celtic Festival) for a few years because I know can't afford it! So, I can confidantly say that I am doing much better budgeting my money now. I can discipline myself when it comes to the things that God and I have agreed that I don't really need. I hope you can believe that. I have to be convinced that I am doing better, or otherwise confusion, guilt and low self-esteem will set in along with fears of my important emotional needs not being understood or cared about. I am willing to adjust and compromise as needed as long as it is bearable, and tolerable. God does not expect me to go without those things I really cannot live without. God has proven this to me by how he has graciously blessed other good times I have had. I am not going broke nearly as often as I used to. If you want to know where we are staying, it is the Crystal Cove Hotel. We already booked our trip. I know this is the trip that I want and will make us the happiest, and God agrees. I am set on it. It is very authentic with cottages instead of highrise hotels. It is considered a luxury resort, yet it is not materialistic. We are paying more for better quality, not materialism. I do not have any credit cards anymore since I filed for bankruptcy. I throw out all of my credit card ads. I am very wary of getting into debt again, so I don't wish to take that chance again. I learned my lesson. God knows our hearts. He knows what we can and can't live without. He will help us ot save up for and budget for those things that mean the most to us. I am not trying to live the American Dream, just and abundant life that Jesus died to give us. I actually despise materialism. I don't even have Cable TV, not only cause there's nothing to watch, but also because of all those stupid tempting commercials. As far as the property taxes are concerned, I got money from the Gontareks when they sold their house and paid my outstanding overdue property taxes with the 2K that they paid me. There is still next years, however. I plan to paid that off with the sale of my house. I am making payments to the Social Security Administration, since that was the best settlement I could get. They may or may not take the remaining portion from my tax refund. I would not loose the whole amount of my tax refund. I have made may donations and paid lots of interest on my house with interest also being paid on the investment house by Ramiro. We all have different personalities and lifestayes and beliefs. I have no conviction against my conscience or in my spirit regarding my dreams or my plans. I know in my heart that God wants to bless us with a dream vacation for our Honeymoon, and I am confident in that. I am not stressed right now, actually. This post is rather outdated. I was only feeling stressed because of all that was going on that day. I was stressed about having $100 less in my bank account than calculated, but that was then. I am not broke now. I am doing fine now. I was also freaked out the warning light in my car. I was also upset about the possible feezing of our salaries and about loosing a chunk of my tax refund due to not being able to deduct my mortgage interest. I think both of those fears were false. I tend to worry too much. I am much better now than I used to be. Now I usually tend to only worry when a lot of things are coming at me at once. I keep reminding myself of Matthew 6. A lot came down on me at once that day. That was over a week ago! I am not fearful so much about not being able to have the wedding or honeymoon so much as I am about our life afterwards, which is what's most important. I am more fearful about us finding a place to live for the two of us. We need to have higher incomes, hence his promotion and for our salaries to not be frozen for our living expenses once we settle in after we are married. We want children! The cost of housing is outrageous in the Washington D.C. area. Pete is planning on using the proceeds towards a tax sale house, which would be only a fraction of the cost of a house on the market, only 40K or so. He will be netting $150K from the sale of his Condo, however, houses cost abut 300K-400K and up. We would still have to pay a whopping $1500-$1800 mortgage. Not to mention that his Condo proceeds would be all gone! We need a nest egg and minmized housing payment, so we can have money and income that will be needed for our family that we have been called by God to have and raise. Please pray for us to be super successfully able to get a house together. I refuse to believe that God does not have a house in store for us. I am debating whether to use birth control pills for a year or not, since we may want to have time together to adjust to each other and such before we have children. It is a 50/50 dillemma. I confess, I do want us to be able to go on anniversary trips, but they would be no-where near as expensive as our honeymoon. Some of them may just consist of our going to Phoenix. I am hoping that maybe in 10 years or so we can go on another expensive authentic trip again like the Mediterranean or the Holy Land. I know that God does not owe us anything, but we both have been through a lot. Pete more than me, 18 years of more hardhship to be exact! 
God has promised us recompence and a harvest. I know that a lot of couple must start off small, but Pete and I are older and have been on our own for many many years. Me for over 10 years and Pete for over 25 years! I believe in my finite mind that we should get a break. Why would we not agressively believe for and expect only God's best for us and for him to turn everything around in our favor. God is the God of more than enough. I ask God to remove anything in my heart that isn't there frequently, since I want to be humble and not be of the world. I hope that I have expalined myself enough, so you have a bigger picture of where I am coming from and what's in my heart. I hope you understand me now, and will support me and all of my dreams for the future. Thank you for listening with an open heart. God Bless You Sister!