FPU WEEK 5

Mom: So how was meeting last night? Did you cry?

Me: Yep.

This how we have resorted to talking about it. Like it is therapy.

Well, it is.

This week was about credit....cards, bureaus, scores and collections.

Needless to say, Ramsey is not a fan.

Don't buy a car on credit......save and pay.

Don't lease your car (which has honestly been tossed around in my mind).....not smart.

Quit worrying about your credit score.... you are going to stop buying on credit anyway.

Not that you do anything to damage it, but it can no longer be held over you - don't give it the power. Yes, be honorable and pay your bills - however slow or fast you can. No, you are not a punching bag. You have responsibilities. You also have rights. Make yourself aware of both. Hiding from your responsibilities won't help anything. Knowing your rights helps you handle them better.

Check your credit report.

Know collections laws.

Do not get emotional with them.

Stay calm. Let your anger be directed at getting out of debt and on firm financial ground. It is a slow climb out of that hole. One that will take determination and grit. I will pass on the Rooster Cogburn joke here. With Christ, it can be accomplished.

We have next week off, for which I am grateful.It will give me time to get fully back on the bandwagon. I want to strongly encourage you to check out FPU, money troubles or not. I promise it is worth the investment.

You can choose to stop the downward spiral.

You can choose which Master you will serve.

You can choose.

ONE ANNIVERSARY GIFT...

that we get every year is a call from Mrs. Huffman. Technically from Mr. & Mrs. Huffman. You don't know how desperately I wish I had a picture of them now. I actually met Mrs. Huffman before I married HH. I worked the early morning shift at a health club...I'll give you a few minutes to recover from that statement...and she was a patron. Mrs. Huffman is deep Southern charm and spitfire all tied up in one. I think I loved her from the moment we met. I am pretty sure I want to be a whole lot like her. On our wedding day, she brought me the most gorgeous flowers, roses, floating in beautiful bowls to put in my room. Roses she grew. Brought to the girl who checked her in at the gym. Come on now....
A few years later, Mr. and Mrs. Huffman end up attending not only my parents church but the Sunday School class my dad co-teaches. Now I might need a moment. I jest. He does a great job.
Needless to say our love, as a family, for them has only grown. She calls my baby sister's husband that thang, actually she calls him that bad thang. They are invited to birthday parties and they are there for tender passings.
She called me this morning at 9. I was at work. I hoped she would. I looked forward to it all day. I was grateful to hear that thick Southern drawl on the answering machine. It blessed my heart more than she knows. Even though I've told her....I don't think she knows.

What about you?
Is there someone who blesses you in such a way?
Then give them a shout out!
I would love to read and share your stories.

WHO DO YOU TALK TO?

I am a nerd. We have already established that. It overlaps into my bible study. It spills over into knowing who and what are the hot topics of the Christian dialogue around the water cooler.
HH is not. HH has no desire to. Unless it gets to be something really big. But he could sooner identify Matt Dillon as he could Matt Chandler. He knows nothing of the Elephant Room conversations. Every time we watched The Voice I had to retell who Anthony Evans Jr. was related to. He knows Radical is some book our pastor mentioned and I packed around. He might even go as far as to say Francis Chan was a girl.
Now when it comes to Christian music, HH totally smokes me. It is not even a fair fight.
While our different interests compliment each other there are those days I just want someone to hash out some doctrine with. To have those chapter and verse quoting debates with. To get in the Word deep and muddle our way out.
So the question today is, if you and yours are like me and mine, who do you talk to?
Girlfriends?
Siblings?
Co-Workers?
Pastor?
I really want to know.
Because I am pretty sure I am about to wear my siblings and my mama out.

FOR US THIS WEEK...

Dear Lord,
Let the angels have big swords and big shields,
and let the bad guys have nothing.

A...M...E...N.

Have a good week!

Isaiah 54:17 (NKJV)
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,”Says the Lord

FPU WEEK 4

So I did cry.

But I have been walking around with tears in my eyes for about two weeks now, so it didn't really take much. Just like to insert here how I NEVER used to cry. A decade ago I would have been just angry. Stiff lipped and angry. I am sure the people around me were confused. I wanted to be. But I am not. I know.

1 Corinthians 14:33 (NKJV)

For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

I know this $ issue is a symptom. One of many. For me. I speak for me. Exhibit A of priorities aligned improperly. In my own heart, the trial is raging. The prosecutor is condemning.

Relentless. Bringing up past failures. Past doubts. Past hurts. Present struggles.

The Defense has been quiet. I strain to hear Him. But only when I grow weary of defending myself. I spend a lot of time defending myself it seems.....

Awkward transition.....

Back To FPU....

This week was about debt. Getting out. Staying out. CHOOSING to stay out.

I think that is one of the reasons this is so hard. I know I, we, have chosen this.

In big and small decisions, we have chosen. Those choices have landed us where we are.

We are not victims. Maybe it would be easier if we were. Probably not, because then I would just wonder why us? Looking for the positive, the good thing about choosing is we can choose to stop.

I can choose to stop. I can choose to bring my guilt (real and inflated) to Jesus, about so many things, and let Him defend me.

Psalm 5:11 (NKJV)

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.

I know ya'll must think I am the biggest mess. You know what - I am. A mess that has come a long way and is getting less messy. But a mess who NEEDS Jesus Christ.

I saw a tweet quoting Jenn Hatmaker that read like this-

Live it or you have no hope of leading it

(Thank you Deborah Boutwell)

I don't have a clue of the context, but I can tell you what it means to me.

If I want to lead a life that money has no hold on, I have to LIVE a life that money has no hold on.

If I want to lead a life that honors God in all, I have to LIVE a life that honors God in all.

If I want to lead a life that points others to Jesus, I have to LIVE a life that points others to Jesus.

In the big and the small.

In the brownie and the budget.

It sums up where I think God is correcting me -

Rhonda,

If you want to lead it, you need to live it.

Or as the poster in my room says,

Less talk, more walk.

Ephesians 4:1-3 (NKJV)

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

And because I will feel like I have depressed you all, AGAIN, I want to end with this -

Jesus Christ is good.

Jesus Christ is faithful.

Jesus Christ is it!

HE'LL SMILE

We have lived in our neighborhood for over a decade. Many of those years without kids, or with kids too small to be in school. Often, after the bus went by in the afternoons, I would hear these shrill, shrieking sounds. Attempts at a musical interlude if you will. I often wondered what instrument this could possibly be. Why are they playing it? Why are they so bad at it?
NOW I KNOW....
The Recorder.
It is the culprit.
Remind you I was NEVER in band. I have a vague recollection of a sister or two playing one, but it is very vague. My memories of MC 1 playing it will not be. At first he was just playing the one at school....I guess - to be honest I really have no clue. The thought of playing one at school totally grosses me out- the mouthpiece and the spit.....OHHHHH the spit.......GAG! - but one weekend without mom and sucker buy by HH and he owns his very own.
Green.
With a yellow and white string attached. Which according to him correlate to a belt in karate - I will leave the sarcasm about killing people with it out here.
HE loves it. So much so we are striving for a purple "belt". In doing so, we have determined the car has great acoustics and is THE PERFECT PLACE TO PRACTICE. I think it has more to do with the captive audience.
And I would like to say that even though I lack in musical chops, I am convinced Merrily We Roll Along and Mary Had a Little Lamb...ARE THE EXACT SAME SONG!
Either that or you have just had a glimpse into the skill level we endure.
Hey, listen, I am thrilled MC 1 loves music. I encourage him. I listen.
And listen.
A...N...D...listen.
And when he is 45 reading his mama's ramblings, he will most likely have endured THE RECORDER himself and he will know exactly what I mean.
And he will smile.

FPU WEEK 3

The Dreaded Budget.
Yes - week 3 is all about that.
Of course HH had to work late. Which, considering I am the NERD, was not that big a deal.
I will say, again, Ramsey pulls no punches. He tells you it will be difficult. He tells you it will most likely not work the first month. He tells you to be gracious in your "discussions". I'll tell you I wanted to cry. Overwhelmed is an understatement. Not so much the forms, but the emotions that go with them.
I, we, were to have our budget ready by Tuesday. I am writing this on Sunday. As of now, it's not done.
I live for the pressure.
Seems this is do or die week.
You, we, are either sold out to this or not.
No more playing like its monopoly money.
No more playing like it's ours to do with as we please.
Time to show ourselves faithful.
It's time we choose to.