The celebration of Easter is a celebration of Christ rising from the dead after dying for our sins. We are now forgiven...saved...
What a glorious event. The most important to my life. So how have I become numb to this "holiday"?
On Monday evenings I have a small group with two other ladies. The question was asked this past Monday, "How are you feeling about Easter this week?" I am embarrassed to say that I hadn't thought any more about Easter except for what Luis and I would be doing and who we would "celebrate" with. I was quickly taken back and saddened by my response. We realized that it has been fairly easy to forget, or look past, what Jesus was going to go through the week leading up to his resurrection and what the resurrection has done for us. We were all distraught at this finding. We decided we would focus on Jesus' last week of life this week.
Except for maybe in middle school, I don't recall learning much about the last week of Jesus' life, or reading about it on my own for that matter. So this week I focused on the gospel of Mark and a fantastic tool my bible provides with a day by day timeline of the week of Jesus' death. I also attended the "Holy Week Experience" put on at Crossroads church.
The one thing that stands out so vividly is that when Jesus is hanging on the cross, he cries out "Father, why have You forsaken me?" It was brought to my attention this week that when Jesus was dying on the cross, he was temporarily separated from God. This is because God is perfect and all holy and at that moment, Jesus was bearing all our sins. And so, not only was Jesus in antagonizing pain, but he was separated from any spiritual comfort that God, his Father, provided.
This has been a hard thing for me to comprehend. And honestly, through it, I am even more amazed at God's love for me.
It is important to look at the entire week before Jesus' death and resurrection. This week I focused on even the small details of this week and I am in awe of God's love. I am thankful.
Don't be numb to this week of Jesus' life, death and resurrection.
"I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die." John 11:25-26.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
In the Spirit of Budgets
A monthly budget, it seems pretty straight forward, right? ... ... ... WRONG!
Luis and I are huge advocates of Dave Ramsey and his lessons on paying off debt, savings and priorities when it comes to budgeting. Unfortunately, although I am an advocate, things aren't any easier when it comes to the monthly budget and the multiple allocations for our fixed amount of income.
I have and use an extremely straight-forward template. There is a line item for all of the necessities as well as the options; and I am to fill in the determined amount for each item, every month. Yes about 90% of the items are fixed (or rarely/slightly change) including: rent, electric, tithing, groceries, gas, insurance, Urban Active membership and any other monthly bill we pay. The problem arises with the optional items; entertainment, clothes, home maintenance...those are the main items that stand out in my mind, but there are others.
So why is it so difficult when 90% doesn't change? Ya know, the more I think about it, it's not the difficulty of determining the "right" amounts for each field, but rather the discipline in actually obeying those "right" amounts. Because, once I type them in my little excel sheet, press 'save' and begin the month, things are "set in stone"...yes?
Let me first let you in on a little secret...it may shock you...Luis is the FREE SPIRIT in our budgetary relationship. Shocking, right!?! :) For the most part, he cares to have little to no involvement in the monthly budget assignments. And those months that he gets the itch to put in his two cents...well let's just say, that scenario is not nearly as smooth. So, in being the free spirit, he has the ability to wipe out any recollection of a budget when he really wants something; or when I really want something for that matter. Every now and again, I do get the urge to just say "Screw it. I'm ready to spend that money we don't have!" and Luis will be like "Sweet!" On the other hand, when Luis is saying that, I am able to quickly bring him back to reality.
I often tell him to quit making me be the 'bad guy' in our budgetary relationship. If people ask us out to dinner around the 28th of the month and we have no more money in our 'entertainment fund' the answer should be no...technically. Well Luis is a yes man, and so if he says yes and then I say "babe, we're fresh out of money for the month," well then I'm the bad guy. See how that happens? We're working on that. (Let me also say here that Luis' yes man and free spirit tendencies are also a few of the reasons I love him so much.)
So what's my point? Discipline. And our world has made it so easy to avoid discipline with money at all costs because now we can charge it and pay it back later. At least that is how it's suppose to work. Let me just say, it rarely does. Because it is out nature that once we get a little, we want more and the vicious cycle begins.
And so, we are working on paying off debt and enjoying life with what we have now. Dave Ramsey says "Live like no one else, so you can live like no one else." Hopefully that 'pays off'...see what I did there. ;)
Luis and I are huge advocates of Dave Ramsey and his lessons on paying off debt, savings and priorities when it comes to budgeting. Unfortunately, although I am an advocate, things aren't any easier when it comes to the monthly budget and the multiple allocations for our fixed amount of income.
I have and use an extremely straight-forward template. There is a line item for all of the necessities as well as the options; and I am to fill in the determined amount for each item, every month. Yes about 90% of the items are fixed (or rarely/slightly change) including: rent, electric, tithing, groceries, gas, insurance, Urban Active membership and any other monthly bill we pay. The problem arises with the optional items; entertainment, clothes, home maintenance...those are the main items that stand out in my mind, but there are others.
So why is it so difficult when 90% doesn't change? Ya know, the more I think about it, it's not the difficulty of determining the "right" amounts for each field, but rather the discipline in actually obeying those "right" amounts. Because, once I type them in my little excel sheet, press 'save' and begin the month, things are "set in stone"...yes?
Let me first let you in on a little secret...it may shock you...Luis is the FREE SPIRIT in our budgetary relationship. Shocking, right!?! :) For the most part, he cares to have little to no involvement in the monthly budget assignments. And those months that he gets the itch to put in his two cents...well let's just say, that scenario is not nearly as smooth. So, in being the free spirit, he has the ability to wipe out any recollection of a budget when he really wants something; or when I really want something for that matter. Every now and again, I do get the urge to just say "Screw it. I'm ready to spend that money we don't have!" and Luis will be like "Sweet!" On the other hand, when Luis is saying that, I am able to quickly bring him back to reality.
I often tell him to quit making me be the 'bad guy' in our budgetary relationship. If people ask us out to dinner around the 28th of the month and we have no more money in our 'entertainment fund' the answer should be no...technically. Well Luis is a yes man, and so if he says yes and then I say "babe, we're fresh out of money for the month," well then I'm the bad guy. See how that happens? We're working on that. (Let me also say here that Luis' yes man and free spirit tendencies are also a few of the reasons I love him so much.)
So what's my point? Discipline. And our world has made it so easy to avoid discipline with money at all costs because now we can charge it and pay it back later. At least that is how it's suppose to work. Let me just say, it rarely does. Because it is out nature that once we get a little, we want more and the vicious cycle begins.
And so, we are working on paying off debt and enjoying life with what we have now. Dave Ramsey says "Live like no one else, so you can live like no one else." Hopefully that 'pays off'...see what I did there. ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)