Monday, February 15, 2010

My Most Recent Freak Out Moments

I'm fairly laid back. I usually have a reason for flipping out...well, except when I'm having an emotional pregnant day. But those only happen every 10 days or so! ;) However, I was rather upset when I was flipping through my latest copy of Christianity Today and found an advertisement for loans specifically for churches. Are you kidding me??? The Bible is oh-so-very-CLEAR on the fact that taking out loans is a bad, bad, bad practice.

Another thing that really irked me recently is my neighbors' inability to pay for their homes. Of course, you really don't get mad about something until it happens to you, and I learned this the HARD way regarding the "declining housing market." My husband and I are getting ready to move and started gathering statistics on our local market. Imagine how unpleasantly surprised we were to find that our home, purchased just two years ago, appraised at $20,000 LESS than what we paid for it. How did this happen? Almost every home that has sold in our neighborhood over the past 15 months has been a foreclosure or a short sale. Thanks to irresponsible (referring mostly to the foreclosure) people, all of our equity has pretty much vanish. This made me VERY angry-unapproachable, in a silent rage type of angry. (And yes, I do honestly think people who have been foreclosed are irresponsible.) Ugh.

But all that drives me back to my Bible. Thankfully, it makes lots and lots of things very clear. Here are the two basic truths that are pulling me through: 1. There will always be foolish people, and 2. At some (or mostly likely, several!) points in my life, I will be one of them! Here is the basic truth that completely delivers me: God loves me anyway. He reminds me to seek His will and act in love.

That means I need to have a forgiving heart and a willingness to try to help people prevent their own mistakes. For the magazine, that means I need to write to the editor and let him know I had serious issues with an advertisement so clearly against Christian principles in his Christian magazines. For my neighbors, well, I need to ask for forgiveness from God on their behalf, as I didn't tell them anything. I also need to make sure I talk to my friends who are thinking about buying homes or anything else on credit. I can help them analyze their incomes and show them whether the purchase is an ideal one. While my works will NOT save me, I know acting in love is the best way to reach out to people.

-Domestic Goddess out.

Yes Means No, Too

Today's devotional from Proverbs 31 Ministries really made my brain kick into gear. The basis of the whole thing is this: if you want to make a radical change in certain aspects of your life, then you need to need to get rid of whatever you are trying to adjust.

How many of us have long forgotten our 2010 resolutions from January 1st? Why? Were we unwilling to say "no" to the television time in order to say "yes" to increase our family time or even personal time (reading, hobby, exercising, etc.)? We let ourselves make excuses so easily. How about changing your financial status? Did you decide to make and keep a budget but refuse to use your credit card responsibly?

So many "yes" changes in our lives require a huge willingness to say "no" somewhere else. Look at it this way: if you didn't want to be better than you are now, you wouldn't be trying to make the change in the first place.

I encourage you to reevaluate your 2010 resolutions. Examine why you have or haven't made enough progress. What are you doing right? What do you need to do better? Try to improve yourself by 1% every day.

Just remember, by saying "yes" to some change in your life, you are also saying "no" to something else. Keep your eyes on your goal and know it's attainable. Constantly remind yourself of what you want to achieve and think of ways to get yourself there. You can do it!

-Domestic Goddess out.